I am truly honored to serve as Chair of the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association. Leading the organization that works to promote, advance and protect franchised automobile dealers is a big responsibility, and I am looking forward to the challenge.

MADA has a committed Board of Directors that works hard on the issues important to our dealers. Together, we can grow our association and represent the dealerships and communities we serve.

Our car dealerships are important to Mississippi as our citizens depend on us to meet their essential transportation needs. Our 218 dealerships provide over 18,000 jobs with $8.2 billion in sales.

I have served on the MADA Board of Directors since 2016 and have seen firsthand how much can be accomplished by having a unified and strong dealer body. Governor Tate Reeves signing HB 401 into law was a major victory that will keep manufacturers from unfairly competing against dealers and, more importantly, help car buyers and the communities we serve. But it does not stop with HB 401. Operation 47 has given us a law where manufacturers are required to pay dealers retail for parts and labor on warranty work. MADA led the effort to eliminate the June double tax payment. Because of our association, we now have protection from the manufacturer when we build a new dealership or perform a facility upgrade. Title washing is no longer allowed in Mississippi because of MADA.

With this year being an election year, the MADA Auto PAC has been actively engaged in campaigns, supporting candidates that have been helpful to our legislative efforts. We are proudly working to help Governor Tate Reeves and Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann get re-elected, along with numerous state senators and representatives.

So, what is next for MADA?

I grew up in my family’s dealerships in Florida, and I gained a clear understanding of the challenges of owning and managing a car dealership. There is one thing for certain in our business, and that is change is coming.

We should all be concerned about the increasing and unreasonable demands from the factories. We do not have to look any further than the Ford Motor Company’s electric vehicle program launched last year. Under the Model E program to become a “certified elite” dealer, Ford dealers are required to install Level 3 chargers at their own expense for “the public” to use at their dealership.

I want to focus this year on continuing to strengthen and build our organization. As a second-generation car dealer, it is important to me that we preserve our stores for future generations.

I look forward to having a great year and hope you will let me know if there is anything that we can do to help.