Pub. 7 2018-2019 Issue 3

8 San Diego Dealer Ron Fornaca Time Dealer of Year Nominee How did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the auto- motive industry? I got into the car business when I was 12 years old. It was the first day of summer and my dad walked into my room and said, “Get up! You’re coming to work with me at the dealership this summer.” That wasmy first day in the industry. My father, however, got into the automotive industry in 1965. During that time, he and his brother, Felice, were running the bakery business that their father (my grandfather), Mario Fornaca, started in 1912. My mom, Mary, was in the market for a new car and she was thinking about getting a Lincoln. So, my dad went to the local dealer and had a terrible experience. He realized that he could do it better and treat people better, so he purchased the dealership and that is how my family got into the business. The TIME Dealer of the Year Award has been called the most prestigious honor a new-car dealer can receive. In partnership with Ally and in cooperation with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), this program honors new-car dealers in America who exhibit exceptional performance in their dealerships and perform distinguished community service. Now in its 50th year, dealers are nominated by members of the ATAE (Automotive Trade Association Executives) and the winner is acknowledged during the opening business session of the 2019 NADA convention. TIME, Ally, and NADA honor outstanding new-car dealers across America and their unyielding commitment to improving their communities. For 2019, the New Car Dealers Association San Diego County nominated Ron Fornaca, of Frank Motors, for the TIME Dealer of the Year award. Following is an interview with Ron Fornaca that demon- strates why he was selected by his peers to represent San Diego County. Do you have family mem- bers in the auto industry? My son, daughter, brother-in-law, 2 nieces and 1 nephew. Describe your education background. What did you study? I graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeleswith a Bachelors of Science in Business Are there any specific individuals that had a major impact on your career? My father had a huge impact on my career and what he taught me. He made the initial investment in the dealership because he believed he could do a much better job taking care of cus- tomers to be successful. Dad always told everyone in the family that there are 3 pillars to success: - Take care of your customers - Take care of your employees - Give back to your community He’d say “do these 3 things and you will be successful.” What is the most rewarding part of your career? Taking care of our customers, working with family and building on my father’s legacy. By taking care of customers we build our dealerships, we continually grow and have the ability to give back to our community. It’s really nice to see happy customers and happy employ- ees. Currently, 10% of our employee base has been with us for over 20 years. Additionally, we work with many different community partners giving something back throughout the year. Doing all this with family you love is very rewarding. What do you think will be some of the dominant trends within the auto industry in the next 5-10 years? I believe that more battery operated and fuelefficientvehicleswillcontinuetobethe dominate trend for thenext 5-10years. I do notseeautonomousvehiclesreallycoming totheforefrontforanother20+years.There are just toomany questionmarks still with autonomy. Takinga thinkinghumanbeing outfrombehindawheelisaveryimportant decisionandthetechnologymustbe100% tomake that transition. That is why I think it is a ways off. What is the biggest impact of being an NCDA San Diego member? What makes it beneficial? NCDASanDiego is a tremendous resource foranautodealer.Theycommunicateissues that are occurring within the San Diego community thatmay affect us. NCDAputs on great seminars for dealers that impact a dealer’s ability to do business. Laws and trends change so fast in our industry and NCDAhelpsuskeepupwiththesechanges. Are you involved in any civic or charitable organizations? One of the pillars of our business is taking care of our community. I am so proud to say that we have raised over $170,000 for Rady Children’s Hospital over the