Fredrick J. Timbrook is one of a select group of 49 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 107th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 3, 2024.

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. The award recognizes the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Timbrook was chosen to represent the West Virginia Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition – one of only 49 auto dealers nominated for the 55th annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide.

“My retail automotive career has given me the opportunity to help others achieve their goals and dreams,” nominee Timbrook said. “As a result of my success in this business, I have also been able to financially support many causes that improve people’s lives.”

Timbrook graduated from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1992 with a B.S. in finance. Even though his father, Fred, ran a Pontiac and Cadillac dealership in Cumberland, Maryland, where Timbrook worked as a teenager, he never planned on a career in the auto industry – nor staying in the town where he grew up.

“Of course, life can change in a moment and my dad ended up purchasing the Cumberland store due to the sudden death of the owner when I was a junior in college,” he said. “I joined him after graduating, and my first ‘real job’ was body shop estimator.”

Timbrook worked his way through every department, developing an in-depth knowledge of dealership operations and gaining the experience necessary to take on a leadership role. In 2001, when he was 31 years old, he bought the business.

“My father sold the dealership and the real estate to me – for full price – because he wanted me to experience the responsibility that goes with owning a store,” he said. “He was a great mentor and continued to help me build the company until his retirement in 2017. His sacrifices in the past paved the way for our future.”

Today, Timbrook Automotive has grown to encompass 12 new-car stores and two powersports dealerships in Maryland, West Virgina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, representing Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Nissan and Ram. His two daughters Caroline Rogers and Lauren Timbrook are the next generation to join the family enterprise.

“All of our team members, some of whom have been with the company longer than I have, are truly outstanding,” Timbrook said. “Most of our locations have general managers who are also partners in the store, which has provided me the opportunity to focus on growing the company overall.”