As Sandy Blalock departs the role of ARA Executive Director, we spent some time discussing the highlights of her career, thus far, and there are many. Yet, she is far from done advocating for professional auto recyclers.
By Caryn Smith
Sandy Blalock is a name that most everyone knows. Her activism work puts her in the top echelon of leadership. Her work ethic, integrity, and tireless dedication to automotive recycling, along with her smart strategic intelligence and big picture view, makes her one of the most impactful leaders of this generation.
Her business acumen didn’t start with her roles in the automotive recycling industry. Some may not know that she had another career prior to being owner/operator of her family’s automotive recycling facility – Capos Truck and Auto Parts in New Mexico. A funny fact, her first career also focused on body parts, but these parts were attached to humans.
“I have a college degree in computer programming, and a minor in accounting. At the time, I was a young mother with a very young child. In that day, it was very difficult for companies to hire a woman with young children at any high level. When the computer programming jobs were limited to banking, I decided to find a different path and found employment in the orthotics and prosthetics industry,” says Blalock.
In the evenings, she was studying for her CPA license, and weeks away from taking the exam, she thought, ‘What am I doing? I don’t want to be an accountant in the future.’ “So, I dug into orthotics and prosthetics, eventually working my way up to managing director, overseeing multiple locations, for the largest orthotics and prosthetics business company.” She spent 20 years in this endeavor, learning the business skills needed for her next career, which ironically included guiding the company through multiple consolidations.
While she was enjoying this career, her husband, Butch Capo, and his father were 50/50 partners at then-Capos Truck and Auto Parts, which is now part of the LKQ Corporation. Butch focused solely on his new parts business, B & B Brake and Suspension. His father, Jim, managed their automotive recycling business. “In the early 1990s, we had the opportunity to buy out my father-in-law’s interest in the company as he retired,” says Blalock. “I then joined the company to manage our auto recycling business. Working in healthcare gave me insight into changes that could be made within the auto recycling industry. I felt like our industry was behind the times when it came to the customer. I chose to make my business focus on customer service.”
“In our family dynamics, my husband and I both have very strong personalities,” says Blalock. “I’m very independent, as you may know, we agreed that I would manage and run our auto recycling business while he managed his new parts business. It was important to me that our employees, customers, and fellow recyclers understood that a woman could effectively manage an auto recycling business.”
“As in most family businesses, Robert, my youngest, was only nine years old at this time, so he grew up in the industry,” she recollects. “My oldest son Bill was a teenager, so he had grown up working at our business on the weekends and summers with his grandfather. Eventually, he joined the business with me, and, again, like most family businesses, I had him do everything and anything from the bottom up. He was not fond of sales and preferred working with our production team. He eventually became our production manager.”
While in her other career, having attended industry events with Butch, she was no stranger to auto recycling. “I had attended ARA events with my husband since he co-owned Capos Truck and Auto Parts for 10 years before I came to run it. My first event was as manager of Capo’s,” she says. “I attended to learn about automotive recycling. It was interesting, and I was a sponge and tried to soak up as much as I could.”
One of the first things Blalock did as the facility’s owner was attend her first New Mexico Auto Recyclers Association meeting in 1994. She showed up in Sandy-style. Listening to the discussions, she saw that her business approach varied from those in the room. “You know me, I raised my hand and said, ‘My philosophy is going to be a little bit different from all of yours, from the discussions that we’re having. I would like to share the plan for our company.” Blalock proceeded to explain her focus on customer service, sharing, “As an industry, if we do this, it will help us improve the image.” Continuing to share her vision, she said, “If you’re not really engaged at the customer service level, it’s probably going to be very hard for you to be in business in the coming years.’”
“Overall, I asked many questions that night,” Blalock laughs. “My husband kept saying, ‘Stop asking so many questions.’” By the time it was all said and done, Blalock was attending NMARA’s 1994 annual meeting and was nominated to be the president. “I served for the next four years as president and helped drive a lot of new initiatives,” she says.
Building Foundations for the Future
Automotive Recycling editor Caryn Smith caught up with the busy leader to discuss her life of service as she prepares to end her run as Executive Director of the Automotive Recyclers Association, filling that role since October 2017. While her primary goals, drive, and motivation were to run a top-notch professional automotive recycling facility, her willingness to do the volunteer work when asked has also blazed the trails and opened doors of opportunity for others who want to make an impact, as well.
