The TIME Dealer of the Year award, sponsored by Ally Financial, celebrates franchised new-car dealers for exceptional business performance and outstanding community service. This year’s winner will be announced on Friday, Jan. 27, at the opening ceremony of NADA Show 2023 in Dallas.
Each year, dealers are nominated by members of the Automotive Trade Association Executives. A panel composed of faculty from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan chooses TIME Dealer of the Year finalists from each of the four NADA regions. The panel selects the national winner from the finalists.
As the award’s exclusive sponsor, Ally will contribute $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice. Ally will also give $5,000 donations to each of the four regional finalists’ favorite charities, as well as contribute $10,000 to the charity selected by the national winner.
“The award program illuminates the significant contributions dealer entrepreneurs make in their respective communities across the country,” says Michael Alford, 2022 NADA chairman and 2013 TIME Dealer of the Year Award winner.
“Whether it’s offering leadership on local issues, guiding consumers through the conversion to electrical vehicles, supporting their neighbors through tragedies and natural disasters, helping them purchase reliable transportation or donating to numerous community organizations, dealers are often the bedrock of their communities. Thank you to TIME and Ally for spotlighting their efforts and congratulations to all of the nominees!”
The 48 nominees for the 55th award are:
- Matthew Aiello, Dealer Principal of J.B.A. Chevrolet (Glen Burnie, Md.)
- John Altman, Chief Operating Officer of Jaguar Land Rover Alexandria (Alexandria, Va.)
- Beth Beans Gilbert, President of Fred Beans Volkswagen of Devon (Devon, Pa.)
- Nelson E. Bowers II, Dealer Principal of Toyota of Cleveland (McDonald, Tenn.)
- Marc Brandt, Dealer Principal of Capitol Ford Lincoln (Santa Fe, N.M.)
- Matthew Bredemeier, Owner of Grand Forks Subaru Kia (Grand Forks, N.D.)
- Mark Brickey, Owner/President of Sand Mountain Toyota (Albertville, Ala.)
- Don A. Buckalew Jr., Dealer of Buckalew Chevrolet, LP (Conroe, Texas)
- David Buerkle, Dealer Principal of Buerkle Hyundai (White Bear Lake, Minn.)
- Andrew J. Dahl, Dealer Principal of Dahl Subaru Hyundai Mazda (La Crosse, Wis.)
- Bruce Daniels, Dealer Principal of Honda Marysville (Marysville, Ohio)
- Jay Darling, Dealer Principal of Darling’s Ford VW Audi (Bangor, Maine)
- Sid DeBoer, Dealer Principal of Lithia Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat of Medford (Medford, Ore.)
- Dan Deery, President of Dan Deery Toyota (Cedar Falls, Iowa)
- Stephen Franks, Owner/Dealer of Franks Chevrolet Buick GMC (Kosciusko, Miss.)
- Richard J. Garber, President of Garber Buick Company (Saginaw, Mich.)
- Silvestre (Sal) Gonzales, Dealer Principal of Culver City Volvo/Mazda (Culver City, Calif.)
- Jay Hatfield, Dealer Principal of Jay Hatfield Chevrolet Buick Inc (Columbus, Kan.)
- Adam Huff, President of Fred Martin Superstore (Barberton, Ohio)
- Kimberlee Huffman, Dealer Principal of Neil Huffman Honda of Frankfort (Frankfort, Ky.)
- Tim Hutcherson, Owner/Dealer Principal of Downey Nissan (Downey, Calif.)
- James Johnson, Dealer of High Plains Motors Inc. (Wolf Point, Mont.)
- Tom Kelley, President of Tom Kelley Buick GMC (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
- Nan I. Kitagawa, President of I. Kitagawa and Company (Hilo, Hawaii)
- Bill Knight, President of Bill Knight Ford (Tulsa, Okla.)
- Danny Labrum, President of Labrum Chevrolet Buick, Inc. (Heber City, Utah)
- Jim Lake, Chief Executive Officer of Vern Eide Honda (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
- John Lee, Chairman and Owner of Lee Ford Lincoln (Wilson, N.C.)
- Joseph Lunghamer, President of Joe Lunghamer Chevrolet (Waterford, Mich.)
- Rob Matthews, President of Matthews Cadillac (Vestal, N.Y.)
- Chris Miller, President of Dutch Miller Kia (Barboursville, W.Va.)
- Mark Montenero, President/Dealer Principal of Autoland Toyota Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (Springfield, N.J.)
- Tom R. O’Steen Sr., Co-Owner/ Principal of O’Steen Volkswagen (Jacksonville, Fla.)
- Joel P. Oustalet, Dealer Principal of Bubba Oustalet Chevrolet-Cadillac (Jennings, La.)
- Heidi Pehl, Dealer Principal of I-5 Toyota (Chehalis, Wash.)
- Gary Rome, Dealer Principal of Gary Rome Hyundai (Holyoke, Mass.)
- Ray Scarpelli, Dealer Principal of Ray Chevrolet (Fox Lake, Ill.)
- Kevin Shaughnessy, Executive Vice President of Operations and Partner of Phil Long Dealerships of Phil Long Ford of Denver (Denver, Colo.)
- Paul Skillern, Dealer Principal of Kendall Ford of Meridian (Meridian, Idaho)
- Stephen Snyder, President of Checkered Flag Hyundai World (Virginia Beach, Va.)
- John P. Stanko, Dealer & President of Champion Chevrolet (Reno, Nev.)
- Ryan Troncalli, Dealer Principal of Troncalli Automotive Group (Cumming, Ga.)
- Micheal Tucker, Vice President of Hutcheson Ford Sales Inc. (Saint James, Mo.)
- Mark Tulley, Owner of Tulley Automotive Group (Nashua, N.H.)
- Robert Wahlstrom, President of Wahlstrom Ford, Inc. (Chadron, Neb.)
- Jay Wakefield, Dealer of Wakefield Buick GMC (Spartanburg, S.C.)
- Hugh J. Weidinger, Dealer Principal of North Bay Cadillac Co., Inc. (Great Neck, N.Y.)
- Dealer of Central Chevrolet (Jonesboro, Ark.)
To learn more about each of the nominees, visit www.timedealeroftheyear.com.
