The nomination of Steven Olliges, president of Team Ford Lincoln in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the 2020 TIME Dealer of the Year award was announced today by TIME.
Olliges is one of a select group of 49 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 103rd annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Las Vegas on February 15, 2020. The announcement of this year’s annual award was made by Susanna Schrobsdorff, chief partnerships officer, TIME, and Doug Timmerman, president of Auto Finance for Ally Financial.
The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Olliges, 56, was chosen to represent the Nevada Franchised Auto Dealers Association in the national competition – one of only 49 auto dealers nominated for the 51st annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide.
“I feel immense satisfaction being able to not only serve my employees and customers, but my local community and beyond thanks to my automotive career,” nominee Olliges said.
A Nevada native who grew up in the car business, Olliges graduated from Valley High School in Las Vegas, where he played football, and he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Las Vegas in 1986. He is a competitive off-road racer with a passion for desert racing.
To that end, he spent two years selling cars at El Cajon Ford in El Cajon, California, where he gained valuable experience. “I credit my parents and football coaches with teaching me perseverance, hard work and how to work as a team,” he said.
In 1988, Olliges was named sales manager of Friendly Ford and in 2000, he opened Team Ford Lincoln. “I believe that staying in Las Vegas has contributed to my success because I have remained in contact with friends and acquaintances for the past 30 years who are now my customers,” he said. “I have a strong connection and history in the community.”
Olliges has been a member of the Nevada Franchised Auto Dealers Association since 2000. “My biggest impact within the association was working to change auditing laws regarding dealerships,” he said. “Rather than an auditor being able to going back as far as he or she wants, the timeframe was reduced. This has been a huge improvement for dealers and has minimized potential chargebacks in Nevada.”
He is also committed to using his time and resources to help people in his community. The groups Olliges supports include Honorary Commander of 433 Weapons School; Rancho Santa Marta/Bethesda Teaching Ministry (home for at-risk and special-needs children in San Vicente, Baja California, Mexico); JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation); Cars 4 Heroes (provides free, reliable transportation for veterans and their families); Toys for Tots; ALS Association; Holy Spirit Catholic Church (Las Vegas); Arbor View High School (Las Vegas); YMCA of Southern Nevada, as well as local youth sports teams, police departments and fire stations.
Dealers are nominated by the executives of state and metro dealer associations around the country. The award is sponsored by TIME in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with NADA. A panel of faculty members from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan will select one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year. Three finalists will receive an additional $5,000 for their favorite charities and the winner will receive an additional $10,000 to give to charity.
In its ninth year as exclusive sponsor, Ally will recognize dealer nominees and their community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice. Nominees will also be recognized on AllyDealerHeroes.com.
“The award applauds the incredible effort each of these dealers put into their businesses and their communities,” said Doug Timmerman, President of Auto Finance at Ally. “They are influential business leaders and admired ambassadors for worthy causes. It’s an honor for Ally to recognize their generosity and impact in cities and towns across America.”
Olliges was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Andrew MacKay, executive director of the Nevada Franchised Auto Dealers Association. He and his wife, Karissa, have two children.
###
About TIME
TIME is a global multimedia brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100 million around the world. A trusted destination for reporting and insight on the people, places and issues that matter, TIME captures the events that shape our lives. TIME’s major franchises include the TIME 100 Most Influential People, Person of the Year, Firsts, Best Inventions, Genius Companies, World’s Greatest Places, and more. With 45 million digital visitors each month and 40 million social followers, TIME is one of the most trusted and recognized sources of news and information in the world.
About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial services company with assets of $171.3 billion as of June 30, 2018. As a client-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, Ally is relentlessly focused on “Doing it Right” and being a trusted financial partner for its consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. Ally’s award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including CDs, online savings, money market and checking accounts, and IRA products. Ally also promotes the Ally CashBack Credit Card. Additionally, Ally offers securities brokerage and investment advisory services through Ally Invest. Ally remains one of the largest full-service auto finance operations in the country with a complementary auto-focused insurance business, which together serve approximately 18,000 dealer customers and millions of auto consumers. Ally’s robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies. For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.
About the NADA Show
The annual NADA Show brings together more than 20,000 franchised dealers and their employees, industry leaders, manufacturers and exhibitors to learn about the latest auto industry tools, trends, products and technologies
