Charlie Creighton, CEO of Edenton, N.C.-based Colony Tire Corp., is Modern Tire Dealer magazine’s 2007 Tire Dealer of the Year. Creighton was chosen to receive the industry’s most prestigious award from more than 26,000 eligible independent tire dealers throughout North America.
Creighton, MTD’s 15th Tire Dealer of the Year, was selected by a panel of independent judges, who based their decision on his business success, marketing skills, management skills, industry knowledge and community involvement.
"We are thrilled to have Mr. Creighton as our Tire Dealer of the Year," says MTD Publisher Greg Smith. "Our judges did an exceptional job of evaluating the numerous candidates we had for this year’s award."
As part of the award, MTD will donate $8,000 in Creighton’s name to three charities of his choice: the American Cancer Society, the Chowan (N.C.) Hospital Foundation and Lawrence Academy, a private school near Edenton.
"As part of the tire industry, we at MTD feel it is a tremendous honor to give to these deserving organizations," says Smith.
Creighton sold his first tire in 1980. Since then, his company has evolved into one of the largest, most profitable regional independent tire dealerships in the U.S. with 40 locations throughout North Carolina and Virginia.
For the full story about how Creighton built his company, see the September 2007 issue of MTD, available soon.
Past Tire Dealer of the Year award winners include industry giants like Bill Williams of Jack Williams Tire Co. in Moosic, Pa. (2006); Paul Zurcher of Monroe, Ind.-based Zurcher Tire Inc./Best-One Tire & Service (2005); Bob and Juanita Purcell of Potosi, Mo.-based Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. (2004); Larry Morgan, founder of Morgan Tire & Auto Inc. (2001); the late Les Schwab, founder of Prineville, Ore.-based Les Schwab Tire Centers (2000); and others.
To read their stories – and the stories of other Tire Dealer of the Year winners – hit the “Dealer of the Year Award” button on the www.moderntiredealer.com Web site home page.
