Golden milestone
Dick Bortz Sr. holds an honorary award he received on Oct. 8 in recognition of his 50th anniversary as owner of Bortz Chevrolet in Waynesbuirg. (Photo by Steve Barrett)
Representatives from Chevrolet and GM Financial presented Dick Bortz Sr. with an honorary award for his 50 years of service during a celebratory open house held at Bortz Chevrolet on Oct. 8. Bortz (third from left) is joined by his son Richard (second from left), wife Kathy (fourth), daughter Debra and grandson Jonathan. (Photo by Steve Barrett)
Over the past five decades, Richard Bortz Sr., owner of Bortz Chevrolet in Waynesburg, has admittedly sold a lot of vehicles. Although he doesn’t know the exact number, he estimates he has sold approximately 35,000 vehicles off of his dealership lots since 1970.
But there is one that he will always remember selling. His first one, in 1970.
At 27 years of age, Bortz began selling new Chevrolets and used inventory from a location on High Street that was approved by Chevrolet. Impressive, especially considering up to that point he had never sold a car or worked in a dealership.
“I was as green as grass,” Bortz recalled. “Even though I had been a ‘gear head’ – a car enthusiast – I had no experience whatsoever. I really believe they (Chevrolet) approved me to be a car dealer because of my military background.”
Bortz, born and raised in Uniontown, graduated from West Virginia University and soon thereafter served with the U.S. Army 25th Infantry for 13 months during the Vietnam war.
After service, he returned home and began working for his father in the coal industry. Then, in 1970 he bought a GM Motor Company dealership from Jack Miller.
His new career started out on a rough note. During his first two weeks of open business, he couldn’t sell one single car.
“People were dropping by and showing interest, but they’d say they would be back and they never returned,” he recalled. “I was down. I was frustrated. I started thinking that maybe I wasn’t cut out for this job.”
Then, one day, hope – actually, it was a Waynesburg woman – stepped in.
“I’m in my office overlooking the showroom when I see a woman came in and start looking at cars,” he said. “I was so dejected and had no confidence in myself, so I tried to avoid making eye contact with her. Then, suddenly there’s a knock on my office door. I answer it, she’s standing there, looking mad, and she said, ‘Young man, are you going to sell me a car or not?’
“That knocked me right out of my doldrums,” he added with a laugh. “That woman, my first customer ever, was Helen Fonner. She bought a brand new green Impala. I believe it cost around $2,500 at the time.”
That was the jump-start he needed. As he began selling more vehicles and continued to steadily build his customer base, he started developing plans to build a new and bigger dealership.
“I knew I needed to expand,” he said. “My first showroom was so small I could barely fit two vehicles in there. We had a year before the lease expired on the High Street building, so we had to get construction done on time.”
Despite construction setbacks, Bortz worked tirelessly to reach that goal. He poured all the money he had into the new location and worked more than 16 hours a day, doing everything from throwing business cards out of his car window while driving along roads throughout the county to driving from Uniontown every morning at 3 a.m. to move his vehicles out on High Street after the street sweepers were finished.
Because there were delays on the new building, Bortz worked so many hours at the new location – which did not have doors or windows installed yet – that many nights he would just sleep on the showroom floor.
“That was a really hectic year,” he said.
The new dealership known then as Bortz Chevrolet-Cadillac officially opened at its current location in June 1971. Throughout the years since, he has made many modifications and additions to the business, including adding a body shop in 1975 and a car wash in 2017.
In the early ’90s, he bought two additional adjacent acres and converted that space into his used car lot. In 1994, he added the Subaru franchise to his business. He sold the Subaru franchise in 2017, but the business still offers repair services on Subaru vehicles and still sells genuine Subaru parts.
When the dealership opened in 1970, Bortz’s staff was made up of eight employees. Today, he employs around 30.
Despite dealing with a wide array of obstacles and issues over the years, such as severe weather, economic crashes and now the COVID-19 pandemic, Bortz Chevrolet has stood tall at its location for 50 years.
Bortz said it has all happened because of his customers, employees and his community.
“I cannot express in words how grateful I am for all of the people who have bought their vehicles here and brought them in for service over the years,” he said. “I like to think that we’ve been here this long because we’ve always tried to treat people the way we wanted to be treated. We always believed the customer is always right.”
Bortz, who considers himself currently semi-retired, said he has made too many wonderful friends and memories during his 50 years of service to count. He has also been proud of his contributions to community programs and initiatives, such as local school sports teams, Rotary Club, the Moose and VFW organizations, and Veteran’s Memorial Park in Waynesburg.
He said he is also proud that year after year his dealership was always ranked by Chevrolet and Subaru in the top two for service. And, he has received numerous accolades, awards and honors over the years for his efforts in business and in community service.
“Even though I appreciate all of the recognition, that’s never what all this has been about for me,” he said. “It has always been about getting the job done, about doing the job right.”
A celebratory open house was held on the showroom floor Oct. 8. Bortz was joined at the event by family, friends, customers, staff and business associates in celebrating his 50-year milestone.
Jenna Jones, manager of the Chevrolet Pittsburgh zone, joined other representatives from Chevrolet and GM Financial in presenting the award to Bortz during the open house. Jones said Bortz’s milestone of 50 consecutive years is a tremendously impressive accomplishment.
“It’s impressive when we see dealerships reach 25 years of service, but 50 years is quite a remarkable achievement, especially in the automotive industry,” Jones said. “Mr. Bortz’s golden anniversary exemplifies not just dedication and loyalty to his customers, family and staff, it also speaks volumes about his community spirit and his commitment to Chevrolet. He is very deserving of this honor today.”
Jones said Bortz is “a true pillar” of his community and a testament to a solid, trusting relationship between owner and customer.
“You’re not around for 50 years if you don’t have the trust of your community,” she said. “His staying power and his commitment to selling and servicing vehicles for such a lengthy period of time truly reflect on how special Mr. Bortz is to the Greene County business community.”
After accepting the award, Bortz looked around his showroom at his vehicles, his family and friends. He smiled as he reflected on his milestone achievement.
“My whole existence has been Bortz Chevrolet, and it’s been a great ride,” he said. “No regrets. And to my customers and family, I say, ‘Thank you,’ a hundred times over.
“Our motto here is ‘We’re here because of you,” he said. “I could not have said it better myself.”