CALL TO ACTION - 2022 Board of Directors Nominations

You are listening to the Independent Dealer Podcast with hosts Luke Godwin and Jeff Watson.

Hello.

Welcome to this episode of the Independent Dealer Podcast. Today we are very, very blessed to have Mr. Liu and Mr. Bob Boltman with us today for a quick, quick update on the upcoming election to the NIAD National Board openings. A couple of seats are coming available or open. Maybe you guys could help shed some light on that and help explain to our listeners how that process works. If there's anyone that wants to nominate themselves or get someone else to be a nominee or a candidate for a board position, how they're going to go about that process. That's kind of what we wanted you guys to explain to us. And maybe we could start with you, Lou. There's a couple of three seats coming open. Are those a term or are these people resigning or give us kind of what's happening.

Usually what happens is we have seats that come. We have at least one seat every year that comes available on the main board of directors, but we also have seats on other boards. We have services board, foundation board, and we have the buy here, pay here commission and the legislative committee. Those are our main boards. So what we do is recruiting board members is very difficult. And the problem is the process is pretty intense. It's a big time commitment. There's board governance that's involved. You really need to serve on your state board in positions. The national board is very different than the state board. I've been on this board for 13 years, and I can tell you in the 13 years things have really changed. We've gone through different transitions over the years, going back to the Mike Lynn days. When we came on with Mike Lynn, everything was very structured as far as when we came on, the expectations were given to us of what our time commitments were going to be. And you know, we were told that you have to go through the different chairs. You got to spend time in those chairs and you got to learn the process. And it's very important because the people that are on the national board are pretty much people that think outside of the box. You don't have a lot of people on that board that are just taking up a seat. We don't have time for that. You know, everybody's busy. We all have our own business to run. And you know, it's beneficial for our members to have people on that board that are going to get things done. And that's what it's all about. So pretty much what we do is we look at the other boards and we watch people on those Boards and how they interact with other dealers and the ideas they come up with. And a lot of times, that's our breeding ground for board members. So what we're doing now is we're putting that process out there and we're getting people to understand how you get involved. Because I think a lot of people where there was a lot of misconceptions on how to get involved with the board of directors, you know, that we were choosing people, and that wasn't the case. What we were doing is we were out looking at the different boards and seeing who were the stars. You could tell somebody that rises to the top really quick. You know, that's the guy that doesn't cause controversy, but he gets on the board and he gives good ideas and suggestions. Sometimes he's sitting there quiet and doesn't say a word. And then when he does say something, it's like, wow, the light bulb comes on. You know, that's. That's the guy. We want. We want.

We want.

We don't want a guy or Gap. You know, we've had over the years, you know, different people from different dealerships. The biggest challenge for the board and for the. To fill the board seats is, is the regions, because we never know what region is going to be coming up for opensea. You know, we had four regions. One, two, three and four. Two and four, actually three, but one, not so much. We don't have a lot of participation in one. We need more participation in one. But the other three regions, there's a lot of candidates in those regions. So there's a lot of different business models, and that's the biggest thing. Fortunately, I'm from Region 1. For me, I've been part of most of those different business models over the years. I mean, I'm going on 37 years of my own business. So you see a lot. 37 years, a lot of good stuff and a lot of bad stuff. So great part about it is we can share our experience and to get on the main board. And I ada it's all about experience because we want to make sure that the younger dealers don't run into the issues that we did during our careers. We want to make sure that we help them to kind of dodge those bullets that some of us got hit square in the face with over the years. That's.

Lou, one second. And let's talk about. So there's four regions. If everybody didn't know that Region one is your region. It's the northeast of the country. Correct region. Region two would be Southeast.

My.

My area. Right.

No, region, yeah.

And then three is kind of the Midwest, Texas, all that area. Right. And then the region four is California, the West coast. And the Southeast has plenty of people. It seems like in Texas area has plenty of people. In other regions are a little difficult to staff at times. I know we've had those issues over the year. So then those VPs, right. And that, what we call those people, vice presidents of that area. And then there's Treasury Secretary.

Senior Vice.

