Pub 61 2020-2021 Issue 3

10 T imothy Crenwelge, dealer and general manager of Crenwelge Motors of Kerrville Inc., a Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Jeep and Ram dealership in Kerrville, Texas, was named one of four regional final- ists for the 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year award today. Crenwelge is one of a select group of 40 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 104th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show held virtually February, 9-11, 2021. The announcement of this year’s annual award was made by Viktoria Degtar, Global Chief Revenue Officer, TIME, and Doug Timmerman, president of Auto Finance for Ally Financial. The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile in- dustry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Crenwelge, 61, was chosen to represent the Texas Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition — one of only 40 auto dealers nominated for the 52nd annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide. “I literally grew up in the car business and never once considered doing any- thing else,” nominee Crenwelge said. “I am a third-generation dealer, and my dad taught me that commitment to family and community is the most important thing. This is the business model I follow and what has gotten me to where I am today.” Crenwelge received a B.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981 in preparation for his career at the family store. “When I was 13 years old, my father told me it was time to start working at the dealer- ship,” he remembered, “so I began by washing cars and eventually gained experience in every department, except sales, by the time I graduated from high school.” During college, Crenwelge learned the sales side of the business and once he returned to the dealership full-time after graduation, he at- tended a Chrysler training program for children of dealers. His father then purchased a second dealership in Fredericksburg, Texas, and Cren- welge was named general manager of the Kerrville store. In 1982, Cren- welge himself had the opportunity to purchase a local GMC dealership. “I became the youngest General Motors dealer in the United States at age 23,” he said. Today, Crenwelge, his father, Milton, and brother, Jonathan, own Crenwel- ge Automotive Group, which encom- passes three dealerships in Kerrville and Fredericksburg, representing brands Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Jeep and Ram. Time and Ally Financial Honor Kerrville Dealer