October 28, 2021

How does a dealer know when the controller is using the dealership’s funds as their personal bank account? The following report gives you some indication:

Jerry’s Chevrolet couldn’t hold their 50th anniversary because of COVID-19, so they waited a year, and on July 21, they celebrated Jerry’s Chevrolet 50-plus!

As a thank you to first responders, and in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the six Gene Messer dealerships collectively hosted a First Responders Breakfast in Lubbock on September 10 where they presented a check for $5,000 to South Plains College for their Law Enforcement and EMT programs.

Park Place Porsche Dallas technician Seantrel Sloan, 26, recently completed a year-long restoration of a 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Targa, one of only 1,500 Targa 964s in existence. The rare sportscar (number 90) was restored as a tribute to the family’s father, only the second owner of the vehicle.

What is your family background? I was born and raised in Central Texas, and I’ve been married for 32 years. We have four children, ages 16 to 29, and I’ve worked for American Fidelity and these amazing Texas Dealers for over 24 years.

TADA Board Meeting
October 11-12, 2021
Scottsdale, Arizona

Stu Zalud was probably always going to work in the dealership industry. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Denver, he started his auto career working in the family dealership. At the time, the industry was different from what it is now. There were no publicly held companies. Most dealers owned 1-3 franchises in the market, and you learned the business by working in the dealership’s departments.

Nothing can slow down the dynamic and resilient relationship between members of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) – not even a pandemic.

The Beginning
The Texas statute known as the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission Code, aka TMVC Code, aka Chapter 2301, Occupations Code, turned 50 years old on April 7, 2021.1
A look-back from where the 62nd Legislature started to where the statute is today is integral to understanding the motor vehicle industry and its governance. The following discussion includes highlights of the agency’s and statute’s fiftieth anniversary.

After 21 months on the job, I attended my first in-person TADA Board meeting. The opportunity was long overdue and far exceeded my expectations. The dealers were enthusiastic to be back together, and the stories about what has happened since the COVID challenges began were entertaining and insightful. Dealers on the TADA Board are representative of our membership across the state. Although many of the board members are from family-run dealerships, the board represents the entire ownership spectrum that exists today in Texas dealerships. Dealers bring a positive, can-do attitude in the face of a pandemic, chip shortages, and numerous other challenges. Texas dealers have found ways to be successful in the difficult environment of these past several years, true to the entrepreneurial spirit that has defined members of TADA for more than 100 years.