"The ‘Pull, Not Push’ Strategy" - How Authentic Community Investment Drives Real Store Traffic | Ashley Brockhurst, Charlesglen Toyota
What happens when precision from aviation meets creativity in automotive marketing?
In this episode, Ashley Brockhurst, Director of Marketing and Health & Safety at Charlesglen Toyota in Calgary, Alberta — “Alberta’s Celebration Destination” — shares how her dealership’s community-first philosophy is redefining what automotive retail can look like.
From aviation safety to dealership marketing leadership, Ashley’s story proves how curiosity, culture, and compassion fuel innovation. She opens up about her journey from receptionist to director, the strategy behind hosting 27+ community events a year, and how authentic philanthropy (not just PR) builds real customer loyalty.
You’ll learn how Charlesglen Toyota turned community connection into a competitive advantage, and how your dealership can do the same.
In This Episode:
How Ashley went from aviation safety to automotive marketing
The mindset shift that helped her climb from receptionist to director
Why authentic community giving outperforms transactional marketing
How Charlesglen Toyota became Alberta’s Celebration Destination
Turning charity and local events into a powerful brand advantage
Why women are leading Canada’s charitable sector, and how dealerships can connect
The ROI of relationships: how community focus drives dealership growth
How to measure unmeasurable marketing (and prove impact beyond KPIs)
Why “look after your city and they’ll look after you” still works in 2025
Timestamps
00:00 Intro — From Aviation to Automotive
04:12 How a receptionist became a marketing director
09:05 The secret behind Charlesglen Toyota’s “Celebration Destination” brand
14:20 Culture that empowers people to take chances
18:55 How to build authentic community events that connect
24:10 Why women drive community impact (and dealership loyalty)
32:00 Measuring ROI when you can’t “track” community relationships
37:30 Building team buy-in for charity and local events
Who This Episode Is For
Dealership marketing teams
General Managers & Dealer Principals
Community relations & event coordinators
Women in automotive leadership
Anyone who believes marketing can build more than sales — it can build connection.
Connect with Ashley Brockhurst
🔗 LinkedIn: Ashley Brockhurst
🌐 Charlesglen Toyota: charlesglentoyota.com
Episode Brought To You By FlexDealer
Need Better Quality Leads? FLX helps car dealers generate better quality leads through localized organic search and highly-targeted digital ads that convert. Not only that, they work tirelessly to ensure car dealers integrate marketing and operations for a robust and functional growth strategy.
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Episode Transcript
(Preview Intro)
0:00
Intro — From Aviation to Automotive
What helps you guys kind of navigate the seeming social pressure of being the tag along versus being the owner of?
0:07
Speaker 2
There's no way I could throw a massive event of a dealership every weekend over the entire summer.
It would just, it would lose momentum and I would be reaching the same people over and over again.
Where is this community initiative?
And being out in the community, I'm reaching a different audience every time I go to an event.
0:25
Speaker 1
What kind of conversations do you have to make sure that everyone stays accountable to community?
The first will equate to at some point perhaps.
Maybe a non attributable sale?
Yeah.
0:36
Speaker 2
That's exactly it.
I mean the world of KPI is and ROI and show me the number and what's the stats.
We do still have traditional marketing at the dealership, but separately this idea that we're creating this top of mind marketing, which essentially creates a a pull versus a push.
0:54
I'm creating enough buzz and enough memories and enough connections that when you're ready to buy your truck, you're going to come find me.
1:04
Speaker 1
We have a quote here from Charles Glenn's founder says he often said, quote, look after your city and they'll look after you.
I didn't carry the philosophy forward today.
And what's next on your philanthropic horizon?
1:17
Speaker 2
I think for me…
(Intro)
Speaker 1
One of the things that I enjoy most about producing the Dealer Playbook is hearing from you the messages that I get of people who are getting so much value out of the podcast, applying it to their day-to-day workflows and finding a thriving career right here in the retail auto industry.
It means the world to me.
1:36
And you know, one of the ways that we make doing this possible is through my agency, Flexdealer.
And of course, in the spirit of providing value, I think this is a perfect time to head over to triplew.flexdealer.com to show even further support for you, my beloved DPB gang.
