Digital Dealer - January 2020 - 25

LIZ: I was always taught that it's the job of a
leader to hire and maintain the highest quality
staff possible. Then, your job is to give those
people the tools they need to succeed and to
remove any obstacles so that they can do the
job to the best of their ability. It's my goal to
bring together and maintain a truly excellent
staff.
DEALER MAGAZINE: I understand
your current executive team is all male
and over 60. How has that been working
out? Any age or gender-related issues?
LIZ: Perhaps age-related, but not in the way
you'd expect. For example, my dad's assistant,
Bonnie Kopcik, has worked with him for forty
years. She's known me since I was a baby. She
put up with me as a teenager. I used to call her
from school when I forgot my lunch or needed
permission for something because I knew she'd
be there to pick up the phone. It's trippy to
think back to those days and then to realize
she's now a colleague that I continue to rely on
to keep us organized.
Likewise, our executive team has been a part
of my family and my life for years. I still sometimes find it strange to be a grownup in the
board room working alongside them. They've
been around for so long that we squabble like
family, but at the end of the day, we know that
we love and respect each other and have the
dealership's best interest at heart.

DEALER MAGAZINE: Do you serve as a
mentor to other women working in retail
automotive?
LIZ: I'm fairly new to this industry and consider myself more of a mentee than a mentor.
That said, I do mentor some of our staff. I also
mentor women in our community. I try to be a
resource where I can.

DEALER MAGAZINE: Let's talk about
your community involvement. Do you
work with any volunteer organizations
or NGOs?
LIZ: Yes. Mostly in the arts, because culture
and art are my passion. I serve on the board
of the Tampa Museum of Art, the Foundation Board of Zoo Tampa and on the advisory
board of the Sarasota Museum of Art. I also

January 2020

serve on the board of a nonprofit called Love
IV Lawrence, which was created in memory of
my brother and is dedicated to changing the
conversation around mental health.

DEALER MAGAZINE: Could you describe your work as a cultural strategist?
LIZ: Sure. As a cultural strategist, I work
with clients to drive economics, conversation, and audience via a cultural strategy. The
arts and culture are big business, and there
is a great benefit in partnering with them to
reinforce or enhance whatever strategy you are
trying to achieve.
I'm currently working on an exciting project
called Fairgrounds in St. Pete, Florida. Fairgrounds will be an immersive art experience.
Basically, you'll buy a ticket to explore and
experience a completely artist-created environment with a loose narrative where you can
choose your own adventure path. Our tag line
is "Art for all. Play for all. Joy for all."

DEALER MAGAZINE: Let's get back
to retail automotive. What do you see
as the biggest opportunities and the
biggest challenges on the horizon for
dealerships?
LIZ: I think the biggest immediate challenge
is to find a way to overcome the lower new-vehicle gross profit numbers. The opportunities
will come from innovating around and adapting to this challenge. One example would be to
tap into currently undermined profit centers
such as accessories and vehicle customization.

DEALER MAGAZINE: Okay. Crystal ball
time. What's ahead for Dimmitt Chevrolet in the next, say, five years?
LIZ: We consistently rank in the top 200 of
Chevy dealers in the United States, and I really
want to be in the top 100. I'm competitive. I
want to be up there. I also want us to capitalize on new products. Chevy has some super
sexy, yet affordable new vehicles, such as the
mid-engine Corvette and the new Blazer. I
want everyone to buy one!

DEALER MAGAZINE: Final question:
What one word or expression best defines you?
LIZ: Direct.

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Digital Dealer - January 2020

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