WDB - Biographies

Monday, March 21, 2005

DAN DAVIS: BIOGRAPHY

Title: Director,
Ford Racing
Technology,
Dan Davis with
Mark Martin.

DETROIT, Mich., 2005-03-21 WDB. ... Dan Davis is director, Ford Racing Technology, and oversees Ford’s North American auto racing efforts. He was named to his current position on Oct. 31, 1997.

The Ford Racing Technology organization is responsible for major racing operations in North America, including NASCAR (Nextel Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck), the Champ Car World Series, Grand American sports car racing, NHRA drag racing and USAC midget and sprint car racing. In addition, FRT has responsibility for furthering grass roots racing efforts and young driver development.

Davis’ organization also oversees development and marketing of Ford Racing Performance Parts, and the marketing of the Ford Racing brand, through initiatives such as Team Ford Racing.

In Davis’ years at the helm, the Ford Racing program has seen numerous victories and championships, most notably back-to-back NASCAR Nextel Cup titles in 2003-04 and eight consecutive titles in the NHRA Funny Car class.

His most recent position before taking over this assignment had been as executive director, Quality, Ford Automotive Operations.

He joined Ford Motor Company in 1976 as a project engineer with Ford’s Aerospace and Communications Electronics Division, and has held a variety of product engineering, manufacturing, purchasing and business positions within the components divisions, powertrain operations, car product development, and Ford Automotive Operations.

From 1991-93 he was director of vehicle controls and powertrain products for Ford Electronics Division, where he was also responsible for motorsport engineering programs in the following areas:

Formula One—All vehicle, engine control and telemetry systems for the Bennetton-Ford program.
CART—Engine control and telemetry for the Walker Racing CART program.
NASCAR—Telemetry program for NASCAR television broadcasts.
SCORE off-road—Transmission controls and engine management for Ford trucks.
IMSA road racing—Engine management and telemetry with Roush Racing.

Davis’ previous experience includes worldwide responsibilities as executive director, Quality, FAO; executive director, Manufacturing Procurement Operations, Purchasing; director of Subsystems Engineering, Automotive Components Division; and general manufacturing manager, Electronics Division, where he oversaw seven manufacturing plants in seven different countries.

Davis developed the Ford thick film ignition module and the European Automotive Operations low-cost hybrid electronic spark control module. He received the 1983 Henry Ford Technological Award for his work.

Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute (1972) and studied the Advanced Management Program in 1993 at Duke University.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

JOSEPH R. HINRICHS: BIOGRAPHY

Title: President and CEO, Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited
Joined Ford: December 1, 2000

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Detroit, Mich., 2005-02-16 (WDB). ...Joseph R. Hinrichs is President and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, appointed to the position in January, 2005. He leads Ford of Canada’s extensive operations across the country, including a national headquarters, six regional offices, five vehicle assembly and engine manufacturing plants, two parts distribution centres, and affiliates including Ford Credit, Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover and Hertz.

Ford employs approximately 14,000 people in Canada, while an additional 19,000 people are employed in the more than 470 Ford and Ford-Lincoln dealerships across the country. In 2004, revenues for Ford’s Canadian operations were $18.1 billion, making Ford of Canada one of the country’s largest privately held companies. Since 1990, Ford has invested more than $10 billion in its Canadian operations, its fourth-largest market worldwide.

Prior to joining Ford of Canada, Hinrichs was Director of Manufacturing, Vehicle Operations, Ford Motor Company, responsible for the manufacturing, quality, and launch of Ford Explorer, Ford Ranger, Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Ford Econoline, Ford Escape, Mercury Mountaineer, Mercury Mariner, Lincoln Aviator, and Mazda B-Series vehicles produced at six vehicle assembly plants (St. Louis, MO; Louisville, KY; Twin Cities, MN; Lorain, OH; Avon Lake, OH; and Edison, NJ).

He was also responsible for working with the Product Creation process to develop and launch new competitive vehicles within these product lines. Hinrichs also serves on the Executive Steering Committee for Six Sigma and the Senior Manufacturing Diversity Council for Ford. He was appointed to that position in July 2003.

Previously, Hinrichs was Executive Director, Material Planning and Logistics, Ford Motor Company from April 2002 to July 2003. In this capacity he was responsible for material planning, production control, scheduling, inventory management, logistics and total material flow at all of Ford’s manufacturing facilities worldwide.

