For his outstanding leadership role in his industry and community, Vincent Sheehy IV, president of Sheehy Auto Stores, has been nominated by WANADA for the 2007 TIME Magazine Quality Dealer of the Year Award (TMQDA). The award will be conferred at the 2007 NADA Convention in Las Vegas.

  “It’s certainly an honor to receive the award some 30 years after my father was honored with the same award. But it’s not about me. It’s really a tribute to all 1200 of our employees who bring our customer-centric philosophy to life every day and contribute to our continued growth,” said Sheehy.

Founded by Vincent Sheehy III in 1965, Sheehy Ford began as a suburban, family-owned car dealership just off the brand new Capital Beltway. Today, Sheehy Auto Stores represents 20 franchises in 17 locations in the Mid-Atlantic region with $900 million in sales on over 30,000 vehicle sales per year.

   A graduate of Dickinson College with an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Sheehy joined the family business in 1987 as a  sales representative at Sheehy Ford in Marlow Heights, Maryland. Over the next decade, he rose to become the dealer principal of three Sheehy stores in the rapidly expanding group, and in 1998 he became president of the Sheehy Auto Stores.

Because of the size and scope of his operation, Sheehy was well aware of the acute shortage of auto technicians when he became WANADA Chairman in 2002. It was under his chairmanship that the association rolled out the first-of-its-kind apprentice training program in the Metropolitan Washington, DC market, which recruits, trains and employs young adults for careers in auto technology. Developed originally with Ford Motor Company, the program is now open to dealers of all brands and has trained and placed over 128 line technicians at area dealerships.

As WANADA Chairman, Sheehy also helped establish AYES-certified pre-apprentice training programs in four major high school systems in the region. The high schools and other pre-apprentice programs supported by Washington area dealers act as proving grounds in identifying youngsters with  the requisite aptitude and ambition to become technicians through WANADA’s Automobile Dealer Education Institute.

     For his consistently active involvement in educational programs, and his role as a change-agent for his industry in automotive technical training, WANADA nominated Sheehy for the Northwood University Dealer Education Award in 2005.

  Sheehy holds a host of professional and academic honors, including Nissan Circle of Excellence Dealer, Blue Oval Dealer (5 Locations), Elite of Lexus Dealer, and Ford President's Circle. He also serves or has served in the leadership of WANADA’s Group Insurance Trust, the Virginia Auto Dealers Association (VADA), the Virginia Motor Vehicle Dealer Board (current vice chairman), Virginia DMV Internet Task Force, Capital Automotive REIT and several automaker dealer advisory boards.

  He is also well aware of a franchised auto dealer’s responsibility to his community. Sheehy has been a major supporter of Catholic high school and elementary school education, including his active involvement with his alma mater, Georgetown Prep and Prep’s sister school, Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, and the Washington Jesuit Academy where Sheehy Auto Stores sponsors scholarships for disadvantaged, inner city youngsters. Sheehy Auto Stores is also a major contributor to the “Race for the Cure” F.B.O. breast research, as well as many other charitable causes, to include Hurricane Katrina victim relief and support for blood cancer research through the WANADA sponsored Bobby Mitchell Classic.

  WANADA salutes Vince Sheehy on the well earned recognition.