Building a Legacy
In 1973, at the age of eighteen, Dave Edwards started selling cars at McIntyre Oldsmobile Cadillac. The owner, Bob McIntyre, saw a spark in young Dave and knew that he wanted to train him for success in the automotive industry. On Dave's first day of selling cars, he called everyone he knew and told them to come down and see him. He sold his first car that day to a family friend who was a fire fighter. "I thought this is kind of fun… I think I will stick it out, "said Dave Edwards. Dave worked many different management positions at the dealership and in 1982 was made partner of Lake Manawa Datsun, which is now known as Edwards Nissan. Dave knew from a young age that the keys to success were to treat others with respect, honesty and fairness- principles that continue to guide the Edwards Auto Group to this day.
Founded 34 years ago, today the Edwards Auto Group is a family business with Dave's two sons, Brett and Todd as partners. Troy Ratigan is also a partner and is the Vice President of the group. Edwards Auto Group has grown to 9 car franchises, 8 powersport franchises, 7 dealership locations and over 400 employees. They have now expanded into Bellevue, Nebraska and Storm Lake, Iowa. "We give credit to our 400 employees for helping us achieve the Mark of Excellence year after year.", said Brett Edwards.
One asset that makes Edwards Auto Group different than other dealers, is that they can offer their employees opportunities within the group to get promoted quickly. Some positions can take years for an employee to gain proper recognition to be promoted. At Edwards they are able to see the potential much quicker, which allows for the employee to be given an opportunity to further their career.
