Page 56 - BusinessWest February 20, 2023

Gary Rome presents the keys to a new car to a graduating senior at Holyoke High School, one of many initiatives to support education and area young people.
than $15,000 has been raised to date.
As with the $10,000 check coming his way from being Dealer of the
Year, Rome said decisions about community involvement and where to put time, effort, imagination, and money are made as a team.
“We try to find charities that are near and dear to our employees’ hearts because we want them to be invested, and we want to them to participate,” he explained, adding that this strategy, which includes a special emphasis on Holyoke, where the company is a large corporate citizen, has proven itself very effective over the years.
Within the city, he’s on Mayor Joshua Garcia’s transition team, he’s a member of the Holyoke Taxpayers’ Assoc., and he’s on the governmental affairs committee for the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, among many other forms of involvement.
“When people ask me where I live, I say I live in Holyoke — I just sleep somewhere else,” he explained.
It’s Been Quite a Ride
Rome said his father had a few favorite sayings and words to live by. There are a few that he lives by and will recite quite often.
“He always said that your education is something that no one can take away from you,” he noted, adding that this sentiment helps explain his heavy involvement in education, be it at HCC, the Holyoke public schools, or other initiatives.
“He also used to say, ‘it doesn’t cost any extra to be nice,’ and he would say it over and over and over again,” Rome went on, adding that this is a mindset he has bought to work, and to the community, every day.
“For 61 years, I heard, ‘Gary, it doesn’t cost any extra to be nice,’” he said. “And that’s why I have an excessively positive outlook on things. If you tell me there’s a 70% chance of rain, I don’t even hear you; I just
hear there’s a 30% chance of sun.”
That outlook on life, work, and community explains not only why
Rome is TIME’s Dealer of the Year for 2023, but why he’s always been a Difference Maker. BW
Congratulations!
Gary Rome
President and CEO, Gary Rome Auto Group
and all the Difference Makers!
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56 FEBRUARY 20, 2023
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