1st MERA Pres. Leaves 12-Volt

By Amy Gilroy On Oct 10 2005 - 6:00am

Longtime board member of the Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association (MERA) Joe Cavanaugh said he is leaving the 12-volt business and will therefore no longer be eligible to serve on MERA's board.

Cavanaugh, owner of Stereo West, Omaha, Neb., sold his car audio division to RODEM. The new business will be called Stereo West Auto Toys and will retain all current staff, including general manager Alex McHugh, who will become president of the new company, he said.

Instead Cavanaugh will focus on the custom home electronics installation segment of Stereo West, and his new second career of lecturing on the new business area of “strength-based management.”

Cavanaugh was founding president of MERA from 1996 to 1998.

“We are grateful that Joe was able to help give MERA the strong foundation on which it was built,” said MERA's president Harvey Wright, president of Autosound of Lexington, Ky. “We wish him much luck in his new endeavors, and we welcome the new owners of Stereo West Auto Toys to the industry and look forward to the new excitement they will bring to the marketplace.”