In 2003, Hinrichs also was given responsibility to champion Ford’s plant productivity- improvement efforts in North America. In this role, Hinrichs’ charge was to harness, coordinate and leverage plant productivity initiatives across the value stream—including Vehicle Operations, Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Product Development, Material Planning and Logistics, Labour Affairs and Purchasing—providing a common focus and ensuring that the necessary processes and reporting systems were in place.

Hinrichs joined Ford in December 2000 as Plant Manager for the Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich. Less than a year after accepting the leadership role at Van Dyke Transmission, Hinrichs and his team lead the plant to a 10 percent improvement in costs, a 27 percent reduction in inventory and increased production levels with 50 percent less overtime and 60 percent fewer defects. These improvements contributed to Van Dyke’s honour as one of two benchmark transmission plants named in the 2002 Harbour Report.

Prior to joining Ford, he served as a Partner and Senior Vice President for Ryan Enterprises Group, a manufacturing investment company in Chicago. Early in his career, Hinrichs spent 10 years at General Motors in various positions in engineering and manufacturing. This included a stint as Plant Manager for a GM facility in Fredericksburg, Va., where, at age 29, he became the youngest Plant Manager in GM’s recent history.

In his first year of running that plant, Hinrichs and his team implemented process efficiencies, increased production and improved budget performance to levels that kept the previously struggling plant open. In 1998, the Harvard Business School published a case study on his leadership during the turnaround.

Hinrichs was born in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 26, 1966. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering magna cum laude from the University of Dayton (Ohio) in 1989. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School in 1994 as a GM Fellow. Hinrichs is married with three children.

Friday, February 04, 2005

MARY LOU QUESNELL, BIOGRAPHY

Title: Marketing Communications Manager, Ford Division,
Joined Ford: June 24, 1985

Detroit, Mich., 2005-02-05 (WDB). ...Mary Lou Quesnell is marketing communications manager for the Ford Division of Ford Motor Company. In this role, she is responsible for developing and implementing all advertising and consumer marketing strategies for Ford Division’s all-new showroom of car, truck and sport utility vehicles.

Quesnell was appointed to her current position on Feb. 1, 2005.

Since joining Ford in June 1985 she has held positions in Marketing and Sales, Ford’s Car Product Development, Ford of Europe Marketing and Sales and the Ford Automotive Strategy Office.

Most recently, Quesnell was market representation manager for Lincoln Mercury division, a position to which she was appointed to in Mar. 2004.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

BIOGRAPHY: JUERGEN STACKMANN Title: Vice President, Marketing, Ford of EuropeJuergen Stackmann

Germany, Europe 2005-01-01 (WDB). ...Juergen Stackmann is Vice President, Marketing, Ford of Europe. He was appointed to this position January 1, 2005 and reports to Geoff Polites, Vice President Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.

Prior to this appointment Juergen Stackmann was Director, Marketing, Ford-Werke GmbH from 1999.

Mr. Stackmann joined Ford in 1989 as a trainee. Since then he has held several senior positions in marketing. From February 1996 to August 1998 he served as Sales Operations Manager, European Regional Sales. Before that he was Brand Manager for Small and Medium Car Brands from Mai 1994 to January 1996.

Born in 1961 in Buxtehude, Germany, Mr. Stackmann holds Economics and Marketing degrees from SaarbrueckenUniversity and Universite de Metz.

Monday, January 10, 2005

Phil Harms Passes away

Southern California, 2005-01-10 (WDB). ...The auto racing community grew shorter by one valued member when Phil Harms, 66, passed away last week after suffering a stroke January 4, 2005.

Phil Harms was a mechanical engineer with a passion for auto racing honed on the short tracks and big speedway in Indiana. After moving to Southern California in 1970, he and wife Kathy settled in to raise
a family. When his sons grew old enough, he brought them to the karting ranks where Phil could indulge his engineering skills while exposing his sons to the many lessons to be learned on a race track.

The results brought several track titles and the 1982 National Karting Championship.

As his sons grew and developed other interests, Phil turned his attention to collecting information, photographs, and data related to auto racing history. Through his tireless efforts, attention to detail, and passion for the game at hand, Phil produced one of the most comprehensive and accurate racing history archives in existence. Always ready to share his work, he is credited for either photos o data found inside nearly all major publications relating to racing history, including books, magazines, and articles.

A longtime friend and colleague of Dick Wallen, Phil compiled the race records for all of Wallen’s fine works and was instrumental in setting the standard for those who come after. With all his passion, Phil Harms’ name appears on the cover of only one book, Real Road Racing, The Santa Monica Road Races.

The gracious, intelligent, soft-spoken Phil Harms is survived by his wife, two sons, and three grandchildren.

