Mike Dorazio opened a Mitsubishi store in Mechanicsburg, Pa., in 2019, and another in Lancaster, Pa., in 2020 right before the pandemic hit.
After the start of the pandemic, “I took a different approach than some dealers would: I hit the gas,” Dorazio said in a news release. “I knew that the only way my company would fail during the pandemic was if the whole country failed. I am a patriotic guy — I did not see that happening.”
He opened a business development/customer care center and worked on marketing and video content. “We came out of COVID restrictions stronger,” Dorazio said.
Mitsubishi Motors North America is celebrating dealer partners who go above and beyond for their communities, and this month the company is featuring Dorazio, owner of Platinum Mitsubishi in Mechanicsburg and Lancaster.
Dorazio said his company builds relationships with its customers by building empathy, and company representatives put themselves in their customers’ shoes.
“We give them the same level of respect and service that we would expect — no matter their situation,” Dorazio said. “We focus on human interaction, which is an element of sales that gets lost so much in our industry.”
He said he is proof that anyone can succeed in life with hard work and determination. When he was age 4, his father died, resulting in a challenging childhood. Angry at the world, Dorazio landed in a detention home.
But he went on to join the U.S. Marine Corps, which he said was one of the best decisions he ever made.
“I am forever indebted to the Marines for teaching me discipline, integrity, work ethic, leadership and many other skills that I still use every day,” Dorazio said. “For a kid like me to become a dealer principal and reach the level of success that I have, I just feel blessed.”
Military service taught him empathy, which taught him “to recognize talent and surround myself with people a lot smarter than me.” He worked to inspire the people in his life to achieve their dreams.
Now, his company is working to share its success with its community.
Dorazio works with veteran charities and events and his company is an annual sponsor of the Freedom Ride in Tyrone, Pa. every July 4 that supports community veterans. The company also plans an annual Gold Star Family 5K on Memorial Day, with proceeds going to Gold Star families and children of service members killed in action.
“One of my close childhood friends was killed in Iraq in 2004, and he left behind three children,” Dorazio said. “We grew up together and joined the Marines together. Knowing what it means to lose a parent at a very young age, and knowing the sacrifice our service members make for this country, it is important for me to give back in that way. As I said, family is important — to our business, to our community and in my life.”
He brings that theme of family to his business, saying his customers know he is a hometown kid who has their interests at heart.
“They are our community, our family, and we treat them like it,” he said.
He also said, “I never see myself as the smartest guy in the room. “I strive to be approachable and be open to everyone. That is also the persona we’ve developed on social media: honest, approachable, local, and people are drawn to that. They are part of our success and we are part of theirs.”
Premier Auto Group president Robert Alvine said Scott Burrell is a household name in Connecticut.
Burrell is currently the men’s basketball head coach at Southern Connecticut State University and played professionally for 12 years, winning an NBA championship with the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls.
Now, Burrell will serve as a consultant for Premier Auto Group, providing feedback on different vehicle models. The auto group operates four Connecticut locations.
In addition to driving different models and providing feedback on various new cars and SUVs, Burrell will work with Alvine and the Premier Auto Group team on the company’s various not-for-profit initiatives with organizations such as Camp Rising Sun, which is a camp for children with cancer.
“He might be a basketball star, and an extremely talented coach, but he’s also a husband, father and homeowner right here in Connecticut,” Alvine said in a news release. “His input as to how our vehicles perform on a daily basis, and in real-world situations will be extremely helpful.”
After helping raise more than $10,000 to help children forced into home learning because of the COVID-19 shutdown, Toyota South Atlanta was named Clayton County business of the year.
The dealership won the honor based on its generosity to the Clayton County School System.
The $10,000 went toward school lunches for students at their homes. The funds also helped provide Wi-Fi access points to homes did not have Wi-Fi for virtual learning.
"We wanted to make a difference during an extremely challenging time," Toyota South Atlanta vice president and general manager Rich Mahon said in a news release.
