Ambassador’s Journal: Rediscovering the Midwest

The months continue to fly by…It’s hard to believe we’re gearing up for football season already. My travels in July took me all across the Midwest.

My first stop: ?Blue Grass Automotive in Louisville, Kentucky. I was able to spend some time in their beautiful Audi facility. Thank you to James Haynes, Bret Veatch, Mark Bos and Sean Duggan for discussing ways we can continue to deepen our partnership. While in Louisville, you’ll constantly be reminded of Kentucky’s love for horse racing and bourbon. The two horses you see here were my greeters at the local Holiday Inn; and I may have taken a small detour to visit the Buffalo Trace Distillery, a historic landmark, on my way home.

The second leg of the July tour took us to the northern side of the Midwest starting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Our visit with the McGrath Auto team was a great learning experience on how to reestablish our relationship going forward. Thanks to the McGraths (Lindsay, Gavin, and Murphy) and Rick Sayre for their time and for sharing their past experiences with our company and people. We look forward to helping them #RediscoverReynolds. Understanding their mission and outlook will ?allow us to provide solutions and support that help them exceed their goals.

In Chicago, we were able to visit with two long-time customers: Apple Chevrolet and Rod Baker Ford. It is extremely valuable to get direct feedback from a dealer like John Alfirevich, Time Magazine’s 2019 Dealer of the Year. He has high standards and expectations for what he needs and expects from a partner. The insight from him and his team on how we can improve and succeed was much appreciated.

During our visit to Rod Baker Ford, we ?got some insight into how we can support existing customers who go through a migration to new equipment and solutions. We are always looking for ways to minimize dealership disruption and drive efficiencies into our own processes as well as dealership operations. One of the challenges in these trips is that I always find a few things I’d like to bring home with me, like the classic cars below. If I can’t have the full-sized versions, maybe I can spruce up my office with something a little smaller.

The last leg of the tour took us to Minnesota.

We met with third- and fourth-generation dealers Greg and Jason House. ?It was interesting to hear their thoughts on things like upcoming changes in automotive retailing, electric vehicles, and the needs of consumers today and into the future. Their input helped reinforce some of our thoughts and solidified the need for continued enhancement and refinement to our technology and processes.

Our last stop was Mankato Motors. Thanks to Brian Taylor and his team for allowing us to share the focus and direction of Reynolds. We look forward to hosting them at our headquarters in Dayton for an in-depth look at our solutions in the coming months.

It’s been about 18 months since I started in this role. As I look back, I’m excited about the feedback we’ve received and the actions we’ve taken. Thank you to everyone who has helped make Reynolds a better partner and company.