Craig Young of Canton Nominated for National 'Truck Dealer of the Year'
Craig Young, president of Young Truck Sales, Inc., in Canton, Ohio, was nominated for Truck Dealer of the Year, a national award sponsored jointly by the American Truck Dealers (ATD) and Heavy Duty Trucking magazine. The winner will be announced at the 48th annual ATD Convention and Expo in Phoenix on April 16.
Building the Business
Young began his career in truck retailing in 1979 as the warranty manager at the dealership his grandfather, father and uncle started in 1954. Over the years, after taking on a variety of roles, including service manager, body shop manager, parts manager and credit manager, Young became president in 1996.
The dealership now sells Freightliner, Isuzu and Volvo trucks and parts at two locations in Canton. Young also operates a separate body shop, a real-estate firm and a leasing and fleet-management business. Young attributes much of the dealership's success to its focus on parts and service sales, which now account for more than 70 percent of its total sales.
"Our philosophy is to do what it takes to make our customers successful," says Young. "What helps our customers achieve success is reducing their costs and getting them back on the road as quickly as possible."
The dealership created an online parts sales program for fleet managers and expanded its hours of operation to accommodate more service appointments. It also instituted a flat commission for each truck sold, giving its sales staff a larger role in account management, Young says.
"In many respects, the best measure of a company's performance is the success of its employees, customers and how the company supports the community," says Young. "We strive to be a positive contributor to all."
Honors, Awards, and Service to the Industry
Under Young's leadership, the dealership has earned several industry awards, including Freightliner's Aspire Summit Award in 2005-2007 and the Canton Chamber of Commerce's SCOPE Award. Young was also a nominee for the ATD/Heavy Duty Trucking Truck Dealer of the Year in 2003.
Young has served as president of the Ohio Truck Dealers, a division of the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association, and has been a Freightliner dealer council member since 2002. He is also vice president of the Stark County Auto Dealers Association.
Community Service
Young and his wife Kimberly live in Massillon, Ohio, and support several local charities, including the Rotary Club of Canton, Junior Achievement, Habitat for Humanity of Stark/Carroll County and Refuge of Hope, a shelter for homeless men. But Young says his most important community contribution was made through the Youth Exchange program sponsored by his Rotary club.
As chairman of the Youth Exchange program, Young has counseled students and their host families, helping them enroll in school and transporting students back and forth to meetings. His family has also hosted six exchange students, an experience Young says helped his children learn to appreciate other cultures and realize how fortunate they are to live in the United States.
The Award
Nominees for the ATD/Heavy Duty Trucking Truck Dealer of the Year are evaluated based on several categories, including dealership performance, civic contributions and industry leadership. The winner and runner-up will be chosen by a panel of professors from indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
About the ATD Convention
The nation's commercial truck dealers will convene at the ATD convention, which runs April 15-18 at the Phoenix Convention Center. In addition to honoring the Truck Dealer of the Year, the winners of ATD Commercial Truck of the Year for new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in the United States will be announced April 17 at the convention.
Keynote speakers include ATD Chairman Kyle Treadway, Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Association, and Donald Broughton, senior research analyst and managing director at Avondale Partners LLC. Top political and election analyst Charlie Cook will headline the first-ever Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Day on April 18. Dealers will also have an opportunity to meet face-to-face with their manufacturer executives at 12 franchise meetings and with suppliers on the expo floor. More than a dozen workshop sessions will be offered for dealers and their managers to learn ways to improve their business operations. For a detailed schedule or to register, visit www.ATDconventionandexpo.org.
About ATD
Founded in 1970, the ATD division of the National Automobile Dealers Association is the only national organization representing dealers selling and servicing new medium- and heavy-duty trucks. For more information, visit www.ATD.org.