DIAMOND BAR, CA (12.21.22) – One of the annual SEMA Show’s many distinctions is its weeklong display of greatness. From new products and innovations to the groundbreaking people driving the specialty aftermarket to new heights, the SEMA Show reflects the industry’s reach for excellence. Perhaps that’s the reason the Show’s award ceremonies resonate so deeply with thousands of Show participants.
“We are pleased to congratulate all the winners that we celebrated throughout numerous events and competitions during the 2022 SEMA Show Week,” said SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola. “This is an industry founded on deep-seated passion and the constant enthusiasm to excel at one’s craft—and all our SEMA Show winners and honorees embody that spirit.”
(Industry Banquet)
Kevin Robinson, TRAC LLC
(Industry Banquet)
James Lawrence, SEMA Chairman of the Board
The 2022 SEMA Show introduced several major updates to its traditional awards presentations. First, with e-commerce expanding and data-driven transactions becoming more routine, the SEMA Warehouse Distributor of the Year award evolved into a new Channel Partner of the Year award. The award honors the contributions of sales, distributors, retailers and e-commerce channel(s) in the industry as well as the distribution companies that support retailers.
(Industry Banquet)
Mike Spagnola, SEMA president and CEO
(Industry Banquet)
WD-40
In addition, the Channel Partner of the Year and the Manufacturer of the Year award presentations were moved to the SEMA Show Kickoff Breakfast on Tuesday morning, November 1, at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Held just before the Show’s official opening, the event was previously called the New Products Awards Breakfast. Under its new name, the 2022 event continued its tradition of honoring the Show’s best new products across numerous categories, including two new categories for electric vehicle and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) products.
Jarod DeAnda, known as the “voice of Formula Drift,” hosted the reformatted 2022 breakfast. He was joined on stage by Hoonigan driver Ken Block and Hoonigan Co-Founder Brian Scotto, who discussed “Electrikhana,” a new video featuring an all-electric Audi S1 Hoonitron that was shot on the streets of Las Vegas. “Electrikhana” is the latest video of the wildly popular “Gymkhana” series.
(Industry Banquet)
Mike Burns, ValvoMax
(Industry Banquet)
Larry Chen, Photographer/Videographer
“Combining the Channel Partner of the Year, Manufacturer of the Year and New Product Awards into one event early in the week enabled winners to promote their honors throughout Show Week,” said SEMA Vice President of Events Tom Gattuso. “We were also very honored and excited to have Ken Block and Brian Scotto at the event. They are inspirational, and the ‘Gymkhana’ series and cars represent what our industry is all about.”
(Industry Banquet)
Josh Poulson, Auto Additions Inc.
(Kickoff Breakfast)
Jarod DeAnda, Brian Scotto, Ken Block
Meanwhile, the SEMA Industry Awards Banquet, the traditional Thursday-night venue for major awards, also got a dynamic makeover, which included a novel center stage and a streamlined run time. Themed “Further. Faster. Together.,” the event featured the SEMA Person of the Year and GEN-III Innovator of the Year awards, along with the first-ever SEMA Influencer of the Year award designed to honor content creators who make a positive industry impact across social-media channels. The evening also included a tribute to industry icons Walker Evans, Jack Roush and Robert Eugene “Gene” Winfield, who were named to the SEMA Hall of Fame in the summer of 2022.
The banquet further made headlines with the announcement that the SEMA Show is going citywide in Las Vegas, starting this year. Another high point came with the audience of about 3,000 casting the deciding votes via text to name Kevin Robinson, inventor of the TRAC Tire Jack, as the ultimate winner of the 2022 SEMA Launch Pad competition. Winnowed from a field of five Show finalists, he and runner-up Susan Pieper, DMOS Collective CEO, got to pitch their product ideas before panelists Chip Foose, Jared Hare, Myles Kovacs and Alex Parker just before the audience vote.
(Kickoff Breakfast)
Turn 14 Distribution Inc.
(Kickoff Breakfast)
Baja Designs Inc.
“There were many changes to our Show’s recognition programs for 2022,” observed Gattuso. “All our awards and recognitions represent an extremely dynamic industry, so as our industry has evolved, we’ve been pleased to evolve with it.”
The photos above capture the winning moments and highlights of the Show’s many award presentations at the Kickoff Breakfast and the Industry Awards Banquet.
Visit sema.org/awards for more.
This article was written by Mike Imlay for sema.org.
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