NEILL NELSON 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 January 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. Nelson was chosen to represent the North Carolina 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. “The most rewarding impact of my career came after I recognized our business as fulfilling a greater purpose,” nominee Nelson said. “That’s when profit goals became generosity goals. And this led to our investing more in our employees and their health — physically, financially, emotionally and spiritually — and finding more generous and creative ways to support the community.” Nelson earned a B.S. in business administration from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, in 1976. From the minute he saw the “muscle cars” of the late 1960s in the showroom of his father’s dealership, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in the auto industry. “I vividly remember drooling over the GTOs and Firebirds at age 13, thinking about one day owning those ‘dream machines,’” he said. “My father knew I was enamored, and it wasn’t long before I was washing and detailing cars, stocking and selling parts, and doing other odd jobs around the store.” The dealership was originally founded by Nelson’s maternal grandfather, David W. Davenport, in 1929. His father, Joseph H. Nelson, joined his father-in-law and helped build the business over the years. A week after Nelson graduated from college, he joined his father and got to work selling cars. He immersed himself in all aspects of dealership operations and attended a management development program through General Motors to hone his leadership skills. In 2015, he was named president and dealer operator; today, he owns the dealership with his father. His son, Graham, has also NEILL NELSON 2025 TIME Dealer of the Year Nominee 14
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