Our 2025 chairman, Tim Crenwelge, is an impressive dealer with years of experience in the auto industry and has devoted his career to helping the industry and his community in various ways. Tim is an incredible asset to our association, and we are excited to have him serve as chairman this year.
Of the many accomplishments, the Texas Leadership Network, formerly known as the Texas Dealer Academy, is something that Tim is especially proud of. “We initiated the program and put it together,” Tim explained. “I was active in TADA, having served as area director, director, vice chair and was terming off the board. Then TADA President Bill Wolters approached me and said, ‘We don’t know who our next generation of dealers are. The dealers know you, and they trust you. Would you think about starting a dealer academy?’” Tim took the challenge on, and history was made with the support of Kathy Sims, TADA Vice President of Dealer Services, and the TADA leadership.
“Over the years, I have watched these individuals learn to embrace their respective responsibilities within their dealerships, and many are now general managers and dealers,” he continued. Today, the fruits of his labor prove to be significant as two members of the network are on the TADA Executive Committee, and nine members are on the TADA Board of Directors while still participating in the program.
As a third-generation auto dealer, Tim appreciates the importance of training eventual successors and providing them with the tools and knowledge necessary for success.
Around nine years ago, along with Kathy Sims, the decision was made to make TADA Leadership Network summer events family-friendly. Dealers were encouraged to bring their children with them to help the next generation become familiar with the industry and have a little fun at the same time. Tim has great memories of cruising on a pontoon boat at Lake Lyndon B. Johnson with his three children, Katherine, Jacquelyn and Aaron. Or when he flew his children to Washington, D.C., to meet with NADA and elected officials on Capitol Hill. “It has been a labor of love for me to be at the table to make decisions that have an influence on the future of my family and the families of my fellow dealers,” said Tim.
The Texas Leadership Network is more vibrant than ever, carefully preparing the next generation to take over and lead the industry forward. To learn more about the network from Tim and many other dealers involved in developing those coming up behind them, watch the video.
Some people stumble upon their careers in a serendipitous, roundabout way, but for Tim, the automobile industry is in his blood. “I literally grew up in the car business and never once considered doing anything else,” Tim said. As a third-generation dealer, he carries with him a commitment instilled in him by his father, Milton Crenwelge.
At 13 years old, Tim’s father had him start working at the dealership. He began by washing cars and eventually worked in every department except sales by the time he graduated high school. In 1979, while Tim was in college, his dad purchased the Chrysler dealership in the neighboring town of Kerrville. During the summer months and holidays, Tim worked there and learned the sales side of the business. He returned to the dealership full-time after graduation in 1981 from the University of Texas in Austin. Tim went on to attend the Chrysler Dealers Sons and Daughters Dealer training program in Detroit, Michigan.
His dad then purchased a third dealership in Fredericksburg, Texas, and Tim was named general manager of the Kerrville store in 1982. In that same year, Tim purchased the local GMC dealership and became the youngest GM dealer in the U.S. at the young age of 23.
“The catalyst in my career, both personally and professionally, came shortly after I had returned from college,” explains Tim. “While Dad owned the Chrysler dealerships in Fredericksburg and Kerrville, he learned of the opportunity to purchase the local Buick-Olds dealership in Fredericksburg. As part of the franchise application, a zone interview was scheduled. Dad asked me to join him. During the meeting, I kept answering the questions. At one point, the zone manager said, ‘Young man, I am talking to your father and if I award this franchise, it will be to your father.’”
“My dad stood up, thanked the man for his time, and said, ‘Come on, son, let’s go.’ The man said, ‘Wait, I’m not finished.’ My dad then said something that I have never forgotten and moves me to this day. ‘Sir, you don’t understand. We’re a family, and we work together. When my son is speaking, that is me speaking. We’re a team. And if that is how you operate, with all due respect, I don’t think I want this franchise,’” recalled Tim.
“I thought my dad was blowing it, but the man told him he was just the type of dealer he wanted. My dad taught me that commitment to family and community is the most important thing. This is the business model I follow and is what has gotten me where I am today,” he said.
Tim’s father, Milton, and mother, Mickey, demonstrated their commitment to the community and automotive industry in many ways. The Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce honored them in 2009, with his dad receiving the Chamber Man of the Year award and his mom receiving the Community Achievement Award.
On the automotive side, Milton served on the Texas Chrysler Zone Dealer Council and Dealer Advertising Association Board before stepping back and allowing Tim to run for the Advertising Board in 1984. Representing the San Antonio DMA and following in his father’s footsteps, Tim served on the board for 25 years, until its end in 2009. Tim was also the association’s treasurer for 10 years, managing a more than $30 million annual advertising budget for the state of Texas. “It was an invaluable advertising and financial experience in my automotive career. It enabled me to develop relationships with Chrysler and advertising agency personnel at the national, regional and state levels,” said Tim.
