Publication1 2021 Issue 1

11 KENTUCKY AUTO DEALER We have a great industry. You will find people who were attorneys, doctors, farmers or in the airline industry. Their collective experience makes the industry more versatile. Also, many really good people work hard at giving back to the community because they have been blessed. They have no problem with helping out. How did you weather the pandemic storm? Because I was on the board, I worked with the other members and our government. We asked, “What do you need? What do you consider essential?” Everyone was willing to do what they needed to stay open. The first two months were horrendous and scary. Once we figured out we could sell, service and repair cars, we just changed our mindset, and it became easier. We will continue doing business with the same mindset in the future. What is the takeaway for you from the pandemic that will guide your future business decisions as a small-business owner and leader? Insert whatever the problem is, and the industry knows how to correct itself. Twenty years ago, we had an issue and had to figure out how to be more efficient and be a better servant to our employees and customers. When the market was hit in 2008, it was horrendous for everyone, but we knew what to do, and we figured it out. Don’t disregard the historian. You need to know why things are the way they are before you can change them. We always have to check and correct our spending. Describe your all-time favorite vehicle (it can be one you’ve owned or something on your wish list). What are you driving now? My all-time best memory was my first car, a yellow Volkswagen Thing; it was the first one in Kentucky. That car was a metal box, and I loved it. Everybody knew where I was. I love cars. In the summer, I drive a convertible; in the winter, an SUV. An Audi R8 is my favorite car of all time. I wanted to be a race car driver, and that car made me feel like I could have been. I can tell you how fun all kinds of cars are going to be. The vehicle I drive now solves issues. I have an elderly mother, and she has to be able to get in or out. Tell us about your family. I am the monarch of the family. I am very much the mother figure, the conscience of everyone, and the one they call when they need somebody to talk to. My son is married with three children, a son (7) and twin girls (3). He is the perfect father and husband, loves his family and is in the business in Louisville. My daughter (30) was married in April. She lives in Chicago, and she works in an international PR company. She will never be in the business, but she gives me all kinds of useful information. She does a lot of research and gives it to me. My older brother has three children: Shane; his sister, Shannon; and another brother named Kameron. Their father has retired. He’s hilarious, eccentric, and knows a lot about a lot of weird things. He’s just funny. He will entertain you like there is no tomorrow. My mother (91) is hilarious, too. She is beautiful, articulate, very charismatic, and everything I always wish I could be like. She looks 75, and she just bought a new house. They are renovating it. “I’m sure I’ll be around another 10 years,” she told me. I said, “You better be.” What is your favorite way to spend your free time? Any unusual hobbies? Yes. I really do like remodeling houses. It’s not the design work I enjoy, like picking wallpaper. Instead, I think about how I can knock a wall down and make the house more efficient. It drives my husband crazy. My husband is in the oil business. He works for Chevron, was born in Cuba and raised outside Chicago, and is an industrial engineer. He is absolutely the funniest, most easygoing individual you could ask for, but he used to drive me crazy. I kept thinking, I know how to do this, but he knows how to do it better than me. I totally respect him and couldn’t ask for a better soulmate.