The Mobile Electronics Association presented its annual industry awards in Las Vegas Sunday evening at KnowledgeFest to a full house of industry members and participants.
The coveted Installer of the Year award went to Phil Cantu of Mobile Toys, Inc, TX (pictured above). Retailers of the Year were Columbus Car Audio, OH for a multi-store chain and Titan Motoring, TN for a single store.
A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Todd Ramsey’s wife, Judy, in his honor. Several industry leaders spoke on his behalf, but we note, in particular, the words of Ramsey’s friend Kris Bulla of Sony, who said everyone in the room was impacted by Ramsey whether through a manual he wrote or “the Ramsey Experience,” (a party he regularly hosted for dealers at KnowledgeFest) or his tireless hours helping others. “To honor Todd, I present a challenge. Make a positive impact on someone around you. Pick people up who need encouragement. Help people succeed who want to get to the next level or help someone who needs it. I challenge everyone in this room to do that.”
Here are the MEA award winners for 2024:
Expediter of the Year—Titan Motoring
Rookie of the Year—Cameron King, Titan Motoring (He noted he was a barista 3 years ago!)
Trusted Tech award—Nicholas Frazier, iNNovative Concepts
Sales Pro of the Year—Yamil Wildy, Traffic Jams Motorsports
Retailer of the Year—multi-store—Columbus Car Audio,
Retailer of the Year—single store—Titan Motoring
Installer of the Year—Phil Cantu, Mobile Toys Inc
Support Tech of the Year –Josh Bowen, JVCKENWOOD
Lifetime Achievement Award—Todd Ramsey
Distributor of the Year– GoFast Solutions
Rep Firm of the Year– Team Progressive
Sales Rep of the Year– Lord Phil Cartier, 12Volt Specialist
Top Vendor of Year– JVCKENWOOD
Autosound & Processing Vendor of the Year –JL Audio
Accessories & Materials Vendor of the Year –Metra Electronics
Infotainment & Multimedia Vendor of the Year—Sony
Security, Safety & Driver Assistance Vendor of the Year—Firstech
Marine Audio Vendor of the Year—JL Audio
Powersports & Motorcycle Vendor of the Year—HKI for Soundigital
OEM Integration Vendor of the Year—ADS iDatalink Maestro
Lighting Vendor of the Year—Lucas Lighting
Additional retail awards included:
Most Improved Store–Sudbury Car Audio, Canada
Best Online Presence—Freeman’s Car Stereo
Best Customer Retention—Columbus Car Audio & Accessories
Best Customer Experience—Titan Motoring
Best Store Culture—Freeman’s Car Stereo
Customer Choice Awards:
Installer Award– Conrad Leduc, Sudbury Car Audio
Sales Award– Jeremy Taco Patterson
Retailer Award—Volunteer Audio
May we add our congratulations to all the winners as well as the runners up and all participants. And thank you to the MEA.
Congratulations to the winners and everyone who invested the time to participate!