Executives honored for diversity efforts at Urban Wheel Awards
Bill Perkins lauded for being first African-American to chair the Detroit auto show
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DETROIT -- Executives, dealers, suppliers and others were honored here Sunday night with Oscar-like statues for their dedication to diversity in the auto industry and for incorporating multicultural initiatives into their business plans.
The 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards show was hosted by the Emerging Diversity Education Fund, which supports internships and scholarships for students pursuing careers in the auto industry and Decisive Media, which produces a variety of print and online materials for the multicultural consumer market.
Phylicia Rashad who starred as the wife of Bill Cosby in The Bill Cosby Show emceed the event along side of John Quinones, journalist with ABC News.
Bill Perkins, chairman of the Detroit auto show, was honored as the first African American to chair the show. Perkins is the president of Merollis Chevrolet and Taylor Chevrolet in metropolitan Detroit.
Fletcher Davidson, group vice president and general manager of customer service at Toyota Motor Sales USA, and 38-year company veteran, was honored as executive of the year. He was presented the award by Jim Lentz, Toyota president.
Other award winners:
• African American Dealer of the Year --Thomas Moorehead, president, BMW of Sterling and Mini of Sterling, both located in Sterling, Va.,
• Asian Dealer of the Year -- Dzung Nguyen, president, Goshen Buick GMC Hyundai, Goshen Ind.
• Hispanic Dealer of the Year -- Bob Zamora, president, Zamora Automotive Group, Stockton, Calif. The Zamora group handles Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Acura, Volkswagen, Kia and Mazda vehicles.
• African American Supplier of the Year -- Steve Phillips, CEO, Detroit Technologies Inc., Bingham Farms, Mich.
• Asian American Supplier of the Year -- Wallace Tsuha, Saturn Engineering & Electronics, Rochester Hills, Mich.
• Hispanic Supplier of the Year -- David Segura, CEO, VisionIT, Detroit.
• Chrysler Group, General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Sales were also honored for diversity leadership.
You can reach Arlena Sawyers at asawyers@crain.com.
