You met Wyn, your husband and general manager, on a ranch in Wyoming. Please tell us about it. My husband, Wyn, and I met in Encampment, Wyoming, at a working guest ranch, the A Bar A Ranch. It is practically in the middle of nowhere, and the family that owns it has around 150,000 acres. The A Bar A has wonderful guest quarters and numerous activities, including horseback riding, hiking and fly fishing. I was a housekeeper, and I cleaned cabins for two summers. Wyn worked there for three summers. He was a fishing guide and ranch hand the first two summers, and he fixed fences and drainage and did stuff all over the ranch. He was a wrangler the third summer. He took guests on trail rides and helped take care of the horses. After falling in love with the west and in the west, we moved to Jackson Hole for six years. Many couples from the ranch are now married. Some of our best friends are from the ranch and Jackson Hole. We now sell some vehicles to the ranch because we are close to the managers. They tell us what they need, and we transport their vehicles from West Virginia to Wyoming. Even in a digital age, it’s still a relationship business! What led to the decision to become the dealer in 2017? Tell us about your journey and moving back to West Virginia. My father was very good at keeping work and personal separate when I was growing up, so I had very little exposure to the dealership. I knew we owned a family dealership, but that’s it. I didn’t know the inner workings. Dad wanted my brother and me to find our own way and figure out what we wanted to do with our lives without the pressure of being expected to go into the family business. My husband is from Little Rock, Arkansas, so Wyn and I lived in Little Rock for three years after we were married. In 2015, my dad sent a letter to my brother and me. In the letter, he talked about a succession plan, and he suggested that if we were interested, we should consider working in the business and learning about it to make sure that was what we wanted to do. Wyn and I discussed that letter in great detail for almost two years. We agreed it would be a shame to sell a family business that was more than 100 years old. As we continued to talk, we decided that the worst that could happen was either not liking the work or failing. We decided we could live with both of those outcomes. But we also thought we didn’t want to look back in 10 years and say, “Wow, we really missed out on a great opportunity. Why did we sell it?” Wyn and I started on the Chevy sales floor because that was the biggest pain point at the time. We needed to sell more Chevrolets. We came in, and we started asking questions and learning. In January 2020, I became the dealer, and my husband became the general manager. Our goal is to ensure our two locations stay relevant and continue serving our community for another 100 years. Does the company employ other family members? If so, what roles do they have? My father is the CEO, I am the dealer principal, and Wyn is the general manager. Our three dogs, Mavis, Rebel and Cotton, are some of our best sales consultants . Our daughters may join the team someday. The dealership has survived every major catastrophe of the 20th century, starting with the 1918 flu pandemic and (at least so far) ending with the current COVID-19 pandemic. What’s the secret to surviving in difficult times? We have a saying around here: “Taking steps is easy; standing still is hard.” We know that we can make it through these WVADA is a great support system for dealers. They work closely with us to accomplish our needs and wants, and they help us solve our issues. The association offers education and communication with the legislators and a fabulous legal staff that understands the ins and outs of our complex business. Continued from the previous page wvcar.com 14 WVADA
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