The Junior League, The Women’s Fund Miami Young Professionals and Junior Achievement of South Central Kentucky are just a few organizations that Amber Martin has served.
"Having worked in media and entertainment, I understand just how important it is for all women to have advocates and a team to help advance them in their careers,” said Martin, who leads business and community partnerships for the Martin Management Group in Bowling Green, Ky., a national automotive and motorsports retail organization founded by her father, the late Cornelius Martin.
Recognizing Martin’s dedication to giving back to her community and her leadership in promoting the next generation of minority dealers, Ally Financial and the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) have named Martin the second-ever recipient of the Ally Sees Her Award.
Last year, Ally created the award to recognize the auto retail industry’s promising, young female leaders.
Ally said in a news release that the award was inspired by the Association of National Advertisers’ #SeeHer campaign to elevate women in media and marketing.
Martin will receive the award during NAMAD's 2019 annual membership meeting in Miami on Thursday.
In recognition of Martin's work, Ally will donate $10,000 to two organizations she selected: the Western Kentucky University Foundation and the Equal Justice Initiative.
The WKU Foundation donation will help fund the Martin Minority Teacher Scholarship for the recruitment of minorities majoring in education. It will also help fund the Gail Martin Lecture and Faculty Development Series, which helps with faculty development and bringing guest speakers to campus. The Equal Justice Initiative is an Alabama nonprofit organization that calls attention to racial injustice and advocates for equality, and the donation will help fund educational programming about the impact of slavery in the United States.
“I am inspired by the ambition of social activists like Mari Copeny, a young leader who won nationwide recognition for her work to draw attention to the water crisis in Flint, Mich.,” Martin said. “It’s crucial for society and the media to promote and celebrate humanitarian acts such as Mari’s. The next generation needs to see this type of work being valued. I hope my gifts spotlight Mari’s fight for clean water in Flint and help EJI’s Racial Justice Project in its effort to educate the nation on the historical injustices of slavery in our country and their impact on contemporary issues.”
At the beginning of Martin’s career in her family’s dealership, her father taught her business principles and customer service. She began a second career in media and entertainment and launched a fashion boutique after graduating from Miami University. She eventually relocated to Los Angeles, completed the NADA Dealer Academy Program in 2010, and became Martin Management Group’s West Coast manager of operations before moving into her current business development position.
Ally senior director of corporate citizenship Jacqueline Howard described Martin as a strong ambassador for the automotive industry.
“Her automotive success combined with her unwavering dedication to service make her a natural leader for the next generation of minority women in automotive retail, and we are proud to recognize her achievements,” Howard said.
Howard added, “Ally challenges itself to ‘Be Better’, and for us that includes promoting diversity and women in leadership. Our industry is stronger when everyone — including women and people of color — see inspirational role models like Amber.”
NAMAD president Damon Lester said Martin’s automotive, media, and entertainment background makes her a “triple threat” to the automotive industry.
“Amber's knowledge, network, and ambition are truly a testament to the success of the Martin Automotive Group,” Lester said. “All of these qualities are necessary for a dealer in today's environment to possess."
Martin said women leaders’ voices are “imperative.”
“Preserving and advancing our presence in the dealership and in the boardroom is crucial for the future of our industry,” she said.
The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s says it awarded its newest Ring of Honor member because of his “commitment to independent dealers,” which “forged a relationship that has moved the used vehicle industry forward.”
That newest Ring of Honor member is AutoZone director of strategic accounts and program development Kirk Brown, who is the 31st auto industry leader to be inducted into what NIADA says is its “highest award for non-dealers.”
Brown was honored on Wednesday during National Leadership Awards Banquet, part of the 73rd annual NIADA Convention and Expo at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.
At the event, NIADA also honored recipients of NIADA scholarships and winners of the Crystal Eagle award for their efforts at increasing association membership.
But Brown was the man of the hour by becoming a member of the NIADA Ring of Honor, which the association says recognizes allied industry leaders “who have contributed to the professionalism and growth of the automobile industry through outstanding performance and leadership.”
