Chuck Fortinberry was once asked by a coworker at Chrysler about his aspirations. He told the person he was going to run the place someday.
Time passes and dreams shift. Fortinberry moved on from Chrysler to own his own dealership, but his thirst for the top rung was never slaked.
The success of Clarkston Chrysler Plymouth Jeep, an institution in Clarkston, has given him something to sip over the years. Being named president of the North American Auto Show last year provided a big gulp of success, too.
But his most recent accomplishment, receiving the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award, has given him a deep draught which only the fulfillment of a life long goal could provide.
‘It’s about the highest honor that I’ve had bestowed. Every time I went to the National Auto Dealers convention, at the opening ceremonies I’d see Time magazine mock front pages with the 65 dealers faces on them and I’d walk through there and I’d go ‘Man I don’t think I’ll ever be one of those guys,?? said Fortinberry. ‘I never dreamed I’d get to this, but you give back to your community and you give back to your industry and you really apply yourself and become immersed in it; those things do come true.?
What makes the TMQDA especially sweet is that Fortinberry was chosen by his peers in the industry, some 240 auto dealers in the Detroit Metro area took part in the voting.
‘There is 20,000 members of the National Automobile Dealers Association. To be one of 65 nominees is staggering,? said Fortinberry. ‘I don’t know that we’ve ever had a Detroit dealer that wins the final award. I mean, the guy that won it this year was from Anchorage Alaska for crying out loud, and he delivered parts in an airplane.?
Aside from the esteem of his colleagues and the great fulfillment derived from his newfound lofty standing, Fortinberry got a pleasant surprise at the awards banquet in New Orleans courtesy of his wife Judge Dana Fortinberry.
‘We got down there on Friday night and went to dinner with some dealers from the Detroit area that were there and I showed up at dinner and my mom was there,? said Fortinberry
As a surprise, Dana called his mother, who lives in California, and arranged for her to be at the presentation dinner with her son.
‘When he mentioned to me he was getting this award, I called (his mother) and asked her to come. She and I worked it out through phone calls without him knowing. He did not know she was there until we went to dinner the first night,? said Dana Fortinberry. ‘It was a big deal for him to have her there.?
Dana was caught off guard by the size of the event since Chuck had down played the importance of the TMQDA.
‘He just said ‘I’m getting this award, do you want to go?? Of course I wanted to go, but I had no idea until we walked into that hall and saw his face on the Time magazine cover,? said Dana Fortinberry. ‘I was really proud of him, it was pretty neat to sit in that huge convention center with thousands of thousands of people. When they gave him his award, his picture was just huge up there.?
During conversation, Chuck Fortinberry’s blue eyes pierce their subject, not in a disconcerting manner, but rather like that of a practiced orator. When Fortinberry laughs, which he does with regularity, the sound of his guffaws envelop a room. Five minutes with Chuck Fortinberry explains his success..
‘I always knew I wanted to be in this business… I had gas in my blood ever since I was a kid. I started selling used cars out of my driveway when I was sixteen years old, which drove my father crazy,? said Fortinberry.
If Fortinberry had gone on to head Chrysler, he may have been satisfied, but the community of Clarkston would have lost a tremendous positive influence.
‘My wife (Judge Dana Fortinberry) being a lawyer, I bought this dealership just before we got married because I knew if I stayed at Chrysler I was going to be moved all over the place and I knew that was not going to work for her and I wanted to put down some roots,? said Fortinberry.
The roots he placed in Clarkston are thick and strong. In memory of his father, he organized the Glen W. Fortinberry Memorial Golf Classic in 1994, an annual event in support of the Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan. He has also done four motorcycle rides for the same charity which start at his dealership and end at DTE. The two events have raised over half a million dollars.
‘This award is given to people who are not only good business men but also good members of the community and people who give back, and my husband gives back a lot,? said Dana Fortinberry.
Chuck and Dana are also active in local charities benefitting SCAMP, CAYA, Parks and Recreation, and the Clarkston Schools. His philanthropy, at least in spirit, carries over to how he runs his dealership.
‘When you live and work and go to church in the community that you sell cars in, the people that you’re selling cars to you’re going to see in church, you’re going to see down at the grocery store? and philosophically, that really drives the type of business person that you are,? said Fortinberry.