Congratulations to Joshua Parker, an English/Language Arts teacher at Windsor Mill Middle School in Baltimore County who was named the 2011-2012 Maryland Teacher of the Year at a black tie gala on Friday, October 14 at Martin's West.   Always a highlight of MADA's philanthropic giving, the event was well-attended by legislators and dignitaries.  

Joshua Parker accepting the keys from MADA Chairperson, Marisa Shockley

MADA Chairperson, Marisa Shockley, announced that the winning teacher would be awarded a new 2012 Honda Civic and proudly displayed the personalized 'TOY 2012' license plate courtesy of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Just before leaving the podium, she jingled the keys with a cheerful, "Good Luck!"  

The ballroom erupted in cheers and applause after Mr. Parker's name was announced. He made his way to the stage and happily accepted the keys to his new car from Marisa! This donation marks MADA's 11th year as a presenting sponsor of the Teacher of the Year program. On behalf of all our members, we are proud to be a part of this worthwhile program.

Join us on November 12, 2011 for the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association Foundation gala. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Foundation which aims to provide educational scholarships for employees of the Maryland automobile dealership industry.

The event will be held at the Westin Hotel in Annapolis and will feature great food, dancing, and the induction of our 2nd member into the Foundation Hall of Fame. We know who the winner is, but you've got to be present to find out who it is!

Tables are selling quickly; to date, we've sold over 10 corporate tables. We expect to mail invitations out this week, but you may download an electronic version here. Please send in your response card with guest list and payment information to reserve your spot at the finest event of the year!

MADA members are reminded to reserve their rooms in Las Vegas for the February 2012 NADA/ATD Convention and Expo. This year NADA and ATD are coming together to host their respective conventions at the same time. The 2012 promises to be a HUGE event with once-in-a-lifetime speakers.   "72 Hours" survivalist, Aron Ralston, will give the motivational speech and President George W. Bush is also a featured speaker.

While in Las Vegas, please join us on February 4, 2011 at the Paris Hotel for the MADA/VADA/WANADA reception. If you've attended in the past, you know this is always a lovely party. If you haven't had the pleasure of joining us before, we invite you to see for yourself!  

MADA/VADA/WANADA Reception   

Date: Saturday, February 4, 2012

Location: Paris Hotel, Las Vegas

MADA announces the dates for two fall Title & Registration seminars.

Seminar #1:

• November 15, 2011. 9:30-11:30 a.m. Hilton Garden Inn, White Marsh 

Seminar #2:

• November 17, 2011. 9:30-11:30 a.m. The Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort, Cambridge

The costs to attend either seminar are:

• $85.00 per person/MADA Member
• $125.00 per person/non-member

Please return the attached registration form to MADA to reserve your spot today! Please contact Ethel Biensach, ebiensach@mdauto.org or 800.526.7423 for further information.

MADA announces the next live webinar coming to you from DealersEdge... 

#1: The Real Impact of OEM Parts ASR Programs (Auto Stock Replenishment) - Study Results Revealed!

Date/Time: Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 1:00 p.m.

Presenter: Chuck Hartle', President of PartsEdge

Cost: $149.00 Per Person

Revolutionary OEM programs, like R.I.M. and ARO, among others, are about 5 years old now. It's time to take stock and see if they are meeting expectations.   A PartsEdge Study examines the results...

Chuck Hartle' recently completed a study designed to view parts inventories from conservative to liberal and what consequences have resulted. Chuck is widely-known as a true scientist and analyst of inventory management, but even he was surprised at what his study has to say about ASR - Automatic Stock Replenishment - programs.

#2: How to Get in Front of the Smart Phone Wave in Your Dealership

Date/Time: Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 1:00 p.m.

Presenter: Paul Potratz, COO of Potratz Advertising

Cost: $149.00 Per Person

Consider this: 

• Seems like nearly everyone has one of these mobile devices. It's because nearly everyone does.
• 81 million smart phones are now in use.
• NYT article says there are 327.6 million wireless connections in U.S. - More than total population!
• 68.7 million people consider themselves frequent texters.
• 97% of text messages are opened and read.

What is your dealership doing to reach these potential customers for sales and service?

Join dealership marketing expert Paul Potratz on October 27, 2011, as he presents a special DealersEdge webinar providing an in-depth review of mobile marketing strategies for car dealers to increase sales leads, and service and parts customer visits.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY! 

The Federal Reserve Board has issued a final rule that temporarily exempts motor vehicle dealers engaged in indirect (three-party) vehicle financing transactions from a new, comprehensive data collection and reporting requirement that is mandated by Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The new requirement amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and is designed to "facilitate [the] enforcement of fair lending laws."

Section 1071 requires financial institutions, including motor vehicle dealers, to inquire into whether a credit applicant is a small business or a women-owned or minority-owned business. If the applicant responds to the inquiry, the financial institution must then:

♦ Compile and itemize eight fields of data related to the credit applicant and the credit requested,

♦ Retain the data for a period of three years,

♦ Submit the data to the federal government on an annual basis, and

♦ Make it available to the public upon request.

Because of the complexity of the new requirements and the need for greater clarification of dealers' compliance obligations before they take effect, following several meetings with National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) representatives, the Board exercised its authority under the ECOA to exempt dealers from the duties imposed by Section 1071 until the effective date of final regulations explaining those duties.

Members, are you or your associates planning any special event to recognize National Breast Cancer Awareness Month? If so, please let MADA know! We'd love to highlight the good things our members are doing to both raise awareness and raise funds for a very worthy cause which affects us all. Please send any photos with a description to Katie Jones, kjones@mdauto.org.