“Whenever he speaks about his position or his company, he is quick to move toward speaking about the partnership with NIADA that has grown over the years and how that relationship has been instrumental in growing our segment of the business through collaborative efforts aimed at providing greater value to dealers,” NIADA chief executive officer Steve Jordan said in a news release.
“That relationship became a catalyst and an accelerator for implementing ideas that create local partnerships well beyond just another on-demand parts provider,” Jordan said.
NIADA says that Brown has become a leader on the commercial side of the auto retail business during his 35 years in the industry. Following time working with NAPA and CarQuest, he has been with AutoZone for the last 16 years.
He has managed national sales teams and led commercial operations during that time. Brown currently leads AutoZone’s national account team. The team has had a strong focus on buy-here, pay-here and the new and used-car segments.
AutoZone, in partnership with sister company, ALLDATA, has helped create “competitive differentiators,” according to NIADA, that ensure independent dealers have the technology to better repair vehicles and keep customer loyalty.
The partnership between AutoZone/ALLDATA and NIADA has created a strong advantage allowing the partners to service dealers’ parts needs and to provide repair information, Brown said. that ensures each dealer keeps their customers satisfied by providing quality used vehicle repair or recon.
”When we hitched our wagon to NIADA 10 years ago, we were still learning about this segment of the business. We’ve come a long way … I’m really excited to see how the coming years bring a more collaborative effort,” Brown said.
Regarding the NIADA scholarships and Crystal Eagle award winners, Chad Palmer of Clarkston, Mich. won the NIADA and Cox Automotive Scholarship presented by Manheim. That is a $10,000 scholarship for a student at Northwood University. Palmer is a junior majoring in automotive marketing and management at Northwood, and he says he is always thinking and doing something auto-related. That includes activities such as attending Cars and Coffee on weekend mornings and helping friends with their automotive projects.
He enrolled at Northwood in the fall of 2016, and since then he has spent his summers at dealerships. That includes work and an internship with Bowman Chevrolet in his hometown of Clarkston. For the current summer, he is an intern for Penske Automotive Group’s 10-week rotation program in the Atlanta market.
He is planning a May 2020 graduation, and at that time, he would like to enroll in Penske’s manager program.
Also awarded scholarships from the NIADA Foundation were students from each of the association’s four regions. They are Eric Yang of Ellicott City, Md. (Region I); Ian Hall of Nashville, Tenn. (Region II); Taylor Akin of Purcell, Okla. (Region III); and Samuel Griffith of Lodi, Calif. (Region IV).
Twelve NIADA members also won the Crystal Eagle award for their strong work in generating new NIADA members.
Honorees from the Carolinas IADA included:
—Kim Bradshaw of 1st Nations Auto Sales
—Darryl Jackson of Crown Auto Sales & Finance
—Steve Matthews of Matthews Motors
—Kevin Pendergrass of Carolina Auto Sales of Myrtle Beach
—Steve Wetmore of McAdenville Motors
—Jerry Padrick of M&M Auto Sales
—Michael Threadgill of Van’s Auto Sales
—Marshall Perry of Marshall’s Used Cars
—Martha Brown of Dris/Vista Holdings Group
—Sammy Bernardo of ProGuard Warranty
The honoree from the Georgia IADA was Dennis Pope of People’s Financial, and the honoree from Texas IADA was Jose Engler of Irving Motors Corp.
CarLotz says that its team was nominated for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Mid-Atlantic award because of its work in “driving the company’s growth trajectory.” At the same time, the team used vision and leadership to inspire others, the company said in a news release.
That work was noticed as the company announced on Tuesday that CarLotz co-founders Michael Bor, Aaron Montgomery and Will Boland won the award. CarLotz described the business award program, which recognizes leaders of high-growth companies, as one of the most prestigious in the United States.
CarLotz said the award is designed to “celebrate those who are building and leading successful and dynamic businesses.”
Since CarLotz’s 2011 launch, the company’s team, under the leadership of Bor, Montgomery, and Boland, has opened multiple locations throughout Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, and Texas.
A panel of independent judges selected the CarLotz co-founders, who received the award at an event on Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. CarLotz, as a regional award winner, is now eligible for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award.
