The winner will be announced at American Truck Dealers (ATD) Show 2018 in Las Vegas in March.
Jon Vandehey, president/CEO of Mid-State Truck Service in Marshfield, Wis., is one of seven nominees for 2018 Truck Dealer of the Year – a national award that recognizes commercial-truck dealers for business performance, industry and civic leadership and community service.
“I’m honored to be a second-generation dealer from my family nominated for this award,” said Vandehey, who became dealer principal in 2003. “My father was a nominee in 1995. He founded the business 52 years ago.”
From 2005 to 2015, the business expanded by acquiring four dealerships including the construction of two new facilities. Today, Mid-State Truck Service includes six sales, service and parts facilities and dealerships in Wisconsin with 230 employees representing Navistar, IC Bus, Isuzu, Diamond Coach and Collins Bus.
“The critical importance of a focused and consistent corporate culture is probably the most underappreciated aspect of business today,” he added.
Mid-State Truck Service supports numerous community organizations, including Toys for Tots with its Truckers for Tots program, YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs. The dealership donated vehicles with a wheel chair lift to Regional Enterprise for Adults and Children (REACH) and Chippewa River Industries, which both support individuals with disabilities.
Mid-State has also donated multiple Diamond Coach buses to the local Boys and Girls Clubs, along with one to an area YMCA.
The dealership group has won numerous awards for dealer and service performance and leadership from Navistar, Midwest Dealer of the Year and Diamond Dealer from IC Bus and Idealgold recognition from Idealease.
Vandehey is a member of International Dealer Council (sales and marketing committee co-chairman), Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association Truck Council and ATD 20 Group.
The national Truck Dealer of the Year award is sponsored by ATD, Heavy Duty Trucking magazine and Procede Software.
The other nominees are Joseph Alosa, Sr., president and CEO of New England Kenworth in Concord, N.H.; John Arscott, CEO of The Pete Store in Baltimore, Md., Mark Bergey, president of Bergey’s Truck Centers in Souderton, Pa.; Rick Reynolds, president of Peach State Truck Center in Atlanta; Lee White, II, president of Old River Companies in South Richland, Miss.; and Craig Young, president of Young Truck Sales in Canton, Ohio.
The nominees were selected by ATD board members and dealer association executives. Professors from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, Ind., will evaluate the nominees based on dealership performance, industry leadership, civic contributions and community service.
The winner and runner-up will be announced during the 55th annual ATD Show (formerly the ATD Convention & Expo) in Las Vegas, which runs concurrently with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show from Thursday, March 22, through Sunday, March 25, 2018.
ATD, a division of NADA, represents more than 1,800 medium- and heavy-duty truck dealerships.
For more information, visit www.atdshow.org.
This is the fifth article in a seven-part series highlighting the nominees for 2018 Truck Dealer of the Year.
