New York, NY, – The nomination of Todd C. Ouellette Sr., President/CEO of Long-Lewis Automotive Group, and for the 2022 TIME Dealer of the Year award was announced today by TIME.
Ouellette is one of a select group of 47 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 105th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Las Vegas on March 11, 2022. The announcement of this year’s annual award was made by Viktoria Degtar, Global Chief Revenue Officer, TIME, and Doug Timmerman, president of Dealer Financial Services, Ally Financial.
The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service.
Ouellette was chosen to represent the Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama in the national competition – one of only 47 auto dealers nominated for the 53rd annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide.
“I knew early on that the auto industry was my path to success,” nominee Ouellette said. “I decided that I wanted to be a dealer and set a goal to do so before I turned 30, however, I missed that target by just over a year.”
A 1983 graduate of George C. Wallace State Community College (now Wallace Community College Selma) in Selma, Alabama, Ouellette was hired as a sales consultant for Long-Lewis, a Ford dealer in Bessemer, Alabama, at the age of 19.
“I spent two years in the sales position before being promoted to finance manager at age 21,” he said. “I advanced through the dealership and was named general sales manager, the youngest manager in the near 100-year history of Long-Lewis.”
The owner of Long-Lewis, Vaughn Burrell, saw potential in Ouellette and became his mentor and trusted advisor. “From my first day in the automotive business, I had immense respect for Vaughn Burrell,” he said. “He carried himself so professionally, he had strong Christian values and he was a philanthropist. He was what I wanted to become.”
After Ouellette put together a five-year plan for Burrell, Burrell sent him to the NADA
Academy to learn dealer operations and in 1996, the two became partners in the store in Muscle Shoals. Ouellette bought out Burrell in five years to become the sole owner of Long-Lewis Ford of the Shoals and today, he has expanded the Long-Lewis brand by acquiring stores in Alabama and Mississippi, selling Ford, Honda, Lincoln, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen vehicles.
“By far, the most significant and emotional acquisition took place in July of 2020 when Mr. Burrell and his family agreed to sell me the Long-Lewis Ford Lincoln dealership where my career began,” he said.
Today, Ouellette honors Burrell by encouraging and sponsoring several of his employees to attend the NADA Academy, including his son, who is also part of the family enterprise. “I want Long-Lewis to always be family-owned and family-operated,” he said.
“When I say ‘family,’ I am referring to the Long-Lewis family. There is a lot of family history in that name!”
On an industry level, Ouellette has served on dealer councils and advisory boards for the Ford Motor Company in his region. “I worked diligently with the company’s senior leadership for several years on key issues facing all dealers nationally,” he said. “And I have supported the political activities of my national and state auto dealer associations.”
The retail automotive business has made it possible for Ouellette and his family to form the Long-Lewis Foundation, his most rewarding achievement, which provides aid to the community and supports evangelistic causes. “Since my family established the foundation in 2013, it has given millions of dollars to individuals in need, other nonprofits and has sponsored mission trips to places all around the world,” he said.
The foundation provides funds for Long-Lewis employees to buy Christmas gifts for children through The Salvation Army Angel Tree program. In addition, the foundation supplies the food that employees assemble into Thanksgiving gift baskets for delivery to elderly neighbors and families who need a boost during the holidays. “To date, our team has shopped for and delivered baskets to more than 10,000 families in our communities,” Ouellette said. “In addition, we recognize and reward those employees who volunteer their time to local nonprofits.”
He is currently on the boards of the Long-Lewis Foundation; Northwest Alabama
Fellowship of Christian Athletes; The Salvation Army of the Shoals; and the Rescue Me Project (youth mentoring program), as well as having served on the board of trustees for the University of North Alabama in Florence from 2015 to 2020.
“Making a difference has been so much more rewarding than making a living,” Ouellette said.
Dealers are nominated by the executives of state and metro dealer associations around the country. A panel of faculty members from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan will select one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year. Three finalists will receive an additional $5,000 for their favorite charities and the winner will receive an additional $10,000 to give to charity, donated by Ally.
In its eleventh year as exclusive sponsor, Ally also will recognize dealer nominees and their community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice. Nominees will also be recognized on AllyDealerHeroes.com, which highlights the philanthropic contributions and achievements of TIME Dealer of the Year nominees.
“In cities and towns across the country, auto dealers make a big economic impact—going the extra mile to strengthen their communities,” said Doug Timmerman, president of dealer financial services, Ally. “It’s an incredible achievement to be nominated for TIME Dealer of the Year. The program not only recognizes leadership in business and customer service, but also a commitment to giving back and doing it right.”
Ouellette was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Thomas R. Dart, president of the Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama. He and his wife, Leslie, have three children.
About TIME
TIME is a global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100 million around the world. A trusted destination for reporting and insight, TIME’s mission is to tell the stories that matter most, to lead conversations that change the world and to deepen understanding of the ideas and events that define our time. With unparalleled access to the world’s most influential people, the immeasurable trust of consumers globally, an unrivaled power to convene, TIME is one of the world’s most recognizable media brands with renowned franchises that include the TIME100 Most Influential People, Person of the Year, Firsts, Best Inventions, World’s Greatest Places and premium events including the TIME100 Summit and Gala, TIME100 Health Summit, TIME100 Next and more.
About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a digital financial services company committed to its promise to “Do It Right” for its consumer, commercial and corporate customers. Ally is composed of an industry-leading independent auto finance and insurance operation, an award-winning digital direct bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender, which offers mortgage lending, point-of-sale personal lending, and a variety of deposit and other banking products), a corporate finance business for equity sponsors and middle-market companies, and securities brokerage and investment advisory services. A relentless ally for all things money, Ally helps people save well and earn well, so they can spend for what matters. For more information, please visit www.ally.com and follow @allyfinancial.
For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures. For further images and news on Ally, please visit http://media.ally.com.
About the NADA Show
The annual NADA Show brings together more than 20,000 franchised dealers and their employees, industry leaders, manufacturers and exhibitors to learn about the latest auto industry tools, trends, products and technologies
