Businessman is finalist for national Dealer of the Year award

Businessman is finalist for national Dealer of the Year award

Daniel DeVos. Courtesy DP Fox Ventures

A local businessman is being considered for a national award.

Daniel DeVos has been nominated for the 2017 Time Dealer of the Year award and will be honored at the 100th-annual National Automobile Dealers Association Convention and Exposition on Jan. 27 in New Orleans.

As the chairman and CEO of Fox Ford Mazda, DeVos is one of 49 nominees in the country.

The announcement was made by Meredith Long, group publisher of Time Inc., and Tim Russi, president of auto finance for Ally Financial. Each nominee will receive $1,000 from Ally for a nonprofit of their choice as a nod to the nominees’ work in their communities.

“These dealers have been recognized for the ways that they do it right in their communities, and we look forward to sharing their stories over the next few months and celebrating their accomplishments at the NADA convention in January,” Russi said.

Four regional winners and the national Dealer of the Year will be chosen by a panel of faculty members from University of Michigan’s Tauber Institute for Global Operations.

DeVos

DeVos was nominated by the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association as it representative in the national competition.

Following his graduation from Grand Rapids Christian High School and Northwood University, DeVos worked at Amway before founding DP Fox Ventures in 1993.

Today, Fox Motors includes 27 dealerships in Michigan and Illinois.

DeVos has served on a variety of boards: the West Michigan Sports Commission; Economic Club of Grand Rapids; Grand Rapids Symphony; Grand Rapids Art Museum; Hope Network; Northwood University; and Grand Valley State University Foundation.