MPS used the occasion of the 2014 Global Aftermarket Automotive Symposium (“GAAS”), 2014 Connected Conference, to announce the MPS SPARK Initiative. Developed by the MPS senior management team, the SPARK Initiative’s purpose is to ignite deeper interest in the Automotive Care Industry, among the next generation of technical and executive professionals. The SPARK Initiative’s Inaugural event takes place at the 2014 Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (“AAPEX”) Show, November 4th – 6th, at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. For SPARK Initiative 2014, MPS is selecting six GAAS scholarship winners, providing each an all expense paid trip to the 2014 AAPEX Expo. SPARK selectees will be treated to an activity packed three-day industry immersion.
SPARK Initiative 2014 selectees benefit from a dynamic one-of-a-kind introduction to the industry, that includes specifically designed and developed programming at the show, meet and greet encounters with key industry leadership and in-show outings orchestrated by MPS. MPS President Brian Cohn commented, “Our industry offers so much to the career minded young person. Without the benefit of a father in the industry, I highly doubt that I would have understood the full reality of the exciting future the auto care industry holds.” He continued, “SPARK participants get a window into the reality and potential of their future in the auto care industry. Our hopes are that they personally benefit from the experience and that they share their experience with their classmates.”
The SPARK Initiative is dual purposed. “It won’t be by chance that our industry attracts the best and brightest.” Brian Cohn concluded, “I hope the SPARK Initiative lights a fire under fellow industry members to come up with their own ways to creatively engage these young people and to get them excited about our industry. SPARK is an us and them initiative.”
The 2014 Automotive Aftermarket Expo is where those who shape the future of the auto care industry gather. Brands, markets and economies converge at this seminal event. More than 139,000 professionals from around the globe are slated to attend.