Automotive Recycling: What were some of the initiatives you accomplished in your early work with NMARA?
Blalock: They are many of the same issues we’re working on now. Unlicensed operators were one of the biggest issues we were very concerned about. Our state licensing was a mess back then – it was not well defined by law. Many operators that held the license weren’t auto recyclers. We asked the state to change it, and they defaulted to the written law. So, we hired a lobbyist to work on changing the law through advocacy.
Two and a half years later, we successfully rewrote the licensing structure in the state of New Mexico, defining auto recycling and associated responsibilities, such as full compliance with all local, state, and federal laws to hold a license as an auto recycler. We did not allow for a grandfather clause to ensure that everybody had to re-qualify and met all requirements. There were close to 400 licenses in the state before the new law. After its implementation, there were 81. Being passed in the early 2000s, our state’s accomplishment was before its time.
We also lobbied to make it illegal in New Mexico to dismantle or destroy a car unless you were licensed. The state can shut down and prosecute people who have no licenses and are dismantling vehicles. That’s been effective for us as well and we have worked closely with law enforcement to ensure compliance.
Fast forward to today, now as the Executive Director of NMARA through my state advocacy work, I continue to work with New Mexico’s Division of Motor Vehicles to ensure all the standards are being upheld and to help them in any way they need our assistance. Once I complete my duties with ARA, my first order of business, is to reactivate our work to help the DMV clean up unlicensed operators that have crept into the state.
AR: When did you begin ARA volunteer leadership, and what were you involved in?
Blalock: I began attending ARA and other industry events when I became an operator. I believe in continuing to learn in order to grow your business.
Ironically, in 1994 I attended my first ARA convention as an owner, and one of the first meetings I joined was the Affiliate Chapters committee meeting. I met Barb Utter, Martha Cowell, and other active recyclers in their state associations.
I’ve formed lifelong friendships with some from this first encounter. I remember networking with the industry executive directors, who told me about ARA’s Mid-Year Leadership Conference in San Diego, so I went there. As a fish out of water learning to swim in this world of auto recycling, I listened to all the committee reports on their activities.
Jim Watson was chairperson of the Government Affairs Committee (GAC), and from my prior career experience, I have always been interested in government affairs. Therefore, one of the first things I did was join the GAC and work with the affiliates and my state association, as well.
For my region, John Fischl of Riteway Auto Parts was the ARA Regional Director. ARA also used to have State Directors, as well. So, my very first position with ARA was under John as a State Director for Region 8. When John fulfilled his term, and I became the Regional Director.
I also joined the ARA Educational Foundation (ARAEF) and worked very closely with Virginia (Ginny) Whelan on launching her passion project, ARA University, which was subscription-based at the time.
On the ARAEF, I met Fran Reitman, owner/operator of Reitman Auto Parts and Sales in KY, who is now one of my closest friends. At this time, she co-owned the business with her husband Randy Reitman, who later also became an ARA president. We lost Randy several years after his EC service to cancer, and Fran and her sons continue to honor Randy’s legacy in the family business.
AR: What led to being on the ARA Executive Committee?
Blalock: I do not sit around unproductively and un-participatory, as I am sure most know about me. I was fully engaged at the state and national levels. I actively participated in the discussions of Affiliate Chapter and other committee meetings.
For me, it was more to soak in everything I could about the industry as an owner/operator. I just assumed that after my Regional Director term and service on the ARA board for several years that this was my service role and contribution. Then, ARA leadership asked me to step into the position of incoming Secretary in 2004. We had discussed the idea a year prior, and when the time came to make it official, I said ‘yes.’
AR: Women owner/operators were an anomaly at this time. Ginny Whelan served on the EC from 1996 to 2000 as the first woman president. You served from 2004 to 2008. What are your thoughts on breaking down industry stereotypes for women?
Blalock: It was definitely different. I can tell you that in the state of New Mexico, I was the only woman running an automotive recycling business.
Generally speaking, I was the only woman at the auctions buying cars. It was rare if you had the opportunity to meet women in the industry who were working on the operational level in those days.
For the most part, women were serving as executive directors for the state associations as leadership. Most other women worked in the back office. Also, wives attended the events, but were not part of the recyclers’ programming and even had their own programming track at the ARA convention.
Ginny and I worked closely together in the ARAEF and the early days of ARA University. Industry-specific education and training programming was important to us. Like most things with ARA, it slowly grew and is today one of the cornerstone ARA member-benefit programs.
