Call for entries: 2014 Tire Review Top Shop Awards opens

The entry period for the 2014 Tire Review Top Shop Awards presented by Ammco/Coats has opened, and will run through June 6, 2014. Now in its eighth year, the industry-leading Top Shop Awards program seeks to honour the “best of the best” independent tire dealers in the U.S. and Canada.

Entry forms and information are now available online exclusively at the Top Shop Awards webite. Complete entries can be made right online.

The Tire Review Top Shop Awards spotlight independent tire dealers – retail, commercial or wholesale – that epitomize the attributes and values stressed in every issue of Tire Review: exemplary customer service and retention, training and education, merchandising and promotion, professional standards and conduct, innovation, appearance, business management, community involvement, business growth, achievement and innovation.

Outstanding examples are the 2013 winner Community Tire Pros & Auto Repair in Phoenix; 2012 winner Chapel Hill Tire Car Care Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.; 2011 winner Virginia Tire & Auto Service in Fairfax, Va.; 2010 Top Shop Award winner Tires, Tires, Tires in Sioux Falls, S.D.; 2009 winner Enger Auto Service & Tire in Cleveland, Ohio; 2008 winner Atlantic Tire & Service in Cary, N.C.; and 2007 inaugural winner Gatto’s Tires & Auto Service, headquartered in Melbourne, Fla.

All of the winners and finalists are profiled on the Tire Review website and on a special Top Shop section of Tire Review’s Facebook page.

“It is a credit to the quality of dealers honored by this program that the Top Shop Awards have earned the respect of everyone in the tire industry, and have clearly become the premier honor for North American tire dealers,” said Jim Smith, editor of Tire Review magazine. “Every participant, not just the Winners or Finalists, tell us how important the honor is to the industry and how grateful they are that there is a program that recognizes the success and accomplishments of dealers of all sizes and types.”

“We are extremely honored and excited to continue as the presenting sponsor,” said Kevin Keefe, vice president of marketing for Ammco/Coats, which has served as the presenting sponsor of the program since its inception. “The Top Shop Awards have brought much-deserved recognition to some highly successful businesses in our industry. The response from tire dealers to this program has been tremendous, and that speaks volumes about how much dealers want to succeed to delivering for their customers. We cannot think of a better recognition program to be involved with than the Top Shop Awards.”

Dealers can nominate their own businesses, or others can nominate tire dealer businesses. The entry process is simple: Those making the nomination need to provide basic information about the dealership being nominated and write a short (300-word maximum) essay explaining why that dealership should be considered.

The awards are as outstanding as the dealers selected:

*The grand prize winner will receive the brand new Coats 70X-L Leverless RimClamp tire changer, $1,500 in cash, airfare and hotel for two (2 nights/3 days) to the 2014 Global Tire Expo/SEMA Show, a feature story in the October 2014 issue of Tire Review, and a Top Shop trophy to display in their dealership.

*Three finalists will each receive a Coats 1250-3DV tire/wheel balancer (featuring on-board training), $500 in cash, a feature story in the October issue and a specially designed finalist trophy.

Deadline for entries is June 6.