Sunday, January 09, 2005

MIKE NAKASHIMA

BIOGRAPHY: Mike Nakashima

Title: Director, Strategic Planning, Mazda North American Operations

Irvine, Calif., 2005-01-09. ...Mike Nakashima is director, strategic planning for Mazda North American Operations (MNAO). He reports to Jim O’ Sullivan, president and CEO for MNAO. Formerly project leader, Mexico study team in July 2004, Nakashima was responsible for leading all aspects of MNAO’s Mexico study team, including concept, strategy, approval and execution. His position included cross functional responsibilities such as business case study, product planning, dealer development, customer service and parts and human resources.

Nakashima joined MNAO in January 2004 as relationship marketing group manager. In this position he was responsible for MNAO’s customer relationship management functions, including interactive Web site activities as well as direct mail for retail sales and service.

Prior to joining MNAO, Nakashima held numerous positions with Ford and Lincoln Mercury, including Ford of Mexico new business development manager from 2000-2001, and Ford of Mexico car group brand manager from 2001-2003. In addition, he authored Ford of Mexico’s 2001-2005 business plan.

SHINJI MIZUKANE

BIOGRAPHY-SHINJI MIZUKANE

Title: Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Mazda North American Operations

Irvine, Calif., 2005-01-09. ...
Shinji Mizukane is vice president, finance and chief financial officer for Mazda North American Operations (MNAO). In his position, Mizukane is responsible for all corporate finance matters, primarily focusing on MNAO business strategy. He reports to Jim O’Sullivan, president and CEO for MNAO. Mizukane’s new position is effective January 1, 2005.

Mizukane has played many key roles in his 31 years with the company since joining Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan in 1973. Formerly vice president, finance and assistant chief financial officer from March through September 2004, Mizukane previously was general manager, affiliates administration division for Mazda Motor Corporation from January 2000 through February 2004. Prior to that, Mizukane was general manager, corporate planning department for Mazda Motor Corporation from January 1999 through January 2000. From 1995 until 1999, Mizukane was vice president, corporate planning at Auto Alliance in Thailand.

Mizukane is married with two grown children and lives in Irvine, Calif. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Kobe City University of Foreign Studies in Japan.

Friday, May 28, 2004

BLUM, CHARLES R., CAE

SEMA President

Charles R. (Chuck) Blum, CAE, is today recognized as a prominent leader in the automotive aftermarket, the result of achievements throughout his career, which can be traced to old-fashioned hard work. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Chuck followed traditional educational patterns, and rounded out his formal education at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Soon after school, following service in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper, he entered the automotive aftermarket in sales, a beginning which would eventually develop into sales management positions. He served for 22 years at Keystone, working his way through the ranks to become vice president/sales and marketing. At that time Keystone was one of the most successful wheel companies in the aftermarket, in no small way the result of Chuck’s hard-driving and creative sales management techniques.

More than 10 years ago Chuck assumed the president’s position at SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association. He did so armed with experience as a member of the SEMA Board of Directors, and he served a term as Chairman of the Board. In those days the SEMA universe of manufacturers and distributors was a small part of the overall aftermarket, but there were strong signals of growth and potential expansion. The SEMA Show was produced by an independent contractor in behalf of the association; the exposi-tion prospered, gaining in popularity as an important annual event in the aftermarket, but Chuck, as the new president, wanted more out of the show so that businesses served by SEMA would prosper as a result of additional benefits.

Under his guidance, the show was taken “in house,” produced by SEMA, and since that dramatic change, not only has the show’s growth been unprecedented, but so too has the association and the aftermarket segment it serves. The SEMA/AI Show is today regarded as the flagship trade exposition of the entire automotive aftermarket. Industry veterans agree it all came to pass under Chuck’s leadership, his management techniques, and a relentless pursuit of quality and service to the participating businesses and principals of the companies served, those whose ongoing successes can be traced, at least in part, to the productivity of the annual SEMA/AI Show.

It was Chuck, along with principals of MEMA and ASIA, who put together Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week, the consolidation of aftermarket trade shows that results in the SEMA/AI Show and the APAA/Big I Show in Las Vegas at the same time. It is a historical achievement, showcasing for the world the vastness of the U.S. aftermarket industry.

In 1990, following months of study, Chuck “earned his stripes,” the Certified Association Executive honor, a title sought by principals of all associations. CAE, the acronym, is to association managers what MD is to the medical profession.

