News You Can Use

RTA NEWS YOU CAN USE
September 8, 2022

We share this extremely sad news from
RTA member TIA.

We have lost a good friend and mentor
Marvin Bozarth
a Giant in the Tire Retreading Industry

Marvin needs no introduction to most of you
and although he was retired as of a few years ago,
He was always glad to advise RTA and share his expertise.
His passing is noted with sadness and he will be greatly missed.

Marvin Bozarth, Retired
ITRA Executive Director, Dies
 
Marvin Bozarth, one of the retread industry's foremost experts and a past managing director of the American Retreaders Association (ARA) and executive director of the International Tire & Rubber Association (ITRA), died Sept. 1, 2022, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico, Mo. He was 85.

Born Dec. 10, 1936, Bozarth was the youngest child of Ed and Esther Bozarth of Paris, Mo. He was raised on their farm three miles south of Paris on the Elk Fork of the Salt River and attended Oak Ridge Elementary School and later Paris High School. He joined the Army in 1955 and was stationed in Germany until his discharge in 1958. For the next seven years, he worked for MFA Oil & Tire Division in Columbia, Mo., responsible for the tire retread shop.

In March 1962, Bozarth married Donna Lear. They bought a small farm west of Columbia near Midway, Mo., where they lived until he was offered a position at Community Tire Co. in St. Louis. In 1970 they moved to the Ozark Mountains near Potosi, Mo., where Bozarth was employed by the Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. as plant manager and vice president of production.

Bozarth started his career at ARA in 1988 as technical director and three years later was named the association's managing director. When the ARA changed its name to ITRA in 1996, Bozarth continued to lead the organization as executive director serving until 2002. During his tenure at ARA/ITRA, the association built a new headquarters and training center in Louisville, Ky., and greatly expanded and improved its retread and tire repair training programs. During this time, Bozarth also served as editor of The Tire Repair & Retread Journal and co-authored the book "Tire Essentials."

Bozarth later worked as a consultant for his own company called Tire Analysis, Inc. He was an expert witness in civil court cases involving tires and retreading for many years. He also was the recipient of many awards and honors during his career.

In 1995 Bozarth was inducted into the Retreaders Hall of Fame, in 2003 into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame and in 2022 was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Tire Retreading Sector by Valebridge Media Services in the United Kingdom, publisher of Retreading Business and Tyre & Rubber Recycling magazines. In announcing the award, David Wilson, managing director of Valebridge Media, called Bozarth "a legend in the North American retreading industry, a larger-than-life figure who contributed hugely to the retreading industry during his career."

Bozarth enjoyed quail hunting and spending time with his family. He was active in the Baptist church and served as a deacon. He was well read and very well-traveled. He was a light in the life of anyone who knew him, and we will all miss him very much, his family said.

Preceded in death by four brothers, Clyde, James, JE, and Robert, and five sisters, Madge Tawney, Blanche Jacobs, Jane West, Esther Hatton and Dolly Kiplinger, Bozarth is survived by his wife Donna, children Tina, Ed and Scott, grandson Mitchell, and nieces and nephews too numerous to list.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, at the Bible Baptist Church, 4275 East Highway WW, Columbia, Mo., at 1:00 p.m. A short memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the
Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico, Mo.
#1 Veterans Drive, Mexico, MO, United States, Missouri
Phone: (573) 581-1088
or to the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org

HERE FOLLOWING is a link to an article about Marvin published in Rubber News in 2013.

_______________________________________

And as a matter of interest, we are ALWAYS happy to post articles and advertisements, etc.
for any RTA member. If you wish to take advantage of this offer,
please contact Jeffrey
by email to info@retreadtire.org

You can always reach Jeffrey Parks at RTA by phone at 831-620-5345
or email: jeffrey@retreadtire.org

•     •     •

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
"May you grow still enough
to hear the small noises earth makes
in preparing for the long sleep of winter,
so that you yourself may grow calm
and grounded deep within.
May you grow still enough
to hear the trickling of water seeping into the ground,
so that your soul may be softened and healed,
and guided in its flow.
May you grow still enough
to hear the splintering of starlight in the winter sky
and the roar at earth¹s fiery core.
May you grow still enough
to hear the stir of a single snowflake in the air,
so that your inner silence
may turn into hushed expectation."
~ Brother David Steindl-Rast