A Safety MINDSET With William Strickland, GADA’s WCF Chair At the time the GADA’s Workers’ Compensation Fund (WCF) was created, the U.S. economy was marred by high unemployment and a severe economic downturn that was triggered by high inflation and rising interest rates. Then GADA President, William “Bill” Morie, with the help of GADA board members, was not deterred as they went from bank to bank to get the monies for the WCF covered by the then $100k FDIC rule. That was in 1982. Since then, there have been a number of GADA members overseeing the WCF and making sure it remains stable while it grows. In 2015, William Strickland became the chair and serves in that position to this day. “I am so thankful for those who came before me. The fund is successful today because of the sound decisions that were made in the past,” stated William. “I am standing on the shoulders of giants; they did a wonderful job of setting up and managing the fund.” Today, the WCF provides Georgia dealers with stable, low rates, prompt claims management, payroll coordination and more. In fact, during his time as chair, the board has been able to add a Safety Group to the program. Andy Willis, director of loss prevention and his team spearhead this effort, providing safety assessments for member dealerships at no charge. The assessments provide dealers with suggestions and changes they can implement to help make the store a safer place to be. Protecting employees with smart policies is the goal. “Keeping our employees safe is so important, especially when it comes to highly skilled workers like our technicians. We should be doing everything we can to minimize injuries,” said William. “If they do get hurt, we can’t easily replace them. The last thing you want them to do is to get hurt.” Looking forward, William hopes to add additional benefits to the WCF, but keeping it on a smooth, steady course is THE GENERATOR 10
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