Fred Bunting named 2016 Leader of the Year by AWDA

Nov. 15, 2016
Fred Bunting, founder and chairman of Auto-Wares Group of Companies, was presented with the Jack Creamer Leader of the Year Award by the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association.

Fred Bunting, founder and chairman of Auto-Wares Group of Companies, was presented with the Jack Creamer Leader of the Year Award by the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA) at its 2016 Annual Business and Education Conference in Las Vegas.

Each year, AWDA bestows this prestigious honor on an aftermarket professional who has contributed to the industry in a unique and significant way.

Presenting the award was last year’s Leader of the Year, Larry Sills, chairman and CEO, Standard Motor Products, Inc.

Auto-Wares, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., is a full-line, full-service, full-program distributor servicing more than 750 jobbers. The company employs more than 1,800 people who together operate 336 Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper stores and 800 Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Certified Service Centers.

Bunting has been an active member of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc. since the early 1980s, serving for more than 20 years on The Alliance Board of Directors. He has also served on the AWDA Board of Governors.

“Fred is truly an innovator in the automotive aftermarket,” said Jeff Darby, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Dorman Products. “He’s built a business from the ground up that’s viewed as one of the most prestigious organizations in the industry.”

“For many service professionals in the Michigan region, a high point of the year is the Auto-Wares Tech Expo, of which Fred was the architect,” said John Washbish, president and CEO, Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc. “Fred believes that the more training our industry provides to technicians, the better it is for everyone. Last year, more than 4,000 professional technicians attended the Tech Expo and its training classes.”

In 2007, Bunting was awarded the Art Fisher Memorial Scholarship Award given in memory of former AWDA Chairman Art Fisher. The award is presented annually to a company or individual that demonstrates outstanding commitment to education and training either within their company or throughout the industry.

For more information, visit www.autocare.org/awda.

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