Friday, April 26, 2002
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Friday, April 26, 2002 |
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Dealer's humble beginnings braced him for life By JOYCE
BEVERLY
He may have been a school teacher. When Steve Mader graduated from Pennsylvania's Edinboro University in 1972, though, full-time teaching jobs were hard to find. He worked as a substitute high school economics teacher and said in a recent interview that if he had been hired permanently, he would probably be an educator today. Mader's journey, however, brought him to Atlanta, where in 1976, out of work, without a vehicle and about to lose his apartment, he applied for a sales position at Colonial Lincoln Mercury in Buckhead, reasoning that there he may be eligible to drive a demo. He was hired by Bob Hunt, who, instead of giving Mader a car to drive, took him into his family's home and drove him back and forth to work with him for about six weeks. Mader met Hal Phillips at Colonial in 1977. The duo became friends and learned the car business together in Buckhead. Later, they became partners with Eddie Birnbrey and Harry Mazier and chose the south side of Atlanta to establish themselves as automobile dealers. Hence, the name Southtowne. On March 12, 1992, Mader and Phillips opened a Cadillac-Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership on a six-acre lot east of I-85 in Newnan, where two predecessors had already failed. Many of the 28 original employees were resurrected from the ashes of the most recent failure. "We went two weeks without selling anything," Mader said. A little blue pickup, purchased by a guy named "Lucky," was the first car to leave the lot. If Mader could find him today, he'd buy it back. During the rest of that year, Southtowne sold a total of 769 cars and trucks, new and used. In 2001, with more than 90 employees, they sold 2,208. Phillips went on to open Southtowne dealerships in Riverdale and Stone Mountain. In January of this year, Mader and Phillips purchased Mike Patton's Chevrolet, Jeep, Chrysler dealership across the street. The 55 employees there were all given an opportunity to stay on board. A total of 150 people work at the two locations today. "We try to hire someone for as long as they want a job," Mader commented. Forest Smith, who opened Southtowne's service department 10 years ago, has been promoted to service director. Gene Morris runs the dealership's body shop. Other folks who have been with Mader since the beginning include Barry Blum, used car sales manager, Ken Spurling,sales, Richard Prange, sales and Malcom Smith, sales. Mader's impact in Newnan has gone way beyond the car business. He is a member and past president of the Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow. He serves on the board of trustees of Southern Charities, the advisory boards of Wachovia/First Union and Emory Peachtree Regional, the board of directors of Community in Schools and is a member of one of Roy Barnes' new school councils. If you see him during the next few weeks, he'll sell you a chance to win a new car as a fund-raiser for St. George Catholic Church in Newnan, where he is a member. It seems a long way from being a pedestrian, unemployed, and almost homeless, but Mader isn't comfortable with that angle. Many people in their 20s find themselves on the edge at one point or another, he said. Not all of them end up a partner in two large car dealerships, however. In getting there, he said, two four-letter words come in to play. "Hard" and "work." "Well, maybe three," Mader added. "Luck." "I was fortunate enough to build a relationship with Hal Phillips," Mader said. "We learned the business together and we were able to pick our shot."
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