(l to r) Rick Gauthier, CADA President & CEO; Niel Hiscox, Publisher, Canadian auto dealer; Tom Tonks, Outgoing General Manager, Canadian International AutoShow; Jason Campbell, General Manager, Canadian International AutoShow: Alnoor Jiwani, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Finance – Dealer Services,iA-SAL; Sandy Newbigging; Ty Newbigging, Retail Operations Laureate; Cathy Chenhall; Patrick O’Regan, Ambassador Laureate; Berni Benoit, CADA Executive Assistant; Luc Samson, Vice President, Sales & Administration – Dealer Services, iA-SAL; Steve Chipman, CADA Chairman
WITH CAMERAS FLASHING and champagne glasses clinking, the newest members of the prestigious CADA Laureate family entered the 2015 Canadian International AutoShow in style, walking on the red carpet and greeted by VIPs.
This year’s winning CADA Laureates had just finished their special dinner where they were presented their special CADA Laureate jackets, when Canadian auto dealer caught up with them.
“I can’t begin to tell you how humbling it is. It’s a tremendous honour,” says Patrick O’Regan, O’Regan’s Automotive Group in Dartmouth, N.S., who was chosen in the Ambassadorship category. “To be included among the Laureates, the people that I respect the most in the industry, is just a tremendous experience.”
For O’Regan, it was a proud moment. “It was a spectacular night, I got a call from my mother and my sister and my brother all congratulating me. It’s a very hard feeling to describe. I feel very honoured and very proud.”
When it came time to don the distinctive CADA Laureate jacket, that was another special moment for him. “I was just glad that it fit,” joked O’Regan. “I put on a couple of pounds from the time they asked for my measurements.”
O’Regan says he also thoroughly enjoyed the dinner with fellow Laureates, along with the CADA Chairman Steve Chipman and CADA President and CEO Rick Gauthier. “Rick [Gauthier] is probably the best shepherd you can find to run the national association. It was very humbling to be among them.”
“It’s an incredible honour,” says Taylor (Ty) Newbigging, from Sherwood Nissan, in Sherwood Park, Alta., who won the CADA Laureate award for Retail Operations. “I’m stilll kind of in a bit of shock and speechless about the whole thing.”
As with all nominees, Newbigging says he doesn’t even know who nominated him. “But at the end of the day it’s a great recognition program. The CADA did a top-notch job of organizing it.”
Newbigging says he’s not typically a proud person. “I did feel a little pride. But it’s not because of my own accomplishments. It’s a kind of validation of 23 years worth of work and all the people and support groups that have bought into the systems you’ve put in place, and all the great people you work with day to day,” says Newbigging.
He says several team members called him on his big day to congratulate him.
“It’s unbelievable,” says Alnoor Jiwani, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Finance – Dealer Services, iA-SAL, and the exclusive CADA Laureate program sponsor. “The car industry and the dealer industry have moved so high, in terms of the calibre of what they are doing in the community and in the industry.”
Jiwani says his company is proud to be sponsoring the event. “I am so proud that we are associated with the dealer body today. I am so glad with what CADA is doing and we are proud to be part of that.”
Jiwani says he’s always impressed with how the CADA Laureates are willing to share their insights and winning strategies with other dealers.
Luc Samson, Vice President, Sales & Administration – Dealer Services, iA-SAL, says he was impressed with the CADA Laureates he met with at the event. “It’s an honour and we are very proud to be sponsoring this event,” says Samson. “When you look at the winners, there’s a lot of respect there. I was very impressed.”
The third 2014 CADA Laureate winner Jonathan Hickman, from Hickman Automotive Group, won in the Innovation category. Hickman was unable to attend the event due to circumstances beyond his control, but was greatly missed.
The CADA Laureate award is viewed widely as the highest honour a new car and truck dealer can receive over the course of his or her career in Canada. It is presented annually to three dealers out of a pool of more than 3,300 nationally in the categories of Ambassadorship, Business Innovation and Retail Operations.
CADA Laureates can’t nominate themselves, and industry stakeholders submit hundreds of nominations annually. Nominees are subject to a rigorous evaluation process that culminates with the selection of one Laureate in each category by the prestigious Ivey Business School of Western University.
