Allan Vigil, President/CEO of Allan Vigil Ford Lincoln Mercury, a Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealership in Morrow, Georgia, was honored recently for his nomination for the 2009 TIME Magazine Dealer of the Year award.

Vigil was one of a select group of dealers from across the country honored at the 92nd Annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Exposition in New Orleans. The announcement of this year’s Dealer of the Year and finalists was made by Don Fries, Publisher of TIME Magazine, and Johann Finkelmeier, Vice President and General Manager of Original Equipment Tires, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, at the formal opening of the convention, which is attended by more than 25,000 individuals involved in the automobile industry.

The TIME Magazine Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted awards for new-car dealers. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers, but they must also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to effective community service.

Vigil, 64, was chosen to represent the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition - one of only 49 automobile dealers, from more than 19,500 nationwide, nominated for the 40th annual award. The award is sponsored by TIME Magazine in association with Goodyear, and in cooperation with NADA. A panel of faculty members from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan selects each finalist.

After earning a BA at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Vigil spent three years (1967-70) in the U.S. Army, rising to First Lieutenant, serving in Vietnam, and earning a Bronze Star. Soon after his return from the war, he launched his auto career.

In 1971, Ford hired Vigil as a Field Manager in the Atlanta district sales office. Two years later, Vigil jumped at the chance to get retail experience, joining Handshaker Ford, in Jonesboro, Ga. After serving in different roles, he was reassigned to Riverside Ford, a dealership under the same management, in Macon. In 1982, he returned to Jonesboro to rescue the store where he’d started his sales career and which was now in the red.

“I put together a new management team, stressed taking care of the customer, and emphasized the importance of great service,” said Vigil. “Slowly the business began to recover and became a thriving local business.” In time, Vigil was offered to buy out the owners, a process he completed in 1993; he renamed the dealership Allan Vigil Southlake Ford. In 2001, before moving to his current location, Vigil changed the name to Allan Vigil Ford. And with the addition of the Lincoln Mercury franchise in 2008, Allan Vigil Ford Lincoln Mercury was unveiled.

Today, Vigil’s son, Mike and daughter, Dawn, both work in the family business, which now includes Allan Vigil Ford of Fayetteville.

In addition to his business success, Vigil has been deeply involved in civic, charitable and educational causes for decades. From serving on Chambers of Commerce to supporting local fire departments, law enforcement and youth sports, from backing area health and community organizations to sponsoring golf tournaments for numerous charities, Vigil has extended himself in countless ways.

“My number one focus of community service has always been on education,” said Vigil. “My appointment by the Governor of Georgia to serve on the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has been one of my most meaningful civic duties.”

Nominated for the Time Magazine Dealer Of The Year Award by William F. Morie, President of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association, Vigil lives in McDonough with his wife, Bonnie. The couple has two children, Dawn and Michael, and two grandchildren.

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