Page 53 - BusinessWest February 20, 2023

All this — and it’s just a sample, to be sure — helps explain why Rome is not just Dealer of the Year, but a true Difference Maker.
Model Citizen
Getting back to Jack, he took the title ‘official greeter’ for the Gary Rome Auto Group. That title is still held by Daisy, who has her own business cards and is often sought out by customers (most of whom want photos) as they look over models or come to pick up a vehicle they’ve purchased.
“Some people will say they’re not buying a car until they meet the dog,” Rome said. “When Jack passed away, we put it on social media, and it reached 220,000 people; I received more than 6,000 messages on Facebook, hundreds of cards, letters, flowers, chocolate. We put it on LinkedIn, and it reached almost 60,000 people, and I had almost 2,000 people reach out to me, saying they grew up with Jack, and he was a big part of their life.”
Dogs have been prominent in this business for
years, from their barking heard on radio and TV
commercials to the company’s marketing slogan
— ‘the best doggone place to buy a car’ — and
their presence is seen everywhere, from the dealership itself to all those events highlighted in the newsletters. In fact, in addition to a new car wash being planned for the Hyundai store, there will a dog wash as well.
“Why would you put your dirty dog in a clean car?” he asked rhetorically, not waiting for an answer.
And dogs are just part of an intriguing story that most know by now. It starts with a young Gary working odd jobs at his father Jerry’s Datsun (later Nissan) dealership in Holyoke.
“My involvement with cars started at the age of 9 — I was just enthralled with my father and his business, so I wanted to be around him all the time,” he recalled. “My father would go to work, and I would
Gary Rome Hyundai sold a record 306 cars last August, and to celebrate, the staff was treated to lunch, one example of how the company values its employees.
chase him down the hallway at home to make sure he would take me with him. I was very excited about being there, being around him ... it got into my blood.”
So much so that plans to pursue a law degree were eventually shelved, and he followed his father into the
Rome >> Continued on page 55
The
wants to Congratulate
Gary Rome
on being a 2023 BusinessWest Difference Maker! Your commitment to the community is appreciated by so many!
Congratulations Gary Rome for Being Named 2023 Difference Makers
This recognition is well deserved!
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