Automotive News Canada - October 2023 - 9

* OCTOBER 2023
9
Giving back is a 'privilege,' but also an 'obligation'
SPOTLIGHT
CADA Laureate
says helping P.E.I.
communities also
forges team spirit
By DOUG FIRBY
CALGARY CORRESPONDENT
PETER MACDONALD IS A
goodwill ambassador not only
for his three dealerships on
Prince Edward Island but also
for dealerships across Canada.
MacDonald uses the benefits
he has reaped from 38 years in
business to help friends, customers
and the communities he has
lived in, in countless ways. And,
he says, all dealerships are in a
position to do the same.
" I think we have a unique
industry - we're in almost
every community, large and
small, across the country, "
said MacDonald, who recently
retired as CEO of the three-dealership
MacDonald Automotive
Group. He remains dealer principal.
Bleed:
.125 "
Safety: n/a
his employees in two key ways:
By giving back to the community
and also by fostering
a team spirit
in the workplace.
Fundraising and
volunteering, he
said, " [bring] your
teams together and
strengthens the culture of your
business. A strong, healthy
team culture always promotes
a strong, motivated staff that
have each other's back and that
of the company, going the extra
mile to get the job done. "
Staff at MacDonald
" I don't know if there is another industry that impacts
communities as much as we do, " said Peter MacDonald, who
recently retired as CEO of the three-dealership MacDonald
Automotive Group in Prince Edward Island. SUPPLIED PHOTO
Scotiabank Lighthouse, 100 Yonge St., 5th
A GROUP EFFORT
" I don't know if there is
another industry that impacts
communities as much as we do. "
Philanthropy is a great goodwill-builder,
which MacDonald
believes pays off in customer
loyalty.
" My father used to say you get
more out of a $200 donation [to
a charity] than a $200 ad in the
paper. "
Yet profit is not the motive
for giving time and money,
MacDonald said. Instead, any
successful entrepreneur needs
to donate generously.
" It's a privilege to do this,
but it's also an obligation. "
Floor, Toronto ON, M5C 2W1
File: 3023008-Automotive JD Power award ad_10.437x7.377-E Workfront#: 3023008
Trim: 10.437 " x 7.377 " Colours: CMYK + PMS 186 +
MacDonald's lifelong contributions
earned him the
Canadian Automobile Dealers
Association's 2023 CADA
Laureate for Ambassadorship,
but he said such an honour
would not be possible without
the support of his team.
" When you get awards like
this, it's not really an individual
award, " he said.
MacDonald's philanthropy
has had a profound impact on
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Deadline: June 28, 2023
Designer: JR
Automotive Group have done
everything from raising money
through payroll deductions to
holding garage sales for hospital
equipment and helping families
in need during Christmas,
he said. And the company
matches the money raised.
BROAD IMPACT
Prod: JR
" I hope my philanthropy
has inspired these actions, "
MacDonald said. " I know that
they have inspired me as well.
Many [staff] functions to raise
money have been held on weekends
and after hours. "
Gwen Gareau, senior
vice-president of CADA's
Laureate award sponsor,
iA Dealer Services, said
MacDonald's longtime commitBEST
PRACTICES
leader and philanthropist, "
Gareau said.
MacDonald's three dealerships
- the only Ford
or Ford-Lincoln stores in
P.E.I. - are Fair Isle FordLincoln
in Charlottetown,
D Alex MacDonald Ford in
Summerside, about 60 kilometres
west, and Fair Isle Ford in
Montague, about 45 kilometres
east of Charlottetown.
The group is unrelated to the
similarly named MacDonald
Auto Group based in Sydney,
N.S.
Combined, the three dealerships
have about 100 employees
and sell 800 new and 600 used
vehicles a year in Canada's
smallest province, which has a
population of 173,000.
MacDonald grew up the fifth
child in a family of 11 children.
His father, D. Alex MacDonald,
received the Ford franchise for
Summerside in 1961.
SEE MACDONALD PAGE 51
ment to his province made him
a standout.
" Communities
across P.E.I., and
the entire retail auto
industry, have benefitted
greatly from
Peter's contributions
as a volunteer, team
Thank you,
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Automotive News Canada - October 2023

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