CAWA Chair of the Board, Dan Hanson, Jr. of Hanson Distributing Company, has appointed two industry associates to the Association’s Board of Directors. “These two individuals will add value to CAWA and by virtue of their positions in the industry, will assist the association in achieving its goals as a relevant and viable automotive aftermarket industry organization,” Hanson said. “We know and appreciate the contributions these auto care industry associates will make to the future successes of CAWA and the industry we serve.”
The appointees are:
- George Hritz of the California Automotive Teachers, and
- Heather Williamson of CARQUEST
Hritz started his Automotive Career at age 15 working in an automotive machine shop where he performed engine disassembly and clean-up. Throughout his college years, he worked in a variety of automotive related jobs. In 1975, Hritz began his teaching career at San Marin High School where he taught six periods of automotive classes. He has also worked as an Assistant Sales Manager for Sun Electric, a general technician for an independent BMW repair dealer and as the Service Manager for a large electrical contracting company until he accepted a teaching position at College of Marin. Hritz represents automotive educators on the California Bureau of Automotive Repair Advisory Group. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the California Automotive Teachers (CAT) Organization where he also served as a Past President. He is a board member of the Automotive Service Councils of California and the California Automotive Business Coalition.
Williamson is a third-generation automotive industry associate. She grew up in the remanufacturing industry with her father at Python Injection from 1991 to 2005. At the company’s peak, they employed 100 people and reached annual sales of $3.5 million. Throughout the remainder of her career, she held numerous positions: with CARQUEST Auto Parts such as store manager, outside sales, specialty markets team, U.S. government sales and strategic accounts; as an outside salesperson with Warren Distributing and in her current position with CARQUEST on the Independent store team as a Market Development Manager. She is married, has a son and enjoys drag racing.
CAWA is an automotive aftermarket trade association, which represents auto parts jobbers, retailers, warehouse distributors, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives and program groups. The Association provides educational, legislative and business support to the industry and its membership. It is one of the largest trade associations of its kind in the United States and recognized as a leader in the automotive aftermarket industry.
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