Tal Anderson made people 'feel good about giving'

Tal Anderson made time for everything: running a growing multifranchise dealership group, raising a family and giving back to the community.

Since Anderson, owner of Performance Automotive Group, co-founded the Children's Scholarship Fund of Omaha in 1999, the charity has raised more than $17 million. That was enough to send 18,321 kindergartners through eighth graders in northeastern Nebraska to private schools as an alternative to public schools. The chapter is the fourth-largest of 33 in the nation in terms of money raised.

"Tal had an almost effortless way about raising money and making people feel good about giving," said Judy Tamisiea, recently retired executive director of the Children's Scholarship Fund of Omaha. "He would call me three times a week and say: 'What can I do?' and I would say 'Tal, don't you have enough to do running all those car dealerships?' He was an amazing volunteer."

Anderson, who died in 2009, loved visiting the schools and mingling with the kids, Tamisiea says. And his heirs, son Mickey and daughter Angie Quinn, co-owners of Performance Automotive Group, have picked up where their father left off.

"They're an amazing family. They're always willing to give back," Tamisiea says. "They have totally carried on with what their father started."

Mickey Anderson, 42, joined the board a couple of years before his father died. The annual board meeting is held at one of the schools. Anderson and other board members like to meet with the students on those days.

"It gives us a lot of meaning to interact with the children we're supporting through the scholarship fund," he says.

Anderson realizes that some of the students who have benefited from the program are old enough to hold jobs, and that they could choose careers in the auto industry.

"Our hope is they will go on and lead very successful lives. If we're lucky enough to employ one, that would be wonderful. If not, we'll sell them a car."

Performance Automotive Group ranks No. 37 on the Automotive News list of the top 125 dealership groups for 2010 with 12,906 new retail deliveries and revenues of $733 million. The group owns 12 dealerships and sells Ford, Chrysler Group, Honda, Lexus, Toyota, Scion, Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Volkswagen.

The Children's Scholarship Fund was co-founded by the late John Walton, son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, and Theodore Forstmann, chairman of IMG, the sports, fashion, entertainment and media marketer, and Forstmann, Little & Co., the leveraged buyout firm.

Says Mickey Anderson: "This is something we'll support as long as we're able for the rest of our lives. It was something he felt so strongly about. We want to see this continue along for as long as we're able."