March 10, 2022

It’s no secret that Americans are anxious, divided and frustrated, but we still have many reasons to feel emboldened and hopeful. William Falk, Time magazine’s current editor-in-chief, wrote an end-of-year letter dated Dec. 31, 2021, summarizing the year. He ended with a reminder that the world also felt dark 80 years ago during World War II, at the end of 1941. However, that generation refused to surrender and eventually won the war.

Communication within your dealership can make a world of difference for your customers, your employees, and your staff. Even if you believe your dealership is great at communicating inside and out, improvement is always possible.

Even though it has been about two years since the pandemic shutdown of March 2020, the divide between pre-pandemic life and post-pandemic life has not closed. The future has very few certainties, but that doesn’t prevent you from making educated guesses. There are specific areas that could affect the future of your dealership. Those areas are the ones where you should focus your decisions. Here are a few general subjects you should consider to get you started, but everyone’s situation is different. There might be others you should add, too.

Succession planning is an essential business activity for dealer owners, whether you own an auto or truck dealership, an implement dealership or a heavy equipment dealership. This strategic approach is essential to estate planning and helps ensure sustainable business continuity after you’ve left the dealership business, whether through retirement, an unexpected life event or even death. A documented, approved, and well-understood plan increases the likelihood the transition will go to the successor you choose and happen how you want.

The Utah International Auto Expo was held Jan 14-17, 2022, at the Mountain America Exposition Center. A big thanks to our sponsors and all who participated and made this an event to remember!

The NCDU Hall of Fame recognition is one where our industry pays tribute to those dealers who make a contribution to our business not just through company success, but through character and leadership impacting our industry as a whole. Over the past 35 years, NCDU’s Hall of Fame inductees have been dealers whose lives and stories have impacted us all.

Kyle Treadway is second generation dealer who took the reigns of the family business and not only improved on the success of the company, but also put his own mark on it as it grew. Shawn Morgan, Kyle Treadway’s sister spoke of the vision and dedication to the family business.

The NCDU is proud to welcome Kyle Treadway into its Hall of Fame.

SWING. Do you know what that is? It’s competitive rowing’s equivalent to a hole-in-one, a walk-off home run, or a full-court shot.

The book The Boys in the Boat, written by Daniel James Brown, is the story of the University of Washington men’s rowing team about working boys who were unlikely gold medalists at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Their story references a thing that sometimes happens in rowing that is hard to achieve and hard to define:

This year rings in the 35th Hall of Fame inductions for our industry and once again, NCDU is recognizing excellence within our ranks of dealers. What makes this recognition so remarkable is that this is an honor of peers who not only recognize success but dedication and character as well as an outstanding contribution to our industry.

Google defines “Hall of Fame” as “The class or category of those individuals who have excelled in a particular field.”

For the past 30 years, having the privilege of being his friend, I’ve witnessed that Tony Divino is a Hall of Famer, not just for the New Car Dealers of Utah, but a Hall of Famer in his particular field: life.

Speaker Brad Wilson quoted the following during a recent House address: “The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, and the realist adjusts the sail.”