Pub. 1 2021 Issue 1

31 cation. We also serve in our church. I think that we all have a responsibility to make our communities better. If you look back at your career and life, what would be three things that you have learned that you would pass onto a younger member within the auto industry? I am not sure that I can come up with three things. Still, I will say that if you understand responsibility and account - ability, you will be successful in any field, including the auto industry. I think it’s re- ally easy to make excuses or come up with internal justifications as to why things are not going well. For instance, blaming the economy for lack of sales is easier than digging in and figuring out what to do with the circumstances at hand. The auto industry is fantastic, as pretty much every person from sales to the ser- vice bay can be an entrepreneur of sorts. You can do well and build your own clientele, a business within a business, if you will, without the overhead. The sky is literally the limit when it comes to in- come. So I suppose I can add the willing- ness to work hard and seize the opportu- nities as they come. Is that three? What are some professional moments that make you the proudest? What does the TIME Dealer of the Year nominee mean for you? We’ve won many awards over the years; Helena Chamber of Commerce awards, Best of State awards, several OEM awards, and of course, this most recent Time Dealer recognition — and they all mean so much because it speaks to the efforts of all of us here at the dealership working as a team. It really does take a village to get this right. I am grateful for the acknowledgments. Was there an “aha” moment in your career that defined you? I am not sure there was a specific mo- ment, but when I became clear on what motivated me personally, that was defin- ing for me. I like advancement opportu- nities; I need to know that there’s a path where I can grow and accomplish goals — either my own or group goals. I believe that we all need internal mo- tivation to succeed, and when we know what this is, success in any given endeav - or becomes easier and a lot more fun. Describe your all-time favorite vehicle (it can be one you’ve owned or something on your wish list). What are you driv- ing today? I drive an Explorer ST, which is the SUV. It’s the Ford code for “souped-up,” and I love it. It’s really fun to drive. It’s actu- ally my second one — the first was sold out from under me — but now I have another one, so it’s good. The most fun car I have ever driven was the Mustang Cobra — they are amazing. I got to drive one at a Ford event in Las Ve- gas. It was one of those events where you get to drive the car with a race car driver supervising you. So there I was, driving this Mustang, and the race car driver was urging me to ramp it up — I guess I was a little too conservative — so I decided that I was going to accelerate a bit. The race track we were on is located next to Nel lis Air Force base, and at the time, they were doing F14 flybys. I pushed on the accelerator of that Mus - tang Cobra, just as an F14 went roaring by, and yes, I thought that it was the car, not the plane. I had my own Top Gun moment. The race driver realized that I thought it was the car, and pretty quickly, I realized it wasn’t, and we both had a good laugh. But, even if the Mustang Cobra didn’t actually sound like an F14, it’s still a pretty amazing car, and I had a great time driving it! What is your favorite way to spend your free time? Any un- usual hobbies? Nothing unusual, but my favorite way to spend free time is with my family. We’re really active; we hike, bicycle, canoe and kayak. We love the outdoor lifestyle of Montana. Tell us a little about your family. Suzi and I have two children, my daugh- ter, Jerin, and our son, Blake. They both have dogs, so we have grand dogs: two Australian Shepherds and a German Shepherd. Suzi ad I have two Scotties, Maggie and Stuart.