NCM Associates awarded its first General Management Executive Program scholarship Thursday on behalf of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers.

The recipient of the award who will be joining his fellow GMEP class members for the first segment of the 11-session dealer development program beginning in March is Dwayne Ferguson, director of operations for Cadillac of Orange Park, located in Jacksonville Fla.

Also a graduate of the NADA Dealer Academy, Ferguson will receive fully-paid tuition for the year-long General Management Executive Program. 

When asked on the application about his expectations for the course, Ferguson noted, “I just want to be the very best at what I do, especially when I walk into a dealership, not lacking in skills or confidence.”

According to his sponsor, Andrew Ferguson, Dwayne Ferguson is being groomed as a potential dealer principal and wants to “sharpen his craft” through the GMEP.  

NAMAD has been helping to increase the opportunities for ethnic minorities in all sectors of the automotive industry since 1980. NAMAD executive director Damon Lester has worked closely with the NCM Institute during the past year to establish the scholarship and set the criteria by which applicants are chosen. 

“I am very pleased with the educational opportunity we are able to provide through this scholarship and extremely proud of all the candidates who applied,” Lester said.  “Of all the high-achieving applicants we reviewed, Dwayne stood out because of his passion for the business, his deep appreciation for learning and his professional and personal achievements thus far in his career.”  

The 2013 GMEP scholarship for NAMAD is a first for the NCM Institute. NCM president and chief executive officer Paul Faletti Jr. said the decision to support the minority-owned dealership community with a scholarship grant was as a result of NCM’s long-time commitment to helping minority-owned auto dealers.

“For the past several years, NCM has been privileged to be chosen as the preferred provider of 20 Groups, training and consulting services to General Motors Minority Dealer Development,” Faletti said.

“In addition, NCM’s participation in recent NAMAD member conferences offered NCM first-hand exposure to NAMAD’s commitment to providing exceptional educational services for its members,” he added.  

Garry House, director of the NCM Institute, expanded on the recent alliance with NAMAD.

“We’ve participated with NAMAD for the past two years in its annual member conference,” House said. “By conducting educational sessions on topics NAMAD and NCM agreed were critical to the success of its membership, we found the two organizations closely aligned in our mission to assist dealers in improving the profitability of their dealerships.”

House explained the decision to support NAMAD with a scholarship for the NCM Institute’s professional development program, GMEP, would be an excellent way for the company to demonstrate its commitment to helping all minority dealers succeed. 

The General Management Executive Program is designed to equip current and future automotive dealership executives for long-term success in retail automotive management.

With emphasis in dealership financial and operational best practices, the program’s objective is to build a solid executive leadership foundation in order to strengthen dealership operating performance today, and sustain the long-term viability of the retail auto industry.

For information about the General Management Executive Program and the NAMAD scholarship, contact the NCM Institute at (866) 756-2620.

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