In February at NADA Show 2021, Rick DeSilva, Jr., from Liberty Subaru in Emerson, N.J., was named 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year. To honor DeSilva, award sponsor Ally Financial hosted an event for the second-generation dealer in Mahwah, N.J. on Aug. 12, 2021.

DeSilva was selected from a field of 40 dealer nominees throughout the country. His philanthropic efforts along with his commitment to serve his customers, employees and community earned him the prestigious award, which is presented annually by TIME.

During the event, Tom Kolski, Ally senior vice president of the Northeast, offered remarks and presented a check in the amount of $5,000 to the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJCAR) Charitable Foundation, as well as to DeSilva’s selected charities, including:

• $4,000 to the John F. Carty Scholarship Fund,
• $4,000 to the Mahwah Schools Foundation,
• $2,000 to the Mahwah Museum Society, and
• $1,000 to the Bergan Highlands/Ramsey Rotary Gift of Life.

2021 NADA Vice Chairman Mike Alford, who was 2013 TIME Dealer of the Year, also offered remarks at the event.

“The TIME Dealer of the Year Award is the highest honor in our industry. Very few are nominated and even fewer achieve this award,” said Alford, president of Marine Chevrolet Cadillac in Jacksonville, N.C. “As a recipient myself, I can tell you it’s not easy standing out among many other amazing dealers, the men and women who are all making strides in their communities. Rick’s accomplishments stood out during one of the most difficult times we’ve ever seen thanks to COVID-19.”

DeSilva’s philanthropy includes efforts to further education in Mahwah, the town where he grew up and currently resides, where he has served on the Mahwah Board of Education since 2012 and participated in the creation of a new STEAM [science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics] center.

“I can’t think of anyone more deserving to be honored with the prestigious TIME Dealer of the Year Award than Rick DeSilva, Jr.,” said NJCAR president Jim Appleton, who nominated DeSilva for the award. “His success as a businessman, his generosity as a philanthropist and his leadership in his community are just a few of the reasons he was nominated by his Garden State peers and, ultimately, won the national honor. Rick will be the first to tell you that this incredible honor would not have been possible without the support of his family and the hardworking Liberty dealership employees.”

Learn more about the TIME Dealer of the Year here.