Pub. 56 2015-2016 Issue 1

18 I n 2005, Roger Elswick made the decision to purchase Baytown Toyota and, along with his wife, Kim, make it their family business. A decision was at hand – do we keep the name as is or do we rename the business to create something new and unique in the market? After much soul searching, they arrived at the name that best suited the kind of business they wanted to become: Community Toyota. “Kim and I knew right from the begin- ning that we wanted to be community servants in the areas served by our busi- ness” says Elswick. “It’s good business, but aside from that, as devout Christians we also wanted to be sure that we were serving God through our community service. This has been a constant philosophy within our business since day one.” That philosophy has resulted in great success, as Elswick was able to add to the Community family of dealerships with the purchase of Community Kia in 2006 and Community Honda in 2010, making Community the largest auto group on the east side of Houston. “Community service was the backbone of our ability to grow” says Elswick. “Re- member, too, that while monetary dona- tions are certainly part of that support, personal involvement in the organizations we began to get involved in was actually the most important element. For example, we not only joined the Baytown Chamber of Commerce, I became a board member. Kim joined the Service League and quickly held a leadership role. I joined the Rotary Club of Baytown and quickly became involved with projects, committees, and eventually became the President of the club. In those instances, I learned that the time spent was often more important than the money spent.” In 2010, in a unique move in the world of car dealerships, Elswick added Jim Wadzinski as Community Affairs/ Customer Relations Director to the Com- munity team. “With a growing business and a grow- ing family, I realized that I really couldn’t fulfill the time element of the equation the way I wanted to” says Elswick. “I had known Jim since 2005, and since he was already very involved in the community, it seemed to be a perfect fit. His presence has allowed us to expand our ability to serve and has allowed me to concentrate my efforts where they were most beneficial.” With Wadzinski joining the team, the ability of the Community group to serve not only Baytown but the surrounding area has blossomed. “Between the three dealerships we have a huge DMA footprint, which includes east Harris County and all of Liberty and Chambers counties. We try to have an ac- tive role in all of the major communities in that footprint” says Wadzinski. “I once heard someone say “Nobody cares about how much you know, until they know how much you care” and I truly believe that. My goal every day is to make sure that someone new knows how much we care.” H i gh l i gh t s o f t h e c ommu n i - t y ser v ice prov ided by Communit y Toyota*Honda*Kia since 2005 include: Bay Area Homeless Services, Inc.: Community owner Roger Elswick serves on the Board of Directors as Vice- President for Bay Area Homeless Services, Inc. (BAHS), a 501(c)3 agency that serves the homeless in all of East Harris and West Chambers counties, including the communities of Baytown, Highlands, Channelview, Mont Belvieu, Liberty, Dayton, LaPorte, and Deer Park. Elswick agreed to be the “Roastee” at the annual Community Lives Up To Its Name