1:53
Right now, if you go to my website, flexdealer.com, you can get a full free PDF of my #1 best selling book, Don't Wait Dominate.
And the reason I think it's so special is that a lot of the topics that are discussed in this book are even more relevant today than ever with this surgeon, popularized AI and people wondering, well, what can I do next?
2:15
How can I have a competitive advantage?
Well, that's all here in this book.
And so I'd love to be able to offer you a free copy of this if you go to flexsdealer.com.
It would mean the world to me because that is how we continue to produce this show for you.
2:42
(Episode Begins)
Ashley Brockhurst is the Director of Marketing and Health and Safety at Charlesglen Toyota in Calgary, known to the locals as Alberta's Celebration Destination.
With more than 12 years at the dealership and a prior career in aviation safety, Ashley brings a rare mix of precision and creativity to the mix.
3:02
She overseas marketing brand strategy and safety compliance, but she didn't think those things went together.
But they do, ensuring that every event from Stampede breakfasts we all know about the Calgary Stampede to the Steel Dreams Show and Shine charity car show balances fun with care.
3:21
Her approach combines relationship driven marketing with a strong belief in community investment and corporate giving.
We all know how much I care about this stuff.
Ashley, thanks so much for joining me on the Dealer Playbook.
3:33
Speaker 2
Thanks for having me.
3:34
Speaker 1
You know, I tell people because they, a lot of people don't know I, I talk a lot about growing up in the Okanogan in British Columbia.
A lot of people don't know.
I was actually just like 2 1/2 hours north of you in Edmonton before I moved to Texas.
People go, what's Texas like?
And I say it's extremely southern Alberta.
3:53
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, I'd agree with that statement.
3:56
Speaker 1
Or or you're extremely northern Texas at this point, but you're all the way.
You're all the way there in Calgary where we are time zones apart, we are miles apart, and yet there are so many things that connect us inseparably.
4:11
This discussion about a dealership being a celebration destination, being an experience destination, putting on events.
4:23
How a receptionist became a marketing director
I know you and I have had some interactions in the past around the car show and the charity work that you guys do.
I'm, I'm curious.
First and foremost though, I did not know you were in the aviation space.
You come to Charles Glenn Toyota with a background in cabin safety, is that right?
4:44
Speaker 2
Yeah, that was that was the beginning of my career.
And the world that I lived in was in the skies mostly and flying the desk.
And I became a mom and I did that and wanted something to get just back into an office back with adults would be a great place for me to be.
5:07
And they took a reception job at Charles Glen Toyota and then learned some things and did some things and tried some things and 12 years later, the rest is history.
5:18
Speaker 1
OK, well, we we need to just unpack that a little bit because there's there's the stereotype.
It started as like the stereotype.
Wait, so they made the receptionist the marketing person, but there's obviously something in you.
5:34
What is it about Ashley Brockhurst that was like, I'm not a receptionist.
I am, I am someone who sees opportunity?
Is it how you were raised?
Is it did you learn that as a skill?
How do you navigate that?
Because I think there's a lot of receptionists and or phone answerers, BDC agents, it doesn't matter what you know, detailers, whoever it might be in this industry that perhaps don't know that there is incredible upward mobility in our in our industry.
6:05
What did that path look like for you?
6:08
Speaker 2
Yeah, I mean, I think for me, I, I don't like to be bored and I definitely enjoy a challenge.
So if, if I see a problem, if I see a gap, you know, I try and solve that.
6:25
And a lot of times I felt like I had really great ideas.
And I'm fortunate that I work with a group of people that are willing to listen to your ideas.
It helps that my ideas are quite loud.
6:42
But yeah, ultimately that's that's how it started.
You talk about promoting within the industry.
That's definitely the case in automotive, but certainly the case at at Charles Blunt Toyota.
Majority of the folks that have been here in higher level positions started out, you know, entry level and their way up.
7:07
So, you know, working with a company that will invest in their people means a lot.
As far as the role from receptionist to marketing, we had gone to a brand discovery seminar.
7:24
I got invited, I think kind of on a whim because I'm very much the cheermeister at the time.
And at one point I redid the Wolfpack speech from the Hangover in a boardroom full of executives.
And that was kind of it.
7:41
They realized there was something different and and unique and exciting and they went with it and.
