Professional automotive recycler Mike Swift of Swift’s Trails End Auto Recycling, in Des Moines, Iowa, gave his inaugural speech as the president of the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) at the 72nd Annual ARA Convention & Exposition held Oct. 7-10 in Charlotte, N.C. His tenure on the Executive Committee of the association, where he has served as secretary, second vice president and first vice president, continues in a leading role to help shape and guide the association’s initiatives and directives.
“I am honored to take the reins as president of ARA and to continue to play a role in preserving and promoting the work of professional automotive recyclers,” said Swift in his acceptance speech.
Swift, a longstanding ARA and Certified Automotive Recycler (CAR) member, is extremely active in the industry as a cutting-edge automotive recycler and leader in his community. In his first remarks as ARA president, Swift urged all members to put forth the effort to fuel the passion that he saw firsthand during his travels to professional automotive recycler facilities this past year. He encouraged all to “live the dream” so that ARA can remain strong and continue to be an invaluable resource to its members. He promoted the ARA CAR and Green Recycled Parts Programs as great branding tools for the industry. He ended his speech by reciting the lyrics to the leading song in the Broadway play, Man of La Mancha, “To Dream the Impossible Dream,” and challenged his colleagues to make the impossible dream possible.
During the evening program, Swift recognized the ARA staff, his mother, wife, children, as well as close family friends from Iowa who travelled to Charlotte for his inaugural ceremony. Swift credits his dad for teaching him the business from the ground up, starting in 1979. He hopes to carry on his dad’s legacy by giving his all to the ARA presidency – working with his fellow recyclers and ARA staff to increase market opportunities for professional automotive recyclers.
Swift is a current board member of the Iowa Automotive Recyclers and the chairperson for Government Affairs in the state. On the ARA side, Swift was the regional director in 2009 and 2011, and the regional director chair from 2010 to 2012.
