F E A T U R E
O  
ac Kaur N A
Chairman
 4 . At~. ..  ,¤*‘  . .
./ack Kain ’51 AS operates automobile     Jeep store in Williamsburg. As we
dealerships in Kentucky. Active in state and   i   -i i- _f,,...·»- »~·· -·~ ·~*‘ got these new stores up and run-
natiortal dealer association activities for most   Il I/,-»···°‘ ning we’d get offers and I sold all
ofhis career; Kain is the chairman ofthe ** _   / , but the Versailles and London
National Automobile Dealers Association   I fl stores.
tltrougltorrt2005. Its been-his job tolcarry   Is the Kain Operation a
the toreh for auto dealers regarding issues   _ _ _?
l filfflllg [lll? lIl(ll.lSI}'y (HH] its Cll.S`lOI7'lCf'.S'. D€[ll€I' T   ° faintly business"
l magazine posed these questions to him in i   Yes it ig, My daughter,Vickie
I January 2005.   f Fister, is my personal secretary and
~   _ ‘ handles my travel arrangements.
{ HOW did you get started in the auto ·   ‘ illailgggglio it/?;;‘;"1;‘§‘:‘i;i)SL?r“l§@;i
retail business, Jack?   manager and my arm Bill is a sales-
My dad was a dairy farmer but I wanted to man here. My son Bob is president
get away f`rom that line of work. I started of Jack Kain Ford in Versailles and my son Steve is president of the
selling cars for a Hudson dealer in college. Kain Family Ford/Lincoln—Mercury in London. My children own 49
During college I was in ROTC and after percent of the business and I own the remainder and I am the chair-
graduating with a degree in business I went man.
into the Air Force in 1951. I was a second · -;
lieutenant in the Weather Services, stationed W/what ls your com Strength _ _
in Alaska I new in a B_29 over Russia and I’ve always had a knack for sell1ng...for convincing the customer that
the Bering Strait Collecting data_ he or she would get a good deal here. I spoke directly to our customers
when I got out of the serviee in 1953 I and always looked them in the eyes. I demand that all employees do
Went to Work for a Frankfort DeSoto_I>ly_ the same. I want everyone who comes across the curb to be treated as
mouth dealership my dad had purchased an honored guest, and I won’t accept anything less. Our mission state-
from an unele who had had trouble making ment says it best: "Treat every visitor to our dealerships as an honored
a go oi it_ I was 24l A mile on one side of me guest in our home; everyday, every time, without fail, and absolutely no
was a Chrysler-Plymouth store and a half a CXCSPUOII
mile 00 lh€ 0_il*h€F $¤d€ WM it i)0dS€·PlY· Y0u’ve spent a lot of time with dealers in 2004 as NADA’s I
l mouth store. ose stores killed one another vice chain What did you [cam?
I oil. I acquired those dealers inventories and _
bccuneic a I>Iyniouth_I)odge_I)egoto_ It only reaffirmed what I’ve known all along: Dealers are some of the
Qhrysier dealer- I also was the Imperial dis, finest people and corporate citizens you’ll find in America today. They
tributor for about a third ot I(entuoIty_ In seldom get the credit they deserve and their image sometimes pays an
loot) Irord zipproachcd nie about a dealer. unfair pr1ce.The truth is that dealers have a long history of serving  
l ship that was going out of business. I noticed their Communities b€YO“d the $hOWYO9m· l
l more Folids on the rloaddthan Chlryier prod- Anytiinal comments? ,
mls io C (mgmg to Or Scbmc I 6 a WISE I feel totall blessed that I ot into this industr . It’s been so ood for  
move. Y . g . . Y g
_ me for so long. I have nine children; six sons and three daughters and I
I How dtd you gl‘0w from there? six of them derive some or all of their income from the car industry.
I sold that Frankfort Irord dealership in ]Q79 We’re blessed to be in an industry that is constantly changing.The pas-
and bought the Izord store in Versailles- In sion I have for this business seems to grow throughout the years. Folks
. I ·o2 I boueht a I:ord/I_ineoIn_I\/Iereury store tell me they don’tbu1ld cars like they used to.Thank God they don’t.
in Londtjdtl I(y__ about an hour away Shortly The quality of today’s car is unmatched. And the professional service
thereafter I put in a stand_alone Nissan provided by new-car dealers continues to improve. We still have much
store_ which I just Soldl In on I bcught a work to do. but I see a future for the industry that keeps getting better.
Chevrolet store and a Chrysler six—pack and  
Excerpt reprinted with permission from the January 2005 issue of Dea/er
magazine.
16 KENTUCKY ALUMNI