We were fortunate to interview John Alfirevich, the 2024 chairman of the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association (IADA), about himself, his goals as chairman and his thoughts on the industry. He is the dealer principal at Apple Chevrolet in Tinley Park, Illinois. John, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Let’s start by asking you to share a little bit about yourself. Before moving into the car business, my family owned and operated two taverns on the east side of Chicago, so work was always in my DNA. I started in the car business with my father before I even had a driver’s license. I’m an “extra effort” guy who believes you have to earn things in life in order to be fulfilled, and it’s the grind or sweat equity where gratefulness is born. In most board rooms, I never thought I was the smartest guy in the room but I’m never afraid to jump into anything and figure it out. Through the years, I’ve learned that with perseverance and using failure as your friend, you can go far in this world and bring good to others. It’s important to me to “give back” because by giving back to hardworking employees and the good people of our community, I receive so much more in return. What about your dealership, Apple Chevrolet? Tell us about the history. In 1963, my father was a partner at Bob Motl Chevrolet on Chicago’s South Side. My dad talked Motl into moving the dealership to 159th Street, which at that time was a two-lane highway. People said the move was ridiculous. Things were tough financially for many years. In 1981, things got so bad we were going through bankruptcy when our advertising executive suggested changing our name to start with the first letter in the alphabet. In those days, a new technology was arising, people were using 411 to get information about car dealers or services, and the software at the time searched in alphabetical order. We took “apple” from the ‘70s jingle “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet” and renamed our dealership “Apple Chevrolet.” Believe it or not, the phones started ringing, and there was a huge turnaround in our cash flow. I was in my early twenties at the time and convinced my dad we needed to be sure that name recognition stuck. We needed to brand ourselves differently! That’s when we started our charitable giving programs so the community could never forget our name! As for my family, I have the best loving wife, who truly understands the auto business. I’m very blessed. My daughter, Olivia, now works at Apple Chevrolet, and she’s our project manager. She’s now helping carry on our tradition of community service through helping with our USO and Toys for Tots events and growing the programs. And thanks to Olivia, this year we had our first Pet Adoption Day, where 15 dogs were placed with community residents. Our son, Joey, just graduated from college and is working as a bank intern at Ally Bank, learning business from the bank’s perspective and bringing new ideas to my attention. His focus currently is on finance and insurance for the short term, but he’s eager to learn all aspects. We’re excited to have him learn about the car business in the future. He has plans to apply for the NADA Academy in the next couple of years. What sets your dealership apart? How many people are employed at Apple Chevrolet? What sets Apple Chevrolet apart are our employees. We have great, solid managers, not afraid of change or learning new concepts. We have 115 employees, and I know most of them personally. From day one, our people learn about customer service and the importance of community. We offer several training programs because it’s critical from day one that our employees understand Getting To Know 2024 IADA Chairman John Alfirevich 6 Illinois Automobile Dealer News
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