MERA Announces its Board of Trustees for 2007-08
MERA Announces its Board of Trustees for 2007-08
Indianapolis, Ind.: The Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association® (MERA) is pleased to announce its board of trustees for 2007-08. Newly appointed by the current trustees was Ed Dalesandro, president of End Result, a manufacturers representative firm based in Canonsburg, Penn. Elected by the full retailer membership were James Babb, owner of Advanced Audio, De Queen, Ark.; Fred Felch, owner of Stay Tuned, Waukesha, Wis.; Joe Forcella, owner of Autotrendz, Kendall Park, N.J.; and Steve Medeiros, owner of Sound FX, West Warwick, R.I.
Babb and his wife, Suzanne, have been active volunteers for MERA and participants in the association’s focus groups. They are also strong advocates of MERA KnowledgeFest, attending regularly and never ceasing to attribute much of their business’s growth to tactics they’ve learned through MERA. Advanced Audio joined MERA in 1999.
Felch currently serves on MERA’s Issues and Information Committee and was involved in MERA focus groups prior to committee service. Stay Tuned has been a member of MERA since 1998.
Autotrendz joined MERA is 1997. Forcella was a guest member at MERA’s Strategic Planning session in 2005 and has also participated in various focus groups for MERA.
SoundFX has been a member of MERA since 1998. Medeiros previously served as a member of the Legislative Committee and the Issues and Information Committee and was named chair of the latter in 2006.
The new trustees’ terms begin June 1, 2007, and run through May 31, 2009. They are joining current board members Robert “Bob” Graham, president of MERA and controller for Breakers Stereo, Oxnard, Calif.,; Barry Vogel, who serves as MERA’s vice president and is president of The Ultimate Edge, Oswego, N.Y.; Mark Miller, MERA’s secretary/treasurer and president of Westminster Speed and Sound, Westminster, Md. Also serving on the board are Todd Hays, president of Columbus Car Audio & Accessories in Columbus, Ohio; Don Fleury, owner of Creative Car Audio, Joplin, Mo.; David Powell, owner of Precision Audio, Bainbridge, Ga.; Timothy McCarthy, managing member/owner of RMD, LLC, dba Hushmat; and Rob Wempe, national sales director – specialty retailers, Rockford Corporation.
MERA’s immediate past president, who remains active in his role, is Harvey Wright, president of AutoSound of Lexington in Lexington, Ky. Another past president, Vicky Scrivner, owner of Santa Fe Autosound, Overland Park, Kan., serves as the board’s designated liaison to the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA®) Mobile Electronics Division. Stephen Witt, vice president, Marketing, Alpine Electronics, serves in a reciprocal role on behalf of CEA.
“We have an outstanding group of people guiding MERA as it seeks to elevate the success of specialty retailers in the mobile enhancement industry,” said Graham. “The entire specialty chain of distribution will continue to see great things coming out of this organization,” he added.
MERA is a non-profit association founded in 1996 and based in Indianapolis, Ind. MERA’s purpose is to elevate the success of specialty retailers in the mobile enhancement industry. Membership includes more than 600 companies throughout the United States, comprised of retailers, manufacturers, manufacturers representatives and others related to the industry who realize professionalism and continuing education are cornerstones for successful business. MERA serves as the safe and neutral field where all parts of the industry can gather to learn from and share with one another. For more information, visit www.merausa.org, or call 1-800-WHY MERA (949-6372)