Pub. 61 2020-2021 Issue 4

32 Annette Sykora Industry Leader, Family Dealership Icon T wenty-five years ago, when the consolidation of franchised automobile dealerships was running rampant throughout the country, many industry ‘experts’ predicted the demise of family- owned car dealerships. Publicly held dealerships, Wall Street investors, the family office concept, etc., were to be the wave of the future with family-owned stores, principally those in rural Texas, left to be roadkill. Well, none of that happened, and Texas family-owned dealerships have thrived during these nearly three decades since the first stores went public. In fact, over half of the Texas locations with franchised new vehicle dealerships are in towns with less than 15,000 population. Rural dealerships are essential to farm and ranch country, to our oil and gas infrastructure, and to the millions of Texans outside our cities who would be abandoned without franchised dealers upon whom they depend to get to work, to school, to the doctor, to visit their families and to worship. One family that reflects this service to Texas is the Sykora family of Levelland, Slaton, Plainview, andWest. Franchised dealers are like George Bailey in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. You can’t imagine what would have happened in the 300 cities and towns of our state if franchised dealers had not been part of the bedrock of those communities, providing jobs, tax revenue, transportation, and support for every essential institution in those markets. Certainly, Levelland, Slaton, West and now Plainview, Texas would be very different places without the leadership and support of the Smith and then Sykora families. In 1951, Bill H. Smith moved his family to Slaton, Texas, and started Slaton Motor Company. Smith had previously worked for Ford and quickly fell in love with the car business. He had the charisma of a true salesman, and the Slaton Motor Company was a success! By 1965, Bill’s son, Steve Smith, was actively involved in the store. In 1966 the father and son moved from their original downtown location to 1700 W. Division and renamed the family business “Smith Ford.” The Slaton store remains at this address today. In 1982, Steve’s daughter, Annette began working full-time at Smith Ford and in 1989, she became the General Manager. Meanwhile, in the small town of West, Texas, Patrick Sykora was earning his stripes at the family dealership, Sykora Family Ford. In 1997, Annette and Pat were married and became partners in the Slaton dealership. The year 1999 brought expansion to two locations, Slaton and Levelland. The name was changed to “Smith South Plains” to reflect the family business which would now serve a