Ducharme Motors' owner Greg Ducharme was honoured for his continued success in the auto industry and dedication to community involvement last week with the 2015 Dealer of Excellence Award.
“I am extremely proud to accept the 2015 Dealer of Excellence Award on behalf of our team,” said Ducharme, when presented with a framed award at his dealership on Sept. 3. “This award is being presented to me, but it is a reflection of all our team at all of the stores. (My team) has helped me look good for a long time.”
The award is given out annually to the top two auto dealers in Alberta with one going to an urban dealer and the other to a rural dealer. Candidates are nominated by fellow dealers, with the nominees then vetted by a panel of past recipients who select the winner.
Brothers David, Duane and Rick Koch of the Koch Automotive Group in Edmonton along with Ducharme from Ducharme Motors were named the 2015 award winners.
For Ducharme, winning the award made him a second-generation winner. His father Marcel Ducharme, who took over Ducharme Motors from his father Archie, was recognized by his peers as the Time Dealer of the Year in 1992.
Greg credits his father for teaching him the ins and outs of the business, which has lead to him running a successful dealership in the community.
“I really learned the importance of expense control and of treating your employees as you would want to be treated from my dad,” said Ducharme. “He also taught me the importance of being a trustworthy partner with suppliers, banks and manufacturers.”
The rise to being named the 2015 Dealer of Excellence saw Greg start from the bottom, as his entrance into the family business came before he even had his driver's license.
“My first job was dusting and reorganizing the brochure rack and then stocking and cleaning the parts room,” said Ducharme. “Washing cars soon followed and then, when I had my drivers license, I was doing dealer transfers.”
In 1991, Greg started working in the sales department, by the end of the century he had taken over the dealership from his father and became the third generation principal dealer.
In 2001, he purchased the Cold Lake Ford and five years later, in 2006, he purchased the Bonnyville and Cold Lake Chrysler.
He feels that there are four key ingredients to operating a successful dealership: operate with sound business principles, embrace change, really like people and focus on keeping employees and customers more than satisfied.
During his acceptance speech Ducharme joked about embracing change and how it often started with crazy, outside-the-box ideas like staying open until 3 a.m. to service vehicles.
“Extra effort, travel and willingness to changes has been essential to our success,” said Ducharme. “It has been awesome to be surrounded by people over the years who have been willing to change and grow with the business.”
