Industry profile:
N.C. Auto Dealers
Three
Dealers Honored for Service
On
occasion at its annual convention, the North Carolina Automobile
Dealers Association recognizes standout dealers who have demonstrated
“consistent exemplary dedication to the community, automotive
retailing and the association.” In June, while meeting in Destin,
Fla., three individuals, all former presidents of the NCADA, were
honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
 Frank Anderson of
Raleigh views his involvement with the NCADA as “only natural.”
First he joined the family business, Sir Walter Chevrolet. Then he did
as he father had done and got involved with the association, a group
which had the political know-how to protect franchised new-car dealers
from “well-financed manufacturers.”
He hasn’t slowed down since. He helped recruit and organize younger
dealers like himself so they could “grow up in the business and
become leaders.” Until aging out at 36, he was a member of the
Junior Chamber of Commerce and spent much time raising money for
charitable and community activities. From there, he says, it was a
natural progression to the Kiwanis, the Raleigh Merchants Bureau and
Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the presidency of the Raleigh
Chamber.
All the while he was tending to the dealership. He did it so well that
in 1969 he was selected to receive the prestigious Time Magazine
Quality Dealer Award. In addition to serving many capacities within
NCADA, he chaired the National Automobile Dealers Association. What
drove him was the desire to “be a good citizen” and “help others
understand the value the franchised dealer brings to the state and
their communities.”
Anderson and his wife, Jean, have three children. Today he divides his
time between Sir Walter Chevrolet, now headed by his son, George, and
a commercial realty and development company he co-owns with his
brother.
At age 11, Don Bulluck
began working in the dealership started by his father. He cleaned and
swept the floor. While on break from his studies at North Carolina
State University, he’d return to Rocky Mount and the family
business, now known as Don Bulluck Chevrolet Cadillac. “All I ever
wanted to do is this,” he says. “I still love the smell of a new
car. I’m hooked on it.”
In 1960 Bulluck became a franchised dealer, and in the 40-odd years
since he’s leveraged his business position to help his community. In
addition to being a member of the Kiwanis Club and Boys & Girls
Club of Rocky Mount, he’s served on the Salvation Army’s board of
advisors, the city council, the school board and in leadership
positions within the chamber of commerce, his church and country club.
Bulluck believes that the business of selling cars has gotten better
and more sophisticated. His hope is that the time he devoted to the
NCADA’s board of directors, executive committee and Insurance Trust
Board led to some of the improvements he’s witnessed.
In 1986 he was nominated as a finalist for Time’s Quality Dealer
Award. He and his wife, Martha, who met while cheerleading at N.C.
State, have three children and six grandchildren. Their two sons work
in the dealership, and their daughter is a pilot.
Bill Howard of Bell
& Howard Chevrolet and Dixie Jeep Eagle in Statesville began
selling cars in 1953 and became a franchised dealer four years later.
If anyone questions the value of the independent franchised dealer,
all they have to do, he says, is visit a community — any community
— and ask who it is that consistently supports the charities and
civic groups. “It’s the dealers, that’s who!” he says.
In Statesville, for example, Howard has been an officer in the chamber
of commerce and Rotary Club, contributed to the YMCA building fund and
been recognized by the Salvation Army with an achievement award.
Contributions such as these factored into his selection as a Time
Quality Award winner. He’s also served the NCADA in many capacities,
including director and member of the Insurance Trust Board.
He and his wife, Julia, have four children, two of whom are active in
the dealerships. — Lisa
H. Towle
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