2025 TDOY Nominee

Matt Einspahr is one of a select group of 49 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 108^th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 25, 2025.

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. The award recognizes the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Einspahr was chosen to represent the South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition — one of only 49 auto dealers nominated for the 56^th annual award from more than 20,000 nationwide.

“Helping our team members succeed and making a difference in the community are the most rewarding parts of my career,” nominee Einspahr said. “We consider our employees to be family and treat every person on the team as an equal. This philosophy has helped us build longevity among our staff in an industry with a generally high percentage of turnover.”

Einspahr, who graduated from Brookings High School in 1987, spent much of his childhood at the Ford dealership founded by his father, Ronald, in 1969.

“I would walk to the dealership after school every day and hang out with my dad,” he said. “I would say hello to everyone who came in and usually help the ‘recon guys’ clean vehicles.”

During his high school years, the dealership moved to its current location and Einspahr worked part-time doing odd jobs. When he started selling cars while in college, he was “hooked” and knew he wanted to carve out his career in the retail auto business.

He then became a full-time salesperson and attended the NADA Academy to prepare for greater responsibilities. More franchises were added over the years and the dealership was renamed Einspahr Auto Plaza, which today represents Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jeep, Lincoln, and Ram.

Einspahr took on more and more leadership roles before he was named general manager in 2001. His father passed away in 2023, but Einspahr and his mother, Jon Anne, have continued his legacy. And now Einspahr’s daughter Claire currently works part-time at the dealership while attending college and is poised to be the next generation to enter the family enterprise.

“I owe a lot of credit to where I am today to my parents and the way that they raised me,” he said. “From an early age, they put me into social situations which helped me learn to communicate well with others.”

Einspahr is also thankful to his father who created a family-oriented culture at the dealership that continues to thrive today. There’s even a canine ambassador named Henry (after Henry Ford, of course) on-site to greet customers.

“My father believed that if we took good care of the people on our team, then they would take care of everything else,” he said. “And that has proved to be true.”

An active member of the South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association, Einspahr has served on the group’s board of directors for 12 years. He also participates in his local NADA 20 Group.

“These trade associations are a great way to network with other dealers, learn from their experiences, and refine leadership skills,” he said. “I believe it is also important to be an advocate for our industry and for our employees.”

In the area of community service, Einspahr is most proud of his work for the South Dakota Golf Association (SDGA) Junior Golf Foundation, for which he served on the board from 2006 to 2019. The group promotes junior golf, provides scholarships to young golfers, and oversees a junior golf tour. Einspahr was instrumental in bringing First Tee, a youth development organization that empowers children through golf, to South Dakota.

“By integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum, First Tee helps build inner self- confidence and resilience,” he said. “During my last four years on the board, we were able to reach more than 28,000 South Dakota kids annually through First Tee programming at member chapters.”

Another group Einspahr supports is the Boys & Girls Club of Brookings, which is part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northern Plains. For the past 15 years, Einspahr Auto Plaza has donated a new truck for the organization’s annual fundraising raffle.

“This group’s admirable mission to inspire and enable young people to reach their full potential aligns with our dealership’s philanthropic objectives,” he said. “We focus our charitable giving on organizations that provide education and essential services to the most vulnerable in our community.”

Einspahr was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Christine Vinatieri-Erickson, president of the South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association. Einspahr and his wife, Amy, have two children.