The announcement of the national EY winner will take place at the Strategic Growth Forum on Nov. 16 in Palm Springs, Calif. The Strategic Growth Forum honors he highest-growth companies.
The winner of the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award then moves on to Monaco to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award.
“The Entrepreneur of the Year in the Mid-Atlantic award is a testament to not only the growth at CarLotz, but the solutions our team continues to create every day to make it easier to buy and sell a used car,” Bor, who is the CarLotz chief executive officer, said in a news release. “We’re incredibly honored to receive the EY distinction and to use it as motivation to continue to grow our unique model to more and more geographies around the country.”
“There are many successful entrepreneurs in this world, but to build something truly remarkable, you can’t let anything stand in your way,” said EY Americas Entrepreneur Of The Year program director Debra von Storch. “EY is proud to honor the 2019 Entrepreneur Of The Year winners who are inspiring innovation without limitation and fueling growth and prosperity by being truly unstoppable.”
Larry H. Miller Lexus Murray, Larry H. Miller Lexus Lindon and Larry H. Miller Lexus Spokane have received the Elite of Lexus Award for 2018, which recognizes dealers who excel in areas such as sales, service and the overall customer ownership experience.
Those were just three of 16 Larry H. Miller dealerships to recently receive top awards from their respective manufacturers.
Larry H. Miller Honda Boise is another. That dealership earned the 2018 Honda President’s Award. Honda judges that honor based on a dealership’s achievement of excellence in customer service and satisfaction, sales, training and facilities.
The Subaru Love Promise Customer Commitment Award went to Larry H. Miller Subaru Boise. This award, which recognizes Subaru retailers nationally that “demonstrate excellence in all areas of customer-focused performance,” highlights strong customer service that results in lifelong relationships with Subaru owners, according to Larry H. Miller.
Recognized with the Best of the Best Golden Laurel for dealers in the Mercedes-Benz network was Mercedes-Benz of Draper.
“This award represents the pinnacle of achievement for a Mercedes-Benz dealership,” Larry H. Miller Dealerships said in a news release.
Larry H. Miller Chevrolet Murray was honored with the 2018 Chevrolet Mark of Excellence Award. That distinction measures a dealership’s dedication to excellence based on sales, CSI, retail sales index, essential brand elements and dealer maintenance notification.
Two Larry H. Miller dealerships won the Toyota President’s Award for 2018. Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque and Larry H. Miller Toyota Murray (MUR) received the recognition, which honors dealers that “continue to go above and beyond at each customer touch point.”
The Walter P. Chrysler Club Award, which Larry H. Miller Dealerships describes as “the automaker’s highest honor,” went to Larry H. Miller Dodge Ram Avondale. The award recognizes dealerships that meet overall sales, Mopar parts sales and customer retention goals.
Also, Larry H. Miller Dodge Ram Avondale qualified for the Pentastar Club. The dealership received that honor for ranking in the top 30 in retail sales in 2018 within their business center group of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram dealerships.
Seven Larry H. Miller dealerships received the FCA Customer First Award for 2018. Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Tucson, Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Riverdale, Larry H. Miller Dodge Ram Tucson, Larry H. Miller Dodge Ram Avondale, Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Sandy, Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Bountiful and Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Boise earned the award, which recognizes leaders in customer sales and service experience in five areas: facility certification, performance measures, training certification, employee surveys and process validation.
Autotrader executive editor Brian Moody says all certified pre-owned vehicle programs are great.
But some, he added, stand out from the crowd.
In this case, he is referring to Hyundai and Lexus. Autotrader says Hyundai's CPO program is a clear leader in the non-luxury pack, mainly because of its 10-year or 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, the balance of which transfers to the CPO vehicles.
According to Autotrader, Lexus’ CPO warranty adds two years and unlimited mileage to the remaining balance of the original four-year or 50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper new-car warranty (which includes powertrain coverage).
Because of those factors, Autotrader named Hyundai the winner in the category of best non-luxury CPO programs for 2019, and Lexus as the winner in the luxury category.
