Jay Mallard has given a countless keys to many satisfied new and used car purchasers over the past two decades. At the end of October, the owner/operator of the Ford Dealership in Jonesboro, LA will pass on keys one final time.
Only this time it won’t be keys that starts a vehicle. Instead, these will be the keys to the dealership that will be presented to the Benoit Auto Group, signifying the start of a new chapter in his life and the end of a glorious era of the longest running car dealership in Jackson Parish history.
“It is time,” said Mallard, who has seen industry that his family has been a part of for nearly half a century go through many changes. “I am looking forward to this next chapter of my life and spending more time with my grandchildren.”
It is a well deserved reward for the man who has been an icon in the Jackson Parish business realm and a benevolent supporter of local civic, school and organizational events since the beginning of the new millennium.
When reflecting on his many years of serving the people of Jackson Parish and the surrounding area, Mallard was quick to thank everyone involved in making his professional career a tremendous success story.
“Words can’t express how thankful I am for the trust and support given by our customers, town and parish officials and for all the friends I have made over the years,” said Mallard. “I hope they all feel I have been a good steward.”
“I also want to thank all the people who have worked with me and have been so instrumental in helping the dealership earn it’s reputation,” continued Mallard. “I hope they all know I appreciate and love each and everyone of them.”
When asked what brought about the timing of the dealership sale, Mallard said it had been on his mind for a while, but that he wasn’t going to sell until he was ensured that it was to the right people and that the conditions were right.
“I have been thinking about this for many months, but I wasn’t going to sell it to just anyone. It was important to me that the new owners would be agreeable to keep on everyone who worked for me if they wanted to stay and that they would stay committed to keeping a dealership in Jonesboro,” said Mallard.
“There were a lot of people and groups to make proposals, including several who offered more money, but that wasn’t the most important thing in my mind,” said Mallard who explained further. “My top priority was being guaranteed that my people would be taken care of and be able to continue their career here in Jonesboro and that the change in ownership would be beneficial to our residents.”
Mallard feels he is leaving the dealership in good shape and in good hands, verified by the fact that last month the service department’s score of 94 was top ranked in the Memphis zone.
“Little Gary (Smith) and Sheri (Roane) will still continue to be here to help make our service department the best you can find,” beamed Mallard. “To give you an idea just how good a job they do, our score was 32 points better than the average of all other dealerships in the region.”
Mallard is also confident that the Benoit Auto Group will continue the fine reputation of service and sales that he and his team has built over the years and improve on it.
“I feel I am leaving the dealership in good hands. I watched for several months how Benoit handled the buyout of other dealerships and how they improved things for the people of the area,” said Mallard. “They (Benoit) have several dealerships across the state, a great inventory to choose from, tremendous financing resources and are committed to being here for the long term. Having them as owners of the dealership is going to be better for our residents. There is nothing negative about this as what they will bring is all positive improvements.”
When asked if he was just going to “ride off” into the sunset, Mallard laughed and said that he planned on staying around to help with the transition.
“I’m still going to be around for anyone who wants to talk to me. If I am not at the dealership, I will be just one phone call away,” said Mallard who smiled and added, “I still have to sell all these used cars I have on the lot before I can quit.”
The staff of Jay Mallard Ford invites all to come show their appreciation to Jay for his years of service at the “farewell” party that will take place from 2:00 – 5:00 pm on Friday, October 25th at the dealership.