LAS VEGAS, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack Salzman, owner of Lake Norman Chrysler
Dodge Jeep Ram in Cornelius, N.C.,
was named the 2018 TIME Dealer of the Year today during the 101st
annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show 2018 in
Las Vegas. Salzman was selected
for the prestigious award from a field of 47 dealer nominees from
across the country in recognition of his many business
accomplishments and community contributions, which focus on helping
women, children and animals.
"Jack Salzman has made giving
back a central part of his personal and business philosophy," said
Tim Russi, president of auto finance
for Ally, which has been the exclusive sponsor of the program for
seven years. "It is an honor to recognize him as the 2018 TIME
Dealer of the Year for all he has done to invest in his community
and his dealership team. We're proud of the hard work and
generosity shown by each of the nominees and finalists, they
inspire us with their dedication to this business and to giving
back to their communities."
The other regional finalists for this year's award were:
Brent Brown, president of
Brent Brown Toyota in Orem, Utah; William
Fenton, president of Toyota of Keene in East
Swanzey, N.H.; and Wally
Sommer, president of Sommer's Subaru in Mequon, Wis.
Ally will provide $10,000 dollars
to the nonprofit organization of Salzman's choice. In addition,
$5,000 will be donated to the
charitable organization selected by each of the three finalists and
the state Automotive Trade Association Executive (ATAE) who
nominated Salzman. In recognition of all the dealers nominated for
the award, Ally gave $1,000 to the
charity of choice for each of the 47 nominees. For more information
about the nominated auto dealers, including their philanthropic
contributions and achievements, visit AllyDealerHeroes.com.
TIME Dealer of the Year, which is presented by TIME magazine's
owner, Meredith Corporation, is a coveted award in the auto
industry, with recipients among the most successful auto dealers in
the country who have also shown enduring dedication to community
service. Salzman, 55, was chosen to represent the North Carolina
Automobile Dealers Association in the 49th annual TIME Dealer of
the Year competition. Only a fraction of the 16,500 franchise
dealers nationwide are nominated for the award each year.
"The most rewarding part of my retail automotive career has been
hiring great people and investing in their future," said Salzman.
"We pride ourselves on searching out quality employees and
providing them with the tools and support they need to grow from
entry-level jobs up to top management positions within the
company."
Salzman graduated from Riverview High School in Riverview, Fla., and went on to earn a degree
in business administration from Auburn
University and a J.D. from the Shepard Broad College of Law
at Nova University, now Nova Southeastern
University, in 1989.
Rather than working at a law firm after graduation, Salzman
decided he wanted to own his own business and started a cellular
phone agency. After partnering with a local car dealership on a
promotion for the agency, the dealer hired Salzman as a sales
manager and he has been in the auto industry ever since. Today, he
owns two Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealerships in N.C., located
in Cornelius and Gastonia.
Salzman's hiring practices earned Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge
Jeep Ram the 2012 Champions of Diversity award from the Lake Norman
Chamber of Commerce.
"We have always sought out great employees regardless of gender,
race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.," he said. "As a result of
this philosophy, we have been rewarded with extremely low turnover
and incredibly caring employees, whom we are able to continually
promote to new positions that further their careers."
In his community, Salzman is committed to giving back. He is a
contributor to the Humane Society of Charlotte, as well as a founding board member
of Lake Norman Humane. He also supports Lake Norman Lucky Cats,
which provides trap-neuter-return services, as well as Holly'z
Hope, an organization that helps unchain dogs by building fences
for homeowners in need.
"When I purchased the dealership in 2003, my wife and I
decided that we wanted to focus our philanthropic time and
attention on three areas: animals in need, children in need and
women in need," he said.
Salzman is a longtime supporter of The Dove House Children's
Advocacy Center in Statesville,
N.C., and Pat's Place Child Advocacy Center in Charlotte, as well as Amy's House in
Lincolnton, N.C., and The Shelter
of Gaston County in Gastonia, which both serve battered women and
children. Salzman also supports Make-A-Wish; Big Brothers Big
Sisters; Habitat for Humanity; Susan G.
Komen; American Cancer Society; and many other local
groups.
Salzman was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by
Robert Glaser, president of the
North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association. He and his wife,
Robin Smith-Salzman, have three
children and six grandchildren.
The finalists from each of the four NADA regions and the
national Dealer of the Year were chosen by a faculty member panel
from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan. The award is sponsored by
TIME in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with
NADA.
About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial
services company with assets of $167.1
billion as of December 31,
2017. As a client-centric company with passionate customer
service and innovative financial solutions, Ally is relentlessly
focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial partner
for its consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. Ally's
award-winning online bank (Ally
Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers
mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other
banking products, including CDs, online savings, money market and
checking accounts, and IRA products. Ally also promotes the Ally
CashBack Credit Card. Additionally, Ally offers securities
brokerage and investment advisory services through Ally Invest.
Ally remains one of the largest full-service auto finance
operations in the country with a complementary auto-focused
insurance business, which together serve more than 18,000 dealer
customers and millions of auto consumers. Ally's robust corporate
finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and
middle-market companies.
For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit
https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.
About Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation (NYSE:
MDP; meredith.com) has been committed
to service journalism for 115 years. Today, Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms —
including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video —
to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the
messages of its advertising and marketing partners.
Meredith's National Media Group
reaches nearly 200 million unduplicated American consumers every
month, including 85 percent of U.S. Millennial women. Meredith is a leader in creating content across
media platforms and life stages in key consumer interest areas such
as celebrity, food, lifestyle, home, parenting, beauty, fashion,
news and sports. Meredith also features
robust brand licensing activities including more than 3,000 SKUs of
branded products at 5,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. and
at walmart.com, as well as innovative business-to-business
marketing solutions provided by Meredith Xcelerated Marketing.
Contact:
Brenda Rios
Brenda.rios@ally.com
313-656-6809
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SOURCE Ally Financial