TIME AND ALLY FINANCIAL HONOR GRAFTON DEALER
J.R. Toothman Wins National Recognition for Community Service
and Industry Accomplishments at NADA Show
(New York, NY, October 20, 2020) – The nomination of J.R. Toothman, president of Toothman Ford in Grafton, West Virginia, for the 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year award was announced today by TIME.
Toothman is one of a select group of 41 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 104 th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in New Orleans on January 23, 2021. The announcement of this year’s annual award was made by Susanna Schrobsdorff, senior vice president partnerships, executive editor, TIME, and Doug Timmerman, president of Auto Finance for 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. Toothman, 48, was chosen to represent the West Virginia Automobile Dealers
Association in the national competition – one of only 41 auto dealers nominated for the 52 nd annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide.
“Like many in the automotive field, I have experienced the highs and lows associated with this roller-coaster business,” nominee Toothman said. “Through it all, we have created sustained growth and tried to be a great community partner.”
A 1990 graduate of Grafton High School in Grafton, Toothman earned a B.B.A. in 1994 from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. He also attended the NADA Academy in preparation for a career in the dealership founded by his father, Jim, in 1967. “Many amazing people helped shape my career,” he said. “The guidance I had from my parents has been invaluable.”
As current president and partner with his father, Toothman is proud of the great strides that Toothman Ford has made in recent years. “We’ve grown substantially in the last decade and have leased more land to keep up with our increasing inventory,” he said. “In addition, we have remodeled our dealership to ensure a welcoming, open and enjoyable experience for our customers.”
He is also a partner in Toothman and Sowers Ford in White Hall, West Virginia. Despite his growing operations, he works hard to attract and retain quality employees. In fact, Toothman Ford was named one of Best Dealerships to Work For in the nation by Automotive News in 2018. “Our team is second to none,” Toothman said.
A longtime member of the Grafton community, Toothman supports organizations and initiatives that improve the health, welfare and the quality of life of his neighbors. He is a generous benefactor of West Virginia University (WVU) Medicine and has donated or raised money to benefit WVU Medicine Children’s and the WVU Cancer Institute. Toothman has also participated in the Taylor County Backpack Program, which provides nutritious meals for children in need. He also supports literacy efforts, opioid prevention, youth sports camps, food drives and volunteers at the local food pantry, among many other philanthropic activities.
“We are so happy to be able to give back to our community and hope to do so for decades to come,” he said.
Dealers are nominated by the executives of state and metro dealer associations around the country. The award is sponsored by TIME in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with NADA. 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 $5,000 for their favorite charities and the winner will receive $10,000 to give to charity. In its tenth year as exclusive sponsor, Ally will also recognize dealer nominees and their community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice. Nominees will be recognized on AllyDealerHeroes.com, which highlights the philanthropic contributions and achievements of TIME Dealer of the Year nominees. “The TIME Dealer of the Year award celebrates the country’s top dealers who understand that their businesses thrive when they give back and help their communities grow,” Timmerman said. “In short, the award recognizes dealers who do it right in their businesses and in their communities.”
Toothman was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Jared Wyrick, president of the West Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. He has two children.
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About TIME USA LLC
TIME is a global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100 million around the world, including over 40 million digital visitors each month and 45 million social followers. 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 TIME 100 Most Influential People, Person of the Year, Firsts, Best Inventions, World’s Greatest Places and premium events including the TIME 100 Summit and Gala, TIME 100 Health Summit, TIME 100 Next and more.
About Ally Financial Inc. (This will likely be updated in Oct. after Q3 earnings are released)
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial-services company with $180.4 billion in assets as of June 30, 2019. As a customer-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, we are relentlessly focused on “Doing It Right” and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. We are one of the largest full-service automotive-finance operations in the country and offer a wide range of financial services and insurance products to automotive dealerships and consumers. Our award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including savings, money-market, and checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Additionally, we offer securities-brokerage and investment-advisory services through Ally Invest. Our robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies. For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.
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.