Because of manufacturer-backed warranties and rigorous inspection processes, Moody of Autotrader said in a news release that certified pre-owned programs offer consumers amenities that are just about as strong as many new cars.
“Hyundai and Lexus won our vote for the top spots in their classes for the second consecutive year due to great warranty coverage and amazing perks should anything go wrong,” Moody said.
Expanding on its reasoning for naming Hyundai as the non-luxury winner, Autotrader said that although Hyundai requires a $50 deductible for all covered repairs, CPO coverage is fully transferable. Autotrader listed a free CARFAX history report, free roadside assistance and trip interruption coverage of $100 per day for up to five days when at least 150 miles from home as additional benefits.
Hyundai put out its own news release about the award, with Hyundai Motor America senior manager, certified pre-owned Wayne Szabo noting that the program offers a rigorous 173-point inspection and rental car and travel interruption reimbursement benefits. The program also offers a no-charge, three-month "All Access" trial of SiriusXM satellite radio.
As for Lexus, Autotrader said its CPO vehicles also offer four free scheduled maintenance visits, complimentary loaner cars during covered repairs and free roadside assistance.
Autotrader identified its 2019 10 Best Non-Luxury and Luxury CPO Programs on factors such as powertrain warranty length (with a minimum of six years or 100,000 miles of coverage from the original sale date), available inventory, bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage and transferability to future vehicle owners.
Here is the full list of winners, with additional programs listed alphabetically below the overall winner:
10 best non-luxury CPO programs for 2019:
Overall winner: Hyundai
— Chevrolet/GMC
— Dodge/Jeep/Ram
— Ford
— Honda
— Kia
— Mazda
— Nissan
— Subaru
— Toyota
10 best luxury CPO programs for 2019:
Overall winner: Lexus
— Acura
— Buick
— Cadillac
— Chrysler
— Infiniti
— Jaguar
— Land Rover
— Lincoln
— Porsche
Previous winners of the Congressional Award Foundation’s Horizon Award include NFL star Drew Brees, actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
On June 20, the owner of Larry H. Miller Group of Companies — parent company of the Larry H. Miller Dealerships and various other entities — will join that list of honorees.
The foundation announced that Gail Miller, who co-founded the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies with her late husband and is the group's owner/chairman, will receive the Horizon Award at the annual Gold Medal Ceremony on Capitol Hill.
Miller will receive the award for “her life’s work as an extraordinary example for the nation’s youth, particularly young women,” the Foundation said in a news release.
A special recognition from the Joint Leadership Commission of The Congressional Award Foundation and its board of directors, the award recognizes private-sector individuals who have “worked to expand opportunities for all Americans through their own personal contributions.”
Larry H. Miller, who died in 2009, and Gail Miller established one of the largest privately owned group of companies in the western United States. The company includes more than 60 car dealerships, the Utah Jazz NBA team, and Megaplex Theatres, among other entities.
The foundation said that in the decade following Larry Miller’s passing, Gail Miller has “shown the importance of resolve and drive and been a source of inspiration for many seeking to find their identity.” The foundation discussed Gail Miller’s April 2018 book, "Courage to Be You: Inspiring Lessons from an Unexpected Journey." Finding purpose is the book’s central focus.
Sharing personal anecdotes about the role faith played in shaping her as a person, the strength of women, and how she measures wealth, Gail Miller said she does not count her wealth in terms of money and “worldly things.”
“My wealth is counted in relationships, being able to provide jobs for people where they can support their family and live good lives. Those are the things that really drove us,” she said in a March 2018 interview with Deseret News.
In addition to being owner of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies and serving as chair of the board of directors of Larry H. Miller Management Corp., Gail Miller also leads the Larry H. Miller Education Foundation and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation. Those organizations support charitable, educational, and humanitarian causes.
“Gail embodies the spirit of this award by demonstrating thought for others in her decision-making and using her influence to shape communities for the better,” said Paxton Baker, chair of The Congressional Award national board of directors.
Other previous recipients of the award include actress America Ferrera, NBA star Bob Lanier, musician Wynton Marsalis, baseball star Cal Ripken, Jr., and NFL star Emmitt Smith and his wife, Pat.
