“From my first day in the automobile business, I knew I wanted to be a dealer.”
Meet the 2012 Nominee
Steve Middlebrooks
President
Heyward Allen Toyota
Athens, Georgia
“From my first day in the automobile business, I knew I wanted to be a dealer,” says nominee Middlebrooks. “Working 39 years with the same organization has been exciting, rewarding and fulfilling.”
Middlebrooks was born and raised in Warwick, Georgia, and worked his way through college as a retail sales representative. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1973 with cum laude honors. In his senior year, B. Heyward Allen, Sr. hired him to establish a Finance & Insurance department at Heyward Allen Motor Company. “As the young, energetic new kid, I would welcome additional duties and responsibilities,” Middlebrooks adds, “which lead to my promotion as general sales manager within four years.”
The business expanded in 1991 to include the present Toyota franchise and in 1999, he bought a 49% interest in both dealerships and became the dealer and president, managing day-to-day operations. His son Wesley, also a University of Georgia graduate, has worked at the Heyward Allen Motor Company dealership since age 16 and is now the general manager. “We measure our growth in sales, profit and growing our overall customer database – with a strong emphasis on employee and customer satisfaction,” says Middlebrooks. The dealership has been named Best Automotive Dealership by the Athens Banner Herald in eight of the past nine years.
In the area of community service, Middlebrooks finds it most rewarding to invest in the youth of his community. In the 2006/2007 school year Heyward Allen contributed $1,000 to the public, private and Christian schools in Clarke and Oconee counties totaling $31,000. He’s also proud to donate truck loads of toys to the underprivileged, spearhead food drives for the needy and raise funds for homeless families.
In January 2012, Middlebrooks will be one of the three honorees at the 13th Annual Athens American Values Program, receiving the Billy Hudson Distinguished Citizen Award as "one of Athens finest community citizens." He is currently on the University of Georgia Fellowship of Christian Athletes Chaplaincy Board and serving as chairman of counsel on ministries at Young Harris Memorial United Methodist Church.