President, senior vice president, President elect, present chairman. Is that correct? Something to that effect. Okay, you got it. So the application that went out that NIADA put out the other day, is that application process for all the boards or is it for the board of directors?

It's for all the boards. You know, we want to get candidates for every board because, you know, and that doesn't mean that somebody that applies may not already be a superstar that we've already been looking at, because that happens. It doesn't happen too often, unfortunately. The last several years we've gotten away from the process and I think that's the best way of putting it. And the board really wanted to get back to the process because the process was broken before Bob came in. And the board was not happy about it. I can tell you, sitting on that board, we weren't happy about what was going on. You know, we were getting people that were coming on the board that, you know, were like, who is this person? I've never seen them before. I mean, you know, we didn't have any interactions with these people and we were getting candidates and names and not that they were bad people. There wasn't. Wasn't anything wrong with anybody that came on. Everybody was, was really good. But the problem is, is, you know, it's. It takes a long time to get people up to speed if they haven't served on a state board. And we had some people that were serving on state boards. So the board governance part of it, you know, extended our meetings. We were going into two and three hour meetings. You know, you never have to try to run a business and do a two and three hour zoom meeting is just crazy. You know, I can tell you, last year as president, I was putting 80 plus hours a week into the association. Try to run a business and put 80 hours a week into an association. It's a tank. And you know, and I think we did a pretty good job. I mean, we brought a lot of new stuff to the table with the service tracks and the other things and the new program that we're working on now, which you see the logos behind us. The Niada 360 certified 360 is going to be something that this industry has never seen before. It's going to be the biggest program across the country. And that's what we wanted to do. We want to bring things back for our dealers. It's all about our dealers. It's not about us individually. And that's the key, is you've got to make sure that when you're bringing in these programs, you bring them in for every dealer of every size, small to big. You know, the guy that has five cars on their lot to the guy that has 400 cars on his lot. You know, you got to make sure you're taking care of the whole industry because 80% of our members sell 15 vehicles or less a month. And their business models may be buy here, pay here. They may be retail, it could be lease here, pay here. So you have to have a lot of. A lot of different irons on the fire. I guess the best way to put it to satisfy all those types of deals, because.

Let's talk about that. Because someone who's selling 15 cars a month, that's a pretty. That's a pretty small operation. How can a dealer that's doing that really have the time? You know, let's say it's 20 hours a week. How can they have the time to participate? Because I'm not sure how that works because a lot of those deals are selling 10, 10 cars a month. They're mom and pop operation. This is a big chunk of time. What do they do? Bob, maybe you can address that because you've seen it, you know, you get to see all these dealers in action. Sure.

So Lou is absolutely right. But there's a difference between the national board and a state board. You know, at the national level, we have 32 staff members who are, you know, I've hired professionals who understand how associations work. They know that the members are the experts. And so the board. The role of the board is to form a strategic partnership with staff, not to do the heavy lifting. That's what staff is for. It's different than at the state level where the volunteers also have to sometimes be the staff.

So.

Lou had a lot of heavy lifting because he had a transition, plus we had a pandemic. But what we hope going forward is that the board and the staff form that strategic partnership around the strategic plan. And it isn't that much heavy lifting for a board member. What we're looking for are strategic thinkers who see where the industry is going and see where we need to make changes in that strategic plan as we move forward to meet the needs of the dealers today and tomorrow as we try to achieve our vision.

So there's up to three maybe board of directors that, that are going to come off this, this year is kind of is what the feeling is out there. Are you at liberty to discuss who's going off? You know, you already have people that, that you kind of looked at within the other boards that y' all are really wanting to push to be on the board of directors. Is it possible for Jeff to apply today and be on the board of directors come. Come August? Is that a possibility or are probably impractical since Jeff's never been on one of the other boards?

