Our family has had gasoline in our system from the early 1930's when my
father was a Ford mechanic at Mallon Ford in Tacoma, WA. He then opened up his
first gas station [Richfield] just soon after that. My brother graduated from
college only to go to work for Ford Motor Company, then later opened up his own
dealership with a program called Ford Dealer Development in Dallas, TX. I tried
to break the mold by becoming a CPA in LA [Ernst & Ernst], they represented
several large automobile dealerships in southern California. I gave in, and went
to work for my brother who was part owner of the world's oldest Ford dealership
in San Francisco, CA [Hughson Ford]. Working for family doesn't always work out,
so I started my career away from the family in San Antonio, TX for a large chain
operation. I was fortunate enough to catch the attention of Ford Motor Company
and get into the same program my brother entered whereas they would finance the
business in areas that had closed or BK dealerships available-and the only one
available was in Salt Lake City, UT in 1982.
With only the equity from
our home in TX we got started in a small Lincoln-Mercury dealership. That
dealership grew to be number one in Utah in new vehicle sales for that
manufacturer, and number 5 overall dealerships in used vehicles. Ford Motor
Company decided they wanted to be in the retail business, and change the way it
worked-and the intentions were very honorable. After 18 years I didn't want to
give up what I had worked for all those years, but they had bought up all but
one other dealership in the area, and I certainly didn't want to compete with my
supplier so I gave in. I couldn't stand corporate life, and started looking when
I found these stores in Twin Falls, which was actually 4 hours closer to our
favorite place on all of this earth-a cabin in McCall, ID. Jules Harrison agreed
to sell to me over the larger groups because I would move to town and take over
his charity work and support the local community-which I have tried very
seriously to do. My children then graduated from Twin Falls High School and now
attend U of I in Moscow.
My personal mission statement is to "serve",
very simple, but very rewarding. The dealerships main vision is "to be so
effective that we are able to be helpful to others." Our full mission statement
is below. I love cars and trucks and I am lucky to have my passion for them also
be my vocation. So we basically work for the love of automobiles and the people
who drive them. Giving is better than receiving.
Our passion for
excellence shows up throughout our mission/value statement, and it is not just a
plaque on the wall or a card in our wallet. We truly do care, and will work very
hard to earn our customers respect. We first work hard to earn our employee's
respect and make it a world-class place to work because they are the ones who
work directly with our customers. We constantly strive to meet our employee's
needs and to include them in all decisions about our business. Together we feel
we will then have a chance to provide only the best experience for you the
customer. We are not always right, and we do make mistakes. However, because we
do care we will go over and beyond to do whatever we can to satisfy you. We also
know our applause for this excellence will be profit, so we also do not think
that is a bad thing. We don't work for profit, we work for you. We give back as
much as we can to the community where we all live, work, and raise our
families.
