Automotive News - April 25, 2011 - 22

22 • APRIL 25, 2011

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S P E C I A L S E C T I O N

It’s not a secret that American car dealers are great supporters of their communities. It just seems that way sometimes. Take Tamara Darvish, a high-profile dealer in Silver Spring, Md. She is wellknown as a co-founder of the Committee to Restore Dealer Rights two years ago and a key figure in the fight in Congress to help rejected dealers get their franchises back. But who knew that Darvish finds time to teach a class on business and life skills at a Washington, D.C., high school that is synonymous with gang warfare? On the other hand, some dealers and

Dealers of Distinction
Retailers find countless ways to give back to their communities
“When we have a downturn, we have even more desire to give.”
MARC CANNON, AutoNation

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Rick and Rita Case
Rick Case Automotive Group

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Ken Crowley
Crowley Automotive Group

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John Giambalvo
Jack Giambalvo Motor Co.

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Robert and John Garff
Ken Garff Automotive Group

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Tamara Darvish
Darcars Automotive Group

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Martin NeSmith
NeSmith Chevrolet-Buick-GMC NeSmith-Walker ChevroletBuick-GMC

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Tal Anderson
Performance Automotive Group

dealerships are widely recognized for their efforts. Ken Garff Automotive Group, one of the nation’s largest car retailers, sponsors an education and literacy program in Utah schools that rivals the state high school basketball tournament for renown. Dealers give back in countless ways. Scott Wood used his business acumen to get a critical school bond issue passed in Batesville, Ark. Ray Ciccolo opened an orphanage in China for disabled children. Steve Lapin performs rock concerts to raise money so kids in underprivileged sections of Los Angeles can play Little League baseball. It’s hard to be a successful car dealer and not feel a debt of gratitude to your community — or even communities far removed from where you sell cars. “Dealers are an extension of our own culture,” says Steve Center, chief marketing officer for American Honda Motor Co. “Mr. Honda’s dream was that we would become part of the community in which we sell our products. We want to become part of that fabric. You can’t succeed in a community

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Lisa Schomp
Schomp Automotive

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Reed Trickett
Trickett Honda

| PAGE 30 | Boston area dealer Ray Ciccolo holds one of the children at Yulin Ciccolo Sunbeam Village, an orphanage Ciccolo opened three years ago in China. See profile on Page 34. without becoming part of it. Customers want to know you are giving back.” AutoNation Inc., the largest dealership group in the United States, has built its corporate culture around philanthropy. “When we have a downturn, we have even more desire to give,” said spokesman Marc Cannon. “When you are such a part of the fabric of your community, you can see how many people are struggling.” AutoNation makes corporate donations to arts, education and civic programs, and it also encourages individual employees to donate their time to projects such as Habitat for Humanity and the March of Dimes. Giving back makes sense. “It’s just a given. It strengthens the community, and a strong community helps the economic environment,” says Bob Mallon, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation and a former Ford dealer in Tacoma, Wash. Since it was established by the National Automobile Dealers Association in 1975, the foundation has donated more than $10 million to health care, education and emergency relief programs. Money for the donations comes from the more than 17,000 NADA member dealers and the foundation’s “ambassadors.” In March, the foundation recognized its 500th ambassador; each one has made a $10,000 donation. Community service may be good business, but that’s not why most dealers do it. As Bill Trickett prepared to open his first store near Nashville 40 years ago, he asked his son, Reed, now a dealer himself: “Do you know one of the best things about getting into this new business? It’s that we’re going to be able to help people who need help.” In these pages we offer profiles of 20 magnanimous and caring dealers. It’s a remarkable group, truly Dealers of Distinction. They are far from the only dealers of distinction in the United States or even necessarily the best and most active when it comes to community service. But they are representative of the wonderful work that thousands of their peers do every day. These dealers stand for all dealers. c

Bruce Schulman
Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills

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Scott Wood
Stanley Wood Chevrolet Scott Wood Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep

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Mario Murgado
Brickell Motors

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Buzz Rodland
Rodland Toyota-Scion

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Ray Ciccolo
Village Automotive Group

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Steve Lapin
Lapdog Motors

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Susan Scarola
DCH Auto Group

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Darryl Holter
Shammas Group

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Bob Mallon
Mallon Ford

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Ed Williamson
Williamson Cadillac-Buick-GMC

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Paul Miller
Paul Miller Autogroup

Los Angeles area dealer Steve Lapin, left, performs with his band, The Lapdogs. Lapin has combined his passions for music and sports by performing rock concerts to raise money for Little League baseball teams in Southern California. See profile on Page 34.

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Automotive News - April 25, 2011

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