Brad Deery, Deery Brothers, West Burlington, Iowa

“I have been very fortunate throughout my 28 years in the automobile industry to gain the ability and privilege to provide support to a wide variety of deserving people, schools, religious groups, civic organizations, clubs and teams in several ways,” nominee Deery said. “Whether the assistance is monetary or physical volunteerism, the reward of helping others is immeasurable.”

But Deery did not set out to be an automobile dealer. A 1978 graduate of Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois, and Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he earned a B.A. in business administration and political science in 1982, Deery planned to enter law school, specializing in motorsports litigation. “I knew this was a unique field,” he said. “I was familiar with the workings of the motorsports industry as my family owned and operated a speedway in Northern Illinois for 40 years.”

His uncle, however, persuaded him to enter the automotive industry in the sales field with the goal of eventually owning a dealership. “He knew I had the qualities, character and drive to become an automobile dealer,” Deery said. He went into business with his uncle and worked his way up through the ranks of management. At age 26, he acquired a General Motors store and has led his family to add nine more dealerships in the state of Iowa. In 1998, he became sole owner of the business.

Deery is involved in a number of local civic and religious organizations and annually sponsors local events, including the Burlington Steamboat Days music festival, Jackson County Pro Rodeo and the Deery Brothers Summer Series dirt track races, which he co-founded in 1986. A member of Rotary, Knights of Columbus and various other organizations, Deery considers his most meaningful civic achievement the improvement and grants he directed at Notre Dame Catholic schools in Burlington. “I have donated a new car for five years to reestablish and solidify the financial strength of the school through annual fundraising efforts,” he said. He has also donated a van for the school’s use and created a director of economic development position to oversee the foundation and the growth of the foundation’s trust. With Deery’s $180,000 donation, the school was able to obtain a security system, new gym floor and other renovations and equipment.

“My parents taught me long ago that ‘sharing is caring,’” he said. “And I continue to live by those words each day. My main objective is to support my community and its people in any way humanly possible.”

He is equally committed to his family and notes his greatest award was being named Dad of the Year by the University of Iowa, nominated by his oldest daughter, Dominique. “After my wife of 12 years lost her battle with cancer in 1998, my role as a single father was made tolerable by the support of my three amazing daughters,” Deery said. “Dominique nominated me for this honor because she was proud of my ability to continue on despite adverse conditions.” He met and married his current wife in 1999 and had two more daughters.

Deery was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Bruce Anderson, president of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association. He and his wife, Jeanne, have five children.

Anthony DePaula, DePaula Chevrolet, Inc., Albany, N.Y.

“Being chosen in 1988 as the only dealer on the CPC (Chevrolet-Pontiac Canada) quality control board by General Motors (GM) was the most rewarding aspect of my retail automotive career,” nominee DePaula said. He would fly to Detroit every Tuesday for five years to tour factories, meet with management and report his findings to upper management. “I felt that my opinions mattered and were respected by the heads of GM. And at the end of the five years, I was privileged to be able to see the first ZR1 Corvette roll off the assembly line.”

DePaula, a 1962 graduate of Linton High School in Schenectady, N.Y., who studied business at night at the University of Houston in Texas, University of Buffalo in New York and Syracuse University in New York while working fulltime during the day, began his long association with GM in 1977. After starting Motomatch, which he said was much like AutoTrader.com today, he was approached by an area bank to appraise cars and then purchase them for the local Honda/Chevrolet dealer. “Soon after bringing the store back to life, I was asked by the owner to become the general manager,” he said. “Then I was approached by General Motors to purchase the Chevrolet point and become the dealer principal.” Today, his daughter and son-in-law help him run the business.

His most important civic achievement is serving as a board member from 2006 through 2012 for the Ayco Charitable Foundation, which is part of the national financial planning company. “I felt that because of their resources, we were able to fulfill so many more requests and needs of a variety of charities,” DePaula said. “Quarterly, we would review thousands of requests and choose those best suited to improve the communities around us.”

DePaula also supports the Saratoga Hospital Foundation, Yaddo Artists Community, American Cancer Society, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Rebuilding Together Saratoga County, Saratoga Automobile Museum and the National Museum of Racing. He served on the committee planning this year’s events celebrating 150 years of thoroughbred racing at Saratoga Race Course.

And with all his good works on behalf of his community, DePaula remains eternally humble. “My wife and I made a decision a long time ago that our civic and philanthropic activities would not be publicized or awarded,” he said.

DePaula was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Deborah Dorman, president of the Eastern New York Coalition of Automotive Retailers. He his wife, Susan, have one daughter and two grandchildren.

Richard Dimmitt, Dimmitt Cadillac and Land Rover, Clearwater, Fla.

“The most fulfilling and rewarding moments in my retail automotive career come as I have watched both of my children, now the fourth generation, grow up to become excellent young men of character, with an insatiable passion and bright eyes for this great business,” nominee Dimmitt said.

A 1972 graduate of Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, Fla., Dimmitt studied environmental sciences and business at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff from 1972 to 1976. He left college to help his father with the family automobile business — founded by his grandfather in 1924 — after his mother passed away following a long battle with cancer.

“While the circumstances surrounding my untimely entry in the automobile business 37 years ago were less than ideal, in retrospect, I look back at those early years with my father with a grateful heart,” Dimmitt said. His father was a TIME Dealer of the Year nominee in 1989.

Dimmitt was only 24 years old when he became the youngest Cadillac dealer in the nation. Today, the family business, which he owns with his two sons, also includes dealerships in Crystal River and St. Petersburg. And his family has made it their mission to give back to the communities they serve. In recognition of their generous spirit, the city of Clearwater deemed a street Dimmitt Drive, the town of Belleair designated their recreation center the Dimmitt Community Center and there are other buildings named for the family throughout the area.

A three-time chair of the American Cancer Society of Pinellas County (2009, 2010 and 2011), Dimmitt participated in a life-changing experience while interviewing childhood cancer survivors who were applying for college scholarships because medical bills had eliminated the possibility of a higher education. “Engaging them, listening to them and being present in their lives during the application process touched my heart and soul like no other experience in my lifetime,” Dimmitt said. “Their self-assurance, resolve and depth of courage inspired me to undertake my business vocation with a servant’s heart.”

He credits those young people with inspiring him to create the Road to Recovery program, which provides transportation to cancer patients who cannot drive themselves to treatment. Dimmitt also serves on the board of trustees for the local hospital’s Morton Plant Mease Foundation and on the Business Leaders Advisory Board for the University of Tampa. He further helps the school by providing internships.

In addition, he donates his time to the Pinellas County Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army (manning a kettle) and the Homeless Emergency Project of Clearwater (serving meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas). His company’s Dimmitt Community Values Day allows associates to take a paid day off to help a charity of their choice.

Dimmitt added, “I am particularly proud and incredibly humbled to have had the good fortune to be of service to those that are sick, suffering and less fortunate.”

Dimmitt was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Theodore Smith, president of the Florida Automobile Dealers Association. He and his wife, Doreen, have two sons.

Editor’s Note: The original versions of these features as well as a list of all nominees and past winners can be found at www.allydealerheroes.com.