Yeah. Let me jump in here, Lou. Second. Excuse me. And you know, the board started a process under Lou to be much more open and much more inclusive than I think the perception was. I think those boards previously were just as open and inclusive, but the perception had gotten to the point where they were not. And Lou started a very deliberate process of opening it up that Joe has continued by creating a true nominating committee which is comprised of three board members and three non board members. What we're really hoping is that committee develops into a leadership development committee that is engaged through different aspects of the association that we can see people who are rising stars. Finding a board member on a 10 person board is like hiring a key staff person. And you have to kind of think of it that way. Yes, you can go to the old fashioned route which is, you know, you make a party with whoever shows up. But trade associations today are under such pressure and competing with private sector businesses that have a lot more money and a lot more freedom of action. And so we really need strategic selections when we're talking about board members that can help move that ball forward. So in answer to your question, can anybody get elected? Certainly people may come to the fore through the nominating process that we hadn't thought about, but that other people knew. And those holes we're going to then work to fill in that leadership development aspect of the nominating committee so that we find those individuals and so.

And who makes up? Can you tell us who, who are the three, I mean, who are the six people making up the nominating committee? And then after they're nominated, how do they get elected? At that point, I think that's a little. You would think the nominated committee would be it, but that's, that's not the case. Can you Walk through the next start. Can you walk through the next part of that process?

Well, the tradition is that the past presidents do the final review of candidates and actually place the individuals in nomination. So that's the nominating committee will report to the past president. And so the nominating committee, the chairman is always the chairman of the board.

So, Louis. Lou.

Right.

Pardon?

The president.

No, Joe isn't. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's Lou Gordy and Dan Johnson from the board, Mike Brill as chairman of the foundation, Lawrence Mead as chairman of the buy here, pay here commission, and Tim Gaylord as the vice chairman of the President's Council. And the reason we went to the vice president or vice chairman on the President's Council is because we were expecting that Jared Halstead would be a potential nominee. But so by tapping the foundation, the President's Council and the buy here, pay here commission, we've broadened out those eyes. It's like a headhunter. We really have to look at it in terms of hiring a key staff person.

Well, I believe that's a heck of a nominating committee. I know pretty much everybody on that committee and I think it's very diverse. I think it's represents a lot of regions and just some really good people there. So they're going to look at all these nominations and I mean, who knows how many they're going to be. Hopefully it's a lot because hopefully there's a lot of people out there wanting to be involved. And at that point they're going to make recommendations for specific locations of these nominees. And then we're talking about the past presidents are going to be the ones who actually place them. Is that correct?

That's correct. That's the tradition. But if you think about it, as Lou explained, we have to make sure we have regional balance. We have to make sure that we have buy here, pay here and retail balance. We have to make sure that we have size balance. We don't want all big dealers, we don't want all small dealers. We want people who are looking toward the future. What is it, you know, what's coming down the pike. The board's actually looking at what skills it feels it has and what skills it feels that it's missing. And these are all things that well run associations do.

And so then because the process is still, I assume the current process is still under the old bylaw. The bylaws. Correct, Bob? The new bylaws won't be voted on until the general meeting, is that correct?

That's correct.

Okay, so what's going to happen is, is the past presidents are going to, going to deliver a slate of officers to the general meeting, is that correct? To be voted on by the general meeting, is that what is correct?

That's what the bylaws say.

Okay. And so, so that, that process is still the same and so there will be one slate of officers, not multiple slates of officers, is that correct?

There could be multiples. There's nothing in the bylaws that prohibit the nomination of more than one individual. But it's really kind of a failure of process when you look at a 10 person board. I mean if we were a 50 person board, you could have people who, I hate to use the word slacker, but you have people who skate on a 10 person board. There's no room to hide. So we have to make sure that we have really excellent performers on the board. That's the reason to have a nominating committee is to look at that and make the best selection. Again, going back to hiring a key employee, you don't hire two for one seat, you hire one and you have to make those tough choices and see if you get it right.

I mean, do you think there's, this is the only part of the whole process that kind of rubs me a little bit. And people know my stance is, my biggest stance is to make the NIADA better, number one. Okay, that's number one. Yeah. And I think that all of us working together and having these conversations does that. The only issue I have is that sometimes we're kind of, I feel like we've been spoon fed a certain amount of people. A certain, certain, certain people. Not a certain amount of people, a certain people. And it doesn't, and to me it doesn't feel like the general population of, of the association has enough power to persuade who is in charge. Can you address that, Bob?