Clayton County Public Schools Foundation Inc. said it seeks to provide financial resources to boost the educational experience of students, families, teachers, and graduates.
"We are grateful for this generous donation,” said Clayton County Public Schools superintendent, Morcease Beasley. "Funds will go toward feeding families and providing hotspots for students who cannot afford an internet connection.”
Mahon said the dealership understood that the COVID-19 shutdown would have a negative effect on students forced into at-home learning.
“We were proud to donate $10,000 to the Clayton County Public School Foundation in order to provide home lunches for students who rely on a healthy meal during the day normally provided at school as well as Wi-Fi access to ensure that kids would be able to access Wi-Fi for their virtual classes,” Mahon said.
Roger Beasley Imports in Texas has supported various charities over the past four decades, including the Austin Chamber of Commerce and Dell Children’s Hospital.
One of the company’s dealerships, Roger Beasley Mazda, has also helped animals.
The company said all Roger Beasley Mazda dealerships are “dog friendly.” But the dealership each year also donates a new Mazda to the Austin Humane Society to raffle to community members for a chance to win the car. Each ticket provides food, medical care, one night of shelter and love for a cat or dog.
The winning ticket was drawn on Saturday at the Central Mazda location and on Roger Beasley Mazda Austin's Facebook page.
Through the support of Roger Beasley Imports and Roger Beasley Organization managing partner and vice president Jim Bagan, all proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the animals at the shelter.
“When we started the car raffle 17 years ago, the Humane Society was a very small charity operating in the city,” Bagan said in a news release.
Bagan also said, “The things they’ve been able to accomplish over the past 17 years, thanks to the support of this community, are amazing. Our mission at Roger Beasley is to make sure we are there for the long run, and that we make a big enough contribution so that change can happen.”
With its president saying that people have experienced extreme challenges over the past year, Sheehy Auto Stores is donating $115,500 among 22 charities throughout the communities they serve in several locations.
Those areas include Washington, D.C.; Baltimore and Hagerstown, Md., and Richmond, Va.
The donations are part of Sheehy’s Annual Giving Program. Through that program, each dealership partners with local non-profit organizations.
“We are fortunate to be able to provide some help through our annual end of the year giving campaign that supports a variety of causes.” Sheehy Auto Stores president Vince Sheehy said in a news release.
Through the program, Sheehy donated $45,500 to Washington, D.C. area charities, including:
—$13,000 to Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services
—$7,000 apiece to Women Who Care Ministries and Ecumenical Community Helping Others
—$6,000 to Fauquier F.I.S.H.
—$2,500 apiece to Arch of Knowledge, the. St. Lucy Project/Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, Inova Children's Hospital, Loudoun Hunger Relief and Food for Others
The program also resulted in donations to non-profit organizations in Baltimore, including:
—$23,000 for the Naval Academy Athletic Association
—$5,000 for Center for Children
—$3,000 for STAIR-Annapolis
—$2,500 for Arundel House of Hope
—$1,500 for Mosaic Community Services
—$1,000 for Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce
In Hagerstown, Md., Sheehy donated $5,000 to CASA. And in the Richmond, Va. market, the program distributed 20,000 to Mercy Mall of Virginia and $9,000 to ACES.
Last year, the Toyota Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association, or TLMODA, teamed up with The Salvation Army to create a National COVID-19 Day of Service, supporting families that have become vulnerable because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Since then, the demand for food has multiplied,” TLMODA board president Carlos Liriano said in a news release.
On Tuesday, TLMODA said it is again working with The Salvation Army to address the what it describes as an increasing food shortage across the country by providing food to families in need during the pandemic.
On Friday, TLMODA dealers and The Salvation Army will distribute more than 1,400 food boxes at participating Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Washington and Texas dealerships.
“We hope this collective effort by our TLMODA members helps feed families in our communities and provides some reprieve from the economic hardships they face on a daily basis,” Liriano said.
