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DALLAS (Jan. 28, 2023)— Today, the NAAA Foundation donated $75,000 to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Foundation’s Workforce Initiative, which promotes the value of dealership roles and access to educational resources.

The Workforce Initiative was founded in 2019 to address the shortage of service technicians. In recent years, the NADA Foundation has broadened the initiative to enhance recruitment of all dealership roles and within all departments.

“As representatives of the auto auction industry, our mission and values align with NADA and the important work of their foundation,” said R. Charles Nichols, president of the NAAA Foundation Board. “We know firsthand the wide range of career paths in the auto industry and the importance of recruiting, training, and retaining a talented and diverse workforce.”

The NADA Workforce Initiative recruits talent through promotion of job benefits and improved access to resources about programs, scholarships, and opportunities. The centralized resources offer a brand-neutral tool for recruiting talent and sparking an interest in dealership careers.

“We are grateful for the support of industry partners like NAAA and the NAAA Foundation who align in our mission to support and develop the auto industry,” said Annette Sykora, chairwoman of the NADA Foundation Board of Trustees and dealer principal of Smith Auto Family Ford-Lincoln in Levelland, Texas. “The Workforce Initiative is evidence of our belief that effective talent development starts with meeting potential employees where they are. That is why our resources focus on promoting education and accessibility to dealership career paths.”

NAAA President Garrison Hudkins, on behalf of the NAAA Foundation, presented the contribution to Sykora and Jonathan Collegio, NADA senior vice president of public affairs, at the Live Stage at NADA Show 2023, hosted in Dallas this week. For more details, visit nadafoundation.org.