Publication1 2021 Issue 1

22 KENTUCKY AUTO DEALER DEALER HIGHLIGHT: STEVE GATES KADA is proud to recognize Steve Gates, a KADA member and the 2021 AIADA chair. During a recent interview for the KADA magazine, Steve talked about a wide range of subjects. Career Background Steve never wanted to do anything else than be in the car business. Like many dealers, becoming a dealer was a natural choice because his father and grandfather were in the car business, too. On the other hand, Steve’s mother wanted him to be a doctor, but both his parents embraced his career path. When Steve was asked to compare running a dealership to practicing medicine, he said, “Car dealers are held to a different and higher standard. If you have to go back to a doctor after a bad diagnosis, you will not demand that you get a refund for your last visit. People know bodies are complex, and they understand doctors don’t necessarily get the diagnosis right the first or second time. But the people who come to us are our guests. That’s a big difference. We want to develop a relationship with them. Guests expect you to get things right the first time, say thank you and be kind. They also expect clean waiting rooms, refreshments and (before the pandemic) current magazines to read. You don’t get that from a doctor’s office.” Steve’s degree is in radio and television; the field is currently called communications. He thought for a while about producing documentaries, and he also got politically involved. Early in Steve’s career, he had an unglamorous job at a radio station doing public service spots during the middle of the night. Making documentaries was a long way in the future, and Steve just loved cars. He didn’t know whether he would be successful, but he wanted to be close to the auto industry. “Being a manager would have been enough for me,” said Steve. “We don’t all get the opportunity to do what we love, but I did.” Mentors Steve’s two favorite mentors are his father, Bud Gates, and Bob McKamey, a dear friend of Steve and Bud. “They were both great guys who loved this business,” he said. Bob, who died in 2018, was the first chair on the Toyota National Dealer Council in the 1970s and served many other times, too. He also started Toyota Dealer Advertising Association (TDA), was the AIADA chair and was chair for the Americans for Free International Trade (AFIT-PAC). “I worked for and with Bob. I didn’t set out to do all the same things Bob did,” said Steve, “but it just happened that I emulated his career. Bob bought the store in Richmond, Kentucky, where I am today. It was losing money and was a terrible place. He was scared, talked to my dad, and my dad told him to call me. We stood together and supported each other. Even though I didn’t inherit my dad’s dealership, he did give me a dealership in a way by putting me together with Bob.” Like Bob, Bud served on the Toyota National Dealer Council. He was a brilliant man who trained as a lawyer and had “unbelievable breadth of knowledge,” said Steve. “He read everything about