President's Message

2013 SCWA Celebrate 25 Convention & Car Wash EXPO – was indeed a wonderful celebration looking back at the quarter century of SCWA activities and people who have helped build our organization. It was especially rewarding to have a large group of SCWA Past Presidents join us. The Convention provided an opportunity for us to recognize and honor our present and past leaders for their dedication; leadership and vision in helping us achieve our goals.

As I enjoyed the festivities and considered the progress we have made in SCWA– I realized how important leadership and vision can be to an association but also to a car wash business.

In a letter to a colleague, Sir Isaac Newton said that his success had been built in part by the achievements of others. He wrote, “If I have seen further, it is ONLY by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

This is also true for SCWA – our success has come from the vision of the leaders and legends in our industry and association.

If there’s one thing I’ve observed - all highly-successful people have one thing in common - they learn from others. This has certainly been true for me, particularly when I’ve made my greatest leaps forward. This dynamic was very abundant during our convention, people learning from and sharing ideas with others. I think this is one of the most significant reasons SCWA is successful. We have over the past 25 years, created a great atmosphere of sharing. This was the vision of our past leadership and the continued goal of our current leadership.

I hope you were able to join us for the 2013 SCWA Convention & EXPO, and experience the opportunity to learn and to share. I encourage you to check out the pictures in the center of this edition of ADVANTAGE and also on our website www.swcarwash.org.

Many people worked hard to make the SCWA Convention & EXPO a special experience for everyone. To all the 2012-2013 Board of Directors, thank you for your time, energy and dedication to SCWA and the car wash industry. Your vision has helped us achieve greater goals. Board members serve by giving their time and assuming financial expenses for their participation. It is an honor to serve on the Board but also a sacrifice in terms of time and financial resources.

Thank you to our 2013 Sponsors who helped make the SCWA events more fun and affordable. You will find our Sponsors and Exhibitors listed on page 29. I encourage you to support these companies during the coming year.

Finally to Immediate Past President Shane Weiss, SCWA owes you all our appreciation and gratitude for your leadership and vision. You stepped up and served not only your term but also continued when our friend and President Elect Wade Welch unexpectedly passed away last year.

In closing, I am excited to serve as the SCWA President for 2013-2014. As we celebrate our successes today, let us all take a minute and thank the SCWA Past Presidents and leaders who have provided the vision and direction for this success. Even more let us all silently thank ALL those special people in our lives and businesses who have made a difference and who have provided the leadership and vision to make us all better people and car wash operators.