Corky Coker, president of Coker Tire Co. Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn., was installed as chairman of SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, at the association's annual Installation Banquet this evening.

Coker has served as chairman-elect of the 5,222 member-company trade association for the past two years. He succeeds outgoing chairman Nate Shelton, CEO of SS Sales and Marketing, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Coker told the several hundred SEMA members who attended the reception and dinner at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach (Calif.) that his priorities for the association's activities for the next two years include legislation and regulation. "It seems like every day there is legislation proposed by an anti-business elected official that can be a detriment to our members," he said. "We must watch and react, and sometimes be proactive, as SEMA is when it develops model legislation to protect the interests of auto enthusiasts."

About global business opportunities, Coker said, "As good as we are in the United States, we are not as well known as we should be in the rest of the world. Our focus will be to bring an awareness of what we do, and what SEMA members make and sell to markets around the world."

Coker termed himself as SEMA's new chairman "a product of the SEMA council structure." He said, "I am one of the original founders of ARMO, our Automotive Restoration Market Organization. Because of ARMO's council relationship with SEMA, I became involved in all of SEMA's interests and eventually worked my way onto the board of directors."

Mitch Williams, president and COO of Hella Inc., Peachtree City, Ga., was installed as SEMA chairman-elect. Williams is slated to succeed Coker as SEMA chairman in July 2005.

Four new and nine re-elected men and women were installed as members of SEMA's Board of Directors. New directors are Dennis Gage, president of Bradley David Productions, Evansville, Ind.; Chuck Lombardo, president of California Street Rods Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif.; Bill Perry, president of Bill Perry & Associates, Carrollton, Ga., and Robert Price, CEO of Reliable Automotive, Overland Park, Kan.

Re-elected to the board are Joel Ayres, sales and marketing manager for Leer/Truck Accessories Group, Woodland, Calif.; Paul "Scooter" Brothers, director of research and development for Competition Cams, Memphis, Tenn.; Todd Gartshore, co-owner of Baer Inc., Phoenix; W.A. "Butch" Lahmann, CEO of Walcorp Inc., Northport, N.Y.; Dennis Overholser, vice president of product development for Painless Performance, Fort Worth, Texas; Anne Thomas, owner and president of SECO Performance Centers, Birmingham, Ala.; Bob West, vice president of sales and marketing for Westin Automotive Products Inc., Irwindale, Calif.; and Jeep Worthan, vice president of sales and marketing for Auto Meter Products Inc., Sycamore, Ill.

Continuing to serve on the SEMA Board of Directors for the next year are Matt Agosta, president of Steele Rubber Products, Denver, N.C.; Steve Bolio, partner at Scafidi-Bolio & Associates, Waltham, Mass.; Kathy Bybee-Hartzell, business development manager for CollectorCarTraderOnline.com, Virginia Beach, Va.; Jim Cozzie, vice president, sales, for B & M Racing and Performance Products, Telford, Pa.; Brian Horowitz, CEO of American Products Co., Corona, Calif.; Patrick Judge, executive vice president of Keystone Automotive Operations Inc., Exeter, Pa.; Mark Pettersen, owner and president of Pettersen Motorsports Inc., Chico, Calif.; Rick Rollins, national sales/marketing manager for Superchips Inc., Sanford, Fla.; Russell Stephens, sales manager for MSD Ignition, El Paso, Texas, and Jon Wyly, vice president of Arrow Speed Warehouse, Kansas City, Kan.

Doug Mergenthaler, CEO of Kodiak Products, Cottage Grove, Ore., will continue to serve as the association's secretary-treasurer.

Christopher J. Kersting, CAE, is president and CEO of SEMA.

SEMA represents the $27 billion specialty automotive industry. Founded in 1963, the trade association has more than 5,000 member companies. It is the authoritative source of research data, trends and market growth information for automakers and the specialty auto products industry. The industry provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products for passenger cars, minivans, trucks, SUVs and recreational vehicles. For more information, contact SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA, 91765-3914; call 909/396-0289; or visit www.sema.org or www.enjoythedrive.com.