CCA’s new president Michael Saunders looks build on past president’s success
When Karen Smith announced that she was stepping away from the presidency of the Canadian Carwash Association (CCA) at the annual general meeting held at the start of May, she reflected that the national organization had reached ‘retirement age.’
“Our association is officially 65 years old, meaning, it is now officially at retirement age,” she joked to everyone who attended the meeting. “However, we have no plans to retire or to slow down. We celebrated this milestone in style at the 2025 Convenience U CARWACS show in March, launched our first-ever passport program, sending attendees on a prize-winning mission to connect with the show’s many exhibitors, we hosted a car wash education day, a key not with Dan Kelly [Dan Kelly serves as CFIB’s president and CEO] and we had for our members of several outstanding car wash operations, such as Hollywood Car Wash in Brampton, along with giving away 65th Anniversary cupcakes, because what better way to say we’ve been around for 65 years than with a few calories and a bit of frosting.”
At the annual meeting a new group of directors were appointed to the executive:
- Vice President - Jason Hands, Parkland Corporation
- Vice President - Rudy van Woerkom, Belvedere Technical Services Ltd.
- Treasurer - Matt Verity, Matt Verity Consulting
All joking aside, Smith took the time to remind everyone the important work the CCA continues to do, from its year of advocacy and support for the car wash industry in Canada and its ongoing support for its existing and ever-growing new members, and the support the CCA gave her when she took on the role of president five years ago, and which she is now stepping away from.
“It has truly been an honour and privilege to serve as the first female national president of the CCAD over these past five years,” she said. “My passion for the organization, for protecting its legacy has been what has fueled me throughout when I stepped into this role. There were some big questions about [the CCA’s] future, but thanks to the insight and dedication of many industry leaders, there was a shared belief that we could move forward. I am proud to have played a part in that.”
READ: CCA’s Car Wash for a Cure raises funds for spinal cord research
While she is stepping down from the role of president, she is not stepping away from the CCA. She will be staying to help Michael Saunders with Mark VII Equipment take on the role of president going forward.
Saunders had been an associate member of the CCA for two years before taking on this new role, and he plans to continue to build on Smith’s and the CCA’s mission of education and to provide a platform for advocacy for the industry.
“Karen was a joy to work with,” he said. “I’m hoping to be as innovative as she has been and what she has achieved, such as spearheading the Car Wash for a Cure, raising money for spinal cord research, starting our successful webinars and maneuvering all of us through the challenges of Covid.”
He plans to work with the CCA’s committee to develop more functions and activities that will raise the profile of the CCA to encourage more membership and to create more opportunities for networking and raise awareness amongst the public of the work its members do in their local communities, for example, around issues of sustainability.
“Certainly, we want to be involved in sustainability issues,” Saunders said. “Whether that’s educating the public on how well we are doing on the issue to ensuring that we are there on regulatory discussions. There are a lot of challenges where having a unified voice for car wash operators can contribute to such current and future discussions.”
He gave the example of the leading role many car wash operations have taken in water conservation and reclamation efforts across Canada. He pointed to how many of its members in Calgary played an important role in helping the city reduce water usage when it implemented Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions when an important water main failed while also experiencing drought conditions. Many of the car wash operations were able to operate under these restrictions because of how efficiently they used and reclaimed water in their operations.
“The CCA is very proud of having played a role during those water shortages in Calgary, working with city officials to show them our water reclamation efforts,” he added. “I’d like to see us doing even more in educating the public that we are not a massive consumer of water, that we are taking the lead in water reclamation and that we have much to contribute when it comes to legislation and regulations around the environment.”
Saunders is also looking to build on the online education programs the CCA has been regularly hosting. These programs cover regulatory, health and safety and financing and other issues that are important to owners and operators of car wash businesses. He would like to even expand the topic covered going forward, looking at car wash operations as investments and helping members navigate municipal and provincial regulations.
“Navigating those complex municipal regulatory rules is a key issue for many,” Saunders said. “As is helping municipal and government representatives get a better understanding of how our industry operates and what supports we need from them so as to be successful, such as streamlining approval processes and making securing of locations for car wash operations easier.”
