Pub. 56 2015-2016 Issue 2

7 WINTER 2015  MIKE SMITH — CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 ently our Mazda service manager. Chase and Jordan are the fourth generation of our family in the business. Describe your education background. What did you study? I graduated with a Bachelors of Busi- ness in Marketing from the University of Texas in 1978. Are there any specific individuals that had a major impact on your career? I’d say my father and both of my broth- ers. I have a lot of respect for all of them, and we all have worked very close together for many years and I have learned a lot. Even though Charles and Bill are retired we still talk on a regular basis. What is the most rewarding part of your career? I think it’s working with Chase and Jor- dan, and our long-termmanagement staff. We have a lot of tenure in our management and the most rewarding day-to-day is for me being part of this group. What do you see will be the dominant trends in the next 5-10 years? I think our industry faces a lot of chal- lenges and changes. We have seen a lot of changes with the creation of the internet from the way we used to do business and I think it’s going to continue to evolve. The customer is able to select their products and narrow down their dealership choices and the number of dealerships they visit. I think more and more the consumer will do more research and demand a faster turnaround time for delivery of the vehicle. We’ve seen a lot of dealer groups strive to speed up that process and simplify it as much as possible for the consumer. In today’s world it seems that everybody moves at a fast pace. What is the biggest importance of being a TADA member, what makes it beneficial?