Pub. 1 2021 Issue 1

8 INCOMING PRESIDENT INTERVIEW — ERICK ANDERSON How did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? I was born into this business. I am the fourth generation and we are one of the oldest Subaru dealerships in the country. I think we might be the second. So while it was never expected that I join the family business, for me, it was an easy choice to make. I am not a sitter; I like to be moving. I worked as a surveyor with the Montana Department of Highways for several years, and I sat a lot; I guess you could say that I got a bit bored and be- came more interested in the car on the road than surveying the roads. The getting bored part could run in the family, especially given the start of the family business. My great-grandfather was the part-owner of a grocery store here in Mon- tana. He got bored with the grocery business, and right at that same time, people started showing up in cars. He got excited about cars, so he boarded a train to Detroit, bought a car, drove it back to Montana, put it in front of the grocery store, and sold it. Almost right away. I think that’s when the bug bit and the family car business started. He decided to do it again, but this time, he gathered up enough people to go with him, so he could buy more than the one. He ended up buying 12 cars. Sadly only seven or eight made it back, the rest broke down, and they were