Members from MADA, VADA and WANADA enjoyed their time at the annual MADA/VADA/WANADA Reception at the NADA Convention which was hosted on Friday, April 1 at the Stratosphere Observation Tower in Las Vegas.  High above the Las Vegas skyline, the view from the Observation Tower was simply stunning as we watched the sun set and lights from the Vegas Strip come to life!  The event was well-attended and MADA loved seeing some familiar faces and new ones, too! 

NADA Directors for MD and VA, respectively, Daniel Jobe and Greg Pohanka

The evening ended on a bit of a "high" note as a few reception guests braved the heights of the Stratosphere's Sky Jump, a free-fall 829 jump from the top of the Tower.  The jump is in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's highest controlled descent.  Jason Schoppert of PDP Group jumped and lived to tell the tale!

Chuck Verschoore and Jason Schoppert of PDF Group with Al Scimger MADA before Jason's jump

We wish to thank those sponsors whose generous support made this event possible and we always remind our members to please consider those who support your Association!  

TrueCar
Charapp & Weiss

JM&A Group

Gold Sponsors with SunTrust Bank, Roger Clore and Andy Carmer.

We wish to congratulate Bill Aschenbach, King Automotive Group, on his recent representation of Maryland as our 2016 TIME Dealer of the Year Nominee at the 2016 NADA/ATD Convention and Expo which was recently held in Las Vegas.  

Bill Aschenbach, third from left, with his family.

As reports of phone scams as well as email phishing schemes continue across the country, the Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers of a new phishing scam targeting Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia residents.

This time, the email scammers are citing tax fraud and trying to trick victims into verifying "the last four digits of their social security number" by clicking on a link provided. The criminals specifically state that this is for tax filers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. As a further attempt to trick residents of the Capital region, the email scam even suggests that information from recent data breaches across the nation may be involved.

For more information, please review the release provided by MADA Associate Member, Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell, P.C.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has exempted auto body shops from a new rule governing respirable crystalline silica, a hazardous mineral, sometimes found in body filler.  The exemption shields dealerships from costly new mandates for workplace exposure control measures, exposure recordkeeping and employee medical examinations.  

The National Automobile Dealer Association (NADA), working with data collected by KPA Inc. and other organizations, demonstrated to OSHA that the likelihood of exposure to respirable crystalline silica in dealership auto body operations was de minimis.

Auto body shops performing tasks consistent with normal workplace health and safety controls may rely on the exemption.  For more information on OSHA's new final rule on respirable crystalline silica, please contact NADA Regulatory Affairs at regulatoryaffairs@nada.org. 

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has revised its workplace eye and face protection equipment rule to align with consensus standards adopted in 2010 (ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010).  The new rule does NOT require dealerships to update or replace their current eye and face protection equipment if they are in compliance, but any eye and face protection equipment replaced or purchased after April 25, 2016, must comply with ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010.  NADA requested OSHA make ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010 available to industry at no cost, but the request was  rejected.

For more information on this new rule, please contact NADA Regulatory Affairs at regulatoryaffairs@nada.org.