Pub. 1 2019-20 Issue 1

http://wvcar.com 8 WVADA How did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? I had two grandfathers: one was an FBI agent and congress- man, and the other was a car dealer. When I was younger, I wanted to be an FBI agent, but ended up following in the foot- steps of the car dealer, and I absolutely love the business. I can’t imagine doing anything different. My grandfather’s story is the proverbial American dream. My grandfather, Harold Douglas “Dutch” Miller was born on a dirt floor in Kentucky. His mom died, and when he was 4, his dad remarried and his new stepmom literally gave him away. He was raised by his older sister. Without much education, he en- listed in the Marines, and he trained his way to becoming a fighter pilot. He was part of the Black Sheep Squadron, which is famous to this day, and is the subject of many Hollywood movies and a couple of TV series. Dutch served in WWII and in the Korean War. After he left the military, he got a job at Roger Dean Chevrolet, and worked his way up to GM. In 1965, Roger Dean wanted to open a dealer- ship in Florida, which Chevrolet agreed to provided he sell his WV store to Dutch. Roger Dean Chevrolet became Dutch Miller Chevrolet and our family was in the car business. Dutch was a natural born salesman. Everybody liked him. He was, in local terms, a “cat bird.” He was just a good guy, and I am very proud to carry on his legacy in our dealerships. We started with one store and now we have six. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, it’s a given that you work to get what you want. I was 10 years old and told my dad I wanted a pair of air Jordan shoes. When he found out they cost $125 he told me to get a job. So I got a paper route. I’ve had a job ever since. And I bought those shoes too. But I learned a ton from that first job. It taught me so much about people. You’d be surprised who will stiff a 10-year- old kid for their monthly paper subscription bill. Delivering the paper is one thing, but learning the art of collecting payment is en- tirely different. As I got older, I spent more time working in the dealership. The family business was a great place for me to earn money so I had some autonomy in college. Right after I graduated I worked for a year or so at Midwestern Auto Group. In 2003, my dad called me and asked if I wanted to come home and run the Chevrolet Hyundai used car department. I did, and have been working with in the business ever since. Do you have family members in the auto industry? My dad, Matt Miller, and my brother, Sam Miller. Describe your education background. What did you study? I studied Economics at Dennison University in Granville, Ohio. I graduated magna cume laude in 2002. But nothing in my educational background has been as valu- able as running our Kia store in Barboursville during the 2008-2009 recession. Our Kia store was losing money and I convinced my dad to let me work at turning it around. The recession was probably not the best time to test my abilities, but, we pulled it off – that’s how I got ownership, actually. I learned to “manage to cash,” keeping things lean, turning in- ventory and deals quickly, and fine tuning our sales approach because we couldn’t lose any customer, ever. Those days were tough, but I learned so much. Chris Miller Get to Know Incoming Chair