CHARLOTTE, N.C. -

The Father’s Day Council has chosen to honor Hendrick Automotive Group’s director of variable operations with a Charlotte, N.C., 2011 Father of the Year Award.

The nonprofit, formed in 1931, identifies and honors fathers all over the country who have demonstrated the ability to balance their careers with their personal lives and duties as parents.

The organization chose to recognize Chris Little, director of variable operations at Hendrick Automotive Group, for his “exemplary values and achievements as a father.” 

The Father of the Year awards are given to those who serve as role models for their children and also help make a positive difference in their communities, noted the organization.

Little has worked with retail automotive business Hendrick Automotive Group for 18 years and is responsible for managing more than $500 million in new-car inventory and $110 million in pre-owned inventory and selling more than 100,000 new and pre-owned vehicles and 40,000 wholesale vehicles annually.

On top of career responsibilities, Little and his wife Kristen have two daughters, Lindsay, 13, and Carly, 10, and spend numerous weekends traveling together to their daughters’ softball games.

The family also actively volunteers with the HeartBright Foundation, a nonprofit headquartered in Charlotte that focuses on providing education for the community on healthy lifestyle choices and works to fund preventative cardiology programs in economically disadvantaged communities.

Moreover, since 1999, the the Father’s Day Council has partnered with the American Diabetes Association to host the Father of the Year awards dinner.

Together, they have raised more than $10 million to benefit research, education and advocacy efforts of the American Diabetes Association.

This year, Little will receive his Father of the Year award at the nonprofit’s dinner and awards gala, scheduled for Friday, June 17 at the Westin Charlotte. 

“You can help make this special honor a memorable one for Kristen, Carly, Lindsay and myself by joining us in this wonderful celebration at the Westin,” expressed Little, encouraging others to join his family and attend the awards dinner.

Through www.diabetes.org/CharlotteFOTY, those interested can purchase a dinner ticket, be a table sponsor, design a Tribute Journal ad, or make a donation in Little’s name.