7:49
Speaker 1
There's some dynamics there.
I want to, I want to unpack the, the, I mean, you swung and you hit hard because it's not every day that that you land in an organization that that is prepared for opportunity, meaning that that that you mentioned they saw something in you.
8:13
You felt like you were in a space where you could put yourself out there.
I mean, to me, that just reeks of good culture.
Yeah.
And I think we struggle a lot in our industry to know how we can quantify culture.
And if we were to look at leadership and now yourself in a leadership position at Charles Glen, you could say, well, actually culture can be quantified because look at everything that's happened over the years that we've been able to, you know, build our business and pour equitably back into the community.
8:43
And it stems from having a healthy culture.
8:45
Speaker 2
Yeah, absolutely.
And yeah, that's that's what it boils down to, is creating an atmosphere where people feel safe to take a chance.
8:57
Speaker 1
Yeah.
And I think it's important too to like to to bring that up.
I think that's so critical.
See that the hamster woke up Ashley, It's it's running at full speed in my brain now.
9:09
The secret behind Charlesglen Toyota’s “Celebration Destination” brand
I think it's so critical to what I want to talk to you about in some of the programs and and marketing strategies that you deploy because you know, pre show we're talking about the Internet and just the speed at which information travels now, good or bad, the world is craving authenticity and you know the efficacy of what you're building.
9:35
There's a lot of dealers out there that are doing charity events, but if we're being honest, and yes, I will call them out.
You don't have to.
I don't think they're approaching it sometimes from an authentic position.
They're doing it from like a, oh, how can I get more eyeballs on my business to like grow my grow my business.
9:51
Sorry if that hurts somebody's feelings, not sorry also, but the, the proof point to what you've built in these events that you do starts from a place of authenticity.
That's why I think it it hits right.
10:08
Speaker 2
Yeah, I think I, I agree with you wholeheartedly.
I mean, there's a lot of talk in the industry right now about telling brand stories.
You know, everybody wants to share a story and connect on a, on a story.
But I mean, ultimately if you're telling a brand story that you're not living, you're going to run out of narrative.
10:29
Really, really.
And so for us, it was more, it was more just being who we already are, but doing it with intention.
So I mean, obviously if we're running a corporate giving campaign, that's actually what's happening right now at the dealership where the employees have an opportunity to donate to charity off of their paycheck.
10:55
The company matches it.
It's this amazing thing that we do.
We just do it.
It's organic.
Yes, obviously there are opportunities for us to talk about it, but I think it's just it's finding a way to tell your story and the things that you're doing in a way that just is natural.
11:22
Nobody likes to watch those videos.
And I mean, obviously we take the photos of the check presentations when we're making big donations, but you know, we're also out on the community and we're not, we're not running just private sales.
11:38
Automotive loves private sales and we threw, we throw public parties and hopefully we sell some cars along the way.
But you know, Family Day, Alberta, we have Family Day and we're open on Family Day, but a lot of businesses are closed and there's not a lot to do.
11:57
It's in February, it's cold, so we throw a party for kids.
There's face painting and and karaoke and popcorn and and alpaca and people just come and have a good time and maybe they buy a car today, maybe they buy a car in a year, but they come find us.
12:20
And building those connections organically, I think sets us apart.
So it's, it's intentional being out in the community.
We, we were at 27 events this summer that weren't our events.
12:35
We just, we just tagged along and supported different charities and community organizations and, and things that were already happening in our city.
And we just did what we could to support it.
12:47
Speaker 1
What I love about this, I'm going to draw parallel to social media for a minute.
There's so many people on social media that are like, I have to post, I have to post, I have to post, I have to post.
Then there are those that realize, why don't I just tag along on somebody else's post and comment and engage and build relationships that way, which is so much easier by the way you're doing the real I, I, I bring it up that way because I, I know it's something that people think a lot about.
13:18
But you just brought up the in IRL, as the kids say, I'm told IRL, the in real life version of that, which is there are all these other events that are already happening that we can tag along with.
13:33
And as a result of being there, we're able, we have the same ability to build relationship and network and build inroads into the community as if we were doing our own event.
Who thinks of that though, Because that's not a, that's not an immediate thought for some people.
13:50
Everybody's like, I got to take ownership.
