Pub. 1 Issue 2

5 What is your professional background? I started with VADA right after graduating with my B.A in political science. I started in 2010. During my time with VADA, I went to graduate school and earned an MBA, with a concentration in finance. What do you like most about your job? Every day I am able to meet with and empower dealers to run their businesses more efficiently and more profitably. By using VADA’s products and services, a dealer can save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and that is an exciting thing to help facilitate. I love my job. Youmeet with a lot of VADA’s dealers on a daily basis. What are some of the life lessons that you have learned by working with the dealers? I meet a lot of successful people every day, many who have come from very humble beginnings. I have often heard “don’t forget where you came from, and who you represent” and that has always resonated with me. And many of these dealers who have worked hard – and continue to do so – have learned to take things with a grain of salt, so the advice of “don’t believe it until the check clears the bank!” has been some sage advice that I fall back on. How do you define success? For me, it is very much in line with VADA’s focus of bringing value. When I can bring value – definable economic value – to the dealers I work with, I feel good about my day and my efforts. There’s a whole bunch of byproducts to economic value as well. When I help a dealer become more efficient and thereby more profitable, that dealer in turn can hire more people, provide more jobs, which pushes a positive economic cycle forward. As I bring value to the dealers I work with, I am in a better position to also serve my family. It just doesn’t get better. What’s the one benefit of VADAmembership that you wishmore dealers would use? Our Human Resource Consulting and Advisory Service. First, I haven’t met a dealer yet that doesn’t rank his or her employees as one of their most important assets, so HR is usually on the short list of concerns. As dealers, there’s all sorts of places offering services – banks, consulting firms, law firms, etc. – and they are all companies that have owners and shareholders that need to make a profit. VADA doesn’t have shareholders, we have members, and when a dealer uses a service or product we offer, they are buying from themselves. When VADAmakes money, we reinvest it into other benefits, prod- ucts or services that further benefit the membership. It is the ultimate way to purchase from themselves and pay it forward. Colin Royster Southwest Region What is yourprofessional background? I come from a dealership back- ground. My family owned a Chevrolet dealership for over 60 years, so I grew up in the business. I was the GM for 20 years before it was sold 5 years ago. After the sale, I worked as a GM and GSM at a couple of other dealerships, when Don Hall approached me to come to work for VADA. That was in 2017. What do you like most about your job? I like the interaction with the dealers and the GMs. Interest- ingly, I know most of them, but, these days, my relationship with them is of course a little different. I’m not a competitor. I get to help them be more successful and I can do that from the perspective of having been in their shoes. You meet with a lot of VADA’s dealers on a daily basis. What are some of the life lessons that you have learned by working with the dealers? Again, I’ve been there. I’ve walked their walk, if you will. But, I am always impressed with, and gain a greater understanding, of their passion for the car business, and their desire to take care of their customers, as well as their employees. It is a lifestyle. How do you define success? I define success as setting goals, both personal and business, and either attaining those goals or exceeding them, while keeping those closest to you in mind. What’s the one benefit of VADA membership that you wish more dealers would use? I think the one benefit that VADA offers is a vast knowledge in all areas that affect dealerships. I think more dealerships should tap into that knowledge, and get involved. VADA, after all, is there to support and help the dealers in VA. We have people in all areas of expertise – insurance, workers comp, legal, human resources – to name a few, and it is all readily available to the dealers. I’d like to see all dealers engage with VADA because their involvement can only enhance their understanding of what is going on in the industry. Pat Martin Northern Virginia Region