When lawmakers and regulators are considering bills or rules that are potentially harmful to dealers, dealers turn to GADA. You may be upset, worried and sometimes even downright angry. Thanks to decades of hard work by dealers and association leadership, GADA has established strong connections and a solid reputation with many state legislators. Like operating your dealerships, it takes constant work and financial support for GADA to keep its mission to serve Georgia’s franchised dealers on a successful path.
Every year, as part of our annual dues billing, GADA requests a minimum contribution to our political action committee, Committee of Automotive Retail Dealers, aka CARD. To be clear, annual dues are used to pay the operating expenses of GADA but dues are not, nor can they be used for, political contributions. Year to year, member participation in CARD ranges from about 30-50%. When there is a crisis, it seems more dealers contribute. Buy why wait for a crisis? With a constantly changing industry and unpredictable politics, 30-50% participation doesn’t cut it. A $500 contribution is a small price to pay to help defend against dangers to your livelihood. The need for 100% participation not only holds true for state matters but for federal issues as well. While GADA is hard at work here in Georgia, NADA is doing the same at the national level to protect the interests of franchised dealers. And just like GADA, NADA needs support through its political action committee, NADA PAC. Considering the stakes, EVERY Georgia franchised dealer should be contributing to CARD and NADA PAC.
GADA also requests a contribution to another dedicated fund, known as the Dealer Advocacy Fund (DAF). This money helps to pay for expenses that are outside of routine operating costs that are not political contributions, such as public relations efforts, advertising and event sponsorships. If you haven’t already done so for 2024-2025, I urge you to support both CARD and the DAF.
GADA also needs dealers to get involved. Make yourself known to lawmakers. Invite them to your dealerships to show them how important your business is to your local community and the Georgia economy. If you don’t know where to begin, we can help. Not only should you get to know your lawmakers but get to know other dealers too. Attend GADA events to learn about what GADA is doing for you — you might even enjoy yourself while getting an education!
Lastly, stay connected. With the onslaught of emails and communications that you receive daily, I know that’s difficult to do. I, myself, long to control information overload. I recently pulled a list of email addresses that had unsubscribed to GADA emails and to be honest, I was disappointed to see a bunch of familiar names and addresses! You have my word … at GADA we strive not to overwhelm our members with emails so when we send out information, it’s because we think you need it. GADA is not your email enemy! If you are by chance someone that is not receiving GADA alerts and you want to be added to our email list, let us know at info@gada.com.
Despite my desire to cut down the number of emails, please know that my door is always open for our members. Feel free contact me at leak@gada.com or by phone (770) 432-1658 with any questions, concerns or just to say hello.
