History of the Wisconsin Automotive Aftermarket Association (WAAA)

The Retail Gasoline Dealers Association (RGDA) was formed shortly thereafter. Founders of the early association were Wilmer Schuh, John Bunce, Robert E. Lee, Otto Larson, O.V. Hanson and Ernest Welk.  The original mission statement of the RGDA was "to foster the interests of its members in the sale, at retail, of gasoline and petroleum products, accessories, and automotive service by common business interests, and to do all acts which may tend to promote and protect the interests of its members; to secure freedom from unjust or unlawful contacts."

Membership in the RGDA grew throughout the 1960s and 1970s.  In the 1980s, consolidation within the oil companies was forcing dealers to change brands, lose a brand, or close.  RGDA worked on a national level to pass legislation that protected dealers against unfair cancellation, The Petroleum Marketing Practices Act, or PMPA.  The Association also worked for passage of minimum mark-up laws, mandatory vehicle inspections, and keeping vapor recovery expenses the responsiblity of the oil companies.  1988 saw the implementation of underground storage tank regulations, and RGDA was instrumental in the initial design and implementation of the Petroleum Environmental Clean Up Fund (PECFA).

In the 1990s, the Association changed its name to the Wisconsin Automotive Trades Association (WATA) to reflect the changing nature of its membership, which now consisted equally of gasoline dealers and service repair businesses.  Throughout the 1990s, WATA continued to monitor the PECFA program and worked to set up government controls and R-12 freon and mandactory recycling.

In 2000, the Association merged with the Wisconsin Independent Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association and again changed its name to the Wisconsin Automotive Aftermarket Association (WAAA) to better reflect its new membership base.