• Research
  • Tire Dealer of the Year
  • On the Rise
  • Multimedia
  • Podcasts
  • Digital Magazine
  • About US

    • Joy Kopcha

    Managing Editor
    Phone: (330) 598 - 0338

    After more than a dozen years working as a newspaper reporter in Kansas, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, Joy Kopcha joined Modern Tire Dealer as senior editor in 2014. She has covered murder trials, a prison riot and more city council, county commission, and school board meetings than she cares to remember.

    Photo: Gills Point S
    Gills Point S has quadrupled its store count since 2020. Owner Eric Gill says he used COVID-19 relief funding to reinvest in the business, and more recently, employees and acquired dealers have provided additional equity to fuel ongoing growth.
    Retail

    Growing and Investing in Gills Point S

    Joy Kopcha
    Oct. 2, 2024
    Four years ago, Gills Point S Tire & Auto was a family-owned business based in Oregon, with 17 stores. Since then, the company has quadrupled in size.
    Photo: Wonderland Tire Co.
    'Employees recognize it when you do things for them that you don't have to do,' says Jon Langerak, CEO and president of Wonderland Tire Co. (pictured center). Langerak was MTD's Tire Dealer of the Year Award recipient in 2023.
    Retail

    Management Tips From Past Tire Dealer of the Year Award Winners

    Mike Manges
    Sept. 24, 2024
    Some of the country's biggest, most celebrated independent tire dealers have developed strategies and philosophies to guide them in managing talent.
    Photo: MTD
    Technicians at Chabill's Tire & Auto Service must have a second person observe and sign off on the torquing of every wheel. Manager Mike Cohen in Houma says the policy, which is simply known as 'double torque,' has been around since the company had half as many stores as it does now.
    Retail

    A Non-Negotiable Wheel-Off Policy

    Joy Kopcha
    Sept. 20, 2024
    The consequences for Chabill's Tire & Auto Service employees who don't follow the wheel-off policy are dire and without recourse.
    Photo: MTD
    Beth Barron and her husband Carey Barron have worked side-by-side for more than 25 years at Chabill's Tire & Auto Service. And in 2024, their children all have roles in the company their grandfather co-founded in 1968.
    Retail

    The Dynamics of a Woman Taking Charge of a Tire Dealership

    Joy Kopcha
    Sept. 19, 2024
    For all but five years of her 30-plus year career at Chabill's Tire & Auto Service, CEO Beth Barron has worked alongside her husband Carey.
    Photo: Jared Navarre | Romph Pou Agency
    Adding a Chabill's Tire-branded credit card from CFNA, the bank owned by Bridgestone Americas Inc., has 'been an absolute difference maker for us,' says Beth Barron.
    Retail

    Customer Credit Is a Gamechanger for Chabill's Tire & Auto Service

    Joy Kopcha
    Sept. 19, 2024
    “I never really bought into financing because I didn’t want to have a Goodyear card or a Firestone card. If we’re gonna have a credit card I want it to be a Chabill’s Tire card...
    Photo: MTD
    Bradley Schefferstein moved into Carey and Beth Barron's house as a teenager after his father died. They've remained his rock, and today's he's a successful store manager for Chabill's Tire & Auto Service who will eventually help lead the company into the future.
    Retail

    A Teen Joins the Family, and the Tire Business

    Joy Kopcha
    Sept. 18, 2024
    Bradley Schefferstein moved into Carey and Beth Barron's house as a teenager after his father died. They've remained his rock, and today's he's a successful store manager for ...