Earlier this month, Byrider presented awards to its franchise dealer body during the company’s annual convention in Aventura, Fla., honoring more than a dozen professionals who operate buy-here, pay-here dealerships with its franchise system.

Byrider highlighted its franchise of the year award recognizes the best overall performance by a franchise group based on internal store rankings and a measure of how the business has contributed to the Byrider franchise community.

The honorees included:

• 4 or more locations: Russ Larson, Jeff Lee, and Winston Sleeth with dealerships in Burlington, Iowa; Davenport, Iowa; Des Moines, Iowa; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Columbia, Mo.; Joplin, Mo.; and Springfield, Mo.

• 2 to 3 locations: John Chalfant and Thomas Loughran with dealerships in Boise, Idaho, and Nampa, Idaho.

• Single location: Keith Kocourek and Jennifer Freiboth with their dealership in Wausau, Wisc.

The president’s awards recognize dealership locations included in the top 10% of stores as defined by Byrider’s store ranking system. Winners, in order of performance ranking, were:

• Springfield Mo.:  Russ Larson, Winston Sleeth Top store nationwide

• Davenport, Iowa: Russ Larson, Jeff Lee

• Joplin, Mo.: Russ Larson, Winston Sleeth

• Burlington, Iowa: Russ Larson, Jeff Lee

• Des Moines, Iowa: Russ Larson, Jeff Lee

• Mansfield, Ohio: Chris McPhie, Greg Barrett

• Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Russ Larson, Jeff Lee

• Akron, Ohio: Chris McPhie, Greg Barrett

• Ashtabula, Ohio: Chris McPhie, Greg Barrett

• Bloomington, Ind.: Roy Wagner, Terry Gerhart

• Wausau, Wisc.: Keith Kocourek, Jennifer Freiboth

• Richmond, Ind.: Roy Wagner, Terry Gerhart

• Traverse City, Mich.: Bill Marsh Auto Group, Jeff Chevalier

• Muncie, Ind.: Roy Wagner, Terry Gerhart

• Canton, Ohio: Chris McPhie, Greg Barrett

The most improved award was granted to stores that demonstrated the most improvement from 2021 to 2022 based on store rankings for earnings, customer advancement, service comebacks, reputation management, portfolio performance, and more.

• Most improved Single Point: Rick Steenbock in Denver

• Most improved with 2 to 3 locations: John Chalfant and Thomas Loughran in Boise, Idaho, and Nampa, Idaho.

• Most improved with 4 or more locations: Mark Morris in Clarksburg, W.Va.; Morgantown, W.Va.; Parkersburg, W.Va.; and South Charleston W.Va.

A new award recognizing top customer satisfaction scores in the network went to Steve Locklear in Panama City, Fla.

Also honored with a commitment to excellence award was Greg Barrett, who co-owns stores in Ohio and North Carolina. The award recognizes Barrett and his team’s dedication and high-performing stores’ contributions to the larger Byrider network.

Byrider CEO Craig Peters said, “We’re proud to recognize our franchisees and their teams each year at our annual convention. Our franchisees are at the heart of Byrider’s success. Their commitment to helping their customers move forward, as well as expertly operating their stores, is truly commendable.”

Vice president of franchising Chris Hadley added, “I am excited to recognize the owners and operators who have been key drivers of the Byrider franchise business in 2022. These franchisees and operators demonstrated their ability to set high customer service standards and grow the business.”