I'd like to welcome you all to the debut of a leaner, more effective NADA. As we all rang in the New Year, our national association rang in the launch of a massive undertaking: our NADA corporate rebrand.

No one knows better than dealers the value of a strong, recognizable brand.

The most visible aspect of our initiative is a revised NADA logo. Just like the golden arches of McDonald's or the iconic swoosh of Nike, a logo symbolizes a product or idea, and it should be familiar to the public. Throughout an organization's history, a single logo serves as an indicator of identity, values, and togetherness. Talking to dealers as we began the initiative, we realized that our existing logo was strong and recognizable. So rather than redesign it, we opted to freshen it, as you can see above.

But effective branding is much more than just a logo.

With the rebrand we have created a single, strong identity that is instantly recognizable to our diverse audiences, which include dealers, OEMs and allied industry, congress and government, the media, partners, vendors and exhibitors, and the public. We have unified NADA's sub-brands and their logos under a single, consistent theme, including ATD, which now has a logo that ties it more closely to NADA.

Additionally, NADA's political action committee (formerly the Dealers Election Action Committee, or DEAC) is now called the National Automobile Dealers Association Political Action Committee, or NADA PAC. It has a new logo as well.

You will see for yourselves throughout this year that we now have a modern and cohesive message that applies to all NADA communications platforms. This fresh look and feel extends to all our print, online, email, social media, advertisements, marketing materials, presentations, videos, signage and displays.

This major identity rebrand is a fitting precursor as we prepare to celebrate 100 years of serving dealers in just one year. As we looked back over various incarnations of the NADA logo, we could not help but think back to our genesis in 1917, when 30 auto dealers traveled to the nation's capital to convince Congress not to impose a luxury tax on the automobile. Those dealers successfully argued that the automobile is a necessity of American life, not a luxury. That has never been as true as it is today. We have been an association 100 years in the making and I am proud of the NADA we are today.

This is an exciting step forward into 2016.

But you can be sure that one thing remains the same: we are here to represent and defend the nation's franchised new-car and -truck dealers and their employees. We remain steadfast in our passion and commitment to protecting the dealer franchise system and advocating to all branches of the federal government, manufacturers and the public. Despite changes to our logo and communications platforms, we remain your voice-and we stand ready to navigate the challenges ahead.

As our members embark on another year of selling the best cars and trucks to the driving public and hiring the hardest working men and women to staff their stores, know that NADA is poised and ready to lead our industry in the twenty-first century and beyond. Happy New Year to us all!