2025 TIME DEALER OF THE YEAR NOMINEE TIME has announced Roger Smart Jr. as a 2025 TIME Dealer of the Year nominee for his community service and industry accomplishments. Smart is one of a select group of 49 dealer nominees from across the country who were honored at the 108th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 25, 2025. The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. The award recognizes the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Smart was chosen to represent the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition — one of only 49 auto dealers nominated for the 56th annual award from more than 20,000 nationwide. “We pride ourselves on making a personal connection with each of our customers and continuing that bond throughout their car-buying and ownership experience,” nominee Smart said. “By forming strong relationships, we maintain loyal customers not only for a lifetime but also across generations.” And those generations of customers extend back to 1906 when Smart’s great-great-grandfather, Felix G. Smart, founded the F.G. Smart Company and started selling cars in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Smart, who earned B.S. and B.A. degrees in both accounting and finance at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 2002 and 2003, respectively, is the fifth generation to join the family enterprise. He started in 2004 and worked in all dealership departments before being named dealer principal of the Chevrolet and Cadillac franchises in 2008. He also attended the NADA Academy to prepare for his future leadership role. Smart has greatly expanded the company’s footprint by acquiring dealerships and overseeing the building of new facilities. Today, the Smart Auto Group encompasses dealerships in White Hall, Pine Bluff and Malvern, Arkansas, SMART Jr. Roger 6 Arkansas Auto Dealer
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