IARA Roundtable Draws Crowd to Atlanta

ATLANTA - Drawing the highest attendance in the history of its mid-year conferences, the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA) 2005 Summer Roundtable featured discussion sessions, panel presentations, and a tour of the Manheim’s high-tech DRIVE center. The conference was held in Atlanta.

More than 120 attendees participated in roundtable sessions on vehicle values, moderated by Ricky Beggs of Black Book, and technology and selling best practices, moderated by Chuck Parker of Automotive Digest and Scott Kolb from The SKI Group.

A panel on benchmarking in the remarketing industry was led by Steve Houston, WFS Financial and IARA president, and included panelists Stuart Angert, RSA; Bob Graham, ARI; Steve Greenfield, Manheim; Tom Kontos, ADESA; and Carl Scandura, Toyota/Lexus Financial Services.

A popular dealer’s panel was repeated at this conference, featuring Layne Weber, Donlen, moderator; and three Atlanta-area vehicle dealers.

Tony Moorby, pioneer in the used-vehicle marketplace and partner in Flying Lion Dealer Services in Nashville, was the event’s luncheon speaker.

The organization honored board member Scott Kolb with a Remarketing Industry Recognition Award, for not only his contributions to the industry, but also his community activities in fundraising for children’s causes.

Attendees were also asked to complete a survey of interest in a proposed IARA certification program.

The debate over establishing benchmarks for the remarketing industry continued with a panel discussion at the IARA Roundtable event. Members of the panel included (l-r) Stuart Angert, RSA; Tom Kontos, ADESA; Bob Graham, ARI; Carl Scandura, Toyota/Lexus Financial Services; and Steve Greenfield, Manheim.

On hand to congratulate Scott Kolb (center) on his IARA Remarketing Industry Recognition Award were his father Don Kolb, and Dave Alfonso, IARA Awards Committee chair. Scott Kolb was honored for his contributions to IARA, including his role in establishing the organization’s online education program. He was also recognized for his community volunteer efforts, particularly in fundraising for children’s causes.