2025 TDOY Nominee

Roger Scholfield 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. Scholfield was chosen to represent the Kansas 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.

“My success stems from cultivating a business culture focused on continuous improvement, transparency, and making each day an ‘unbelievable’ experience for both our associates and guests,” nominee Scholfield said.

Scholfield’s road to the automotive industry had its share of twists and turns. He calls the journey his “odyssey,” to pay homage to one of the vehicles in Honda’s lineup. After working at a local CBS affiliate and an ad agency, he trepidatiously took a position at the car dealership owned by his father, Vic.

This wasn’t his first job in the industry. He remembers watching his father and uncle transform their original Oldsmobile-Pontiac franchise in Augusta, Kansas, into a top performer. Following their success, General Motors asked them to move their operation to Wichita.

“I turned 14 in 1971, and that’s when my father informed me that I would be driving to Wichita with him every morning in the summer to work at the dealership,” Scholfield said. “Needless to say, I was not thrilled as my friends were staying behind, hanging out at the local pool, and goofing off. Only years later did I come to understand my father's wisdom in instilling a work ethic that none of my peers possessed.”

Over the next four summers, Scholfield toiled at the dealership learning the business from the ground up. “I did all the tough, hot, and dirty jobs,” he said. “I cleaned used cars in 100-degree heat, detailed vehicles, worked on the service drive shuttling cars to the technicians, cleaned out sludge pits in the shop, and helped out in the non-air-conditioned parts department.”

He added, “The retail automotive industry had no allure for me, and I never envisioned myself joining the family business.”

Then in 1986, one of his father’s partners convinced him that his personality was ideal for selling cars. Scholfield joined the dealership and advanced from sales consultant, to managing partner, and eventually president. Today, his son, Andrew James (AJ), is a managing partner and the third generation to lead the family enterprise.

“My journey to where I am now is a result of great mentors, perseverance, and learning to lead — not just manage, but truly lead,” he said. “I also learned from my father the importance of surrounding yourself with people smarter than you. If you're the smartest person in the room all the time, you've assembled the wrong team.”

Scholfield’s stellar team and management style has propelled Scholfield Honda to be named one of the Best Places to Work by the Wichita Business Journal multiple times. Additionally, Scholfield Honda was honored nationally as one of the 100 Best Dealerships to Work For by Automotive News in 2015.

Scholfield also participates in his state and local dealer associations, NADA 20 Group, and served for 12 years on a Honda advisory committee to provide dealer feedback on new products and enhancements.

In the area of community service, Scholfield remembers a lesson he learned when his dad and uncle invited the entire Augusta Little League to their dealership for a barbecue and personally cooked the hot dogs and hamburgers for the players.

“They embraced the community through civic outreach and grassroots engagement,” he said. “That personal touch left a lasting impression on me, and I open the doors of my own dealership to welcome local organizations and nonprofits.”

One such group that he has supported over the years is Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, an organization that helps active military service personnel and veterans through the therapeutic recreation of fly fishing. Scholfield has provided his conference room for the weekly training sessions and has facilitated multiple fly fishing outings.

“These activities offer veterans a therapeutic and engaging experience, fostering camaraderie and healing,” he said. “We are proud to have been pivotal in the growth of the Wichita PHWFF program.”

Another community partner is the Orpheum Theatre, an historic performing arts venue in downtown Wichita.

“We have contributed almost $350,000 to help maintain operations, support programming, and preserve the theatre’s historic charm,” he said.

Scholfield offers paid time off to employees for a community service day each year and organizes a team of employees to assist Habitat for Humanity in building affordable housing. Scholfield and his team of employees also host trunk or treat Halloween events at the dealership.

“I find it very rewarding to give back to this great community that has been so good to me and my family for more than three generations,” he said.

Scholfield was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Don McNeely, president of the Kansas Automobile Dealers Association. Scholfield and his wife, Jacqueline, have two children.