Pitch Competition Winner!!!
Sue Closs Dickson from Give Me Ten Wins the 2025 ACPN Pitch Competition
I first saw the opportunity to pitch at Auto Care Connect Week in a LinkedIn post. Curious but unsure, I picked up the phone and called my Leadership 2.0 cohort partner, Joe Thomas to get his thoughts. He said, “It’s a great opportunity for exposure, but you probably won't win.”
Game on, Joe. I got to work.
What followed was one of the most intense professional experiences of my career. Crafting a meaningful, three-minute pitch proved daunting—how could I condense eight years of grassroots impact into just a few minutes? I leaned on my network of incredible industry supporters, but my secret weapon was my pitch coach, Donna Wagner. If you know Donna’s background, you know what kind of powerhouse she is. With her help, I refined the message, identified the emotional core and uncovered a narrative hook that truly resonated.
In that pitch, I framed the Catalog Content Manager role as a symbol of everything we’re missing in workforce development. It’s one of the most in-demand jobs in the aftermarket today, yet parents, students — even educators — rarely know it exists. This is a massive problem. We can’t fill positions if no one knows they’re even an option.
And the reality is, this isn’t just about one role. Our industry is full of hidden career pathways that blend business, technology and automotive knowledge. But we keep them hidden in plain sight. If we want to grow our workforce, we must start by shining a light on these hidden gems.
The message I shared on that stage was simple and terrifying. This competition meant so much to me I choked. I had some interruptions on stage that threw me off as I had to memorize the three-minute presentation repeatedly. I believe in the message and the ask is simple, it can support your business growth. 10 hours can change a student’s life and change your workforce pipeline forever.
I may have entered the pitch competition to share an idea, but I walked away with something more: a platform, a win and a renewed mission to connect education with employment.
So, I ask you: Are you in? Let’s build the workforce of the future—10 hours at a time.