THANK YOU, SHANE MORINVILLE MTADA Past Group Dealership Director Shane Morinville just celebrated 20 years of success at Lithia Motors, spending the last nine years at the Missoula location. He also just finished his term as MTADA group dealership director and served on the legislative committee. We recently had the opportunity to talk with Shane about his time serving on the board, his advice for incoming board members and his experiences in the industry. We enjoyed getting to know more about Shane and want to thank him for his time. The following are excerpts from our conversation. How long have you been a member of MTADA, and why did you get involved? I’ve been in Montana for nine years. The Lithia Auto Group has been a member during that time and well before that. Before I joined the MTADA board, my colleague, Austin Saylor, served on the board. He spoke highly of his interactions with the other board members. Additionally, the purpose and mission of MTADA align well with our company, and Austin thought I would be a good fit on the board. So, he encouraged me to pursue it. Around the same time, Bruce reached out to me. Because I’m part of Lithia, he thought having somebody from a larger company represented on the board would be nice. There are benefits of being a big company like Lithia — we can sometimes see changes or issues in other markets so we can proactively make adjustments. There are independent dealers serving on the board who bring a lot to the table, but they’re also juggling the realities of running a business. We bring a different yet equally as important view to the table. Having different voices and viewpoints is what makes MTADA so powerful. What did you gain from your time as a board member? The camaraderie and getting to know people in the industry was great. The opportunity to interact with folks you normally wouldn’t have was probably the biggest thing that stood out. It’s a huge benefit I am taking away from this experience. Now, when I have questions, I know who to call. It happens all the time, and I’m extremely thankful for that. And vice versa, people will call me and ask for advice. I wouldn’t have expected that until this experience. 16 MONTANA AUTO DEALER
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==