2025 TDOY Nominee

Trudy Moody 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. Moody was chosen to represent the Mississippi 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.

“Creating an excellent work environment and offering the highest quality benefits to our team is the most rewarding aspect of my retail automotive career,” nominee Moody said. “I strive to be the kind of leader that supports employees and values their work-life balance, and our staff longevity is a testament to that commitment.”

A 1992 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, Moody is a second-generation car dealer. Her father, Dennis Higginbotham, founded his first store in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, in 1976.

“I was raised in our dealerships, answering the telephone, delivering parts, working as a porter, and writing service statements,” she said.

After college, Moody attended the NADA Academy to prepare for bigger roles in the family auto group. She was named finance manager. When her father purchased a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Daytona Beach, Florida, she took the helm as general manager.

“My father has always wanted me to be his partner and had great confidence in me, giving me important responsibilities in our company, providing training, and holding me accountable for results,” she said. “I have also enjoyed working with my brother, Wallis, to build our family business.”

After she spent five years running the Daytona Beach dealership, Moody’s father sold his auto group to Sonic Automotive. After the sale she stayed on as general manager for three years. Then in 2001, she and her dad stepped back into business ownership and purchased Mercedes-Benz of Jackson, which she runs as dealer principal.

Today, Higginbotham Automobiles also encompasses Mercedes-Benz of Collierville in Collierville, Tennessee, and Tidelands Ford in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

“We have been a Mercedes-Benz dealer since 1994 and understand the brand very well,” Moody said. “We also have many employees who have been with us for a very long time and provide the utmost in customer care to our discerning clients.”

Moody is an active and committed member of the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association. She has recently served as the board’s chair, chair-elect, and secretary/treasurer, as well as a board member for five years.

“Our association has become one of the most powerful and influential lobbying groups at the Mississippi State Capitol,” she said. “During my tenure, I helped successfully push for legislation that protects dealerships from unfair competition from manufacturers. I was also proud to organize and involve our young NextGen dealers in the important work of our state association.”

In the area of community service, Moody supports and sponsors a variety of fundraisers, school programs, and nonprofits. Her most significant partnership is with the Batson Children’s Hospital at the University of Mississippi, where she is also a member of the Friends of Children’s Hospital.

“This hospital does phenomenal work, and we are so proud to support their many fundraising events and campaigns,” she said. “We are very lucky to have this world-class facility in Jackson and it touches every citizen's life in our state in a very meaningful way.”

Other groups she supports include the St. Andrews Episcopal School where she’s on the board of trustees, Madison County Business League & Foundation, the Salvation Army, Webster Animal Shelter, Little Light House Central Mississippi which serves children with special needs), Magnolia Speech School, and many others.

Moody was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Marty Milstead, president of the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association. Moody and her husband, Ed, have three children.