One time, I sold a car on Credit Acceptance. The first payment was never made, and I was getting calls from Credit Acceptance asking for the money for the car. I knew I’d never see the car again, let alone get any money for it, especially since the customer had moved to Las Vegas with the car. For some crazy reason, I thought about AADA and Greg Kirkpatrick, so I called him. Greg immediately said, “Let me call the director of the Nevada Dealers Association.” From that call, Greg connected me with a business in Nevada called The Car Lady. The owner was an old car person who had been around dealerships all her life. She told me, “I can fix this. I’m going to tag that car for you.” Ultimately, the car was tagged, a lien was placed, and I got out of it. That situation would have never been resolved without AADA’s help. There are a lot of stories like this — dealers helping fellow dealers and AADA using their knowledge and connections to help members. Being an AADA member has so many benefits, and it’s just amazing what resources we have with the association. What is your favorite quote? My favorite quote hangs on the wall in my office. It is by Warren Buffett: “An idiot with a plan can beat a genius without a plan.” Having a plan is half the battle. The association is only as strong as its membership. Showing up and doing the work is the other half. I have tried to do both since the day I started working here, and it has paid off. We have been very blessed. What is your favorite book? My favorite book is the Bible, and my goal is to spread its message. As car dealers, we interact with a lot of people and touch so many lives. I have tried to make selling cars my mission field. It started out years ago. We put a small New Testament in every car we sold, and it was called the “Owner’s Manual for Life.”The company we got the scriptures from went out of business. Then, on a visit to my daughter in California, I came across a book in the airport, “Keep Calm and Trust God.” It is a small book that contains scriptures full of hope, encouragement, inspirational quotes and more. I loved the book, and that is what we place in the cars we sell now. When you’re not working, what do you like to do? My son and I have 50 head of cattle. My son takes care of them on a daily basis, but I enjoy helping out when I’m not at work. The way I got them is amusing. About 20 years ago, one of our regular customers, Clay Godfrey, stopped by the dealership for a visit. I said to Clay, “I think I would like some cows.” A few weeks later, he called me and said, “I have the cows you want.” I replied, “OK, good. When can I see them?”To my surprise, Clay was 10 minutes away with a load of them. The cows arrived at the dealership, and I called
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