ARA Honorary Lifetime Member Mike French Retires & Donates Publications to the ARA

ARA Honorary Lifetime Member Mike French, Mike French & Company, Inc. Retires.

Donates Legacy Publications to the ARA Auto Recycler’s Toolbox Magazine® and Virtual Auto Recycler Trade Show™ Now Part of ARA Publishing Program

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ARA is honored to announce that longtime industry supporter and ARA Honorary Lifetime Member Mike French, who is also a longtime contributor to Automotive Recycling magazine, has generously donated the Auto Recycler’s Toolbox Magazine® and the Virtual Auto Recycler Trade Show™ to ARA. French will be retiring effective February 28, 2021 and announced the donation of his popular industry magazine and online trade show platform in a press release this week.  

“Mike and his family have been strong supporters of ARA and this industry for as long as I can remember,” said ARA Executive Director, Sandy Blalock. “Our leadership and staff is humbled that Mike would choose to transfer the Auto Recycler’s Toolbox®, the online Virtual Auto Recycler Trade Show™ and accompanying website over to ARA. We are committed to preserving the integrity of these communication platforms as we integrate them with the Association’s overarching communications strategy to support automotive recycling businesses, including services and suppliers to the industry, as well as promoting the use of Recycled Original Equipment® auto parts.”

MF&CO has operated since 1982 and launched Auto Recycler’s Toolbox® in 2007 as “The Auto Recycler’s Trade Show in Print®,” which served as a cornerstone of MF&CO. French felt compelled to help auto recyclers who were disconnected from others with quality information to help them succeed. The publication quickly grew as a widely-read nationwide publication with the aim to deliver all the aspects of a trade show experience to those that are unable to attend in-person industry events. MF&CO then launched the Virtual Auto Recycler Trade Show™ in 2020, to offer more tradeshow-like experiences, such as video presentations, demos, and more.

“ARA’s current publishing program serves as exclusive ARA member benefits,” says Caryn Smith, CEO of Driven By Design LLC, who has supported ARA’s publishing and communications efforts for over 20 years. “We are especially excited to assist ARA to publish the Toolbox® and associated websites that reach beyond the current ARA membership audience. With the support of loyal Toolbox® writers and industry suppliers, we want to continue to offer all automotive recyclers and suppliers on the mailing list with quality information that will help them thrive. Those to love the Toolbox® will continue to enjoy it as a quality industry resource.” å

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