How has your involvement with MADA changed over the years? To be honest, I wasn’t as involved as I should have been early on. I really didn’t become involved until Marty Milstead took over and started recruiting people. He taught me the importance of being involved with your association and with the state, and he helped me understand the work MADA does for all of us. I’ve probably been on the board for six or seven years. You are usually on the board for a few years, then move through secretary-treasurer, vice chairman and chairman. Serving in those roles has shown me how much preparation and day-to-day work goes into representing Mississippi’s dealers. MADA fights a lot of battles for us. I used to take that work for granted and think things just happened. They don’t. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to pass a law, address a regulation or make a change that allows dealers to serve customers better. Marty is precisely the right leader needed at this pivotal moment to protect Mississippi’s franchised dealers. Board members are involved, but we come and go. Marty and Beth Morton do this 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and they do a wonderful job. The respect Marty has earned also strengthens the respect people have for MADA and the dealers it represents. What would you most like to accomplish as MADA chairman? I would love to see even more dealer involvement. We have a great dealer body and have seen tremendous participation over the last 10 years, but I’d like every one of Mississippi’s 213 rooftops to be represented and have a voice. Those dealerships employ almost 20,000 people, so this is a huge industry for our state. We have laws being considered, regulations being proposed and issues involving manufacturers, warranties, parts and chargebacks. MADA stays on top of those things, but the association needs to hear directly from dealers about what is happening in their businesses and communities. Involvement isn’t only about attending conventions. Conventions are a wonderful way for us to get together, but involvement also means telling MADA what is important to you and your store. A dealer in one part of the state may be facing an issue that hasn’t reached me yet, but those issues often work their way around to all of us. When we help one dealer, we’re helping the other 212. Ultimately, it comes back to what is best for the customer. The car business is about the consumer and making sure people have someone to take care of them. We need to work together so the rules and regulations allow dealers to do that job well. How do you keep the pressures of business in perspective? A man told me something many years ago that I’ve never forgotten. We were struggling, and I was upset about everything that seemed to be going wrong. He asked me, “Will money fix your problems?” I said, “Yes, sir.” He said, “If money will fix it, it’s not a problem. The things money won’t fix are problems.” That has stayed with me for 25 or 30 years. When I get aggravated about something happening in the business, I think about it. Money can’t give you health or replace the people you love. The car business is what I do for a living, but Sara and my daughter are real life. That’s what it’s all about. Tell us about your family. Sara and I just celebrated our 52nd anniversary. I like to say my mother and daddy brought me into this world, and Sara raised me. The biggest blessing in my life is Sara. She has stood behind me through all the ups and downs. I just turned 70, and anybody who has lived to be 70, or has been married as long as we have, has been through a lot. Sara has been there with me through every bit of it — good, bad and all of it. Our daughter, Lauren, lives in Atlanta. She moved there after graduating from college and has been working for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce for almost 17 years. She is currently the vice president of external affairs, and Sara and I are so proud of her. Lauren is engaged, and we look forward to welcoming her fiancé into the family. What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t working? I used to play a lot of golf, and the game gave me lifelong friends and a lot of enjoyment. I also used to hunt and fish. I don’t do much of that anymore, but I enjoy going to deer camp, cooking, eating and being around the people and their stories. And truly, I enjoy coming to work. I tell people all the time that I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t come to the office. I thank the good Lord every day that I am blessed not only with work I enjoy, but with a place where I get to be with 50 people I love. What would you like to say to your fellow MADA members? Thank you for your involvement and for what you do every day for the automobile industry and the state of Mississippi. The giving that happens in dealerships and the things dealers and their employees accomplish are remarkable. I love Mississippi, and I’m grateful to be one of the 213 rooftops in this state. The car business has blessed me with friendships and relationships I never could have imagined. I know the dealers, I know the people who run MADA, and it is an honor to the nth degree to be part of it. 7
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