Pub. 54 2013-2014 Issue 3

31 2014 SPRING Successful relationships are give and take affairs. Successful relationships lead to productive partnerships. One cannot be demanding and one-sided in all matters and maintain any relationship. It may not have been a fact but the general perception was that we were all about ourselves and would not work rationally and reasonably to address concerns others might have about our business or legislative tactics. I knew we had turned the corner for good when I attended several franchised and independent dealer meetings in 2012, and personally witnessed a remarkable phenomenon. At meeting after meeting Bill Harbeson, who heads licensing and enforcement at TxDMV, got a standing ovation from the industry members in at- tendance. Bill had taken over the licensing operations at the end of 2011. By the end of the first quarter of 2012, Bill and his team had fixed the licensing problems that had been dogging the operation. Bill fixed in three months what had been broken for at least 20 years. Dealer licenses were now being issued or renewed within a week instead of 45-60 days. Coincidentally, Bill had upped the ante in terms of enforcement yet did so in such an open, transparent and educational manner that the department got rave reviews. Imagine that, people were applauding someone who was enforcing the laws overseeing them! It was my privilege to be at the forefront of all of these efforts working for the industry for nearly six years. My place was to set a vision and get things going for a startup agency. It was time for me to move on. The gains of the TxDMV cannot be about one person. It has to become a collective effort. The talent of all the staff, properly supported by the Board, together with positively engaged trade associations, will both sustain and then build upon where the agency is today. The place is a much better one in all aspects than what we started with. Whitney Brewster is a customer fo- cused Executive Director of the TxDMV. She knows her job is to help you grow your business. To do this well will mean great things for Texas. The agency’s current Chairman is Johnny Walker, the owner/operator of JHWalker Trucking. His passion, business knowledge and leadership ensure that the industry will be appropriately engaged in the oversight and policy of TxDMV. They are already taking the agency to the next level. Sausage making is never pretty, but from my van- tage point they are doing just fine. TADA In what I hope comes off as my only bit of preaching in this story, the key for dealers in the future is to give Bill, Karen, Rob and the rest of the staff at TADA the proper level of support. For all that they know, they cannot replace your knowledge and engagement. The lack of dealer involve- ment is what led to our problems in the first place. Involvement is more than paying dues or going to meetings. It is engaging in the process, asking questions and driv- ing solutions. I would hope that this is what I brought to the party. Do not let it happen again. There may not be a way out next time. What is next? I expect to work in the motor vehicle in- dustry and am excited to see what turns up. I am forever grateful for past accom- plishments, but I look forward to new assignments. On the public sector side of my life, I appreciate the opportunity to serve on the Texas Transportation Commission. I have come full circle. Instead of being a revolu- tionary breaking away from TxDOT, I am part of their team. I am proud to be there. When I was appointed to the Commission, an elected official pointed out to me what should have been obvious. In short, “I had a big opportunity at TxDOT.” Hearing the words “big opportunity” perked my interest. I was reminded that at TxDMV, we had been able to start a new agency and keep it within the budget of approximately $170 million a year that it received while the functions were at TxDOT. In other words, we did not spend any more money. Within two years, this new agency was generating an additional $160 million a year in revenue for the state without in- creasing expenses. Given this track record, what could I help the Commission come up with at TxDOT, an agency with an an- nual budget that exceeds $10 billion a year? Now there is a challenge to my liking!  Victor Vandergriff, franchised dealer, auto- motive executive and industry advocate, was appointed by Governor Perry to be the first chair of the Department of Motor Vehicles, which was formed out of the motor vehicle divisions of TxDOT, and started independent operations on November 1, 2009. Governor Perry appointed Victor to the Texas Transpor- tation Commission, which oversees TxDOT, in March of 2013. This appointment required Victor to resign from the TxDMV Board ef- fective April 29, 2013. TADA asked Victor to reflect back upon his many experiences in the automobile business and provide his thoughts on the future of the motor vehicle industry in Texas.