We also knew there was an opportunity to reach other women and encourage them in their careers. Eventually, more women attended ARA convention sessions. So we felt, along with Fran Reitman, that it was time to form an official group to allow them to band together. That’s why we formed LARA – Ladies of the Automotive Recyclers Association. The first meeting was a happy hour in an ARA Convention hotel suite, where a handful of ladies attended. It has grown every year since.
LARA is an opportunity to connect. You can walk around the ARA Convention now and probably see as many women as men, including in vendor companies. We want to encourage them all to get involved with everything, provide opportunities to support each other and ensure we continue working together.
AR: You have broken some significant barriers. How has this has opened the doors for others?
Blalock: One of my goals was to empower women to do what best suited them and not settle. Pursue your passion; don’t be relegated to a position.
At one of the early LARA meetings, I remember speaking to the attendees, ‘If there’s something else you would like to do in your business, don’t sit back if you think you have sales skills.’ I shared the story of one of the best salespersons I ever had. She worked as a support staff member but was self-taught on all the codes. She knew how to look up parts and had a good phone voice. I was listening to her one day talking with a customer, and I said, ‘You know what you sound like? Somebody who would be a great salesperson. Would you like an opportunity to try it?’ And she goes, ‘Oh, yeah, I’d love to do that.’ She very quickly became our top salesperson.
That LARA discussion was a defining moment to empower other women, and if they want to pull parts, you know, let somebody in your business know that you have different skills that are not being utilized. Don’t just do a job. Do something that makes you happy and excited to come to work every day. And I think that’s what’s important for women.
AR: The industry has more woman operators, like Amber Kendrick, Pete’s Auto Parts, Recycler Keynote for the 81st Annual ARA Convention. How can more women become owner/operators?
Blalock: Amber grew up in the industry and wanted to grow her skills to purchase her family’s auto recycling business. She worked hard to get there, leaving the family business for years to work for other recyclers. She knew she needed skills that she may or may not have been able to learn working in her family business. That is a remarkable journey that came full circle.
I think the most important lesson for women to recognize is to know what they want to do, have a goal in mind as to what they would like to achieve, make a plan to get there, and create a support network for the journey.
It is complex for women to navigate family life, as they often maintain the family foundation at home. Women can choose a career and parenthood and be strong enough to make both meaningful. My kids grew up watching their mother have a career and also spending a lot of time with them in their activities. The key is not to sit back and think you can’t do it because you think
balancing work and home is a stumbling block.
AR: As a volunteer leader, what made it worthwhile?
Blalock: Being involved with industry progress is one. We had some significant success with the licensing structure in New Mexico, and being able to share those lessons with others is rewarding. The Virginia Automotive Recyclers Association (VARA) asked me to speak once, having interest in what we had done in this area to redo their licensing structure. For me, that was one of the more important things that I accomplished, even before being on the ARA Executive Committee.
Understanding the world of government affairs in my prior career and as a member of the ARA GAC was very beneficial. It prepared me for my executive committee role. When issues like NMVTIS and Cash for Clunkers arose, I understood the process in theory. Neither of those were anything to write home about, but I think we still worked very hard to ensure that our industry was heard and protected during that process.
AR: What was the most significant achievement from your EC term and as president?
Blalock: I would say the process and the implementation work we did for NMVTIS. One time, Michael Wilson, then-executive director, and I were driving back from a trip to New York, and we had to pull over to join a call about it with the Department of Justice. I remember how hard we fought to ensure that ARA was recognized as the leader in the automotive recycling industry. We fought very, very hard.
We attempted to get the reporting to go through ARA, but that did not happen. But there was not anything we could do about it. Continually positioning ARA as the one organization that represents the entire professional auto recycling industry has since made us the sounding board for many government entities who reach out when they need information or resources for their program.
Laying the groundwork for our future involvement with regulatory and government agencies is one of the things that I am most proud.
AR: After your service on the EC, you leveraged an opportunity to sell your business. After the sale, why did you decide to keep working in industry advocacy?
Blalock: For a multitude of reasons. The business was my husband’s family business.
He was ready to move on, so we sold. He wanted me to retire, but I was not yet prepared and felt I still had work to be done for the industry and now had a lot of time I could dedicate to that. I needed to return to my grassroots advocacy work.
