Michelle Primm of Cascade Auto Group Honored by Cleveland.com

On July 20, Michelle Primm, managing partner of the Cascade Auto Group, was honored as one of Northeast Ohio’s “Women of Note” at a luncheon sponsored, in part, by Cleveland.com. When you consider Primm’s leadership in the retail automotive industry in Northeast Ohio, the award is both appropriate and long overdue.

“I’m obviously very excited to be honored with this award,” said Primm. “I am proud to represent the Cascade Auto Group, the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association, and all women who work in the retail automotive industry in Northeast Ohio.”

Primm, whose father Don formed Cascade Auto Group in 1969, literally grew up in the business. She started out in the early 1970s when she was really too young to be formally working.

“My first job at the dealership was to file repair orders,” Primm recalled. “Later, when I got my driver’s license, my first full-time summer job was to drive the parts truck.”

After finishing high school, Primm worked at the dealership full time in the office, while going to college.

“I did everything from accounts payable and accounts receivable to warranty work and titles. And I did it all while going to college,” Primm said. “I learned a lot about accounting and business in a real-world environment.”

Primm eventually worked her way up to office manager, taking a break from college to run the office full time.

“But I realized that I wanted a lot more, so I went back to college,” Primm said.

Primm went on to get degrees in finance and economics from Kent State University. She left the business briefly before heading back to Cascade to head up the dealer group’s F & I Department. In 1994, she was named general manager and then managing partner of Cascade Auto Group.

Cascade Auto Group is one of Northeast Ohio’s premier auto dealers, selling Porsche, Audi, Mazda, and Subaru brands. It is one of the oldest Porsche Audi dealerships in theUnited Statesand is still family-owned and operated.

“Today, I am a partner in the business, along with my brothers Pat and Mike and my father Don,” said Primm.

Since becoming managing partner, Primm has served the auto industry in Northeast Ohio and nationally in a number of other positions. She served on the State of Ohio’s Dealer Licensing Board, where she went on to become vice president and eventually president of the board. In 2005, Primm was nominated to represent Northeast Ohio and the GCADA in Time Magazine’s National Dealer of the Year Award.

In February of 2008, Primm was elected to the National Automobile Dealers Association’s board, serving as an at-large director representing all women dealers east of the Mississippi.

“It was an honor just to be nominated for the board because I initially served with Annette Sykora, the first women chairperson of the NADA,” said Primm. “But it was also a challenge because we were facing a lot of turmoil in the industry when I first started to serve.

“I can’t recall how many times we were called toWashingtonto lobby for auto dealers or auto manufacturer bailouts and all of the other issues that arose out of the auto industry bankruptcies.”

And while the industry now appears to be back on track, there are still challenges ahead, Primm conceded.

“We’ve come through it, but we’re not totally out of the woods yet,” she said. “We’re not rebounding with leaps and bounds; we are scratching and crawling our way back. My biggest wish is that we could have a common-sense comprehensive energy policy for our nation.”

Still, the industry is a lot healthier today than it was in 2008, and Primm’s contributions play an important part in that turnaround.

“We’re proud to have one of our member dealers selected as a Woman of Note for 2011,” said Louis A. Vitantonio, president of the GCADA. “Michelle’s dedication, professionalism and leadership are certainly worth recognizing. Our congratulations go out to her and the Cascade Auto Group.”