Page 52 - BusinessWest February 20, 2023

“When people ask me where I live,
I say I live in Holyoke — I just sleep somewhere else.”
Gary Rome, Eastern Region board member for Hyundai Hope on Wheels, Hyundai’s philanthropic initiative to
raise funds for research for childhood cancer, presents a $300,000 check to Massachusetts General Hospital last fall.
Western Mass. Hyundai dealers, an honor called Salute to Heroes, among many other initiatives. The latest such hero, who received a new Hyundai in gratitude for his work in the community, is Bob Charland, a/k/a the Bike Man, who was
named a Difference Maker himself in 2018.
With the latter, Rome’s operating philosophy is perhaps best summed up in the company’s core values — excellence, passion, integrity, caring, and especially the last one, ‘we have fun.’
This is made clear by
the monthly calendar for
the business, printed out
for all employees. It lists birthdays and anniversaries of employment, but also regular raffles staged at the dealership, which coincide with ‘holidays’ such as
(in January) ‘Time to get Organized Day’ and ‘National Cuddle Up Day,’ as well as ‘National Peanut Butter and Jelly Lunch Day,’ for which the company provided peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to Providence Ministries — and
to employees as well.
That philosophy is also represented in monthly newsletters
that profile specific employees in a ‘Get to Know’ section, spotlight employees of the month (and employees of the year in the December issue), as well as collections of photos involving events and company involvement in the community. The December issue included shots from the Mayflower Marathon (Gary Rome Hyundai was a presenting sponsor), Gary and Daisy (another spokesdog) at a Springfield Thunderbirds sponsor- appreciation day, and a Gary Rome Auto Group employee- appreciation party at the Castle of Knights in Chicopee.
52 FEBRUARY 20, 2023
BusinessWest