It's got to be my thing.
And you guys certainly do have your own, you know, intellectual properties and events that you do.
But what helps you guys diminish or or kind of navigate the the seeming social pressure of being the tag along versus being the owner of?
14:13
Speaker 2
Well, I mean, if we're being totally and completely honest, convenience, you mentioned it, right, It's a lot easier for me to bring in a team of kids over the summer and send them out into the community representing the brand, being there myself, then trying to host all of these myself.
14:35
Culture that empowers people to take chances
Obviously we do our own events that we're very proud of and we do those for the community and it is done with that intent at heart.
So yeah, those are those are great opportunities, but there's there's no way I could throw a massive event of the dealership every weekend over the entire summer.
14:59
It would just, it would lose momentum and I would be reaching the same people over and over again.
Where is this community initiative?
And, and being out in the community, I'm reaching a different audience every time I go to an event and show support for our community, our city, local charities.
15:21
And it's just it's, it's different connections with different people.
It's not the same same group that's always attending.
15:31
Speaker 1
Hey, does your marketing agency suck?
Listen, before we hop back into this episode, I know you know me as the host of the Dealer Playbook, but did you also know that I'm the CEO of Flexdealer, an agency that's helping dealers capture better quality leads from local SEO and hyper targeted ads that convert.
15:47
So if you want to sell more cars and finally have a partner that's in it with you that doesn't suck, visit flexdealer.com.
Let's hop back into this episode.
Yeah, what sort of conversations have you had leading into these initiatives to help everyone that's involved, all of the stakeholders stay rooted in that authenticity, meaning, you know, because I know there's a lot of people, again, struggling in the industry that are like, well, we're not going to participate in it.
16:15
And if we can't attribute, we love that attribution.
If we can't attribute to an uptick in revenue opportunity, you've already kind of alluded to, they might buy today, they might buy a year from now.
Either way they're still thinking about us.
16:31
What kind of conversations do you have to make sure that everyone stays accountable to community first will equate to at some point perhaps Maybe a non attributable sale?
16:45
Speaker 2
Yeah, they that's exactly it.
I mean the world of KP is and ROI and show me the number and what's the stats.
I mean, ultimately we do still have traditional marketing at the dealership.
17:01
I can still tell you a cost per click or all of those things.
But separately, this idea that we're creating this top of mind marketing, which which essentially creates a, a, a pull versus a push.
17:18
I'm not pushing you a sale on a Tacoma.
I'm creating enough buzz and enough memories and enough connections that when you're ready to buy your truck, you're going to come find me.
17:33
And yes, it's definitely more difficult to measure.
It's definitely more difficult to demonstrate a return on investment.
But even just looking at, if you wanted to go that direction, the, the traffic that we have on our website and the ability to continuously lower the budgets associated with traditional marketing and, and, and digital advertising, because of the fact that we're seeing that direct traffic continuously increase and people coming to find us.
18:09
You know, it's, it's the same as the days of radio.
And I, I know still people are on the radio.
We're on the radio.
We have a lot of fun with our radio ads.
But you, you don't measure that.
And I think that there's an element of brand marketing that is only measurable by word of mouth.
18:29
It's, it's a new version of word of mouth.
And when people come in the door, where did you hear about us?
And I can't remember or I was at my kids soccer game and we saw you across the street with a BBQ, you know, like it's just it, it becomes that it becomes a top of mind.
18:47
They come to find us and you know it's not.
It's no longer a let's discount things to the bottom and they're looking for the experience instead.
19:00
How to build authentic community events that connect
Yeah, what what does Kevin O'Leary say to zero with a bullet?
But it makes complete sense.
I think I'm, I want to linger on this or I have been lingering on this with you because I, I have this sincere desire for people to understand you can't feel all warm and fuzzy by a Gary Vee video where he's talking about how attention he day trades attention and you're like, I want to day trade attention and then only go back to what you, you said the, the, let's call it the operational marketing, the running, the ads, the doing, the SEO, the this and the that.
19:38
That does equate to some attention, but it's also segmented on a phase of the buying journey where to your point, you're saying top of mind awareness, top of mind awareness, top of mind awareness.
That is the, the day trading of attention.
19:53
And it's, it's, it's shocking to me, not shocking to me.
