The nomination of Tim Redding Sr., dealer principal and president of Metter Ford in Metter, Georgia, for the 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year award was announced today by TIME.
Redding is one of a select group of 40 dealer nominees from across the country who will
be honored at the 104 th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show
being held virtually February 9-11, 2021. The announcement of this year’s annual award
was made by Viktoria Degtar, Global Chief Revenue 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. Redding, 62, was chosen to represent the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association in the
national competition – one of only 41 auto dealers nominated for the 52 nd annual award
from more than 16,000 nationwide.
“The automotive business, though daunting at times, has enabled me to provide for my
family, for our community and for our customers,” nominee Redding said. “We are proud
to deliver a level of service that remains unmatched to this day in our area. And our
customers have blessed us with amazing loyalty and friendship through the years.”
Redding didn’t start out in the car business. He worked as a meat cutter and owned his
own meat shop before joining Karp Motors in Savannah, Georgia, in 1982.
“From a very young age, I knew the value of work,” he said. “My parents instilled in me
not just a desire to work but pride in excelling in whatever job I undertook.” As he grew
older, however, it became apparent that his blessings and accomplishments were not only
of his own making. "As I look back, it is very clear that God held my hand and guided
me through the ups and downs of being a car dealer," said Redding.
That satisfaction in a job well done and desire to succeed drove Redding to advance to
management roles at J.C. Lewis Ford and J.C. Lewis Mazda in Savannah, where he
worked for seven years before striking out on his own to open Metter Ford in 1991.
Today, his dealership group also includes two additional Georgia stores: Swainsboro
Ford Lincoln in Swainsboro and Dublin Ford Lincoln in Dublin. His sons, Tim Jr. and
Daniel, lead dealership operations as general managers for the stores.
“I have also been blessed to have many loyal employees work with me and stay by my
side through the years,” Redding said.
A longtime member of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association, Redding has served
on the group’s board of directors for 15 years and as chair for a year from 2018 to 2019.
He is a strong advocate for the Committee of Auto Retail Dealers (CARD), a political
action committee that supports state-level candidates who understand the needs of the
retail automotive industry.
“I have personally worked phonebanks, as well as in-person visits, with great success,”
he said. “I have helped foster strong relationships with state and federal representatives
and senators that have benefitted our dealer body tremendously. And I have been present
for bill signings that have great impact on the retail dealers of Georgia.”
Redding has also served on the boards of several community organizations, including
Guido Evangelistic Association; Brewton-Parker College (Mount Vernon, Georgia);
Candler County Hospital Foundation; and the Candler County Boys & Girls Club.
He is a benefactor of the American Cancer Society, having sponsored Relay for Life
events, as well as cancer survivor dinners and golf tournaments to raise funds for the
group. He also sponsors the Metter-Candler Chamber of Commerce’s annual gala and
auction.
Redding’s support of education is far-reaching. He is a proud partner of Communities In
Schools of Candler County, which surrounds at-risk students with community support to
empower them to stay in school. “To date, our promotion rate for our case-managed
students exceeds 95 percent and our graduation rate this year was 98 percent,” he said.
In addition, for the last 12 years, he has participated in the Ford Drive 4 UR School
test-drive promotion. “We have raised $100,000 for our local schools through this
program,” Redding said.
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
$5,000 for their favorite charities and the winner will receive $10,000 to give to charity.
In its tenth year as exclusive sponsor, Ally will also recognize dealer nominees and their
community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice.
Nominees will be recognized on AllyDealerHeroes.com , which highlights the
philanthropic contributions and achievements of TIME Dealer of the Year nominees.
“The TIME Dealer of the Year award celebrates the country’s top dealers who
understand that their businesses thrive when they give back and help their communities
grow,” Timmerman said. “In short, the award recognizes dealers who do it right in their
businesses and in their communities.”
Redding was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Lea Kirschner,
president and CEO of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association. He has three
children, Tim Jr., Daniel, and Emily Lancaster, and is the proud grandfather of ten.
About TIME USA LLC
TIME is a global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100
million around the world, including over 40 million digital visitors each month and 45
million social followers. A trusted destination for reporting and insight, TIME’s mission
is to tell the stories that matter most, to lead conversations that change the world and to
deepen understanding of the ideas and events that define our time. With unparalleled
access to the world’s most influential people, the immeasurable trust of consumers
globally, an unrivaled power to convene, TIME is one of the world’s most recognizable
media brands with renowned franchises that include the TIME 100 Most Influential
People, Person of the Year, Firsts, Best Inventions, World’s Greatest Places and
premium events including the TIME 100 Summit and Gala, TIME 100 Health Summit,
TIME 100 Next and more.
About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial-services company with
$185.3 billion in assets as of September 30, 2020. As a customer-centric company with
passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, we are relentlessly
focused on “Doing it Right” and being a trusted financial-services provider to our
consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. We are one of the largest full-service
automotive-finance operations in the country and offer a wide range of financial services
and insurance products to automotive dealerships and consumers. Our award-winning
online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage
lending, personal lending, and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including
savings, money-market, and checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and
individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Additionally, we offer securities-brokerage and
investment-advisory services through Ally Invest. Our 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, i ndustry leaders, manufacturers and exhibitors to learn about the latest auto
industry tools, trends, products and technologies.
