Being part of a national association like the American Truck Dealers means that you have support when you need it—365 days a year—and you have that support for all facets of your business. As an ATD member, I urge you to take advantage of your membership every day.
As we’ve emphasized time and time again, ATD protects your interests on the front lines on Capitol Hill. And that is perhaps the greatest advantage of being in the ATD family—your issues are represented on a national scale and ATD makes sure that you have a seat at the table with members of Congress during critical moments in the legislative process. Whether we’re fighting to repeal the federal excise tax or staying on top of tax reform changes, ATD is ever-present for you. So we encourage all members to stay informed on the latest events in Washington, D.C. Continue reading and subscribing to ATD Insider and Truck Beat so you have a good view of our commercial truck dealership landscape.
This is a great year to become familiar with the ATD Academy and its Plus program if you haven’t yet. Our Academy is world-class and designed for current and future operators of truck dealerships. We offer year-long courses that include six intensive, week-long instructor-led classes that improve dealership management. The curriculum includes classes on financial management, parts, services, pre-owned vehicles and business leadership. The Academy is the gold standard of management training for truck dealerships. There is simply no other program in its class, and it is available only to ATD and NADA members.
And every ATD member dealership has access to complimentary online education and training at ATD/NADA Online. All of ATD’s online webinars are presented by industry-leading subject matter experts and focus on solutions for today’s technologically advanced and rapidly evolving world. In fact, the recent ATD Show in Las Vegas provided a valuable new benefit for all ATD members: access to all of the workshop recordings anytime, from anywhere. Log on to the training catalog to review specific sessions from the show, download handouts and review the latest and greatest trends in the business.
Finally, don’t forget that ATD depends on your feedback and communication. Our mission and goals are built around your interests, so I encourage you to reach out to us through the year and share your dealership’s challenges. In that regard, I invite you to participate in our 2018 Dealer Attitude Survey of Manufacturers. Your input is critical, and the greater response rate we receive, the more weight the survey carries. ATD line representatives and staff use your survey responses in meetings with OEMs so that they can review and discuss your issues and concerns. This is an important way we establish good lines of communication with our manufacturers. Dealerships have until June 4, 2018, to complete the online survey. If you have any questions regarding the survey, email atd@nada.org.
ATD is strong thanks to its members. Our association can never replace your engagement, your feedback, your phone calls and your face-to-face meetings with us and industry stakeholders. Let’s keep it up together!
Teuton is ATD chairwoman and vice president of Kenworth of Louisiana, a full-service dealership with seven locations in the state (Baton Rouge, Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans and Shreveport), a full-service Hino dealership (Baton Rouge) and Southland Truck Leasing at all dealership locations. ATD, a division of the National Automobile Dealers Association, represents more than 1,800 medium- and heavy-duty truck dealerships.
