FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2020
Contact: Libby Newman
NewmanL@aiada.org
AIADA Names Washington Dealer Jason Courter as 2020 Chairman
Las Vegas (February 17) – The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) today announced that Bellevue, Washington, dealer Jason Courter will serve as its 2020 chairman. Courter, who is the CEO at Honda Auto Center of Bellevue and Honda of Kirkland, accepted the chairman’s gavel during AIADA’s 50th Annual Meeting and Luncheon, held today in Las Vegas.
“It is my mission to make sure that in 2020, AIADA channels some of the spirit and vision of its original founders from 1970,” said Courter during the luncheon as he shared his vision for his year at the helm of AIADA during its landmark 50th year. “We will fight to protect affordability for our customers. We will work to involve new dealers in our efforts, and we will strive to ensure that there isn't a single international nameplate dealer in the United States of America who hasn't shaken his or her congressional representative's hand in 2020.”
Courter has spent a lifetime in the auto industry and today runs Honda Auto Center of Bellevue and Honda of Kirkland. Both dealerships are active in their local communities – supporting causes ranging from the local Boys and Girls Clubs to Bridge of Promise to Youth Eastside Service. Courter has been a member of AIADA’s board of directors since 2012.
Courter signaled that he will use his chairmanship to look ahead to the next era of dealer engagement amid America’s changing auto industry. “The next 50 years will surely see giant leaps in technology, shifts in society’s structure, and changes to our daily transportation needs. But no matter what, dealers will survive. Dealers will thrive. And dealers will continue to serve their customers. We will manage those things because we aren’t afraid to look far into the future and take chances on what we see there.”
Courter is joined in leadership on the AIADA board of directors by Howard Hakes, Immediate Past Chairman (City of Industry, California); Steve Gates, Chairman-Elect (Richmond, Kentucky); and John Connelly, Vice-Chairman (Columbus, Ohio).
AIADA’s 50th Annual Meeting and Luncheon included a special recognition of the association’s past chairs and keynote remarks by Henio Arcangeli Jr., who is the Senior Vice President of the Automobile Division at American Honda Motor Co. AIADA dealers today represent more than half of America’s auto retail market and generate 578,000 American jobs each year with a total combined average payroll of $34 billion.
For more about AIADA, visit www.AIADA.org.
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