Canadian used car industry members were recognized during a special luncheon at the 2016 Auto Remarketing Canada Conference on April 5 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Ont.
The CPO Dealer of the Year, presented by NCM Associates, went to Don Valley North Toyota. Adesa Montreal took home the VW Credit Canada Auction of the Year and reconditioning award, presented by Rob Hodge and Chris Haraburda.
Hodge also won an award from the International Automotive Remarketing Alliance (IARA) as Remarketer of the year for 2016.
“It’s a real honour to be recognized by your peers in this industry. It presents ongoing challenges — every year is a new challenge. It’s been a tremendous experience,” said Hodge in his acceptance speech.
Josh Bailey, Vice-President of Research and Editorial for Canadian Black Book, received an award for his contributions to the business. Accepting the award in his absence was Brad Rome, President of Canadian Black Book.
“Today, we just want to acknowledge his contributions to the industry and to Canadian Black Book,” said Rome, who added Bailey will be moving on from the company to pursue other endeavours. “We’ll miss him for his quick wit and keen insights.”
Auto Remarketing Canada announced its 2016 Class of Remarketing’s Under 40, which went to a group of Canadian dealers, vendors and other industry partners.
IARA’s Canadian Industry Icon Awards for 2016, presented by RSA Global, went to Kathy Ward, executive chairman of Canadian Black Book and Paul Antony, founding partner of CARPROOF.
“Thank you very much for this award. It has been a great career in the auto industry,” said Ward. “This is for my father. He was one of the greatest people in this industry. He really taught me how relationships are so important.” Her father, Bill Ward, founded William Ward Publishing in 1961 to distribute Canadian Black Book used vehicle values.
“It’s a real honour to get this award and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Antony, who announced he would be taking a leave of absence. The London, Ont.-based vehicle history report provider was recently acquired by IHS.
