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Closing the year on a high note, CADA President and CEO Tim Reuss visited the 2019 CADA Laureates in November to recognize them for their unique achievements and contributions to the Canadian automotive retail sector, and their communities.
Reuss visited each winner in their respective province and dealership to present the official CADA Laureate award plaque. “The CADA Laureate award is a recognition of the excellence of the professional achievement of dealers in three categories: Ambassador Laureate, Innovator Laureate, and Retailer Laureate,” said Reuss during his presentation in Ste-Foy, Que., on November 28, the final destination of his tour.
Speaking to the Retail Laureate winner Charles Saillant of Ste-Foy Toyota, Reuss said the CADA Laureates are selected among 3,200 franchised dealers across Canada, and that it is an exclusive award that recognizes the best of the best. “All parts of the industry — the dealers, the vehicle manufacturers, the suppliers and the provincial associations participated in the confidential CADA Laureate process,” said Reuss.
Saillant was selected for having developed several in-house solutions tailored to his business, touching on websites and other technological aspects of the dealership. Employees at his Ste-Foy Toyota dealership also praised him for his exceptional communication skills and ability to help his team grow and feel involved in the business, as if they were also partners.
James Massie, the 2019 CADA Laureate in the Ambassadorship category, was the first to receive a visit from Reuss on November 25 at his Georgian Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership in Barrie, Ont.
Massie’s celebration took place in two parts. Dealership team members celebrated the achievement with a catered luncheon with some brief speeches. Later that afternoon, Massie was honoured with the CADA Laureate plaque after speeches from community leaders, OEM representatives and Massie’s longtime friends and business associates. Collectively, they painted a picture of how much Massie and his dealership had contributed to his community over the years.
Those making speeches included Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman; MaryLynn West-Moynes, President of Georgian College; Colonel Andrew Atherton, Commander, CFB Borden; Sandor Piszar, GM VP Canada Sales, Service & Marketing; Massie’s business partner and friend, Daniel DeVos, Chairman and CEO of Georgian International, and Chairman of the Orlando Magic; CADA President and CEO Tim Reuss; and CADA Chairman and Massie’s friend Mike Stollery.
Also attending were George Steinsky, Vice President, Sales with iA-SAL, the exclusive sponsor of the CADA Laureate program, and Todd Bourgon, Executive Director of the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA).
“Jamie Massie has achieved a long list of accomplishments over the years for his many contributions to his community,” said Reuss. “He was instrumental in building the Barrie Molson Centre and getting the Barrie Colts to the OHL. And he was among the earliest supporters of the program that is now the Automotive Business School of Canada.”
Innovator Laureate Aziz Ahamed of Destination Auto Group in Burnaby, B.C. received his CADA Laureate plaque on November 26.
Reuss said his innovations were connected to the human resources aspect of his businesses. The judges for the CADA Laureate program who picked Ahamed, called the finance and HR functions he uses “very professional,” and identified some of the more interesting innovations as the “Under the Hood” initiative, the Predictive Index (for talent acquisition, on-boarding, and on-going coaching), and the employee-led 80s Tracker.
“We have three very unique and worthy winners as recipients of the CADA Laureate award this year,” said Reuss.
Asked what advice he could offer future Laureate candidates, Reuss said: “the only advice I could give is to listen to the other Laureate winners.”
Each event featured team members and industry representatives, whether from iA-SAL, the OEM, and/or from the provincial association. Food was served and speeches were delivered by Reuss, and in some cases other industry representatives.
Nominations for the 2020 CADA Laureate awards concludes this year, on December 13.
