Pub. 56 2015-2016 Issue 2

12 Our family has supported TADA for many years. My two brothers, my dad, and I have all been on the board and we feel that TADA is by far the strongest state association in the nation. Our staff at TADA does an incredible job and fights on behalf of the dealers every day. They deal in any type of legislation in the state and in the nation that affects our business. What is your approach to helping dealers face challenges at their dealerships? It seems our franchise system is con- stantly under attack. Oftentimes issues with manufacturers come up and TADA has served as a great conduit of working with the dealers and the manufacturers to resolve issues and support the dealers. TADA has helped pass legislation over the years to protect our franchise laws in the state. We saw an attack of our franchise system by Tesla in a few different legisla- tive sessions and with the support and help of TADA and our manufacturer partners we were able to defeat Tesla in the last two go-arounds. Are you involved in any civic or charitable organizations? When I was in Beaumont I was in- volved in several charities and business associations; The Chamber of Commerce, The Rotary Club, The Art museum of Southeast Texas, and numerous other non-profit organizations over the years. In Houston, I’ve been involved with Bo’s Place, which is a non-profit that helps children and their families deal with the sudden death of a loved one. Bo’s place is a safe place where children can come and learn to grieve and get past the emotion of losing a loved one. I was on that Board for eight years and Past-President. I am a past President of the Houston Automobile Dealers Association, and have been on the Board for a number of years. I am a past member of The Young President Organi- zation (YPO) and a current member ofThe World President Organization (WPO).  MIKE SMITH — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7