Our Executive Vice President, Mr. Wade Kawasaki wears a lot of hats. He plays a large role in our West Coast distribution, as well as a few of our sister companies, which are also operated on the West Coast. He's also a great ambassador for our company, thanks to his heavy involvement with SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association). He's been SEMA Person of the Year, and has a number of great accomplishments throughout his years in the automotive aftermarket industry. Tonight, he was included among other automotive icons, such as George Barris, Eric Grant and Joe Schubeck, by being inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame. We're glad to have him on our team, and we congratulate him for his great achievement.
Among our fondest memories and during the most impressionable time of any gearhead's life are the teen years when cars were the coolest and the mysteries of hot rodding were just beginning to reveal themselves. Many of us had a shop class in school and piddled the hours away imagining how fast that Camaro would be if we could just afford a new set of aluminum heads all while learning to change the spark plugs in the assistant principle's Camry.
In 2010, a few fanatical antique motorcyclists made news riding their old bikes across the country in the Motorcycle Cannonball. We were lucky to have them stop overnight in Chattanooga after leaving Maggie Valley on their epic journey. Maybe they were lucky to stop here too, since as soon as the hospitality dinner was complete, one hundred classic iron horses rolled into our restoration shop for service at the SAME TIME. It really was a sight to behold.
A few weeks ago, we discussed the idea for a cruise in right here in Corkyville. Deciding on a date was a daunting task with so many events going on this time of year, but we knew it needed to be on Chestnut Street, and we knew an event of this nature would bring in a crowd no matter the date. So, our decision was to hold the Cruise In on the Saturday of the Coker Tire Challenge, which happened to be September 17th. We knew going in that this date would be somewhat of an issue, because it's the weekend of the Grand Run in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but we had an awesome turnout, all things considered!
[caption id="attachment_2076" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Cars and trucks lined up on Chestnut Street, 14th Street and any vacant parking lot they could find!"]
It's that time again! Every winter, the World of Wheels comes to Chattanooga, inside the Chattanooga Convention Center, which is right around the corner from our headquarters on Chestnut Street. It's an indoor car show that always draws a big crowd because of its attractions, and of course the great collection of cars being displayed! This year, our neighbors at Honest Charley Garage are showcasing a few buildups at the show, including the recently-finished 1952 MG TD owned by Wes Kliner.