Well, that's why the board went forward with a nominating committee. That's an equal number of non board members. So whether it was true or perception, perception is reality. If this is the way you feel, then for you that is the way it is. So what we're trying to do is change that perception. We're trying to change that perception by involving non board members in the process who are key leaders within our community who will bring new voices to that process.

I think it's a great first step. Yeah, go ahead. I think it's a great first step.

That's okay. So there's a big part of the process that we haven't gone over. And I think it's something that you really need to know, because I hear this perception of the reality all the time. Well, as far as I'm concerned, perception is rumors that turn into reality. And, you know, reality is what the facts are. The facts are that to be a board member, there's a background check that has to be done to become a board member. So, you know, we need to have those people ahead of time so we can do this background check. Got to make sure that they're financially stable. We got to make sure that they don't. There's no business issues with them. We've got to make sure there's nothing that comes out on this person later on that may be embarrassing to them or their dealerships or families, you know, so that's a big part of this whole thing. So, you know, when we say perception is reality, you know, you got to do your homework as well, you know, so you just can't run with what the perception is. You got to really do your homework and find out what the facts really are. And that's. That's a rub for me because, you know, being on this board for 13 years, I've seen good and bad board members come along, and, you know, we've been getting those people, you know, off the board when we. When we see that there's an issue and those people know that they're going to be removed from the board. Just they can tell just by way the meetings go. And over the years, we've seen that happen many times. I think you guys know that. So, you know, as far as the positions we have this year, mine is one, because obviously I'm coming off. So we need somebody else for Region 1. The other two are board members who have some personal stuff going on in their lives that, you know, just don't have the time. And that's why we're not really saying who or where those will be yet, because we're. We're waiting to see if they can work it out because they're good board members and, you know, they really are. And we're going to keep them somewhere. I can tell you right now, because we have one of the best boards I've seen in a long time this year. We've got a lot of diversity on this board, and we've gotten a lot done this year. When I tell you we've gotten a lot done. We've gotten a lot done. Yes.

And of course, I mean, we all know that there's been there's been board members in the past who really, you know, not follow their own or not or follow their own and kind of embarrass the association, you know, and. And so I understand why you would. You need to do those background checks.

Yeah. The other part of that thing is, Luke, is. Is being a member of this board sometimes causes those issues. We've had past presidents that have lost their business because of the time they put into the association. So these are the things that I'm saying, you know, when we talk about perceptions, the reality of it is this is a very big commitment for a deal. So when a dealer decides he wants to be on this board, it's not like the state board. It's totally different thing. It's a big time commitment. And if you are not committed to that time and you're not in a place in your career where you can do that, which, you know that that's the reason why you see a lot of older board members, because, you know, like myself, I'm a small deal. I'm not small dealer. You're talking about 15 cars or less a month. You know, I, you know, at my peak, I was doing 25, 30 when I had my finance company. But I'm on the downside. I'm 37 years. I got three boys want nothing to do with the business. They've all gone their own way and doing very well. So I'm happy with that. So for me, it's all about giving back to the. To the younger dealers to make sure that they don't make the mistakes I made in the past. And, you know, so there are a lot of smaller dealers that are out there that never don't want to be the big guy. I never wanted to be the big guy. You know, you know me, I'm service focused. I have a big service department, and it's 50, 50, you know, used cars and service. And to me, that's what's important, is teaching these young guys how to make money without being a giant and having that overhead heat you up, because that overhead will eat you up. I got guys that sell 200 cars a month, and I make more money than they do. You know, it's just you. It's all in the way you run your business, you know, and the key to this whole thing is having the right products and services so you can run your business successfully and profitably. And that's what we look for in a board. You know, we look for guys that think that way, that think outside the box, that aren't going to do something just because they want to be right. It's not about being right. We're a team and it's got to be a team effort. And that's what we want. We want a team member for the board.

And that's what Lou and Bob, let me ask you that. So if someone's thinking about throwing their name in the hat, what qualifications and what characteristics do these dealers need to have? I mean, I guess first off, do they need to be an active car dealer like they have? Is that a prerequisite? And then on top of that is what's the time commitment they would be looking at realistically, what's the personal characteristics? I mean, can you kind of touch on some of those qualifying characteristics for those things you look for?

