Crown Auto Group celebrates one year

MT. PLEASANT - The Crown Motor Group, a Mt. Pleasant car dealership, celebrated a year in the community on Friday.

Kelly Barnett, the new owner of the dealership, bought the business last March and officially took over in October.

Although her first year has been filled with challenges, Barnett said the community support as well as the team she has assembled have made the celebration of their first year possible.

When the owner took over last March, General Motors workers were in the middle of a strike, which made getting cars and automotive parts for GM cars incredibly difficult.

Following the strike, the dealership saw its slowest season with winter and then came the coronavirus pandemic.

'It's just been tough. People told us we wouldn't make it, but we pushed through,” the owner said.

Lori Baylor, the controller for the dealership, who joined the team under Barnett, said the first year has 'been a storm” and is glad the business has weathered through.

'The most challenging part was just getting everything off the ground and going in the very beginning, there was just a lot of trials and tribulations,” she said.

The controller added the journey has 'also been very exciting.”

'We've had a lot of ups-and-downs but for the most part we have a great group of employees. We're selling cars, we're active in the community and we want them to come in and see us,” she said.

Baylor added it's been exciting working for a woman at the top.

'She's really down-to-earth … she talks to me like I'm an equal, and I admire that in her,” the controller added.

Dave Myers, who has been with the dealership since 2003 and currently serves as the general manager, said he's 'learned more in this last year” than he had in the years before Barnett's arrival. Before his current position, Myers worked in sales and finance.

'Getting a chance to get out and really work on all ends of the dealership has really been rejuvenating for me,” he said.

As the dealership battled through one of its most challenging years, Myers said he was encouraged and heartened by Barnett's leadership and resilience.

'She just worked through it. It's been interesting. We had a two months span there where we were only working one day a week, appointment only. And now the guys and gals that toughed it out, we're starting to see the fruit of that,” he said of working through the pandemic.

Barnett echoed Myers' comments and said one of her main motivators to keep going, outside of her faith, were the team and workers that stuck by her during the tough moments.

'I really wanted to celebrate with them because man, it was tough,” she said.

In addition to COVID-19, Barnett said she also faced some pushback from the community as a newcomer when she initially bought the dealership, formerly known as Shottenkirk. Even still, Barnett said she fell in love with Mt. Pleasant and feels at home in the town.

'I want to be in this community where I can make a difference,” she said.

Barnett, who has been in the automotive industry since her 20s, began at a secretarial position at a Dodge BMW dealership in California. She began looking for ways to further educate and acquaint herself with the industry and was given an opportunity to work in the finance department, eventually working her way up to owning her own dealership.

'It was something that I loved. I've always loved automobiles,” she said.

As a woman in the automotive industry, Barnett is no stranger to discrimination based on gender but says she has always worked to prove herself.

'I do feel like I had to work harder to flip people's mind-set,” she said.

Now as the dealership looks to a new year, Barnett said she hopes to continue to support and uphold the community. In particular, the owner hopes to donate tires and other supplies to local law enforcement as well as seeking ways to make the dealership more energy efficient with solar panels.

'There are some really great people here. It's the most awesome thing and we just want the community to feel like they can come in at any time,” she said.