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Byrider honors 15 operators during virtual annual convention

The company’s annual convention had to be virtual this year to accommodate safety precautions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but Byrider still honored 15 different franchise store operators.

The chain of buy-here, pay-here stores handed out Franchises of the Year Awards in three separate categories and also gave the Founders Award for operators celebrating a 10- or 20-year anniversary. 

The Franchise of the Year award recognizes best overall performance based on internal store rankings and a measure of how the business has contributed to the Byrider franchise community. The recipients included:

— Single point: Keith Kocourek and Jennifer Freiboth in Wausau, Wisc.

— 2-3 stores: Mark Bedgood, Bill Evans and Dale Boone in Longview, Tyler, Waco and Killeen, Texas

— 4 or more stores: Russ Larson and Jeff Lee in Davenport, Iowa as well as Joplin, Springfield and Columbia, Mo.

Recipients of the Founders Award included:

— Jim Kagiliery and Jim Thompson (20th anniversary) with locations in Jacksonville, Port Richey and Pinellas Park, Fla.

— Ward Griffith and Brad Helms (20th anniversary) with locations in Glen Burnie and Randallstown, Md.

— Aaron Zeigler and Todd Simerman (20th anniversary) with locations in Kalamazoo and Lansing, Mich.

— Jim Park and Mark Morris (20th anniversary) who are based in Marietta, Ohio with stores in Parkersburg, South Charleston, Clarksburg, Morgantown and Barboursville, W.Va.

For the past 30 years, the Byrider convention has provided an opportunity for franchisees, suppliers and corporate leaders to join together from across the country for comradery and to acknowledge the significant achievements of individuals who have contributed to the company’s success and celebrate historic milestones.

Although this year’s convention looked a little different, Byrider said it aimed to achieve the same goals.

“We all wish that we could be together this year, but I am so proud of each of the award recipients we were able to acknowledge during our virtual company convention,” Byrider chief executive officer Craig Peters said in a news release

“This has been such a hard year for everyone, and each award recognition is well deserved. Our franchisees faced unprecedented challenges in 2020 and proved they could succeed even in the most extreme of circumstances,” Peters continued.

Byrider vice president of franchising Chris Hadley added, “Congratulations to all of our award recipients! The franchisees are key drivers of our company’s goals.

“It is an understatement to say that 2020 was a curveball, but our franchisees rose to the challenge and delivered the customer service that our customers have come to expect from the Byrider brand,” Hadley went on to say. “I am so encouraged by the perseverance displayed across our company this year and look forward to when we can celebrate in-person again.”

Byrider, KAR executives receive industry accolade

This week, Byrider’s Warren Lenard was named a Chief Technology Officer of the Year honoree through a program orchestrated by the Indianapolis Business Journal and Techpoint.

The chief technology officer for the network of buy-here, pay-here dealerships was one of 37 honorees, recognizing the technological strides Byrider is making under Lenard’s leadership.

“We are thrilled to see Warren’s hard work recognized by the greater Indianapolis business community,” Byrider chief executive officer Craig Peters in a news release. “He’s taken the lead with our efforts in ensuring we are using the most advanced technology out there to equip our stores and franchises to better serve our customers.”

Byrider is in the process of rolling out advanced technology programs to its dealers across the country. The new programs include a custom-built, cloud-based customer relationship management tool, advanced dealer-facing dashboard reports and an online customer financing approval platform.

The company highlighted each of these developments will drastically impact the way Byrider’s dealership network uses technology and data to make well-informed business decisions and improve customer experiences.

Byrider added initial phases of each program are currently in use and further developments will continue to roll out throughout the year.

In addition to his leadership role at Byrider, Lenard is president of the Society of Information Management’s Indianapolis chapter and is actively involved with business programs at Butler University.

"I am humbled and honored by this recognition,” Lenard said. “I have been privileged to work alongside a top-notch senior management team and be a part of a highly motivated and talented IT organization. It has already been an incredible journey at Byrider so far and the best is yet to come."

Additionally, in the same awards program, KAR Global said via email that its executive vice president and chief digital officer Tom Fisher earned Top Honoree designation from IBJ's 2020 CTO of the Year award program for the public company division.

In a statement provided by the company, Fisher said: "On behalf of the entire KAR technology team, I am incredibly grateful for this recognition. Our global tech talent is extraordinary and has made remarkable strides to bring innovative digital solutions and capabilities to market for our customers. I’m especially proud of the team’s entrepreneurial spirit and agility, and how quickly and enthusiastically they pivoted this spring to take a product we had been strategically investing in for years from proof of concept to full-scale production practically overnight as we took our entire business digital around the world."