I saw a significant gap between the states and the national association and nonexistent activity in 18 dormant states. At that time, there was no opening to work on this on the ARA/national side. Therefore, my motivation became to see what I could do about it independently.
I first got to work where I live. I drove around the entire state of New Mexico. I visited every auto recycler I could find. Some were licensed, some were not. I encouraged the illegal operators to become legal, or I’d help them find a new job because, at the end of the day, I believed my job was to protect the licensed professional auto recycler.
I developed a plan to share our experience and success in New Mexico state to state as a basis to organize dormant states and organizations. My goal was to ensure we didn’t have a vulnerable state, without people we could activate when needed.
That led me to Utah, driving hundreds, if not thousands, of miles visiting recyclers. With Utah auto recyclers, we worked on legislative updates limiting non-licensed buyers to the number of vehicles you can buy and cleaned up some other laws. We worked with oversight agencies to make sure that we were all on the same page.
Nevada was my next stop, and I was only able to develop a small group of auto recyclers to work as contacts for issues that might arise.
Eventually, I got a call from the Automotive Recyclers of Indiana about helping with their efforts. They are a great group and now are one of my most engaged ones. We discussed my desire to establish a state certification program, and they agreed to co-develop one. That is how I met Sara Hamidovic, CEO/President and Principal Engineer at VET Environmental Engineering. Her knowledge, capabilities, and interest in this project impressed me. She’s a wealth of information for automotive recyclers in Indiana and the Midwest, as well as around the country.
AR: What is the most challenging aspect of advocacy?
Blalock: Many people do not want to change or engage. They lack the understanding that being part of the process protects their business. Many of these are the ones that are unfortunately struggling today.
The hardest thing for me was walking into the doors of a businesses where it was meaningless to them that I was there. They did not see any value to being part of an organization that could do a lot for them. Keeping people engaged is an ongoing struggle. If we’re not together, then we’re fighting a battle by ourselves. That’s not something that any business can do alone anymore.
Overall, it is frustrating to see the lack of motivation to change, engage, and be a part of growing our industry and ultimately changing our industry’s image in local communities.
You can be part of the solution, or you can be part of the problem. I call them the “hangers-on.” They want to hang on and just show up somewhere every day to work. They’re not growing, and they’re not adding anything of value to the industry.
I believe that all auto recyclers are responsible to their business and to the entire industry. I want to be able to go anywhere in the country and take agencies or legislators into most, if not all, professional automotive recycling facilities. We have all seen ARA’s work in the last 25 years on certification and positioning in our industry. It’s tough to watch people not understand its importance.
The eBay Airbag Program is probably the most significant highlight, essentially providing ARA with the first actual industry endorsement of the ARA Certification program.
AR: You are the only ARA President thus far who has gone on to serve as ARA’s Executive Director. You are also the first woman to be the ED in ARA’s 81 years. A lot of firsts! How did this come about?
Blalock: During the Hill Day 2018, as David Gold was serving his term as ARA President, the Executive Committee asked to meet to discuss how I might help ARA at the state affiliate level. They knew my involvement there was productive and were interested in ideas to generate more interest in ARA.
A short time later, they asked if I could serve as Interim Executive Director upon Michael Wilson’s departure. With the EC’s understanding that I would continue my state work, I accepted that position and began commuting from New Mexico to ARA’s Headquarters for a week at a time. I worked with the employees to ensure they had what they needed to succeed. We also worked on the financials to ensure we were being fiscally responsible.
Eventually, I was offered the position full-time, with the condition I could continue to serve my state associates. The announcement was made in July.
Ironically, when you end your term on the EC, you become a board member for another 10 years following that. The day I took the job at ARA, I was finishing my last year, my 15th year, on the board of directors.
AR: As Executive Director, what are you most proud of?
Blalock: The eBay Airbag Program is probably the most significant highlight, essentially providing ARA with the first actual industry endorsement of the ARA Certification program. eBay is now the only platform where professional auto recyclers can list and sell airbags and components only if they are ARA Recall-Certified.
We now also have the endorsement of our ARA Certification program with the help of current ARA President Nick Daurio with Amwins Program Underwriters. Certified facilities will get a discount on their insurance, which we all know is a heavy hit to most recyclers financials.
Our working relationships with the regulators has greatly improved, which I feel is also a benefit to professional auto recyclers.
