Skip Potter, executive director of the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) since June 2012, informed the board of directors earlier this month that he will retire on Aug. 31.

Potter has begun working with NASTF leadership on the transition to new management.

NASTF board member Donny Seyfer will step in as interim executive while the not-for-profit organization seeks a new executive.

“I have had a wonderful and rewarding career in the automotive parts, tool and service industry,” said Potter. “To end it as the executive director of such a valued organization as NASTF is an honor that makes me very humble and proud.”

Steve Douglas, who recently assumed the role of NASTF chair when Mark Saxonberg resigned to lead NASTF’s Registry Rebuild project, said Potter “has worked tirelessly over half a decade to serve not only NASTF but also the entire automotive industry.”

“His hard work, professionalism and can-do attitude resulted in the largest membership growth in NASTF’s history, a dramatic expansion of the vehicle-security registry and the resolution of countless information requests,” Douglas said. “The entire NASTF board sincerely appreciates all of Skip’s hard work and wishes him the very best in his well-earned retirement.”

Potter served more than 45 years in many segments of the automotive industry, including parts distribution, tool sales, service, the motorsports press and the industry’s not-for-profit sector.

Immediate Past Chair Allen Pennebaker noted that “Skip’s dedication and leadership helped to move NASTF from an all-volunteer organization to an efficient and professional mainstay of the automotive industry.”

In 1999, Babcox Media recognized Potter as an “Aftermarket Influencer,” and Potter received the Education Award from Northwood University that same year.

Potter’s syndicated radio broadcast, “Virginia Race Line,” won six awards from the National Motorsports Press Association during the 1970s, and the Old Dominion Speedway in 2011 named Potter to its list of “Legends” for his work there in the 1970s and 1980s.

Potter earned the professional designation as a certified association executive from the American Society of Association Executives in 2001 and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from George Mason University.

The National Automotive Service Task Force has posted the qualifications and position description for the NASTF executive on the NASTF website. The task force invites interested individuals to consider the role as a step in their career and submit their interest before the Sept. 11 deadline.