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Franchisees of the Year, President’s Awards, and more were awarded on Nov. 18.
Marco Island, Fl. (Moni, Dec. 4, 2023) — Byrider, one of America’s largest buy-here-pay-here used car dealerships and franchise systems, presented annual awards to its franchise body at the company’s annual convention in Marco Island, Fl. November 16 to 18. The awards ceremony was held on Sat., Nov. 18.
Craig Peters, chief executive officer at Byrider, said, “These franchisees and their teams continue exceeding our customers’ expectations by doing everything possible to maximize our customers’ opportunity to advance with us. Their commitment powers our operation and contributes to the overall success of Byrider every year.”
“Congratulations to these franchisees and their teams on their much-deserved recognition. Their efforts to advance our customers and reinforce Byrider’s purpose are vital to our growth,” said Walter Scott, Byrider’s chief marketing and franchise growth officer.
Franchise of the Year
The Franchise of the Year award recognizes the best overall performance by a franchise group based on internal store rankings and a measure of how the business has contributed to the Byrider franchise community.
- Russ Larson, Jeff Lee, and Winston Sleeth – 4+ Locations
Burlington, Ia., Davenport, Ia., Des Moines, Ia., Cedar Rapids, Ia., Columbia, Mo., Joplin, Mo., and Springfield, Mo.
- Jonathan Gandolfo – 2-3 Locations
Columbia, Greenville, North Charleston, N.C.
- Keith Kocourek and Jennifer Freiboth – Single Location
Wausau, Wi.
President’s Award
The president’s awards recognize dealership locations included in the top 10% of stores as defined by Byrider’s store ranking system. Winners, in order of performance ranking:
Top store nationwide
- Springfield, Mo. – Russ Larson and Winston Sleeth
- Mansfield, Oh. – Chris McPhie and Greg Barrett
- Des Moines, Ia. – Russ Larson and Jeff Lee
- Joplin, Mo. – Russ Larson and Winston Sleeth
- Davenport, Ia. – Russ Larson and Jeff Lee
- Burlington, Ia. – Russ Larson and Jeff Lee
- Ashtabula, Oh. – Chris McPhie and Greg Barrett
- Akron, Oh. – Chris McPhie, Greg Barrett
- Muncie, In. – Terry Gerhart
- Canton, Oh. – Chris McPhie and Greg Barrett
- Wausau, Wi. – Keith Kocourek and Jennifer Freiboth
- Bloomington, In. – Terry Gerhart
- Springdale, Ar. – Dave Hanson
- Evansville, In. – Terry Gerhart
- Cedar Rapids, Ia. – Russ Larson and Jeff Lee
Most Improved
The most improved award was granted to stores that demonstrated the most improvement from 2022 to 2023 based on store rankings (earnings, customer advancement, service comebacks, reputation management, portfolio performance, etc.), organized by franchise size.
Most Improved – Single Point
Springdale, Ar. – Dave Hanson
Most Improved – 2-3 Locations
Panama City, Jacksonville, Pinellas Park, Fl. – Jim Kagiliery and Jim Thompson
Most Improved – 4+ Locations
East Dundee, Glendale Heights, Joliet, South Holland, IL – Mike Burgstone
Top Store in Customer Satisfaction Award
Panama City, Fl. – The Locklear Group
Advancement Award
This is a new award for 2023’s convention, recognizing the store that saw the most per capita contract completions over the year, which highlights the dealership’s commitment to Byrider’s purpose of advancing customers through the program.
Springfield, Mo. – Russ Larson and Winston Sleeth