We are deeply involved with Argonne National Labs, which offers various science and technology capabilities and collaborates with many sectors and agencies on projects. This is a growing relationship, and for ARA, it is helpful that Argonne is positioned with the Department of Energy and other government entities.
Our investment of time and resources with NAATBatt – and the presentations for their conferences – has set the stage for ARA to be viewed as the go-to experts within the auto recycling space. Emil Nusbaum has taken initiative in that realm now. NAATBatt will open doors with the OEMs and facilitate actual working relationships with them, including positive conversations. I think that’s significant.
Much of the work that we’ve done as advocates for the industry, which I think is our primary role and it’s certainly my primary focus, ensures that others see us advocate and protect auto recyclers unrestricted rights to sell ROE®–Recycled Original Equipment auto parts. This registered trademark, along with Reuse, then Recycle®, are brands that I am proud to have spearheaded for ARA, as well.
We worked very hard with Collision Industry Conference (CIC) conference to understand and appreciate professional auto recyclers as viable partners in the repair process.
At the height of catalytic converter theft, we kept the focus on those committing the crimes, to deflect it from auto recyclers so their business dealings were not interrupted by somebody else’s bad behavior.
ARA was also a key resource for auto recyclers on state and national mandates on business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every mandate was posted on ARA’s website, and weekly e-newsletters kept recyclers informed. We also held the first-ever virtual industry convention.
Yet, what makes me most proud is that we can pick up the phone and call just about anyone, now, and have our industry position considered. We worked very hard with Collision Industry Conference (CIC) conference to understand and appreciate professional auto recyclers as viable partners in the repair process.
AR: What is next as you exit the ARA ED role?
Blalock: I will continue advocating for the industry at a state level, and work with ARA for the purpose of helping the states. Kim Glasscock and I are also partnering in a new business, Automotive Recycling Advocacy.
I’m going to manage our state associations, their government affairs and any other advocacy. She will manage the events for the states where we handle this work.
We plan to focus on developing more regional organizations, rather than state driven, to allow for meaningful conversations and sharing resources. Several state associations are very small, particularly the four corner states. Therefore, we will hold regional collaborative events. As an example, the Rocky Mountain Show is intended to bring more states together regionally. This year, we rebranded the Tri-State show as the Midwest Summit & Expo to include our new partners, Missouri Auto and Truck Recyclers Association. Utilizing my last 30 years of experience, I plan to apply it where it is needed.
AR: What do you think is the future of automotive recycling? How can recyclers prepare?
Blalock: Auto recyclers do need to prepare for the future – because it’s coming, whether they’re prepared or not. The best way to do this is to keep up with what’s happening around them. Being involved somehow will be crucial for knowing and understanding critical information. The quickest way to accomplish something is at the state level. On the national level is often arduous to bring something to fruition. We need to share our success with auto recyclers, and ask them to join in.
Hiring is a big issue; we need to start building qualified people, instead of looking for them. Hire someone with the required basics and interest in learning. This is the most critical now and in the future; find talent and train them.
AR: What about robotics or AI in automotive recycling?
Blalock: The one thing that I’ve always liked about our industry is that we’ve never shied away from technology. AI is going to be huge for our industry. It is being used in the collision industry now to write damage claims. We could be using that same AI to evaluate vehicles when bidding on them at the auction, as well as inventorying them once they come into a facility. Do not shy away from technology. If there is a technology program for your business that works, you need to have it. I mean, that’s the way I was. We spent a lot of money computerizing, even though it cost us a lot of money, but we knew the long-term gain was beneficial.
AR: What are your final thoughts?
Blalock: Stay engaged. Join your state associations. If you’re not a member of ARA, you must also join today. Come to the meetings. Come to the shows. It may mean you may have to close your shop for a day, but it will be money well worth your time. A lot of the work is being done in the committees at the state and ARA levels. Ask to join one and be engaged, because we never know who might have the next great idea to help our industry.
Stop waiting for things to fall in your lap. Search for them, and work with others in your industry. There are so many talented, knowledgeable people working in our industry that every auto recycler has access to if they’ll show up to meetings and be part of the process. I have a five-year plan in place, so I will be on the hunt to find that next person with the desire and ambition to continue the advocacy work that will always be a necessary part of any industry.
Caryn Smith is the editor of Automotive Recycling magazine, and has been covering the industry for over 20 years. She is a freelance writer for industry publications, such as Recycling Today.
