Chalmers receives Presidents Award third year in a row

RIO RANCHO — For the third year in a row, Don Chalmers Ford received Ford’s President’s Award. Ford associates celebrated the achievement Tuesday in the Chalmers lobby.

General Manager Andy Strebe bragged that this dealership has brought home 17 total President’s Awards, which is more than any other Ford dealership in the state, according to him.

“Not to brag, but there’s no other Ford dealer in New Mexico that’s even come close,” he said.

He jokingly said Ford in Albuquerque had won once “by accident.” However, he expressed appreciation for fellow Ford dealerships in the area.

The Ford President’s Award, established in 1998, is a prestigious recognition given to top-performing Ford dealerships that demonstrate exceptional customer satisfaction in both sales and service.

“How do we make it a habit to win the President’s Award? Great customer satisfaction! Good’s not good enough, right? Great customer satisfaction and selling a bunch of vehicles. That’s all you got to do,” Strebe said to a number of employees in the lobby.

He encouraged the employees to be proud of the achievement.

“We’re so proud of our employees. You’re the people that make the President’s Award happen,” he said.

Ford Regional Manager Jake Isaac said the dealership is close to his heart.

“Right out of college when I hired on Ford Motor Company, I lived in Michigan. Ford Motor Company goes, ‘Hey, guess what? We’re gonna put you in the Phoenix region and we’re gonna put you in the state of New Mexico.’ And to me, growing up in Michigan, New Mexico might as well be Mars,” he said. “Little did I know that I was about to come to my second home.”

He recalled working hard for the award before becoming regional manager and congratulated the employees working toward it now.

“Winning three Presidents Awards back to back to back — and 17 total — is no accident,” he said.

He also talked numbers coming out of Chalmers’ success.

“I just want to highlight some growth that this dealership has seen over the last three, because it’s truly incredible,” he said.

In 2023, Chalmers was up 10% in new vehicle sales and ranked 199th in the nation for volume. In 2024, that percent went up to 17% and placed them 176th. This year, sales were up 20%, and the dealership ranked 160th in the nation, according to Isaac.

“Top 100, here we come,” he said. “That’s an incredible achievement, and the work that you guys do each and every day — customer satisfaction scores are through roof. Customers love doing business here.”

Chalmers President Gary Housley took no recognition for himself.

“I think I said this every year. It isn’t my award. It’s everybody’s award. It takes all of us. It takes the whole team at Ford as well to help support us in our efforts to get there,” he said.

He said it is a challenge they aim for every year and confessed that Chalmers is halfway through the year for the next award, which he said the dealership is close to winning again.

“But we got work to do. We got to keep on going and keep driving,” he said.