Marlene “Marti” Hollenback Named 2017 Dealer of the Year
Marlene “Marti” Hollenback Named 2017 Dealer of the Year.
Thursday, May 18, 2017 – The late Marlene “Marti” Hollenback (posthumously) received the “Robert P. Mallon Dealer of the Year” award at the Washington State Auto Dealers Association (WSADA) annual convention. Selected by a committee of her peers, the award recognizes Marti’s contributions to the auto industry, quality dealership operations, and outstanding community service.
The selection was made several months before Marti’s untimely death on April 15, 2017, but, in accordance with Association tradition, was kept secret until the annual convention.
A lifetime member of the Spokane community, Marti was born July 6, 1942, at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, Washington. She graduated from Central Valley High School in 1960, and then attended Washington State University for one year. She transferred to Deaconess School of Nursing to pursue her life-long goal of being a Registered Nurse, graduating in 1964.
After a successful career in nursing, Marti joined the family-owned automobile dealership Dishman Dodge at the invitation of her father in 1995. As the general manager, then transitioning to be the owner and dealer principal, she became very active in the Spokane community and various automotive organizations, and served her local community on numerous boards. Marti served on the Board of Directors for WSADA, as a member of the WSADA Executive Committee, and she represented Washington’s franchised new car dealers on the board of directors of the National Automobile Dealers Association from 2005 through 2017.
Marti was the recipient of numerous awards including the 2003 Kiwanis Everyday Hero Award, 2007 NAWBO Business Woman of the Year Finalist, Northwood University’s Automobile Dealer Education Award, Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame in 2009, 2014 Spokane Valley Citizen of the Year, Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, and Spokane Business Catalyst Magazine’s Best Local Business Woman Silver Award, 2006, 2010 & 2013.
“We’ve lost a great friend and mentor,” said WSADA Executive Vice President Vicki Giles Fabré. “Marti was the personification of integrity and reliability. She was an inspiration to individuals inside and outside the car business, and what she taught by example will be her lasting legacy.”
In recognition of all the Marti has done for her community, the Association made a $1,000 contribution in her honor to Hearth Homes. “As a longtime, loyal WSADA member committed to serving her industry, customers, and community, we consider this contribution to be a particularly meaningful way to celebrate Marti’s receipt of the state association’s most prestigious award,” said Don Kellman, Executive Director of the Spokane New Car Dealers Association.
Founded in 1920, WSADA’s 294 dealer members serve 70 cities and towns across Washington and are responsible for annual sales volume totaling $17 billion. Together, they employ over 21,000 people with a combined payroll of more than $1.2 billion. An average dealership creates 70 local jobs, each paying on average over $57,000 per year plus benefits. Their dealership sales total 16.4% of the state’s retail sales, generating hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue for state and local governments through sales, corporate, and payroll tax revenue.
About the Robert P. Mallon Dealer of the Year Award.
The award is named for dealer Robert P. Mallon, former owner of Mallon Ford, Tacoma, who served as WSADA President in 1966/67, is a past President of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), served 30 years as the NADA Director for Washington State, and is founder and Chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation.
The award recognizes the recipient’s contributions to the auto industry, quality dealership operations, and outstanding community service.
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