Paxton King was born and raised in Mississippi. At the age of seven, his dad, Stan King, bought a dealership in Brookhaven, Mississippi — Stan King GM Superstore. Paxton spent many of his formative years working with his dad at the dealership. Under his dad’s watchful eye, Paxton learned the value of a hard day’s work, the importance of treating others with kindness, and that happy employees and happy customers go hand-in-hand. His dad would often say, “Your best ability is availability.” Being there for employees, customers and family is important.
After graduating from The University of Southern Mississippi, where Paxton played baseball for the Golden Eagles, he returned home to work with his dad in the family business. Paxton was named general manager in 2020 and has guided the company forward with strong leadership and dedication to the industry. In addition to running the family business, Paxton has become actively involved with the Mississippi Auto Dealers Association and has served in a number of leadership positions before his election as chairman.
As the youngest chairman in the history of MADA, Paxton is living up to everything it means to be a NextGen dealer.
We recently had the chance to sit down with Paxton and learn more about his views on the industry and what he hopes to achieve as chairman. The following are excerpts from our conversation.
What are the biggest issues facing the auto industry?
One of the biggest issues is the uncertainty of the future of EV sales if manufacturers continue to push them — especially before certain markets are ready. There are dealerships that are not selling EVs because the customers are not ready yet, but manufacturers are trying to send more units to dealers.
The FTC intrusion and excessive regulation are of concern. I hope that moving forward, dealers are given a seat at the table and are allowed to be part of the conversation and solution.
Why is the franchise system still the best way to sell cars?
Our customers have their individual salespeople and, in turn, have built relationships and trust. When customers bring their cars back to be serviced from the same place they bought them, they know what to expect, they know us, and they feel comfortable being in our dealership.
Additionally, dealers, overall, invest in the communities they work and live in. We have 54 employees, and I’m sure other local dealerships have pretty close to that number. The wages we pay our employees have a big impact on the local economy, their families and the community — not to mention the many charitable ways that dealers give back.
How do you think the industry will change in the next three to five years?
Over the next few years, I see a slow and steady transition of the market into EVs. I also think there will be a lot of new technology in vehicles that we have to be prepared for. Online transactions will become more frequent, and we need to be prepared to go to our customers, deliver their car and handle the transaction in a whole new way.
We are constantly getting new tools for our techs and investing in new equipment for our service departments to prepare for what is coming. It is important to me that our service team is adaptable and ready to work on whatever rolls into our bay. Our salespeople have to stay up with the times and learn about the new technology as well. They’re constantly having to train and learn new parts of our business. I see the industry getting more and more technical in the near future.
How long have you been a MADA member, and why did you get involved in the association?
Our dealership has been a member since the day we opened our doors for business. I can’t imagine not being a member of MADA. About eight years ago, I was encouraged by my dad to get involved and stay in the loop of what was going on with MADA. I got involved by going to the regional meetings and conventions. After a couple of years, I was asked to serve on the Board of Directors, and I gladly accepted. I saw the value of what MADA did and wanted to do my part in serving our dealer body and fighting for the franchise system.
What do you see as the benefit of being a MADA member?
With MADA, franchised dealers have a powerful group to serve as the voice of our industry. Together we can accomplish our mission to promote, advance and protect franchised dealers. MADA is the only organization in Mississippi that is focused on serving the dealer body. MADA does an outstanding job of keeping our members updated and educated about anything going on in our automobile industry.
What are your goals as chairman?
Our franchise law could be under attack during any legislative session, and it is imperative that we maintain a high-level presence with legislators. The worst thing that we could do is become complacent and let our guard down.
Last year, we started hosting NextGen dealers at the Capitol. It was great to see younger dealers engaging with legislators and learning what it takes to make things happen. I really want to keep this event going and even come up with other events for NextGen dealers to get together, network and have new experiences. As a NextGen dealer, I know the importance of getting young dealers involved in the industry.
It’s important to me to continue the work on overall dealer involvement. The bigger the association is, the more success we’re going to have. Encouraging members to attend regional meetings and come to the convention will be a focus.
What help do you need from members to accomplish those goals?
Get engaged. If anything arises in their dealership or if members see something in the industry that needs to be brought to our attention, reach out to us — don’t hesitate to give us a call, let us know, stay in the loop, and try to attend our regional meetings. Try to look at the upcoming convention dates and plan to attend. Members always have a great time at the convention. It’s very informative with excellent speakers and industry partners, and just a good time for all of our dealer body to get together and network.
When we all come together — even though we compete against each other every day — we are stronger and are able to advocate for our industry.
Have you had any mentors? What did you learn from them?
My dad is my mentor. He has always been there for me. To this day, if I have a question, a problem or just want to catch up, I pick up the phone and call him.
He always emphasized the importance of taking care of employees. When employees feel valued and are well-trained, it leads to customer satisfaction. Taking care of customers is just as important. When a customer comes to our store, whether it be for service or buying a vehicle, we do everything possible to ensure they leave happy.
When you mentor others, what advice would you share?
It goes back to when my dad used to say, “Your best ability is availability.” The one thing I always try to instill in our salespeople is to be available. Be here and answer your phone when someone calls. When you know a customer needs you, be here for them. Whether you’re selling a vehicle or a customer is having an issue with a vehicle they have bought, just to be available to take care of them. At the end of the day, respecting and caring about people is what this business is all about.
Any last thoughts?
I’m just honored to have the opportunity to serve as chairman of MADA. Along with our board and leadership team, we’ll give back to the best of our ability to serve our dealer body and fight for our industry.
Paxton has been married to his beautiful wife, Erin, for 10 years. They have two children: a five-year-old son named Royce, and daughter, Camille, who will be celebrating her third birthday soon. Both kids love going to the dealership, or “Daddy’s work” as they call it, to visit and get a sucker.
When Paxton is not working, he enjoys playing golf and hunting. He travels all over the country for turkey hunting. So far, he has been on turkey hunts in over half of the states and tries to hunt in three or four new states every year.