Chuck’s association management skills are reflected in the many and diverse services offered to SEMA members, and there is no denying that the efforts-and successes-of the association benefit the automotive aftermarket overall. From activities in the legislative and regulatory arena to foreign trade to unique member services, the association is at the forefront of activity. SEMA is looked upon and admired as a trendsetter association of the aftermarket.

The association is headquartered in Diamond Bar, Calif. There is also a newly opened branch office, in cooperation with the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), in Brussels, Belgium. Its serve the growing interest in export among SEMA member companies that are eager to take advantage of the impending, burgeoning European market as a result of the new European Community. Soon after the first of the year, SEMA will open a branch office in Washington, D.C., to communicate late-breaking data to its members more expeditiously; and SEMA will share an office in Mexico City with APAA beginning in 1994, all under the direction of Mr. Blum.

Parks, Wally

Founder and Board Chairman of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum

One could argue that drag racing was born in Goltry, Okla., in 1913, with the birth of Wally Parks, who nearly four decades later would found one of the most successful and influential sanctioning bodies in all of motorsports. 

Parks� family moved to Southern California in the early 1920s, and soon after the young Wally Parks developed an interest in cars.  By 1947, Parks, who served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II and worked as a military tank test-driver for General Motors, helped organize the Southern California Timing Association and later became its general manager. 

The first SCTA Speed Week, held at Utah�s famed Bonneville Salt Flats in 1949, was the result of the diligent efforts of Parks, then its executive secretary.  Running against the clock - actually a stopwatch - racers coaxed their vehicles to accelerate quicker rather than simply to attain high top speeds.  While this new sport of drag racing was gaining popularity, a certain negative notoriety had developed over the sport�s street racing image.

Parks soon became editor of a new monthly enthusiast magazine Hot Rod, and had the forum to form the National Hot Rod Association in 1951, further removing the outlaw appearance of hot rodding.  By creating order from chaos with new safety rules and performance standards, Parks helped legitimize the sport from its humble beginnings.  He became the NHRA�s first president, holding his position until 1983, then acting as chairman of the board until 1999.

We wanted to build the organization on its own merit, said Parks.  We saw a need—that being an avenue for safe drag racing—and with the help of a lot of good people and a little luck we seem to have had some success.” Wally reminds us that his wife of many years, Barbara, was there at the beginning of NHRA and has been at his side ever since. She herself is responsible for many of NHRA’s impressive and innovative programs, among them the International Car Club Association (ICCA) that was a thriving adjunct to NHRA in the 1960s.

The organization�s first official race was held in April 1953 on a strip of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds parking lot in Pomona, Calif. (later home to the Winternationals, season-ending World Finals and the NHRA Museum).  By 1955, the NHRA staged its first national event, called simply, the Nationals, in Great Bend, Kansas, settling in its permanent home six years later in the fertile race country of Indianapolis, Ind.

As Parks� new organization matured, and its membership ranks grew, the sport began drawing more attention from the casual motorsports fan.  The 1960s witnessed the growth of the NHRA through television coverage by ABC�s Wide World of Sports, popularizing drag racing with millions of Americans and transporting the sport from the old airfields and lake beds of California into stadium-style arenas around the country. 

Now in its sixth decade, Wally Parks� creation, the NHRA, is the world�s largest motorsports sanctioning body with more than 85,000 members, 144 member tracks, 32,000 licensed competitors and nearly 4,000 member-track events.

Parks has been the recipient of numerous awards, including being named the first recipient of Car Craft magazine�s Ollie Award in 1969, Popular Hot Rodding magazine�s Man of the Decade in 1972 and the Specialty Equipment Market Association�s (SEMA) Man of the Year in 1973, as well as his induction into the SEMA Hall of Fame in 1979, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992, the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1994. 

No one could have conceived what has happened, Parks said of the NHRA�s tremendous growth and success.  But we did have ambitions of its becoming a national sports entity.

Wells, Richard-08/19/2003

Dick Wells began his career in the field of motorsports much the same as other Americans, when he was about 16 years old and got his driver�s license for the first time. He began by working in an automotive parts store in Lincoln, Nebraska, as a stockroom clerk, then quickly moved up to become a salesman, and after a few years took over as manager. The store sold auto parts and speed equipment. Later, Dick was hired by Speedway Motors, today the largest distributor of automotive performance equipment in the United States, and he remained there as assistant manager until relocating from his native Lincoln to the Los Angeles area.