His service has been recognized with numerous awards. In 1998, he received the association’s highest honor — The Key Director’s Award. In 2016, Tim received at the NADA Convention Northwood University’s Dealer Education Award for his efforts and success in the Association’s Texas Dealer Academy and local community efforts in higher education. In 2021, Tim was named one of four regional finalists for the TIME Dealer of the Year award — one of this industry’s most prestigious and coveted honors.
While serving on the TADA Building Task Force, Tim was instrumental in the planning and development of a nine-story association headquarters building that resides one block from the state Capitol, giving members access and presence to the state legislature.
Tim is equally committed to making a difference in his community. After watching a presentation by a developer for a hotel on Marktplatz (Market Square) in Fredericksburg, he decided to run for city council, and later mayor, to help curtail further commercialization of the property and maintain the quality of life in the area.
“During my 20-year tenure on the council, we returned this land to its originally intended purpose as the cultural and recreational focal point of our community,” he said. For this, Tim was honored by the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce in 2007 with the Outstanding Public Service Award. “I also served on the capital campaign that raised the $3 million to restore the structure to St. Joseph Halle’s original grandeur, and today, it serves as a beautiful performance and event venue,” Tim said.
Other groups that he has supported and served include the Gillespie County Historical Society, City of Fredericksburg Market Square Redevelopment Commission, National Museum of the Pacific War (Fredericksburg), Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, Kerrville Noon Rotary Club and many others.
Tim’s incredible career has not come without its challenges. Tim has demonstrated fortitude, determination and remarkable initiative in helping the industry navigate financial storms.
“As an auto dealer, I have endured three financial crises during my career. The first, when the banks failed in the late 1980s, was really tough. In Kerrville, out of the seven banks in the town, all failed but one. Back then, dealers were on recourse with their financial institutions. We were getting billed for cars that were repossessed and sold at auction,” Tim recalled. Things became tight financially, and there wasn’t a clear path forward.
Around this time, Tim decided to visit his friend and mentor, Jim Yawn. Jim was a dealer out of Alice, Texas, and a long-time friend of Milton’s. Tim explained to Jim, “I’ve tried to go to Chrysler Financial and GMAC to get off recourse because, they keep repossessing these cars, and send me a bill for the difference. I’m running out of cash.” Jim replied, “Have you talked to your dad yet?” Embarrassed, Tim replied, “No, I have not.”
Jim said, “First thing tomorrow, tell your dad how bad things are. And then call the zone manager.” Tim said he would but asked why he would tell Chrysler how bad things were. “Because I’m in the same boat,” Jim said. “And you’re a good dealer; they’ll get you an emergency loan for operating capital.” Tim followed through, received a loan and weathered the crisis.
Tim faced the second crisis during the Great Recession of 2008-09. “A few months before the crisis was official, my banker from Wells Fargo walked into the dealership and said, ‘Tim, I need to talk to you. Can we go to your office?’ We went to the office and shut the door, and he told me that $9.3 million of the ad associations’ money was frozen.” In shock, Tim replied, “What?!” The banker said, “Well, there’s a liquidity crisis going on.”
An emergency meeting was called, and the head of Wells Fargo flew into Dallas to meet with the Advertising Board. The bank was initially willing to give a loan for $0.50 on the dollar. After much negotiation, they finally got a loan for 95% of the frozen money and paid the same interest as they were getting. It kept the advertising going in Texas for the dealers.
The pandemic of 2020 took the world by surprise. “We were required to react quickly to an unprecedented health crisis from both a cash flow perspective and public health perspective,” Tim reflected. Having learned a lot from past crises, Tim was able to pivot calmly and quickly. He immediately stepped into action, cutting expenses nonrelated to staff, applying for loan programs and implementing safety measures so no employees had to be furloughed or terminated. This was a huge feat: to keep his staff employed amid a pandemic that resulted in over 1 million job losses across the U.S.
Crenwelge Automotive Group has stood strong for over 98 years, keeping its family values and consistent nature. The Group has spanned three generations and three automotive dealerships in two adjacent counties. Today, they hold the title of the longest-standing dealership in the Texas Hill Country and the oldest Jeep dealer in Texas. If all goes as planned, a fourth generation of the Crenwelge family will be ready to take over when the time is right, carrying the family legacy forward.
Looking ahead, Tim has goals as TADA chairman. “This is a legislative year, and there are going to be a lot of bills introduced that may affect our industry in addition to the bills that we’re going to have. There is so much happening with the FTC, changes in EVs, selling direct and more. I intend to be very active and vocal about what is happening and what is good for the industry.”
Tim encourages members to get involved and, when they can, go to Austin when the hearings take place. “I can’t express enough the importance of staying informed and involved. So please read your emails and respond. We are stronger when our voices are united,” he said.
