AWDA Announces 2024 Industry Award Winners

LAS VEGAS - November 4, 2024 - The Aftermarket Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA), a community of the Auto Care Association, recognized the recipients of its annual AWDA Industry Awards on Nov. 3 during the 2024 AWDA General Session, which took place in Las Vegas, Nev. The annual AWDA Industry Awards honor individuals and companies who have shown an exceptional ability to educate, innovate, manage and lead. Over the years, the list of AWDA award recipients has evolved into a "who's-who" of aftermarket luminaries.

The four AWDA Industry awards include the Outstanding Leadership Award in Honor of Jack Creamer; the Lifetime Achievement Award in Honor of Martin Fromm; the Pursuit of Excellence Award; and the Art Fisher Award for Excellence in Education. The 2024 AWDA Industry Award winners are:

• Outstanding Leadership Award: Cliff Hovis, president, Hovis Auto & Truck Supply
• Pursuit of Excellence Award: Lary Pacey, president and CEO, NPW Companies
• Art Fisher Award for Excellence in Education Award: Larry Pavey, CEO, Automotive Products Services Group
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Sue Godschalk, president, Federated Auto Parts

Pictured from left to right: Larry Pavey, Cliff Hovis, Sue Godschalk and Larry Pacey.

Outstanding Leadership Award in Honor of Jack Creamer

Recipient: Cliff Hovis, president, Hovis Auto & Truck Supply

Each year, AWDA bestows this prestigious award, formerly known as the "Leader of the Year," on an aftermarket professional who has contributed to the industry in a unique and significant way. The award is named in honor of former AWDA President Jack Creamer.

Presenting the award this year was 2023 recipient Mauro Cifelli, president, Vast-Auto in Quebec, Canada.

Cliff Hovis is first and foremost a family man; and his family exemplifies the core values of AWDA by preserving the legacy of family-owned businesses and supporting the industry.

The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply business was started in 1952 and has served Northwestern Pennsylvania ever since, with 17 locations that focus on customer service, quality parts, and experienced personnel. Hovis Auto & Truck Supply consistently provides training seminars in its dedicated facility that was opened in 2012 featuring the latest technology in both automotive and heavy duty. This creates an indelible bond with the company's customers and serves the industry by ensuring technicians can meet the demands of the latest technology.

Hovis has been a tremendous advocate for Right to Repair by engaging his customers through in-person events. In fact, his customer base generated over 1,000 letters to Congress alone - proving to be among the industry's leaders in this effort. He has participated in both national and local advocacy efforts on this issue and is a tremendous spokesperson for our industry.

Cliff has also been a loyal supporter of the Young Automotive Network Group (YANG), and his daughter, Grace Hovis, has also shown her strength in industry service by recently completing her term as the chairperson for YANG. Cliff is also an active member of the Auto Care Association's board of directors, voicing his support of the AWDA community and association initiatives. His expansion into the heavy duty and paint, body and equipment (PBE) markets has given the association a unique perspective to meet the needs of these critical segments within the aftermarket.

Cliff and his entire family operate their business with a foundation of integrity which has allowed them to gain the trust of their customers, suppliers and the entire industry.

Pursuit of Excellence Award

Recipient: Larry Pacey, president and CEO, NPW Companies

Established in 1983, the Pursuit of Excellence Award is presented exclusively to an AWDA member for special achievement and for the setting of high standards as an example for others to follow, in business and in volunteer or advocacy efforts.

More than 55 years ago, Larry Pacey founded NPW Companies, then known as National Carburetor Exchange, out of a 600-square-foot building. Pacey did everything from sales and collections to rebuilding carburetors entirely on his own. Five decades later, the company - still led by Pacey but now staffed by an effective team - boasts 30 locations across the United States and Canada, including more than 100 corporate and independently-owned jobbers, and services nearly 200 Auto Value, Bumper to Bumper, and Confidence Plus Certified Service Centers. With Pacey at the helm, NPW is one of the most expansive and fastest-growing warehouse distributor powerhouses in the nation.

Pacey had a big vision for NPW Companies from the start. Within five years of founding, he evolved the business to include a retail parts store handling many performance lines. In 1974, the business became a warehouse distributor carrying all performance lines. Throughout the '80s, Pacey grew the business through expansion into traditional parts and opened additional warehouses in Orlando and West Palm Beach, Fla. He added truck accessories to the company's product offerings in 1998.

In 2008, Pacey's team acquired Southern Performance Warehouse, marking the beginning of the company's quest to significantly expand its footprint. Over the next 10 years, the company completed more than 20 acquisitions in many different regions. Through strategic acquisition, organic sales growth, and strong leadership, the company became dominant in the aftermarket and continues to grow quickly.

Pacey and his team are actively involved within the industry, as he formerly served on the board of the AWDA Board of Governors.

Today, NPW operates in over 1,500,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space with 23 distribution centers, spanning across the United States and Canada. NPW services over 30,000 accounts in North America and several international markets. A team that size with that massive of a footprint needs a foundation to succeed and that begins with education and industry training.

NPW, as a member of the Alliance and under Pacey's leadership, has both orchestrated and attended three successful Alliance Aftermarket Jackpot Conventions in Las Vegas, bringing more than 6,000 technicians and shop owners to the AAPEX show over the years. As a member of the Alliance Board of Directors, Pacey's leadership and belief in education was a driving force in bringing large contingents of shop, service and repair professionals to AAPEX and connecting them with their distributor partners and the manufacturers who operate in the aftermarket channel.

Pacey and his team are Auto Care Political Action Committee (ACPAC) supporters. They are regularly seen on the Hill as political advocates, actively engaging with both local and national lawmakersand advocating for federal legislation supportive of the right to repair.

NPW's team under Pacey's leadership and guidance are active supporters of The University of the Aftermarket and the University of the Aftermarket Foundation, including the Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper scholarship program which in total has provided nearly $600,000 to students pursuing industry and secondary education.

Pacey continues to sponsor the Young Auto Care Network Group (YANG) as well as the Women in Auto Care communities of the Auto Care Association.

Outside of the industry, Pacey supports the First Tee program in Miami, Fla., which is a youth development organization that enables kids to build strength of character by integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum. His expansive industry involvement and his company's impressive footprint are tributes to his success as a backbone and leader of the aftermarket.

Art Fisher Award for Excellence in Education

Recipient: Larry Pavey, CEO, Automotive Products Services Group

AWDA's Art Fisher Award for Excellence in Education is presented annually to an aftermarket company or individual that demonstrates outstanding commitment to education and training, either within their organization or throughout the industry. Given in memory of former AWDA Chairman Art Fisher, the award grants scholarships in the name of the award winner to two students enrolled in the automotive aftermarket management program at Northwood University.

Larry Pavey, CEO, Automotive Parts Services Group, has spent his entire career in the automotive aftermarket, starting in sales at Walker Manufacturing, then on to the BWD division of Echlin. He served as vice president of marketing for the Borg Warner, Niehoff and Whitaker brands.

With Pavey at the helm, Echlin's brake business made more than 20 acquisitions, becoming the largest brake supplier in the aftermarket industry. He served as president of Echlin's North American Operations and later president of Dana's Under Vehicle Group.

Today, Pavey serves as CEO of the Automotive Parts Service Group, a joint venture between the National Pronto Association and the Federated Alliance. He has been active in many industry associations, serving on the boards of ASE, AAPA, MEMA, the Auto Care Association and the AWDA Board of Governors.

In 2016, Larry Pavey was presented with the Martin Fromm AWDA Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2018 was presented with the Jack Creamer Leader of the Year Award.

Pavey's commitment to the automotive aftermarket is long and varied. He has worked on both sides of the supply chain. He is a quiet, but effective leader and teacher who has had a major impact on our industry.

Pavey has the ability to look at the industry as a whole and strive to do what is best for everyone to help them succeed.

AWDA Lifetime Achievement Award

Recipient: Sue Godschalk, president, Federated Auto Parts

AWDA's Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have, over the course of many years, distinguished themselves through their unselfish commitment to, and high level of performance within, the motor vehicle aftermarket industry. The award is named in honor of former AWDA President Martin Fromm.

Sue Godschalk began in the aftermarket 52 years ago in the inventory control department and will go on to become CEO of Federated Auto Parts at year end. Godschalk started at the bottom and worked up to the very top of the organization. Like many small business leaders, Godschalk wears numerous hats, including managing financials, people, meetings, payments, rebates, and much more. She's a consensus builder who listens, contributes, pushes hard for what she believes in and then implements the plan effectively.

Godschalk leads through servant leadership, collaboration, and by putting the time in until the job is done. Like all great leaders, Godschalk seeks professionalism over popularity. She doesn't seek the limelight as she quietly reaches her accomplishments, and for years has been able to set new industry standards while working alongside her husband, Herb.

Godschalk had great mentors in Larry Pavey, Rusty Bishop, Art Fisher, all of the Federated membership, and-truth be told - all of us have benefited from being around such a highly capable person as Sue Godschalk, who is the perfect combination of a productive manager, worker bee, and intelligent team player.

Great plans can often fail without excellent execution and Sue Godschalk deserves credit for all of her successes, both personally and professionally. While working long hours, she finds time to support her church and community as she is highly involved with her church as the lector and the secretary of the parish council.

To learn more about the AWDA Industry Awards and to view previous winners, visit autocare.org/awda.

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