It was in California that he became actively involved in motorsports as a career pursuit. He was the first editor of National Dragster when it was introduced and published by the National Hot Rod Association in 1960. It was at National Dragster he began to build on his name as an automotive journalist. From being a staff member at NHRA, Dick became the managing editor�hand later feature editor�hof Hot Rod magazine, then the largest automotive magazine in the world. He also served as the executive editor of Motor Trend magazine, and at Petersen Publishing Company, the publisher of Hot Rod and Motor Trend, he was eventually promoted to director of special events, during which tenure he produced various hot rod shows and races, including the Motor Trend 500 and Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races at Riverside Raceway. More importantly, he produced the first and now annual trade-only SEMA Show. Held annually in Las Vegas, the SEMA Show is the only one of its kind in the world, a 1.5-million-square-foot extravaganza in the Las Vegas Convention Center. Dick’s first SEMA Show, in 1967, was made up of 98 booths.

Dick was the first active president of the National Street Rod Association, and he is credited with the massive street rod movement in the U.S., the largest U.S. motorsports hobbyist activity in which tens of thousands of individuals participate by building and driving their own hot rods. He started the Street Rod Nationals, an event which today attracts upward of 15,000 pre-1949 hot rods each year to participate. The street rod parts market is now a major segment of the specialty automotive aftermarket, which includes racing equipment for drag racing, circle track racing and other forms of automotive competition sports. Wells is credited with being the “father” of the robust street rod specialty industry segment.

As an association specialist, Dick has served as executive director of several groups, among them the Performance Warehouse Association and the Auto International Association, both national organizations in the automotive aftermarket. He applies a unique creative talent to association management, specifically services provided to participating member companies.

Mr. Wells has been repeatedly honored for his dedication and contributions to industry causes, including the prestigious SEMA Person of the Year in 1977; he was inducted into the elite SEMA Industry Hall of Fame in 1993. He was presented the International Specialty Car Association (ISCA) Founder�s Award in 1994, and in 1996 the Street Rod Marketing Alliance, SRMA, presented him with its Industry Recognition Award. In 2001 he was among those honored with the NHRA Pioneer’s Award.

In addition to his writing skills, he has done emcee gigs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. His spontaneous wit and humor have been applauded. He has also co-hosted a cable television show, “Rolling Art,” which features unique and exotic cars, from customs to carmakers’ concept vehicles.

Dick recently retired as the vice president of corporate projects for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a trade association of 4,800-plus businesses in the specialty and performance automotive products field. (In the 1970s, he spent five years as the executive director of SEMA.) Mr. Wells is also a member of the board of directors of the National Hot Rod Association, a position he has held for 23 years. He once served as one of NHRA’s delegates to ACCUS, the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States, the U.S. arm of the FIA, where he was the group’s secretary.

Dick resides in Orange, Calif.; his favorite pastime, outside of cars and auto racing, are dogs (he has two, Morgan and Sophie) and recreational vehicles, motorhomes in particular.

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Finefrock, 73, Succumbs to Garage Fire - Bio

January 25, 2004

William L. Finefrock died January 25, 2004 at the Burn Unit at Univ. of Calif. Davis, in Sacramento, where he had been airlifted from his home in Auburn, California January 22.

William L. Finefrock died January 25, 2004 of injuries sustained in a garage fire Thursday night, January 22. At home when he smelled smoke coming from the garage, Bill opened the garage to find a fire which engulfed him. He ran to his neighbor next door, who called 911. Bill was airlifted from his home in Auburn, California to the very highly regarded Burn Unit at Univ. of Calif. Davis, in Sacramento. Burns covered his back, face and head. His lungs became infected from the burns, and his body gradually failed.

Well-known as an auto journalist in the 1960s through the mid �80s, particularly for his involvement with Competition Press and AutoWeek (now AutoWeek, part of Crain Communications), Finefrock devoted most of the past 20 years to his car collector activities, including displays at the San Francisco Auto Show and as proprietor of the Reno Swap Meet. An avid historian, he was frequently called upon by today�s auto writers as a prime resource.

Highly respected by many throughout the automotive world, Bill will be missed for his cheerful, easy-going manner, joie de vivre, professionally-produced productions, and willingness to share his knowledge and love of the automobile.

Bill was born November 8, 1930 in Alliance, Ohio. In his early childhood he moved with his mother, Kay (Kathleen) Matticks and step-father to Port Angeles, Washington, where he subsequently graduated from high school. Bill returned to Ohio to attend Antioch College in Yellow Springs, graduating with a B.A. in English/Journalism.

