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Chevrolet Dealer Named 'Woman Of The Year' by African Americans On Wheels

6 January 1999

Chevrolet Dealer Named 'Woman Of The Year' by African Americans On Wheels

    DETROIT, Jan. 4 -- Pamela Rodgers, president of Rodgers
Chevrolet Inc., will receive the African Americans On Wheels (AA0W) magazine's
"Woman of the Year" award at the Urban Wheel Awards ceremony.  The event will
be held at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on
Thursday, January 7, 1999, and precedes the public opening of the North
American International Auto Show.
    The newly-formed award was created by AA0W to recognize the growing
contributions of African-American women in executive positions in the
automotive industry.  Recipients of the award are examples of achievement for
all aspiring executives regardless of race or gender.
    The winners are selected by a panel of automotive journalists including:
Earle Eldridge, USA Today; Kathy Jackson and Frank Washington, Automotive
News; Warren Brown, The Washington Post; Ron Stodghill II, Time magazine;
Rosville Embry, Dallas auto freelance writer; Winfred Cross, North
Carolina-based auto freelance writer and Blair Walker, Baltimore-based auto
writer.
    Rodgers, a 12-year-veteran in the automotive retail business, is a
trailblazer in her field.  She was the first African American female to
represent the Chevrolet nameplate in Michigan and has served as an automotive
dealer for General Motors Corporation for nine years.  During the past year,
she became the president and owner of her current Chevrolet dealership in
Woodhaven, Mich., and four years prior, owned and operated the Flat Rock
Chevrolet-Geo-Oldsmobile, Inc., in Flat Rock, Mich.
    She was recently featured on the cover of Black Enterprise magazine (June
1998) as a top minority dealer in Metro Detroit.  "BE Autodealer 100" ranked
Rodgers Chevrolet Dealership number 54.
    Before General Motors Corp., Rodgers opened her first dealership in 1991
for Ford Motor Company.  She also worked for Ford as a financial analyst in
the Car Product Development Division.
    "Rodgers is the perfect first-time recipient of this award," says Randi
Payton, publisher of AAOW.  "Her achievements are a direct result of her
determination and commitment to break through barriers in the automotive
industry."
    Rodgers regularly shares her experiences with other women and encourages
them to be persistent in striving for their goals.  "Sometimes," Rodgers said,
"it's a matter of just staying in the game."
    She is affiliated with many organizations and holds several board
memberships including: president, Flat Rock Rotary; member, General Motors
Minority Dealer Association; secretary, National Association of Minority
Automotive Dealers (NAMAD); member, Women's Automotive Association and a
charter board member of Auto Industry Diversity Efforts.
    Rodgers, a native Detroiter, graduated from the University of Michigan
with a bachelor of arts degree in economics.  She also received her master's
degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
    African Americans On Wheels is a 48-page supplement to 40 black newspapers
and zoned editions of three daily publications: The Detroit News and Detroit
Free Press and the Washington Post.  Visit http://www.automag.com for more
information.