Below is a press release announcing the nomination of Fred Martin Auto Group President, Adam Huff, as TIME “Dealer of the Year” for 2023, alongside Ally Financial.  Learn about why we feel extremely proud to have him at the helm!

TIME AND ALLY FINANCIAL HONOR NORTON/BARBERTON DEALER

Adam Huff Wins National Recognition for Community Service

and Industry Accomplishments

(New York, NY, October 18, 2022) – The nomination of Adam Huff, president of Fred Martin Auto Group that includes Fred Martin Superstore, a Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Ram dealership in Norton/Barberton, Ohio, Fred Martin Nissan in Green, Ohio, and Hyundai of Louisville for the 2023 TIME Dealer of the Year award was announced today by TIME.

Huff is one of a select group of 48 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 106^th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Dallas, Texas, on January 27, 2023.

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. The award recognizes the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Huff was chosen to represent the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association in the national competition – one of only 48 auto dealers nominated for the 54^th annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide.

“After nearly 40 years in the retail automotive business, I find it rewarding to watch men and women of all ages grow in their careers and find a path to success in our industry,” nominee Huff said.

After 12^th grade at Waterloo High School in Atwater, Ohio, Huff launched his career selling cars at a Chevrolet dealership in Stow, Ohio. After two years, he moved into a management position at Rick Case Honda in Akron, Ohio, and later became general manager of Blossom Motorcars, also in Akron.

“I started in the car business at 18 years old out of a need to feed my young family,” he said. “I instantly loved the business and the possibilities for personal and financial growth it afforded me.”

In 1992, Huff was named operating manager of the Fred Martin Motor Company in Norton/Barberton, where he brought fresh perspectives, built a strong management team and implemented creative marketing strategies. One such initiative is the Fred Martin’s Customer Happiness Guarantee, which offers 15-day returns or exchanges, lifetime limited powertrain warranty on used vehicles and three years of free oil changes.

“We rewrote the automobile marketing handbook in Northern Ohio,” he said.

Huff and his late brother, Duane, acquired the Fred Martin Superstore from the Martin family in 1999 and today, he also owns two other new-car dealerships, including Fred Martin Nissan in Green, Ohio, and Hyundai of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky and two other used car dealerships. His three adult children are now the next generation to enter the family enterprise.

“Duane passed away in early 2018, a great loss to me both personally and professionally,” Huff has said. “With his passing comes a heightened passion for continued success of the businesses we have worked so hard to build.”

Huff has served as president of the Akron Automobile Dealers Association and on the board of the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association. He is also dedicated to his community and has championed organizations and causes in the Akron, Ohio area.

One group that has received generous support from Huff’s dealerships is the Humane Society of Summit County. For more than 25 years, his group has provided the food used by the facility in their effort to care for vulnerable animals. Fred Martin Superstore has also hosted multiple adoption events to find forever homes for pets in need.

In 2019, Huff began a partnership with Norton City Schools in Norton, Ohio, to support the “We Roar. Together” campaign by providing tee-shirts for students that bear the program’s logo.

“This program serves to bring awareness and provide education to address issues related to mental health, overall wellness and anti-bullying at all grade levels,” Huff said. “While there was a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, we just signed up for our third year as the title sponsor.”

Other groups he supports include ACCESS Inc. (homeless shelter in Akron for women and children that provides education, advocacy and empowerment); D.A.R.E. (donated 20 vehicles to local police departments for this drug abuse resistance education program); Akron Children’s Hospital; City of Barberton Summer Concert Series; Toys for Tots; Make-A-Wish; Hyundai Hope on Wheels (funds pediatric cancer research); Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: American Red Cross; and youth sports organizations, to name a few.

“It is a privilege and honor to give back to a community that has treated me and my employees so well,” Huff said.

Dealers are nominated by the executives of state and metro dealer associations around the country. A panel of faculty members from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan will select one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year. Three finalists will receive $5,000 for their favorite charities and the winner will receive $10,000 to give to charity, donated by Ally.

In its 12^th year as exclusive sponsor, Ally also will recognize dealer nominees and their community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice. Nominees will be recognized on AllyDealerHeroes.com, which highlights the philanthropic contributions and achievements of TIME Dealer of the Year nominees.

“For over 50 years, TIME has been committed to recognizing the impact of automotive dealers on their communities with the TIME Dealer of the Year award,” said Edward Felsenthal, editor in chief and CEO, TIME. “We are proud to continue the legacy of honoring these works of service with our partners at Ally.”

Doug Timmerman, president of dealer financial services, Ally, said, “Auto dealers across the country who are nominated for this award each year are committed to not only doing it right and leading in a rapidly changing automotive industry but to strengthening their communities through giving back. The TIME Dealer of the Year program celebrates dealers who are the role models of the retail auto industry for their continuous efforts to lift up and support their employees, customers and communities.”

Huff was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Lou Vitantonio, president of the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association. He and his wife, Robin, have four children.

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About TIME

TIME is the 99-year-old global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100 million around the world through its iconic magazine and digital platforms. With unparalleled access to the world’s most influential people, the trust of consumers and partners globally, and an unrivaled power to convene, TIME’s mission is to tell the essential stories of the people and ideas that shape and improve the world. Today, TIME’s 360° suite of products and platforms for storytelling also includes the Emmy Award®-winning film and television division TIME Studios, a significantly expanded live events business built on the powerful TIME100 and Person of the Year franchises, an industry-leading web3 division, an award-winning branded content studio, the website-building platform TIME Sites and more. 

About Ally Financial

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a digital financial services company committed to its promise to “Do It Right” for its consumer, commercial and corporate customers. Ally is composed of an industry-leading independent auto finance and insurance operation, an award-winning digital direct bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender, which offers mortgage lending, point-of-sale personal lending, and a variety of deposit and other banking products), a corporate finance business for equity sponsors and middle-market companies, and securities brokerage and investment advisory services. Our brand conviction is that we are all better off with an ally, and our focus is on helping our customers achieve their strongest financial well-being, a notion personalized to what is important to them. For more information, please visit www.ally.com and follow @allyfinancial.

For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.

For further images and news on Ally, please visit http://media.ally.com.

About the NADA Show

The annual NADA Show brings together more than 20,000 franchised dealers and their employees, industry leaders, manufacturers and exhibitors to learn about the latest auto industry tools, trends, products and technologies.