“The Salvation Army has seen a tsunami of need over the last year,’ said commissioner Kenneth Hodder, national commander of The Salvation Army.
Toyota dealership staff during TLMODA’s National COVID-19 Day of Service will distribute grocery boxes of non-perishable items to help feed a family of four for a week. Boxes of cereal and canned goods are examples of non-perishable food items.
Local Salvation Army teams Items will pack and assemble items for the grocery boxes, following safety guidelines from local, state and federal health officials. As part of the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest, which TLMODA says helps feed the mind and inspire creativity, an art kit will also be included with the box.
Youth ages 4 to 15 are invited to participate by submitting their artwork.
The Salvation Army is working to help identify families needing food, instructing them to pick up their grocery box at one of the participating Toyota dealerships. The organization is also working to maintain proper social distance protocols, placing boxes in the trunk of each family’s vehicle on a first-come, first-served basis until supplies are exhausted. To qualify for a grocery box, all families must contact their local Salvation Army.
“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have provided more than 150 million meals to families in need,” Hodder of the Salvation Army said. “This was in large part thanks to the commitment of community members and partners like TLMODA and its member dealerships. We know that 2021 will continue to be challenging for millions of Americans, but with the help of organizations like TLMODA, we’ll continue to meet the evolving needs of our neighbors across the country.”
TLMODA held its inaugural National COVID-19 Day of Service in partnership with The Salvation Army in May.
The Empty Stocking Fund, or ESF, provides toys and gifts to disadvantaged children during the holiday season, and each year the organization distributes nearly 200,000 gift items to tens of thousands of metro Atlanta children in need.
On Tuesday, Jim Ellis Automotive Group said it donated $65,000 to ESF, raised through its annual Holiday Giving Campaign. The auto group said the fundraiser has been a long-standing holiday tradition.
For that traditional fundraiser, Jim Ellis donates a portion of all new or pre-owned vehicle sales to a deserving organization.
Empty Stocking Fund executive director Manda Hunt said the donation was the largest the organization has received in its 100-year history. Hunt said the donation would help the organization serve more than 3,000 children during the holiday season and comes at a time of great need.
“This donation will go a very long way during a very difficult time,” Hunt said in a news release.
Hunt also said, "This is an extraordinary honor and we are so grateful for this gift.”
"It gives my team and I great honor to lend a helping hand to children and families in the communities we serve," said Jim Ellis Automotive Group president Jimmy Ellis.
Ellis continued, “It has been a difficult year for several families, and our hope is that this contribution can help bring joy to those who need it most.”
Jim Ellis Automotive Group’s Holiday Giving Campaign took place from Nov. 27 to Dec. 31. All 19 Jim Ellis family-owned-and-operated dealerships participated.
The donation took place just prior to the end of the event to ensure ESF did not miss out on having the donation funds to spend on children for Christmas 2020.
Children from birth through 12 years of age who live in the metro Atlanta area and surrounding counties are eligible to receive gifts from the Empty Stocking Fund.
In addition to providing toys and gifts to disadvantaged children during the holiday season, ESF provides school supplies throughout the year. The organization said it does that to help promote positive social and emotional development and academic success.
Each year, Lake Charles Toyota contributes a scholarship to the SOWELA School of Transportation to help prospective students chase their dreams.
Lake Charles Toyota, located in Lake Charles, La., has given more than $50,000 toward the local technical community college over the past nine years.
That charitable work continued recently, as Lake Charles Toyota said in late December it presented a check for a $5,000 scholarship to the school.
This scholarship provides an opportunity for low- to moderate-income students enrolled in the automotive maintenance technology program at the SOWELA School of Transportation to pursue an automotive-industry career.
The two-year program provides students with training and skills to become certified in the automotive industry.
According to Lake Charles Toyota, many of the program’s graduates become mechanics or repair mechanics. Or, they might choose to enter other auto industry specialized fields.
