Personally, I think the service and parts training was hugely beneficial. Not to take anything away from anything from service classes, but they really did a knockout job teaching parts. Also, when it came to understanding income, I had a decent grasp of that prior to attending the Academy, but I definitely added some depth of knowledge on the accounting side. Overall, anything I was lacking, the Academy provided it for me in one way or another. They did a really good job. It’s a great training program. Do you have any advice for your peers that might be considering going to the NADA Academy? I would definitely say, just from my personal experience, opt for the in-person. When I started the Academy, it was in-person, and due to COVID, classes were moved online. The Academy does a good job with virtual classes, but the in-person allows you to learn a lot from the people you’re in the class with. The connections you make with other people are priceless and can benefit you for a lifetime. The other thing would be, if you’re going to go, go. If you’re not ready to learn, if someone’s forcing you to go, don’t go. Not to generalize, but as an example, if you’re a generational person and it’s your parents making you go, you’re probably not ready. If you’re ready and you’re asking to go, and you’ll be telling your parents or the principal that you want to attend the NADA Academy. It’s one of those things you’re going to get as much as you want out of it, so be ready. KEVIN KALTSCHMIDT Title: General Manager Company: Don “K” Whitefish NADA Academy Graduation Date: March 2023 – Graduating Class 401 How did you get into the industry? I’m a second-generation dealer. I started in the industry when I was eight years old, picking up cigarette butts off the sales lot for $2.00 an hour. I spent a lot of my time after school and summers working at the dealership. After high school, I joined the Marine Corps and then attended college at the University of Montana (UM) in Missoula. During college, I spent my summers working in various positions at the dealership and have been full-time for the past eight years. I have worked at almost every position and every department. We are on our fourth expansion in a short amount of time, and I am looking forward to learning more and growing with the company. Why did you decide to attend the NADA Academy? I had been told by 20 Group members and other people in the industry that attending the NADA Academy was the best decision they ever made. They were right. I learned more from the Academy than from my four-year business degree because of the specific and relevant information that was taught. For me, it was important to wait until I was ready so I could get the most out of it. So, it was never really a question of if, but when I was ready. I started attending the Academy two years ago, and then COVID hit. I paused my participation and ended up going back when in-person was available again. I graduated this past March. Please share one of the key takeaways you learned from the NADA Academy. I have a very long list. After each class, I had about 15-plus things that I wanted to implement at my store. I think I learned the most during service week, even though I had been working in service for a long time. Understanding service department metrics and what to be looking for was eye-opening. Overall, the relationships I’ve made from attending the Academy will benefit me for a lifetime. Class 401 had Fixed Ops Directors, an HR Manager, a Controller, Finance Directors, General Sales Managers, Dealers and other job titles as well; there were also some second-generation like me — a very good mix of different people with different skill sets. We learned as much from each other as we did from the instructors. There was a lot of power of the room. Do you have any advice for your peers that might be considering going to the NADA Academy? It’s a big investment of time and money, but it will definitely be a net positive. I encourage anyone to go, no matter their age. I think there are a lot of people that haven’t gone that are older than myself — I’m 35. There seems to be a kind of resistance of thinking I don’t need this, or I know enough. No matter how young or old you are, the Academy is a huge benefit to you and your business. Throughout the yearlong learning process, there’s no way you can’t find things that need to be improved on and get ideas to implement. If nothing else, it’s an opportunity to evaluate your business in every department. Attending the NADA Academy is like getting a master’s degree in automotive dealership management. But compared to attending college, the Academy costs a lot less money and takes a lot less time. 22
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