ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 13, 2010 – Gary Schultz, Co-Owner of Platte Valley Auto Mart, Inc., a Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealership in Lexington, Neb., was named the TIME Magazine Dealer of the Year from Nebraska.
Schultz was chosen to represent the Nebraska New Car and Truck Dealers Association in the national competition. The award is sponsored by TIME Magazine in association with Goodyear, and in cooperation with NADA.
“I began my automotive career fresh out of the U.S. Navy, September, 1970, at Pittsburg State University, enrolling in the Automotive Technology program,” says Schultz.
Schultz graduated from Highland Park High School in Topeka, KS, in 1966, and, after serving in the U.S. Navy as an Engineman 2nd Class during the Vietnam War (1968-’70), he earned a B.S. in Industrial Technology from Pittsburg State University in 1973. His goal was a career as a factory service representative for Ford Motor Company. “While attending college on the G.I. Bill as a married student, I worked afternoons and evenings at a full-line GM dealership as a pre-delivery and detail technician,” explains Schultz.
But Ford wasn’t hiring due to the oil crisis. Schultz was hired by AMC/JEEP on Jan. 2, 1974, as a factory service rep. After four and a half years, he landed at Ford as a sales rep. “Being a factory rep put me on the road four nights a week for over eight years,” Schultz says. “I called on over 200 dealers in Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa.” One of those calls changed his life.
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