Automotive News - October 16, 2017 - Supplement - S9

OCTOBER 16, 2017 | 9
P R E M I E R A U T O M O T I V E G R O U P, N E W O R L E A N S

Dealership: 'Joy in giving back'
Louisiana group
emphasizes charitable
work at every location
Printed in Automotive News Jan. 16, 2017

Laurence Iliff
liliff@crain.com

hen Hurricane Katrina tore
through New Orleans in 2005
and left three of Troy Duhon's
car dealerships completely under water, it changed the way he did business.
Not just by prompting him to expand and
diversify beyond New Orleans but also by
motivating him to bring charity work into every location.
Duhon now has 22 dealerships as the owner of Premier Automotive Group and is the
co-founder of Giving
Premier Automotive Group general managers and partners visit from around the country.
Hope NOLA, which runs
that I'm getting a lot of joy in giving back."
the Food Pantry of New
Giving Hope has attracted attention from
Orleans from one of the
others in the industry who want to help.
group's older buildings. It
LED lighting company Revolux, for examgives boxed food to local
ple, recently donated and agreed to install
families and serves huninterior and exterior lighting at the food
dreds of hot meals a day,
pantry's 10,000-square-foot warehouse and
many of them to the elderat its 2,000-square-foot meal distribution
ly.
Duhon: Work
center.
All of Premier's dealerboosts morale.
"I was extremely moved from what I saw
ships from California to
from the poverty, from the people who relied
Indiana offer every employee one paid day a
Toyota of New Orleans staffers and
on the food to get by on a daily basis," Revyear - they're called "hope days" - to parvolunteers prepare hot meals.
olux CEO Tom Grieco said in an interticipate in the nonprofit organization
That sparked the "profit for a purpose" proview. The lighting donation is worth
of their choice, said Ben Comer,
gram to donate $25 from each car sold, which
around $40,000.
executive director of the Giving
Post-Katrina
grew into Giving Hope in 2013. It was foundComer, the charity's director,
Hope foundation, who met
relief efforts
ed by Duhon and his wife, Tracy.
said it grew from a simple effort
Duhon at church.
inspire a broader
The charity uses the warehouse near Preto help out local residents during
The group's dealerships give
commitment to
mier's headquarters to store food donations,
the devastation caused by Hurri$25 to Giving Hope for every
charitable work.
and a kitchen has been set up at a former Mitcane Katrina in 2005.
car sold. "Hope coordinators"
subishi dealership to prepare hot meals.
With three of Premier's stores
at each dealership also help emThe food center now serves 750 to 800 hot
completely under water, totaling the
ployees find the charities that best
meals a day, with around 550 being delivered
vehicles, the company set up a distribufit their goals to help others.
to seniors on low, fixed incomes.
tion center for donated goods at the Honda
For employees in New Orleans, the food
The food bank delivers a carton of food a
dealership that had not fared as badly.
pantry, near Duhon's original store, Toyota of
month to hundreds of families and has partAbout a thousand cars a day showed up
New Orleans, offers a chance to get to know
nered with grocery stores to receive surplus
with people needing food, basic home supsome of the people the charity is serving.
food and supplies, Comer said.
plies, pet food and vaccinations.
"They get to help cook the food, deliver the
As the charity has grown, so have its fund"Troy saw his employees who also had
food and eat with the people," Duhon told
raising efforts.
their homes destroyed but were standing
Automotive News. "It gives them a purpose.
A fall gala attended by 1,000 people brought
there serving by his side along with his
It's not just about selling cars."
in about half a million dollars, and Premier's
church friends, and he decided, 'Man, I got
The charity work boosts employee morale at
vendors have also chipped in to help the
to make sure we keep doing this,'" Comer
all of Premier's dealerships, Duhon said. "It's
cause. a
said.
been a long haul, but I know as my life goes on

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