Tim Redding Sr., dealer principal and president of Metter Ford in Metter, was nominated recently for the 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year award.  

Redding is one of a select group of 40 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 104th Annual National Automobile Dealers Association Show being held virtually Feb. 9-11, 2021. 

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. 

Redding, 62, was chosen to represent the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition – one of only 41 auto dealers nominated for the annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide. 

“The automotive business, though daunting at times, has enabled me to provide for my family, for our community and for our customers,” Redding said. “We are proud to deliver a level of service that remains unmatched to this day in our area. And our customers have blessed us with amazing loyalty and friendship through the years.” 

Redding didn’t start out in the car business. He worked as a meat cutter and owned his own meat shop before joining Karp Motors in Savannah, Georgia, in 1982. 

“From a very young age, I knew the value of work,” he said. “My parents instilled in me not just a desire to work but pride in excelling in whatever job I undertook.” As he grew older, however, it became apparent that his blessings and accomplishments were not only of his own making.  "As I look back, it is very clear that God held my hand and guided me through the ups and downs of being a car dealer," said Redding. 

Redding advanced to management roles at J.C. Lewis Ford and J.C. Lewis Mazda in Savannah, where he worked for seven years before striking out on his own to open Metter Ford in 1991. Today, his dealership group also includes two additional Georgia stores: Swainsboro Ford Lincoln in Swainsboro and Dublin Ford Lincoln in Dublin. His sons, Tim Jr. and Daniel, lead dealership operations as general managers for the stores. 

“I have also been blessed to have many loyal employees work with me and stay by my side through the years,” Redding said. 

Redding’s support of education is far-reaching. He is a proud partner of Communities In Schools of Candler County, which surrounds at-risk students with community support to empower them to stay in school. “To date, our promotion rate for our case-managed students exceeds 95 percent and our graduation rate this year was 98 percent,” he said. 

Dealers are nominated by the executives of state and metro dealer associations around the country. The award is sponsored by TIME in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with NADA. A panel of faculty members from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan will select one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year. Three finalists will receive $5,000 for their favorite charities and the winner will receive $10,000 to give to charity. 

 Redding was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Lea Kirschner, president and CEO of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association. He has three children, Tim Jr., Daniel, and Emily Lancaster, and is the proud grandfather of 10.