Sure. And we put that as part of the notice. So yes, you have to be an active licensed dealer. What we're looking for. So a non profit board is very different than a private sector board. A nonprofit board can only act as a unit. It's not a president and their cabinet, it's a team. So the number one skill is a group skill dynamic. You know, people are either good in the sandbox with other people or they're not. So we want to look, we're looking at. And the nominating committee will be looking at their group skills. They'll be looking at their interpersonal skills, their communication, relational influence and reputation, as Lou said. And then looking at personal skills. Are they a strategic thinker? Are they an innovative thinker? Their technical skills? What do they know? What is their knowledge of the industry? Maybe what the board feels like it needs right now is somebody who really knows EVs, maybe they don't. We haven't really had that complete discussion yet. But expertise and experience and then the personal attributes, their commitment, their integrity and their capacity to do this. Really, you know, a nonprofit board member, an NIDA board member should be able to do this in it should be a commitment. Lou is the absolute exception. And if I had two Lou Tedeschis, I could take over the world if.

They could understand him.

But really we're looking at about maybe somewhere between five to ten hours a month.

And that's doable even for a small dealer. Mom and Pop, I've been on the services board, I've been on the foundation board. And I tell you this, I the time I spent on the boards and the time I've spent involved in associations and been past president of State of the Carolinas, it's made my business what it is.

Today.

And so, you know, kind of to wrap this up, the things I've learned from Lou, the things I've learned from other board members, the people on the board that are my personal friends. I've learned so much being involved in association. I want everybody to be involved in the association because it will only make our association better. Bob, I challenge you to make sure we get that application circulated to every possible person that can. That can fulfill a role. You know, I did say it was buried in the newsletter. It wasn't buried in the newsletter.

It was the fourth.

It was the fourth story. And honestly, I like the newsletter. I hope people are opening the daily newsletter. But can you somehow, with the social media power that NIADA has, get that thing out there, make sure it hits every possible candidate that can fill this role? And the deadline's coming up. Bob, I think we only had about 10 days when this thing got circulated, Right?

Right, yeah, compressed. We'll be better at it even next year. But, yeah, we sent it to. We put it out in the Daily Independent, which I am really proud. We did this as a subscription basis. It's free. But we know that we beat y' all to death with emails. So we wanted to make the Daily Independent a voluntary thing since February 21, 27,000 subscribers with a huge open rate. Do I wish it had been the lead story?

You bet.

Not the fourth story. We did send it to every aec. It's been sent. I believe it's being sent to all the 20 groups. We'll get it out on social media.

Okay. And the AECs. The AECs are the executive directors on the state level. And I know you're meeting with them today. Can you make sure that they do their job to get it to, to their membership as well?

Yes.

This is a great step in the right direction. Let's. Let's keep it up.

Keep in mind as well that even if we get applications after the deadline, we got, we got positions all year long that we can fill. And if somebody wants to get involved, we're not going to discourage them from getting involved. We want them involved. So get the applications to us. If it's past the deadline, we'll, you know, we'll find someplace that they can help. And I mean, we've got fundraiser all year long, you know, for the PAC fund. We've got all kinds of things going on in the states. And if somebody doesn't qualify, we're certainly going to tell them why they don't qualify and what to do. So they do qualify because we want everybody involved. I mean, that's the name of the game. I mean, this has been a complete open process. I've never seen anything like it. As far as with niada, this is the best system I've seen so far. So I think that, you know, if we run with this and if you don't get in this yet, keep trying, don't give up, you know?

Well, that's great, Jeff, you got anything else?

I really appreciate, gentlemen, thank you for your time. Seriously. I know as we discussed, you guys are so, so busy. There's so much going on. So we really appreciate you giving us the last 30 minutes of your day on a Monday morning when you guys are ready to rock and roll. So just thank you again. And thank you for your time too. I mean, geez, all that you guys do for associations, invaluable.

Thank you guys having us. And this is an important subject, so, you know, we're more than happy to give you the time.

Thank you. Thank you.

And just one final comment. We have more than 150 volunteer positions open on various committees, so apply.

Apply. Apply.

Apply. Apply, apply.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you.

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