The team at AutoSuccess is honored to announce and congratulate the inaugural class of our Champions of Charity program.

“This program was derived from our years of observations of charitable deeds on all sides of the automotive industry,” said AutoSuccess Publisher Susan Givens. “The AutoSuccess team has wanted to showcase the amazing companies that do good in their communities and throughout the U.S., and now with our program sponsor, Velocity Automotive, we are able to do just that.”

With the Velocity Automotive team’s input, the AutoSuccess team has chosen 15 automotive companies to highlight this year. And the people at Velocity know something about charity! Hugh and Kalah Hathcock, the founder and executive vice president, respectively, are generous philanthropists and are actively involved in a variety of charitable organizations.

Among their many donations is a record-setting $12.6 million contribution to University of Florida Athletics’ Gator Boosters, the largest single financial gift from a donor in the organization’s history. Other organizations that the Hathcocks are involved with are Desire Street Ministries, Giving Hope New Orleans and Aletha’s Legacy.

“Kalah and I are proud to be part of the U.S. automotive retail industry, knowing how much our industry helps both local communities and international charities and organizations,” Hugh Hathcock said.

The 2022 Champions of Charity are:

APCO Holdings

Beaver Toyota of Cumming

Craig Zinn Automotive Group

Fresno Acura

Kunes Auto Group

Manheim

NextGear Capital

Patriot Automotive Group

Premier Automotive

Reynolds and Reynolds

ProMax

Sansone Jr’s 66 Automall

Step One Automotive Group

The Thompson Organization

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We asked each of this year’s honorees to answer these four questions.

•           How does helping others factor into the culture of your business?
•           Please share with us the causes that are important to you and your business.
•           How do you encourage your team members to get involved?
•           What do you look for in a cause to determine if you will get involved? What advice can you offer to others?

Their answers are featured in the September issue of AutoSuccess and on AutoSuccessOnline.com.

“Congratulations to these 15 amazing companies — it’s our honor to highlight your charitable works. Thank you for all that you do!” Givens said.