Do you currently have family members in the auto industry?

Suzi handles our special projects. Both my kids spent some time at the dealership while going to school. My daughter has a career working with the federal government on water quality here in Montana, and my son is a software engineer. So, no. No family is working in the industry.

Describe your educational background. What did you study?

My educational background is in accounting. I went to BYU in Utah, and I took the CPA exam.

Are there any specific individuals who had a major impact on your career?

I have been fortunate. I have had quality people guide me, mentor me, and support me along the way.

Roy Raymond, who hired me into the auto industry, was one of the finest people I ever met. He taught me the car business, and in return, I worked hard to learn the business and safeguard his investment — which, as it is for most dealers, was substantial. One of my best memories of Roy came early on in working for him. He had an offset account that hadn’t been audited in a long time, which I set about doing. I found some missing credits, went to the bank, and got a check, which I presented to him. That was fun. I felt like I earned my start in the business. Roy was very appreciative, and he was generous with his knowledge.

The colleagues I have met in my 20 Group involvement has been invaluable.

What is the most rewarding part of your career?

For me, it’s able to see my business get better and better — working together, accomplishing goals, and seeing my employees do well.

We’re goal-oriented. I think that makes us successful. We set goals at the end of the year, and then we meet monthly to see how we are doing. We work hard as a team. Most employees have been here a long time — we have very little turnover, so it’s rewarding to see us get better and better at doing what we do, year over year.

What do you think will be some of the auto industry’s dominant trends in the next 5-10 years?

If I look back even five years, it’s not the same industry as it is now. The thing I find so fascinating, though, is how regardless of the changes in efficiencies and high tech, it’s still a people business.

Even during this last year, during a pandemic, people still wanted to come into the dealership. Now granted, we needed to do our part to make sure we followed safety protocols, but our customers wanted the engagement.

I think it’s essential to have the online purchase options available — it needs to be seamless — but I still believe that at some point in the process, people want to know that there is someone behind the process who they can turn to for help, follow up service and after-sales support.

So yes, I see changes. This industry is continually changing and evolving, but I don’t see it moving away from the people aspect.

What is the most significant impact of being a MTADA member? What makes it beneficial?

Many of us, especially those with single stores, are not big enough to get quality health insurance for an affordable price, for instance. Through MTADA, we get great benefits that make us more competitive in attracting talent to our businesses. We have the best health care for the price.

As a group of dealers, we can band together and accomplish things that we never could alone.

There’s a wealth of knowledge. Take 20 Groups, for instance. I have been active in those for years, and I am still learning and gaining new and better perspectives.

When we have an organization, like MTADA, behind us, focusing on how to make our lives as dealers easier, it’s a good thing.

Are you involved in any civic or charitable organizations?

Suzi and I are on a lot of boards within our community. We sponsor many positive initiatives, particularly in education. We also serve in our church. I think that we all have a responsibility to make our communities better.

If you look back at your career and life, what would be three things that you have learned that you would pass onto a younger member within the auto industry?

I am not sure that I can come up with three things. Still, I will say that if you understand responsibility and accountability, you will be successful in any field, including the auto industry. I think it’s really easy to make excuses or come up with internal justifications as to why things are not going well. For instance, blaming the economy for lack of sales is easier than digging in and figuring out what to do with the circumstances at hand.

The auto industry is fantastic, as pretty much every person from sales to the service bay can be an entrepreneur of sorts. You can do well and build your own clientele, a business within a business, if you will, without the overhead. The sky is literally the limit when it comes to income. So I suppose I can add the willingness to work hard and seize the opportunities as they come. Is that three?

What are some professional moments that make you the proudest? What does the TIME Dealer of the Year nominee mean for you?

We’ve won many awards over the years; Helena Chamber of Commerce awards, Best of State awards, several OEM awards, and of course, this most recent Time Dealer recognition — and they all mean so much because it speaks to the efforts of all of us here at the dealership working as a team. It really does take a village to get this right. I am grateful for the acknowledgments.

Was there an “aha” moment in your career that defined you?

I am not sure there was a specific moment, but when I became clear on what motivated me personally, that was defining for me. I like advancement opportunities; I need to know that there’s a path where I can grow and accomplish goals — either my own or group goals.

I believe that we all need internal motivation to succeed, and when we know what this is, success in any given endeavor becomes easier and a lot more fun.

Describe your all-time favorite vehicle (it can be one you’ve owned or something on your wish list). What are you driving today?

I drive an Explorer ST, which is the SUV. It’s the Ford code for “souped-up,” and I love it. It’s really fun to drive. It’s actually my second one — the first was sold out from under me — but now I have another one, so it’s good.

The most fun car I have ever driven was the Mustang Cobra — they are amazing. I got to drive one at a Ford event in Las Vegas. It was one of those events where you get to drive the car with a race car driver supervising you. So there I was, driving this Mustang, and the race car driver was urging me to ramp it up — I guess I was a little too conservative — so I decided that I was going to accelerate a bit.

The race track we were on is located next to Nellis Air Force base, and at the time, they were doing F14 flybys. I pushed on the accelerator of that Mustang Cobra, just as an F14 went roaring by, and yes, I thought that it was the car, not the plane. I had my own Top Gun moment. The race driver realized that I thought it was the car, and pretty quickly, I realized it wasn’t, and we both had a good laugh.

But, even if the Mustang Cobra didn’t actually sound like an F14, it’s still a pretty amazing car, and I had a great time driving it!

What is your favorite way to spend your free time? Any unusual hobbies?

Nothing unusual, but my favorite way to spend free time is with my family. We’re really active; we hike, bicycle, canoe and kayak. We love the outdoor lifestyle of Montana.

Tell us a little about your family.

Suzi and I have two children, my daughter, Jerin, and our son, Blake. They both have dogs, so we have grand dogs: two Australian Shepherds and a German Shepherd. Suzi ad I have two Scotties, Maggie and Stuart.