Dealers of Distinction

John F. Bergstrom's profit-sharing plan

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
John F. Bergstrom – CEO of Bergstrom Automotive Group in Neenah, Wis. – donates 25 percent of dealership profits to local charities and raises funds for parks, hospitals and the arts. He is one of 20 dealers profiled in our "Dealers of Distinction" section, published in our Feb. 4, 2013, print issue.... Read More »

 

Jack Kain's lifesaving mission

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Jack Kain who owns a Ford dealership bearing his name in Versailles, Ky., is committed to bucking up the local organ-donor registry one dollar at a time. And for Kain, this cause is personal. He is one of 20 dealers profiled in our "Dealers of Distinction" section, published in our Feb. 4, 2013, print issue.... Read More »

 

Dick Olson visits prisoners

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Dealer Dick Olson and his wife, Debbie, are active in prison-ministry outreach through their church. Olson, who is president of Bison Ford in Great Falls, Mont., hands out books and Bibles to inmates weekly. He is one of 20 dealers profiled in our "Dealers of Distinction" section, published in our Feb. 4, 2013, print issue.... Read More »

 

ALAN HELFMAN

Sports lover's gift helps school, honors family

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
At age 11, Alan Helfman started doing odd jobs at his dad's store, Helfman River Oaks Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram in Houston. Helfman, a lifelong sports enthusiast, recently honored his late father, Jack Helfman, and his brother-in-law Nason Feldman, who owned and managed Helfman Car Dealerships, by helping to build an athletic field for Emery/Weiner School in Houston.... Read More »

 

JIM ELLIS

Son's illness made giving personal

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
For Atlanta dealer Jim Ellis, a longtime contributor to mental illness causes, the connection is personal. Ellis and his wife of nearly 60 years, Billie, experienced the devastation that mental illness can cause when their son, Greg Ellis, was diagnosed with schizophrenia.... Read More »

 

ANNETTE SYKORA

Techs' checks ensure children travel safely

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
In April, parents flocked to Smith South Plains Ford-Lincoln-Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram in Levelland, Texas, to have qualified technicians check their vehicles' child safety seats for proper sizing and installation.... Read More »

 

PAUL MOAK JR.

Sharing values, ideas

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Working with kids and young adults has been a longtime passion for Paul Moak Jr. The second-generation dealer, with stores housing Honda, Subaru and Volvo cars in Jackson, Miss., grew up in Scouting and has been active in it as an adult.... Read More »

 

MARCY MAGUIRE

Sharing time and wisdom is part of dealer's routine

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
When Tari Cash was trying to break into the auto business in 2008, her father, a Harvard University business professor, suggested she contact a former student and car dealer, Marcy Maguire, who might make time for a phone call or a job lead. Instead Maguire, president of Windsor Nissan in East Windsor, N.J., and a member of the NADA board of directors, rolled out the red carpet.... Read More »

 

ROGER PENSKE

Penske is a go-to guy for Detroit projects

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
The name Roger Penske is synonymous with Detroit cleanup and security. Penske, chairman of Penske Automotive Group Inc., is the go-to guy for many tangible downtown improvements.... Read More »

 

DAVID WILSON

Megadealer Wilson, aka layaway angel

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
California megadealer David Wilson estimates that he and his dealerships have given away about $10 million over the years. But it's one of his smaller outlays that has commanded attention the past two years.... Read More »

 

BOB DAVIS

Lather up! Hosting car washes is a tradition in Long Beach

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Most Sundays, a line of dirty cars waits to visit Glenn E. Thomas Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram. Almost every weekend for the past two decades, the dealership has hosted a charity car wash for local school and college groups from the Long Beach, Calif., area.... Read More »

 

VALERY VOYLES

Ga. dealer rewards great teaching

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
The most fun Valery Voyles has all year is when she hands over car keys to four dedicated teachers in her community each fall. Those teachers are all winners of local Teacher of the Year programs in suburban Atlanta, where Voyles, 56, runs her family's six dealerships.... Read More »

 

JAY CIMINO

Family illness made dealer an activist

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Jay Cimino's childhood town, Trinidad, Colo., needed better health care. So in 2005 Cimino founded the Trinidad Community Foundation to raise money for health care and education. But he needed a place for Trinidad residents to go to get that health care.... Read More »

 

JACK KAIN

Dealer's cause: Organ donation awareness

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Every day the clock ticks and Jack Kain, owner of Jack Kain Ford in Versailles, Ky., and former chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, prays it will be the day the phone rings. On the day it finally rings a voice will tell him that the hospital has found a liver that matches the needs of one of his two daughters.... Read More »

 

DICK OLSON

Dealer takes time to visit prisoners

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Most Tuesday evenings Dick Olson is in prison. But not as an inmate. Dick and his wife, Debbie, distribute books and Bibles to more than 400 inmates at the Cascade County Regional Detention Facility in Great Falls, Mont.... Read More »

 

JOHN BERGSTROM

Dealer shares profits, gets his community involved

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Bergstrom Automotive Group has a company policy of giving 25 percent of its profits to local causes every year, and also regularly gathers donations from the community.... Read More »

 

JACK FITZGERALD

Dealer Fitzgerald is a teacher, not just an auto seller

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Jack Fitzgerald, owner of 15 dealerships in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Florida, has reams of government spreadsheets and documents on his Web site, together with his own tip sheets for buying a car.... Read More »

 

MIKE SHAW

Colorado dealer thanks the troops

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Ask Colorado and Texas dealer Mike Shaw why he devotes so much time and passion to honoring the military personnel in his region, and he enthusiastically describes the dangerous and demanding job that the U.S. armed forces face every day.... Read More »

 

PAUL ATKINSON

Texas dealer works to leave a legacy of aiding education

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Each November, international students attending Texas A&M University get to experience life on a Texas ranch, including riding horses, watching a blacksmith and eating barbecue. Last year more than 500 students attended the Cowboy Cookout, which Toyota dealer Paul Atkinson and his wife, Cindy, have hosted at their ranch for seven years.... Read More »

 

DEALERS OF DISTINCTION

They don't just sell cars; they help the needy and build their communities

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Most American car dealers are well known in their local communities for the support they give to charities and worthy activities, often in wondrous and special ways.... Read More »

 

MIKE BETTENHAUSEN

Dealer expands his 'community' role after natural disasters

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Sometime in the near future, when another natural disaster strikes, Mike Bettenhausen will be filling up a truck with supplies and donations to bring emergency aid to victims.... Read More »

 

NATALIE TINDOL

At the YMCA, North Carolina dealer 'is a true all-star'

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Natalie Tindol has been a fitness instructor at her local YMCA for two decades. The owner of Ford and Subaru dealerships in Gastonia, N.C., has taught everything from low-impact aerobics to Zumba dance-fitness classes.... Read More »

 

KEVIN MEEHAN

Mass. dealer's Christmas spirit is on display

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
There are few aspects of community life in the Mendon area of southeastern Massachusetts that 52-year-old Kevin Meehan hasn't touched with his energy and generosity. But Christmas is special.... Read More »

 

GEOFF POHANKA

Thefts drove dealer into action

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Geoff Pohanka, president of a dealership group with 13 stores in the Washington area, could feel the crime wave battering suburban Maryland. As recently as 2004, about 18,500 car thefts were being reported annually in Prince George's County, home to nearly 900,000 people.... Read More »