Congratulations John Patterson
To our employees, our friends, and our fellow community members, it has just been confirmed that John Patterson is a semi-finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® 2011 Award, Orange County Region.   According to Ernst & Young LLP, the awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

John will be facing not just incredible competition from other semi-finalists in Orange County, but several hours of interviews by a very prestigious team of 11 judges.   The first step in John’s interview process is a one-on-one meeting with an executive from Ernst & Young, during a visit at one of our dealerships.  That visit should occur within the next week.

In the 25 years the world’s most prestigious business award has been in existence, and in the Orange County Region, a car dealer has never been in this competition.

In my conversation with JP recently, ( I needed to get his permission to share this news with you)  he was floored by the recognition of being a semi-finalist.   But in true spirit, his comment to me was, and I quote “Yes, you can share this news, but know that it’s not me, it’s every one of my employees that deserve this recognition.  It’s the inspiration from everyone that drives us.”

I know you’ll join me in offering support and congratulations to JP, who we all know deserves the recognition, and, without a doubt, the best choice to enter an arena that no car dealer, to date, has ever even been considered for.  Being selected as a semi-finalist is a huge accomplishment in itself.  In a few months, we’ll hear who the Orange County winner is.