The dealership said the program’s graduates will be immediately employable at local dealerships. They will also be employable at automotive maintenance and repair companies.
Almost 15% of Lake Charles Toyota’s Service Center employees are graduates of the SOWELA automotive maintenance technology program.
Through its Mastermind Gives Back program, automotiveMastermind makes regular charitable donations on behalf of employees and dealer partnerships. Most recently, the company made a donation to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Mastermind, a predictive analytics and marketing automation company, made the $10,000 donation on behalf of the company and its dealer partners in lieu of traditional holiday gifts.
The socially distanced donation ceremony took place at the Ed Morse Cadillac Dealership in Tampa.
The donation is one of several the company made this year. Previous recipients of Mastermind’s 2020 donations included the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Las Vegas during NADA Show, and to the CDC during the onset of the pandemic.
The National Pediatric Cancer Foundation is headquartered in Tampa and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding research toward eliminating childhood cancer. By partnering with hospitals nationwide, the foundation seeks to find less-toxic, more targeted therapies.
Mastermind co-founder and chief executive officer Marco Schnabl said charitable giving has been a core value at the company since its early days as a startup.
“My family and I have close ties with the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, and I’m proud to expand our support through this donation during a very difficult and challenging year,” Schnabl said in a news release.
Since 2015, Wells Fargo has sponsored the donation of more than 40 payment-free vehicles, valued at more than $1 million, to combat-wounded U.S. veterans, Gold Star families and nonprofit organizations.
“Empowering military and veteran communities to succeed financially is ingrained in Wells Fargo’s values,” Laura Schupbach, head of Wells Fargo Auto, said in a news release.
On Tuesday, Wells Fargo said it collaborated with U.S. dealerships to complete a campaign to sponsor the donation of five payment-free vehicles to combat-wounded veterans from five military branches of service throughout November.
The campaign took place to commemorate Veterans Day and Veterans and Military Families Month. Wells Fargo sponsored the vehicles through Military Warriors Support Foundation’s Transportation4Heroes.
That program provides payment-free vehicles and one year of family and financial mentorship to combat-wounded veterans and Gold Star families to help ease the transition from the military to civilian life.
Retired U.S. Air Force staff Sgt. George Campbell was one of the combat-wounded veterans receiving a donation, and the campaign provided him with a 2020 GMC Terrain.
Other recipients were:
— Former U.S. Army chief warrant officer 2, Lucas Thompson: 2020 Honda Passport
— Former U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Jesse Odom: 2020 Nissan Frontier
—Retired U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class Clint Haskell: 2019 Honda Pilot
— Retired U.S. Coast Guard Boatswains Mate Second Class Gilbert Benoit: 2020 Nissan NV200 2WD
Participating U.S. dealerships include:
— Mitchell Buick-GMC in San Angelo, Texas
— Rairdon’s Honda of Burien in Seattle
— Benson Nissan of Easley in Easley, S.C.
— Honda of Hackettstown in Hackettstown, N.J.
— Courtesy Nissan in Richardson, Texas
“We want to help create an environment where they can focus on returning to civilian life and build the foundation for a successful future for their entire family and these vehicles are a way to help do that,” Schupbach said.
Many of the veterans go through a family and financial mentoring program through Military Warriors Support Foundation. Participants use what they learn to pay down their total household debt by about $17,500 on average, according to the foundation.
“Our Transportation4Heroes program offers our heroes so much more than just a vehicle,” said Military Warriors Support Foundation executive vice president Casey Kinser.
Kinser continued, “It is about increased access to health care, to basic living essentials, and an increased feeling of independence. These are crucial needs for our nation’s combat-wounded heroes and Gold Star spouses, across all military branches.
Kinser also added that the program also provides family and financial mentoring to help ensure the family’s long-term stability.
“Especially during Veterans and Military Families Month, we look forward to continue collaborating with Wells Fargo to honor our nation’s heroes in meaningful ways,” Kinser said.
