Generosity abounds even in tough times
Brian Jessel, President of Brian Jessel BMW (left) and CEO Jim Murrey (right).
2020 has been a tough year, but there are positive elements and important meanings to be drawn from this experience, particularly where charitable actions are concerned.
Every year, Canadian auto dealer magazine reaches out to auto dealers across Canada to discuss the important causes in their communities that they have supported throughout the year.
Giving back, whether through personal time, donations, organized events, or new projects, has been especially tough this year due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns that followed. As dealers grapple with these issues, those that could remain true to their mantra of giving back — especially where it counts.
Our snapshot of their stories is by no means representative of all regions and dealerships, but it does offer a glimpse into what charitable and positive deeds auto retailers have managed to accomplish amid COVID-19.
British Columbia
Brian Jessel BMW
On the west coast, Jim Murray, Managing Partner and CEO of Brian Jessel BMW in Vancouver, approached the dealership’s annual Cabriolet Charity Gala differently than in previous years.
Two weeks before the event, which would have been on April 4, the $500-a-head gala that was supposed to be hosted at the dealership and include more than 200 guests was cancelled due to COVID-19 rules around large gatherings in the province.
“We originally postponed the event into August, and then of course, as the pandemic unfolded and more restrictions came in (all of a sudden the restrictions were back down to no gatherings of 50 people or more) we made the decision that we had to cancel the event,” said Murray. “And I said, okay, how are we going to raise money?”
Last year the dealership raised more than $200,000 from the event. Murray said they were committed to continuing to raise funds, while acknowledging that there would be hard costs to consider due to cancelling the event. The dealership decided to absorb the costs, and then reached out to patrons and sponsors by phone to ask them if they would like to make a direct donation to the charity.
The plan worked, and the dealership managed to raise $130,000 towards Pancreatic Cancer Canada this year — without an event. The charity was selected after Brian Jessel’s father passed away from the disease in 2010.
“We went to work and just came up with a plan and I just kept it simple. What’s the easiest way to do this? Let’s pick up the phone and call our supporters and our ticket holders and our sponsors and ask them if they’d like to make a donation directly,” said Murray. “So we did, and probably over 90 per cent of them said yes, without hesitation.”
The cheque presentation to the charity was held on September 3 at the dealership. Murray said the result was less than last year, but considering there was no event, he was pleased they were able to do the charity a good service — which was ultimately appreciated considering the circumstances.
The dealership had to furlough around 180 employees in April; the gala plans were pulled together during a period when the business retained a skeleton crew and was nearly shut down. But Murray said their philosophy has always been to give back, to the community or to causes that are near and dear to the heart.
To dealers, he advises taking the learnings from the pandemic and applying it to the future.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of good things that will come out of this from a business perspective,” said Murray. “And I think we can shape and contribute a lot in helping other people.”
Festival of Trees at Glacier Toyota
Glacier Toyota
Elsewhere in the province, Scott Olesiuk, Dealer Principal at Glacier Toyota in Smithers, B.C., found a way to continue their annual Festival of Trees after recognizing that people in the community were still interested in participating, giving back, and cautiously getting involved in events.
“It’s a community event where we spearhead and cheer on businesses to create Christmas-themed donation items in our showroom,” said Olesiuk. “This year in particular (we) will control and create opportunities where people can come in and view and bid on the items that are up for auction online.”
Now in its sixth year, the 2020 event will take place during the first week of December and will benefit local organizations such as the Bulkley Valley Child Development Centre and the Smithers Salvation Army. To-date, the team at Glacier Toyota has raised more than $143,000 in the first five years in a community of 5,000 people.
The event will respect public health guidelines, while allowing the dealership to accommodate evening showings and appointments for families that were planning to attend other Christmas festivals that have now been canceled.
“Our team is excited to make themselves available to create an event where we can control the volume of people coming through, but still allow for an amazing Christmas event here in our showroom,” said Olesiuk. “We probably have around 40 Christmas trees displayed with different decorations.”
He said people will be able to walk through the showroom and then return home and watch their bids online and participate.
Community participation is part of the Glacier Toyota culture, and the challenges presented by COVID-19 have allowed Olesiuk to think outside the box when it comes to his employees. This means figuring out how to connect with the team and ensure morale remains high.
“I think the team has definitely stepped up to the challenge,” said Olesiuk. “There’s no doubt that we’ve had to redirect some of our efforts to finding new ways that are safe and within the public health guidelines. But with those challenges, there are opportunities.”
He said they create events that help foster relationships within the team so they are able to do their best when on the job. During COVID, they continued with that tradition — this time looking at how they could ensure social distancing was not an issue while still allowing employees to connect with each other.
“This year (we did) a few different hiking trips with the team. I carried a big cooler on my back to have ice cream on top of a mountain with our team,” said Olesiuk. “We have never done something like that before, but it was a really well-received (event) and it had a great turnout.”
Olesiuk said they recognized early on that, due to COVID, the experience his team was living within their personal and professional lives meant the dealership had to readjust and focus more on trying to create fun and interesting ways for them to reconnect and create events in the community.
He also said it took too long to understand what the impact of COVID (the effects of the lockdowns) would have on families and employees within the community, and that they likely did not react quickly enough to try and find opportunities within their current situation.
