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Hot-button Issues Addressed At PRI Town Hall
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Exhibitors and attendees at the 2017 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show had an opportunity to share their thoughts and perspectives on the PRI Show and key issues affecting the motorsports industry during the inaugural PRI Town Hall Meeting on opening day of the Show.
Youth engagement, race track support, growing the motorsports industry, and using available resources to address concerns were among the topics of conversation brought up by those in attendance during the forum, which featured SEMA Chairman Wade Kawasaki, COMP Performance Group Co-owner and COO Scooter Brothers, Power Automedia CEO James Lawrence, and C&R Racing President Chris Paulsen.
"Hosting the Town Hall Meeting was worthwhile and a good idea to get some input and steer some future direction," said attendee Dan Agnew, President of Composite Performance Technologies and Principal Engineer at EngSim Corp. "Getting the younger crowd and education are some of the more pressing issues in the industry. We need to get high school and college vocational kids to the PRI Show and get them excited. If they come here and see and get excited, they are going to go home, tell all their friends, and be addicted for life.”
Kawasaki, who moderated the event, was pleased with the turnout and level of engagement among those in attendance.
“It was great. That was great feedback, great information, and I really look forward to getting with the PRI staff and charting a course to move forward,” said Kawasaki, who began his term as SEMA Board of Directors Chairman this year. PRI is owned by Diamond Bar, California-based SEMA.
“A lot of issues came up," Kawasaki added, "and one of the main things was youth engagement, which is something on my heart and on SEMA’s agenda. I think we can use the momentum that SEMA has gathered with youth engagement. We have also tried a number of different things, so we kind of know what works and doesn’t work, and can just focus that on a different target audience.”
Youth engagement, race track support, growing the motorsports industry, and using available resources to address concerns were among the topics of conversation brought up by those in attendance during the forum, which featured SEMA Chairman Wade Kawasaki, COMP Performance Group Co-owner and COO Scooter Brothers, Power Automedia CEO James Lawrence, and C&R Racing President Chris Paulsen.
"Hosting the Town Hall Meeting was worthwhile and a good idea to get some input and steer some future direction," said attendee Dan Agnew, President of Composite Performance Technologies and Principal Engineer at EngSim Corp. "Getting the younger crowd and education are some of the more pressing issues in the industry. We need to get high school and college vocational kids to the PRI Show and get them excited. If they come here and see and get excited, they are going to go home, tell all their friends, and be addicted for life.”
Kawasaki, who moderated the event, was pleased with the turnout and level of engagement among those in attendance.
“It was great. That was great feedback, great information, and I really look forward to getting with the PRI staff and charting a course to move forward,” said Kawasaki, who began his term as SEMA Board of Directors Chairman this year. PRI is owned by Diamond Bar, California-based SEMA.
“A lot of issues came up," Kawasaki added, "and one of the main things was youth engagement, which is something on my heart and on SEMA’s agenda. I think we can use the momentum that SEMA has gathered with youth engagement. We have also tried a number of different things, so we kind of know what works and doesn’t work, and can just focus that on a different target audience.”
