ORLANDO, Fla. -

While for many nominees for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award operating a dealership has been part of the family for generations, one individual in the running came to store management after a career in law enforcement.

In the next group of profiles, these store executives all share what’s important to them — in and out of the showroom.

The awards program, which is produced in cooperation with the National Automobile Dealers Association and sponsored by Ally Financial, aims to recognize the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service.

All of these dealers are profiled on a special website for the award: allydealerheroes.com/nominees/all.

Auto Remarketing plans to share some of these nominee profiles from allydealerheroes.com between now and when the winner is announced during the NADA Convention and Expo later this week in Orlando, Fla.

Jack Hebert, All Star Buick GMC Truck, Sulphur, La.

“I have worked hard from the ground up to build my dealership on honesty, integrity and just pure hard work,” nominee Jack Hebert said. “I was not born in the automobile business. My desire was to own a dealership after working for a dealer in Lake Charles, and I worked extremely hard to pursue my dream.”

A 1958 graduate of Sulphur High School in Sulphur, La., Hebert studied business at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La., and law enforcement at LSU Law Enforcement Institute in Baton Rouge. Following 14 years in the Calcasieu Parish sheriff’s office, where he rose to chief of detectives, Hebert decided to change career paths and put his people skills to work in a different arena.

He was offered the job of general sales manager at Don Siebarth Pontiac Honda, a friend’s dealership, in 1976. “I fell in love with the car business,” Hebert said. “I have a love for meeting people, listening to their stories and getting to know them. I knew when I went to work for Don Siebarth that my dream was to own a dealership one day and I am happy to say that I am living that dream.”

By 1987, Hebert had his own store, which boasts a brand new showroom built in 2008. His oldest daughter is general sales manager and his youngest is finance manager. “I am very fortunate to have my two daughters working in the dealership and playing a very important role in managing and running the business,” he said. “They have been with me from the beginning, and I could not be more proud of them and my team.”

Hebert, who is known as “Paw Paw” by hundreds of children in the community, has had a strong connection to the people of his hometown since his parents owned a restaurant there. “I grew up in the town of Sulphur, running around the streets barefoot,” he said. “It is my pleasure to give back to my community and see the smiles on faces I meet every day knowing I can help.” He served on the boards for Better Education for Calcasieu Parish and the Calcasieu Parish Drug Enforcement committee, as well as promoting the 4-H and sponsoring children for rodeos. Hebert was also on the board to build a new community center in town that hosts rodeo competitions, a complex that has attracted five new hotels and has helped stimulate the economy.

His greatest award was being named the 2012 Louisiana Automobile Dealer of the Year. “This award has touched me the most,” Hebert said. “This is a huge honor on behalf of my employees and my loyal customers. I am just a hometown boy who loves the car business, and I am looking forward to many more great years to come.”

Hebert was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award by Robert Israel, president of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association. He and his late wife, Carolyn, have three children and four grandchildren.

Mike Herzog, Herzog Meier Autocenter, Beaverton, Ore.

The most rewarding aspect of nominee Mike Herzog’s retail automotive career is the opportunity to “honor the trust of our employees by running the company in a consistent, reliable manner that has guaranteed a livelihood for them and their families for the last 55 years,” he said.

A graduate of Oregon’s Beaverton Union High School in 1960 and the University of Oregon in Eugene in 1964, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Herzog joined his father’s dealership, Herzog Motors, in 1965.
“The ‘big 3’ compacts of the early 1960s virtually put many dealers selling imports on the thin edge of extinction.” Herzog remembered. “My father needed cheap help and offered me $50 a week, room and board and a demo to come work for him for the summer. I never left.”

Herzog Motors merged with Jim Meier Inc. in 1989 to form Herzog-Meier Autocenter and today sells brands Volkswagen, Volvo, Mazda and Mitsubishi, serving the Portland metropolitan area. His son, Tom, works at the dealership and is a part owner.

Herzog is committed to the arts in his community and to fostering the talents of young artists. He helped form the Beaverton Arts Foundation, which funds artistic and cultural development in the area. In addition, since 1984, the Herzog-Meier Arts Scholarship program honors graduating seniors from the seven Beaverton-area high schools by assisting with their continuing education. The works by these budding artists are also exhibited in his dealership showroom.

“Our arts scholarship program is helping young people from our area advance their academic career,” Herzog said of this innovative initiative that gives back to the Beaverton community.

Herzog was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award by Greg Remensperger, executive vice president of the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association. He and his wife, Shayla, have a blended family of five children and 12 grandchildren.

Robert Hoehn, Hoehn Motors, Carlsbad, Calif.

“Our most meaningful success is the reputation we have in the San Diego community and, just as importantly, among our employees,” nominee Robert Hoehn said. “In the community, our name is synonymous with professionalism, integrity and quality.”

A 1970 graduate of Memphis University School in Memphis, Tenn., Hoehn went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in art history and English from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he graduated in 1974.

“I am a third-generation automobile dealer,” Hoehn said. The Hoehn family has been in the automobile business since 1928, when Hoehn’s grandfather opened a Chevrolet dealership in Memphis. Hoehn’s father, who took over the company in 1938, planned to retire to La Jolla, Calif., but instead founded Hoehn Motors.

