ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 13, 2010 – Kirtlund Frye, President of Sunnyside Toyota, a Toyota and Scion dealership in North Olmsted, Ohio, was named the TIME Magazine Dealer of the Year from Ohio.
Frye was chosen to represent the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association in the national competition. The award is sponsored by TIME Magazine in association with Goodyear, and in cooperation with NADA.
“I started in 1976 at the age of 16 as a part-time bicycle, moped, and motorcycle salesperson for Rick Case Enterprises,” says Frye, of his earliest experience in vehicle sales. “I worked there until 1982, earning 100% of my college expenses.”
Frye graduated from Chardon High School in Chardon, OH, in 1978, and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy and Management at Miami University in Oxford, OH, in 1982. That same year, Frye began his fulltime career at Sunshine Honda in Detroit, MI, a position that had its roots in his teenage job.
“During my employment at Rick Case, I met Tom Bohlander who was Rick Case's operating partner. Tom founded Sunshine Honda in Detroit in 1981. Immediately after graduating from college, I joined Tom at Sunshine Honda in the parts department. I spent two years working in every department in the store.” Over time, Frye and Bohlander built that business into a successful three-state operation. “Together, Tom and I opened 13 stores in Michigan, Ohio and New Hampshire. I bought Tom out of all Ohio operations in 1997 and expanded the group to include eight stores.”
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