Pub. 60 2019-2020 Issue 6

18 T he nomination of Timothy Crenwelge, dealer and general manager of Crenwelge Motors of Kerrville Inc., a Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Jeep and Ram deal- ership in Kerrville, Texas, for the 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year award was announced Oct. 23, 2020, by TIME. Crenwelge is one of a select group of 40 dealer nomi- nees from across the country who will be honored at the 104th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show being held virtually Feb. 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 au- tomobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing com- mitment to community service. Crenwelge, 61, was chosen to represent the Texas Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition — one of only 41 auto deal- ers nominated for the 52nd annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide. “I literally grew up in the car business and never once con- sidered doing anything 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 BBA 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 dealership,” he remembered, “so I began by washing cars and eventually gained ex- perience in every department, except sales, by the time I graduated from high school.” During college, Crenwelge learned the sales side of the business. Once he returned to the dealership full-time after graduation, he attended a Chrysler training program for dealers’ children. His father then purchased a second dealership in Fredericksburg, Texas, and Crenwelge was named the Kerrville store’s general manager. In 1982, Crenwelge 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, Jona- than, own Crenwelge Automotive Group, which encom- passes three dealerships in Kerrville and Fredericksburg, representing Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Jeep and RAM. With such a rich history in the retail automobile industry in his state, Crenwelge has devoted a great deal of time and talent to the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, TIME Dealer of the Year Tim Crenwelge Timothy Crenwelge Wins National Recognition for Community Service and Industry Accomplishments at NADA Show