Business View Magazine | Volume 9, Issue 2

75 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 2 HUBERT VESTER AUTO GROUP then expanding, focusing, and building on it is another thing altogether. We want to create a culture that gives customers a reason to come back and buy a second or a fourteenth car from us.” Although having a positive culture supports organic growth, the company must also contend with market factors like the current skilled labor shortage affecting the auto dealership industry. According to an industry report by TechForce Foundation, the industry will be short by approximately 642,000 technicians (automotive, diesel, and collision) over the next five years. While these numbers paint a bleak picture for the industry, Hubert Vester is taking an unconventional approach to dealing with this issue – community involvement. “We’ve got good relationships with the local community colleges,” says Vester. “I personally go and speak at high schools with automotive tech programs, and I start recruiting people for the business when they’re in ninth and tenth grade. I tell them that if they want job security, an automotive technician will always have a job and they make excellent incomes.” Besides speaking with students at the local community colleges and high schools, Vester and the company are also deeply involved in other community efforts. He shares, “Some of the initiatives we have are ‘Teacher of the Year for Wilson County’ that has been running for 15 years, where we give the winner a car to drive for the year. We are also involved in purchasing school backpacks for underprivileged kids, and last year we did around 800 backpacks. Another initiative we participate in is called ‘Wilson PALS’ in partnership with local law enforcement. The PALS focus is connecting law enforcement with local children through athletic camps.” The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the