Pub. 1 2021 Issue 1

29 How did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? I didn’t grow up in the industry, and I didn’t even work in it as my first career. Getting into the auto industry was really a function of wanting to move, and I needed a job — little did I know that I would find my future and a career that I abso- lutely love when I answered the ad from a Ford-Mitsubishi dealership. My wife Suzi and I were living in Oregon, and I worked for PacifiCorp as a CPA. I saw an ad for a controller position in a dealership in Twin Falls, Idaho. I answered the ad, and the dealer, Roy Raymond, was clearly not impressed with my lack of automo- tive background. But Roy underesti- mated my motivation in moving, and I kept asking for an interview. I could tell he was speaking with me just to be polite, and I finally suggested that we make a deal; if he would tell me exactly what he needed in the person he hired, I would tell him honestly if I felt that I could do it. I mentioned that as an auditor for PacifiCorp, I had audited 250 subsidiaries, and I was really good at picking up on business nuances and business specifics. I am not sure if I impressed him or just wore him down, but Roy Raymond hired me, and we moved to Twin Falls. That was my first en- counter with the auto industry, and I loved it right from the start. We were in Twin Falls for three years. Roy passed away in 1997 TIME DEALER OF THE YEAR NOMINEE — JIM STANGER CONTINUED ON PAGE 30