After graduation, he worked as a police reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio. August 20, 1953, he entered the U.S. Army and was assigned to Stars & Stripes, Asian Edition, in Japan. Bill rose to the grade of Tech Sergeant; he was released from active duty June 2, 1955 and continued to serve in the Army Reserve.

Upon release from the Army, Bill settled in San Francisco, Calif., eventually setting up shop as an advertising/marketing firm known as Finefrock, Goebel and Bice. Among the firm�s accounts were the San Francisco-area SCCA, for which they did the SCCA event programs; and Qvale import car distributors.

The company moved more heavily into publishing with the acquisition of a weekly newspaper from Road & Track magazine. Jim Crow was editor at the time Competition Press & AutoWeek was purchased. Finefrock, Goebel and Bice moved to Walnut Creek, Calif., with this new enterprise. Bill was editor; Russ Goebel was publisher. Bill and Russ bought out Bice�s interest, and eventually Goebel bought out Bill�s interest.

While editor of Competition Press and AutoWeek, Bill hired the late Leon Mandel, who went on to become editor and publisher of what is now AutoWeek.

Always the entrepreneur, Bill took on another publication, Women�s Sport. His editor was Sally Ride, who went on to become a NASA astronaut.

For awhile, Bill published the SCCA�s national member magazine, Sports Car. During this period, circa 1970, he and Walter R Haessner worked together to publish race programs for the Can-Am, Trans-Am and Continental 5000 SCCA events nationwide.

Later, Bill tried his hand at general newspaper publishing. He bought a paper in Dillon, Montana; with a human population of about 200, Bill tried diligently to teach the 20,000 members of the four-footed population to read, but to no avail. After a couple of years, he returned to California to thaw out.

Bill�s last publishing involvement was Coast Car Collector, which he produced for several years in the mid-�80s.

Always a car enthusiast, particularly for sports car racing and antique car collecting, Bill had numerous involvements in these types of activities. For several years, Bill participated in the San Francisco Auto Show, providing cars for the collector car display. During this period he also put on a number of swap meets in California, and eventually revitalized the Reno Swap Meet in Reno, Nev., which for years had been run by the late Bill Harrah. With the commencement of Hot August Nights in Reno, Bill moved the Reno Swap Meet dates to the same period. Bill personally ran the Reno Swap Meet until 1998, when he brought in John Sweeney as an associate to do the actual running of the event.

Bill�s last promotion was the La Conner Festival for collector boats and cars, held in the Fall of 2003 in La Conner, Wash.

Best known for his editorial, entrepreneurial and collector car interests, Bill also enjoyed remodeling houses--and bought, remodeled and sold several quite successfully. One of the first was in Placerville, Calif., where his mother lived and did business for many years. Others were in Santa Maria, Calif. (a multi-year, live-in project), and several in the Port Angeles-Sequim area in the state of Washington.

At the time of his passing, Bill owned four boats, harbored at the marina in La Conner; and three collector cars: a 1936 Cord convertible, 41 Cadillac convertible and 41 Lincoln convertible. He also owned a 97 Cadillac El Dorado and two pick-up trucks.

Bill�s family was those three cars and his friends and acquaintances throughout the auto journalism and collector car arenas. He was a walking history book on the subject, and always willing to share that knowledge. Though there is no record of when or why Bill became an autophile, it appears to have been a life-long passion--one that may
have caused his death. He was in the house when he smelled smoke, and it is thought he entered the garage to try and save his beloved cars. Bill was not married and had no children. He leaves behind a half-brother, half-sister, several cousins and an aunt.

As per his instructions, Bill Finefrock was cremated and his remains taken care of by the Nautilus Society. A Celebration of Life was held February 22nd at the Clubhouse at the Lake of the Pines, Auburn, Calif.

One of Bill�s last interests was to be actively involved with the International Automotive Media Awards (1996), held first at the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino and later at the SEMA Show, both in Las Vegas, Nev. Bill attended and participated in numerous functions at IAMA until it relocated to Sardi�s in New York City in November, 2002, though he continued in an advisory capacity through the 2003 event. It was Bill�s desire to see the quality of automotive journalism raised to the highest level possible through journalism scholarships, a program which was announced this past November 18 at Sardi�s in New York City. The fund has since been named The Bill Finefrock Automotive Journalism Scholarship Fund, in his honor and remembrance.

If anyone wishes to make a donation in his name, send it to the The Bill Finefrock Automotive Journalism Scholarship Fund, ISVP/IAMA, P.O. Box 50046, Tucson, AZ, 85703-1046. Donations are tax deductible to the full
extent of the law, as ISVP is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization.