September 2001
In This Edition:
SEAMO Update
Miami Auto Show Update
Industry Week Update
SEAMO Members Invited to AAPEX Breakfast
Welcome To DaimlerChrysler & Mini
Member Profile - Jim Meachen
Member Profile - John Harper
Toyota Names Bill Ussery As New Public Affairs Manager For Southeast Region
A Few Words About Computer Security
Support The FDNY Widows & Children's Fund
On The Lighter Side
Contact Info & Links
SEAMO Update
After months of effort, it finally appears as if SEAMO has developed sufficient momentum to make it through the next phase of growth. Our membership count has grown significantly and the first two OEM companies (see welcome item below) have recently joined. In an effort to meet face-to-face with prospective members, Steering Committee Chairman John Harper will be in attendance at the , while Executive Director Tom Kelley will be in attendance at both the and the programs in Las Vegas.In today's world of telemarketing and e-scams, a little bit of cautious reluctance is understandable when unknown people solicit your funds and participation for a fledgling group such as SEAMO. After all, nobody wants to be the first to jump into untested waters. By now, SEAMO has made it well past the stage of "Will it get off the ground and survive?" The question now is whether you and your company will be among the leaders or the followers, or those left behind. Come on, jump in, the water's fine!
Those who may be new to the automotive media community may believe that as the economy contracts and business slows, the last thing they should be doing is spending time and money to join an industry organization. WRONG!!! When money is tight, networking organizations such as SEAMO are your best investment. For as little as the price of a decent dinner, you can be involved with the movers and shakers in the automotive industry. After years in business, I've learned that my best sources for new story leads, placement opportunities, new employers, employees, vendors or customers have been the industry's social events where several one-to-one contacts can be made in minutes, rather than the days it would otherwise take to set up individual meetings with each contact.
In short, the time for hesitation and hedging is over. We can't drag anybody kicking and screaming into today's networked world, they've got to want to be there. SEAMO is up and running, and it will survive. The direction the group takes is largely up to those members who participate in the early stages and help to form the group's long term goals. No matter how good any of us in the industry may be, we can all learn something from each other, and we can all help each other reach our individual goals.
Miami Auto Show Update
Considered one of the nation's largest automotive events, the 31st annual South Florida International Auto Show will open its 10-day run at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Friday, October 26.
The show will showcase the industry's newest cars, sport utility vehicles, trucks and accessories. More than 40 auto manufacturers will display their vehicles in more than one million square feet of exhibit space.
Daimler-Chrysler, Hyundai, Volvo, General Motors and Saab are planning opening day press conferences on Friday, October 26. Debuts will include Saab's 9-5, Hyundai's Tiburon and Daimler-Chrysler's Jeep Liberty and Dodge Ram.
The South Florida International Auto Show is produced by the South Florida Auto-Truck Dealers Association, which comprises more than 220 dealers in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. For more information on the auto show, contact Kiskinis Communications at 305-447-1224 or visit the auto show's web site, .
Industry Week Update
SEAMO Members Brian Caudill of and Neil Zipser of report that planning continues to make the 2001 Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week (AAIW) event the best one ever. Although thoughts of the victims and the sorrow of the nation will remain part of our daily lives, the AAIW sponsors are working to do their part to help our industry and market regain lost momentum.Through AAIA, MEMA and SEMA, as well as through the numerous members of each association, the aftermarket has shown its compassion by contributing to the relief efforts. These efforts will continue as long as those affected by the recent tragedies need our help.
In summary, the show must go on - and it will be a show you won't want to miss.
SEAMO Members Invited to AAPEX Breakfast
The largest automotive aftermarket trade event of the year is the Automotive Aftermarket Parts Expo - also known as AAPEX. AAPEX will be held in conjunction with Industry Week and the SEMA Show in Las Vegas - Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2001. The annual event brings together more than 4,700 exhibitors and 83,000 attendees.In addition to the huge trade show, there will be numerous educational opportunities as well as other high profile events, such as: the first meeting of the Society of Automotive Analysts at AAPEX (Oct. 31 from 1 to 5 p.m.), the annual Town Hall Meeting featuring the execs of the leading automotive aftermarket retail chains and much more. Check for more details of all the events during AAPEX.
SEAMO members who are at AAPEX or the SEMA Show are invited to attend the annual breakfast between the Automotive Public Relations Council (APRC) and the Automotive Communications Council (ACC). The networking event will take place Thursday, Nov. 1 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in Room 107 of the Sands Convention Center.
Welcome To DaimlerChrysler & Mini
SEAMO recently accepted its first members from the OEM community. BMW's Mini USA division is represented by Andrew Cutler and Michael McHale, both based in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. As automotive websites go, rates up there with some of the coolest I've seen. A full press release archive is on the site, but you'll need to contact the guys for images. As a truck guy, it's not often that a small car gets my attention, but these Minis look like they're a blast.At the opposite end of the David & Goliath spectrum, the Eastern Region crew from DaimlerChrysler also recently signed on as our newest SEAMO members. This shows, yet again, that a German accent hasn't hampered the Pentastar crew's reputation as one of the industry's perennial trendsetters. Scott Brown heads up this region's media relations operation within DaimlerChrysler, stationed at Mike Geylin's Harrington Park, New Jersey office. The media-only website has search functions that will let you find any press release or image you might need, but it's password protected, so register for a password now to save time on your next deadline.
Member Profile - Jim Meachen
Jim Meachen has enjoyed a love affair with cars since he was in grade school and for the last 10 years has lived the ultimate dream, having the privilege of driving a new car every week. He's a 1967 graduate of South Dakota State University with a degree in journalism. He worked as a newsman for two newspapers in southeast South Dakota and northwest Iowa before serving a four-year stint in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.He served as sports editor for the , a 25,000-circulation daily in southeastern North Carolina, for 15 years and has been executive news editor of the News-Argus since 1986. In 1980, he designed and started producing a Sunday automobile page for the News-Argus. In 1992, he began test driving and reviewing new cars and trucks. Since then, his have appeared on a regular basis in the News-Argus, several small daily newspapers in Georgia, the Durham Herald-Sun and online. Currently, his reviews also appear on a regular basis in the Los Angeles Daily News.
He is married with three children, the youngest now attending East Carolina University.
Member Profile - John Harper
From the day John Harper started working at The Sports Car Clinic in high school he has made a career working on, under, or around cars. After relocating to Charlotte, North Carolina, he attended The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, studying business management and geography.John began his career with the Cotter Group in 1997, managing Winston Cup show car programs and handling event logistics. This allowed him to broaden his knowledge of the automotive industry. When the Cotter Group expanded into media fleet management and event production, John was named as the Director of Automotive Services, responsible for the creation of the new division, based in Charlotte.
John has recently ventured out on his own to form Performance Logistics, a media fleet & event management company. "This will allow me the opportunity to get personally involved in an industry I have a true passion for and provide greater service to manufacturers and media." In addition to his logistics operation, John also writes an occasional car review for the Charleston Gazette.John resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife Jennifer and an array of old cars.
Toyota Names Bill Ussery As New Public Affairs Manager For Southeast Region
Toyota recently announced the appointment of William (Bill) Ussery as Southeast Regional Public Affairs Manager.Ussery's automotive experience includes more than nine years with Mercedes-Benz of North America, most recently as the national product manager for the S-Class and E-Class model lines. He left Mercedes-Benz to become general manager at Brumos Motor Cars, an independent dealership group in Florida, where he directed the retail marketing and media planning efforts for its Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche franchises.
Prior to that, Ussery was an account supervisor for the public relations firm of CDB in New York and at the firm of William Cook Advertising in Jacksonville, Fla. His government experience includes three years as a legislative assistant to United States Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA.) in Washington, D.C.
Ussery is known among collector car enthusiasts for his work as co-founder of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. He is a graduate of The American University's Kogard School of Business and resides in Coral Gables, Florida. Bill can be reached at (305) 375-8090 or bill_ussery@toyota.com
A Few Words About Computer Security
With many recent outbreaks of computer viruses and the ongoing problem of spam, it's probably a good time to say a few words about computer security.First, be assured that SEAMO's newsletter mailings are conducted in such a way that individual e-mail addresses are not visible to anybody but yours truly, the newsletter editor/distributor. This prevents our list from being inadvertently added to an address book that later gets used to forward other communications, eventually landing your address in the hands of somebody who will be happy to sell you, or anybody else, 20 million e-mail addresses for the low, low price of $149.00. Our member/prospect list is only available to SEAMO members and is only made available on the condition that the list is only used for legitimate media communications.
Next, there is a well-intentioned but poorly executed anti-spam measure currently being adopted by some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that may prevent you from receiving all of your legitimate e-mail. Chances are that your ISP may adopt this service without notifying you of the actual ramifications of its operation. Without going into a lengthy description of arcane network server details, any company that uses a domain hosting service for its e-mail (that would be most of us), does so through what is described as an open relay. This allows you to connect through a local connection and access your e-mail server located at the hosting service.
Because open relays also happen to be a favorite tool of spammers, ORDB.org has created an instant market for its poorly designed service by convincing service providers to pay for access to its database of "open relay" e-mail servers. The service has just recently been put into action, so by the time you read this, it's likely that one or more of your e-mails will have bounced back with an error message linking you to ORDB.org. Now while the extra 'net traffic created by spam does create unnecessary load on your service provider's hardware, turning off a large portion of your legitimate e-mail traffic is not the answer.
Discussing the situation with the militant techno-geeks at ORDB.org or your ISP's tech support will get you nowhere. Call the sales department of your ISP today and tell them that you do not want ORDB.org filtering applied to your e-mail service, and that you will take your business elsewhere if they don't comply. Once ORDB.org gets the message, their basic concept can be modified and delivered in a more businesslike manner.
Finally, a few tips on virus prevention. You've heard this often enough, go out and buy some decent anti-virus software, install it on your computer and keep it up to date. The small amount of time and money invested now will save hours or days of heartache later when the next new virus catches you by surprise. Next, no matter how curious you might be, if you didn't specifically ask somebody to send you a file attachment, and/or you don't specifically recognize the file extension as that of an illustration or text file, DON'T OPEN IT!!! Let me repeat that, if you don't know exactly what an attachment is and why it's there, DON'T OPEN IT!!!
If the name of somebody you know is listed as the sender, that doesn't mean this person intentionally sent you the virus. The way these things work is by exploiting security holes in Microsoft's e-mail programs that allow the bug to automatically send itself to everybody in the user's Outlook address book when the attachment is opened. Your friend may not be the smartest computer whiz in town, but they didn't intentionally send you the virus, they just screwed up.
The easy answer here is to use Netscape or another non-Outlook e-mail program and delete or disable any versions of Outlook that are installed on your computer. This won't prevent you from receiving the virus, but it will stop you from spreading it. To keep from being infected, never open a .exe, .vbs or .bat file that is attached to an e-mail. If in doubt, kill the original e-mail and then ask the sender what they were sending and why. Stay Healthy!
The following details regarding the Nimda virus were provided by AT&T's Worldnet:
It is possible for you to be infected via email or by downloading a specific file when visiting an infected web site. The email may be from someone you know; please exercise caution when checking your email.For users of some versions of Internet Explorer, when the worm arrives by email the virus can be executed just by reading or previewing the file. Microsoft has information and a patch for this exploit on .
Some web sites are also infected and may prompt you to download a file called either readme.exe or readme.eml. Just say NO when asked.
Support The FDNY Widows & Children's Fund
Many of us spent the days following September 11th feeling the need to do anything we could to aid the rescue personnel searching through the collapsed World Trade Center (WTC) Complex. The response to calls for blood donations was met almost as soon as it was issued, and relief supply needs were also rapidly met. Unfortunately, the firefighting brotherhood, the very people that we all rely on in times of disaster, was hit the hardest by this tragedy. While building occupants and visitors were doing all they could to run out of and away from the WTC Complex, hundreds of firefighters were running into the structure in an effort to rescue those still inside.As the firefighting community is altogether too familiar with the loss of its members, there is already an infrastructure in place to deliver aid and support to the families of these fallen heroes. However, due to the extreme magnitude of the New York disaster, these agencies will need tremendous additional financial support. To make donations to the New York Fire Department Widows & Children's Fund, please send checks to:
Widows & Children's FundTo donate online, visit: .
C/O Uniformed Firefighter's Association
204 East 23rd Street, NY, NY 10010
(212) 683-4832
On The Lighter Side
It's often said that laughter is the best medicine, so in an effort to close on a brighter note . . .The Washington Post's Style Invitational asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are some recent winners:
Intaxication
Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.Foreploy
Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting lucky.Giraffiti
Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.Sarchasm
The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.Inoculatte
To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.Hipatitis
Terminal coolness.Glibido
All talk and no action.Dopeler effect
The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
Contact Info & Links
Here's how to join SEAMO, be added to or removed from the mailing list, submit news items or photos for upcoming newsletters, or just make your opinion known.Send your comments, complaints, newsletter submissions or mailing list updates to:
South East Automotive Media Organization
4429 Back Creek Church Road
Charlotte, NC 28213-5251Or e-mail to: Tom Kelley, Executive Administrator