Pub. 59 2018-2019 Issue 3

11 SPRING 2019 T exas Dealer and industry leader Charlie Gilchrist took the gavel as NADA Chairman of the Board at the annual convention in San Francisco. The following are his remarks to several thousand dealers at the opening general session. You Are NADA . You ARE NADA . You're not "part" of NADA. You're not just "a member" of NADA. You ARE NADA! If you're a dealer…a general manager…a parts manager…. you are NADA! If you're in accounting...on the sales floor….you are NADA! And if you're a service technician… YOU ARE NADA . And our industry needs you more than ever! I want you to think of your Association as your second identity. It's always a part of you. And it's always there. And that's a big deal whether you've been working in this industry for decades…or if you're just getting started…. I started in this industry 33 years ago… When I was 30 years old, my partner allowed me to run a Ford dealership. My partner believed that I could run the store. Ford thought otherwise. At the time, Ford wouldn't approve me to run the store because they thought I was too young and didn't have enough retail experience. But my partner stood by me and gave me the opportunity. That belief and support changed everything for me. I want you to know that through NADA you have that kind of support too! NADA is there educating us on how to run better and more profitable businesses; it's there educating our employees on how to flourish in their careers; it's there advocating for us in Washington and with OEMs to protect our customers and our dealerships. My challenge to each of you today is to get involved - and challenge NADA. What I'm going to say is something you all know: Our business model is changing. Profitability in our new-vehicle department is a serious issue. This means we have to be better – be more creative -- at running the rest of the store. This means that we are not only in the car business. We are in the people business. We are in the relationship business. And we must adapt to THIS reality to survive in this new world. There's so much talk about the 'challenges' in our industry. Today, it's NOT autonomous technology. We're confident people will still want to buy new cars….10, 20 years from now and beyond! Today, it's NOT direct to consumer sales. NADA Annual Convention Keynote Speech Chairman Charlie Gilchrist  NADA ANNUAL CONVENTION — CONTINUED ON PAGE 12