“It was an ailing Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Oldsmobile dealership when my father purchased it,” he said. That was 1975 and Hoehn joined the operation in 1976. Along with his brother, they built the dealership into a successful enterprise, selling such luxury brands as Porsche, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. Today, his two daughters and nephew are the fourth generation to enter the family business.

Hoehn believes in giving back to his adopted hometown. He has created a “social responsibility” group at his stores, encouraging employees to choose worthy community projects that they can support. He has also devoted his time and energy as a board member for the Timken Museum of Art (past president), Catholic Charities San Diego, the San Diego Museum of Art and the Balboa Art Conservation Center (past president).

His most meaningful achievement was spending 15 years on the board of trustees for the University of San Diego (USD), where he served as chairman of the board for three years. “USD is a Catholic university that has been on a meteoric rise as far as reputation,” Hoehn said. “It was a very exciting time.”

Hoehn was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award by Dean Mansfield, president of the New Car Dealers Association San Diego County. He and his wife, Karen, have two daughters.

Peter Hoffman, Sierra AutoCars, Monrovia, Calif.

“We see how important our business is to the state’s economy,” said nominee Peter Hoffman, whose participation in the state association has helped educate legislators on business issues facing dealerships. He believes the association does an excellent job of keeping dealer business issues at the forefront “by educating (legislators) about our business and how best to address social concerns without destroying the revenue sources that must fund the solutions.”

Hoffman joined the family business started by his father, Lathrop, after successful careers as an engineer and as a lawyer. He graduated from La Salle High School in Pasadena, Calif., in 1968 and earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind., in 1972. Hoffman received an master’s degree and a law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1975 and 1981, respectively.
When Hoffman was a partner in his law firm, his father was establishing a succession plan for the dealerships and asked Hoffman to take the lead. “I didn’t really know much about the business, but felt a little frustrated with law, where you were always giving others advice but not really living with the consequences,” he said of his decision to take over Sierra Autocars 23 years ago. “I welcomed the chance to work with my father, which has been very rewarding.”

In addition to running a successful family of dealerships, Hoffman is proud of the contribution his company makes to the community. “We decided long ago to spread our support for community organizations and institutions over a wide range rather than focus on a specific charity or community event,” he said. Sierra Autocars aids the local library, schools and hospitals, YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, several service organizations, the Foothill Unity Center (a food bank), Little League, soccer teams, the police and fire departments, Boy Scouts and more. He has also served as a trustee for La Salle High School, AYES (Automotive Youth Education Systems) coordinator for Monrovia High School, director of Santa Anita Family Service, long-time member of the Kiwanis Club of Monrovia and was named 2004 Humanitarian of the Year by Foothill Unity Center, which helps neighbors in crisis.

“It is most meaningful to us that that Sierra and the Hoffman family are an important part of the community we serve and that our communities are stronger for us being here,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award by David Ellis, president of the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association. He and his wife, Toni, have two children.

Melinda Holman, Holman Ford Lincoln, Maple Shade, N.J.

“The most rewarding part of my retail automotive career has been to witness the growth and advancement of people within our organization,” said Melinda Holman, a third-generation dealer. “The most important reason that we seek to expand our company is to continue to offer opportunities for our people to grow.”

A 1978 graduate of Haddonfield Memorial High School in Haddonfield, N.J., Holman earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology/physical education from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in educational psychology from Old Dominion University, both in Virginia. She never planned to join the family enterprise, which today includes Ford Lincoln, BMW, Mini, Cadillac, Infiniti, Toyota and Scion dealerships in southern New Jersey, as well as nine dealerships in south Florida. “I considered myself a people person and didn’t see the connection,” she said.

While her father, Joseph Holman, who heads the organization created by his father, told her to follow her own career path, she returned to New Jersey after graduate school to better understand the business. “I was shocked to discover that it was a perfect fit for me,” Holman said. “It was 26 years ago that I decided to try it out for 10 months, and I have never looked back.”

Holman also has a great many successes in the area of community service, serving as a trustee for the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Community Foundation of South Jersey and Moorestown Friends School. She has received numerous awards, including the first-ever Deborah Heart and Lung Center Gala honoree for outstanding community involvement; American Heart Association Executive Award of Excellence for support of the Go Red for Women movement; National Association of Women Business Owners’ Shattered the Glass Ceiling Award; and the Arthritis Foundation of Southern New Jersey’s Humanitarian of the Year.

Of all the awards Holman has earned, she is most proud of the United Way John C. Haas Regional Champion Medal for her work co-chairing a group that helped merge seven smaller United Way offices into the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. “I believe that working smarter and more efficiently on a regional level while keeping fundraising and investment local, we are poised to greatly enhance our ability to create lasting and positive change in our communities,” she said. In 2011, she led the United Way campaign at Holman Automotive Group and raised more than $1 million, the first million-dollar campaign in the history of Camden County.

“This is an incredible amount of money that will make true and lasting impact in our own backyards,” Holman said. “More than that, though, it is a wonderful statement of caring. I am so proud of the culture of giving that permeates this organization.”

Holman was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award by James Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers. She and her husband, Frank Beideman, have two sons.

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