For this reason, Olesiuk advises dealers to explore ways to connect with employees through the community, whether virtually or in-person while respecting safety measures.
Alberta
Scottsville Group
Over in Red Deer, Alta., Garrett Scott, COO and Dealer Principal of Scottsville Group has been busy helping out his community through the company’s various stores.
Early in the pandemic, Kipp Scott GMC Cadillac Buick had drivers run food around the city during the months of April, May and June for The Mustard Seed, which aims to reduce homelessness and poverty. The drive was meant to help people who were unable to make it to the Mustard Seed locations. The dealership also provided the organization with $5,000 towards vehicle repairs that were needed for their fleet.
“We believe in giving what you can,” said Scott. “We want to support the community in two ways: help those who are less fortunate or down on their luck, but also help improve the community through youth and education support. Most importantly, it helps us support our community and build our brand in multiple local areas.”
Scott said Scott Subaru also donated $10,000 to The Salvation Army to help them prepare for COVID-related supply costs during the pandemic. He said they originally planned to donate $5,000, but Subaru Canada offered to contribute an additional $5,000 that helped increase the donation amount.
Furthermore, the Scottsville Group along with the Gary Moe Group and Southside Dodge/Chrysler donated a combined $10,000 to various charities that were short this year — including Red Deer public schools, Red Deer Catholic schools, the Red Deer Food Bank Society, and Kidsport.
As for keeping employee morale high during the pandemic, the dealership has approached the situation from more than one angle.
“We did a couple of things: first we gambled and did wage guarantees for April, and May for 100 per cent of our staff. They were able to earn 90 per cent of their average wage from 2019 in those two months,” said Scott. “Second, we only took voluntary layoffs — we didn’t force any on our staff.”
Although not every dealer is fortunate to be in this position, Scott said they were and decided it was the right thing to do.
“I can say that morale is decent,” said Scott. “I think everyone’s morale suffered this year. In March we were planning for what looked like a total catastrophe, (and) we are lucky to be in the position we are today.”
Mustard Seed van donation
Garrett Scott, COO, Dealer Principal, Scottsville Auto Group
Newfoundland
Western Group of Companies
In Newfoundland, Michelle Melendy, CEO of the Western Group of Companies, has been busy helping her employees, and giving back to her community where it counts most.
Food banks were on her list of donations as they were especially impacted when the coronavirus reached Canadian shores. At the time, many people had lost their jobs and food security quickly became a salient issue.
“In July, we contributed to the local food banks and the Salvation Army food banks in Corner Brook and Grand Falls-Windsor to help as many people in need as possible,” said Melendy. “Western Toyota and Grand Toyota, with a generous co-op program from Toyota Canada, were able to contribute a total of $7,000.
Management and employees at the Western Group of Companies also took part in brainstorming innovative ways to support the community. Melendy said the success of the dealership group is due to the support they receive from the people in their community, and that it is critical not to take this support for granted.
In central Newfoundland, Grand Toyota wanted to show their appreciation to the front-line workers of their community. They delivered coffee and donuts to the emergency department at the local hospital and to the essential workers at Sobeys and Dominion.
In another charitable and creative gesture, Melendy said they found a way to help people that were overly plugged into social media and online media content due to pandemic restrictions that made it difficult for people to socialize.
“There was constant negativity and we wanted to highlight the positive things happening around us,” said Melendy. “We sent out a video through Facebook requesting local good news stories and the response was overwhelming. Our team put together a video combining these stories using one of our buildings as a make-believe broadcast studio.”
They then highlighted their favorite stories and rewarded two winners with gift cards to a local business of their choice to ensure community ties remained strong. Melendy said the video reached viral success and that Western Kia was featured on the local CBC Morning Show regarding the initiative. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWvNzt0V0G0).
Other charitable needs included Western Mazda in Corner Brook partnering with local convenience store Mr. Wilson’s to provide a weekly soup lunch program, and the Western Group of Companies’ support of the Western Memorial Regional Hospital Foundation (WMRHF). This year they fundraised for a 3D mammography unit for breast screening.
“This pandemic is outside of our control and has affected businesses and people tremendously in a negative way, so the values of gratitude, respect, and giving to others is even more important during this time,” said Melendy.
On employee morale, Melendy said the dealership’s management team took the initiative to call each staff member during their layoff to ensure they were doing relatively well, and to see if they needed any support. Particular interest was given to employees dealing with family concerns, health issues, and/or personal loss.
“We wanted to ensure that they stay connected to the workplace and were offered support if needed,” she said, adding that they also held regular video calls with various departments and teams — with some doing evening socials to stay connected rather than update the employee on business.
Melendy said the automotive sector is filled with “amazing” examples of dealers giving to their communities, and that there is also a lot of charity among dealers.
“Often, we cannot control things in our lives, like the pandemic, but we can control our attitude and how we respond,” said Melendy. “My father Clyde Melendy, who was my mentor, taught me ‘Your life is determined by your attitude.’ So, I always try to look for positivity and meaning in all situations I am faced with.”
As we close the year, may the good deeds of dealers from coast-to-coast-to-coast serve as a reminder that there are indeed positive actions being done to help people and communities, and much meaning to be drawn from these charitable efforts.
Image provided by the Western Group of Companies