Actually, I'm not shocked at all.
I don't know why I said that.
It's interesting to me that in a 2025 world where we have 100 years of innovation every six months now.
That the number one most valuable thing we can do is remain top of mind, not just for people who are in the market actively searching for a vehicle, but just top of mind in general for everybody as a local business, as a as a business that has a philanthropic arm to just be top of mind and building bridges and building inroads and building connection.
20:31
Nothing can replace it.
To your point, it's the best marketing any money could buy.
20:37
Speaker 2
And it certainly feels good.
20:39
Speaker 1
And it feels good.
You want a dopamine hit, folks, Get off Instagram.
Go serve somebody.
Speaking of that, I want to talk to you a little bit about this.
I have a funny story.
I think it's a funny story I want to share that leads into what what I want to talk to you about.
20:58
I have two boys and a girl, 2 teenage boys and a preteen daughter.
I was a teenage boy once, Ashley, but I had four sisters and European immigrant parents.
21:16
I don't think I had the opportunity to be as dumb as I think sometimes my boys are like I don't relate with them sometimes because I'm like, can I blow like I need to put like blow through your ear, you know, and see if I can feel my.
21:36
So here's here's where I'm going with this.
There's the setup.
We just bought a brand new couch.
How exciting.
How old of me.
This couch has three seats that reclaim since the day this couch has arrived, the boys have been so quick to claim their spots on that couch.
21:56
I and my wife have also instructed them I paid for this thing, so if you see me walking towards it, your only response should be to get up and go somewhere else, right?
22:09
Speaker 2
Yeah.
22:10
Speaker 1
Like, that's Dad's, if dad's going to sit on the couch, that's the spot, he said.
Who gets left out in the mix?
Little Arya.
So the other day, Saturday morning, actually just this past Saturday, we're getting down to we're going to watch something as a family and the boys plop down.
22:26
Arya's down the hall in her bedroom, door closed so she does not hear what what's about to happen.
And I look at my boys and I say, boys, I find it interesting that not once either of you have graciously offered to let your sister have the first seat on the new couch.
22:53
But I can almost guarantee you, I can almost guarantee you that if when she comes into this room, you offer her a seat on the couch to enjoy it and to recline and you know, it's got the zero gravity recline that she might almost certainly sit there for a minute and then at some point think about your needs and offer you to come and sit on the couch with her.
23:24
They feel bad.
They do the thing.
Actually, guess what?
She comes walking down the hall about 10 minutes later.
So this conversation has not happened.
My my second son, Tristan is somewhere now he's left, but Dallin's still in the room and they're not sitting on the couch.
23:43
We're getting ready to sit down and watch the thing.
And he and Dallin says, Arya, go go ahead and sit on the couch.
And she goes, that's OK.
You can sit there.
You know, when you have a conversation with your kid without saying anything because he instantly looks at me and I'm, I'm, like, looking at him like what I tell you.
24:09
What's my point?
24:11
Why women drive community impact (and dealership loyalty)
Well, by the way, the conclusion to the story is Arya is going like, what?
What's what's happening?
Yeah.
No clue.
And then I I looked at Dallin and I said, get up.
You go down that hall and you tell Tristan what just happened.
24:28
You relate to him.
Exactly.
Tristan comes back and he, because he doesn't believe it, he comes back.
He says, Arya, you can sit where I usually sit.
She's like, that's OK, you can sit there.
24:43
Couldn't have played out any better.
The audience is saying, well, what Cirillo is the question.
You've mentioned, Ashley, that women make up most of Canada's charitable sector and influence the majority of consumer spending.
24:58
How has that shaped your community investment strategy and what programs have you launched to connect with women both inside and outside the dealership?
They're obviously the ones thinking about other people's care.
25:12
Speaker 2
Yeah, we do that, don't we?
25:16
Speaker 1
You do that and by the way, I don't want it.
My audience knows me.
I think that is divinely in in imprinted in women because sometimes us guys are slow to the race.
25:28
Speaker 2
Yeah, you said it's not me.
Yeah.
25:32
Speaker 1
We're just slow to the race sometimes.
But how does that influence your, how does that influence your approach?
I mean, just the, the, you, you shared some statistics about the number of women in Canada that are the ones leading the charge and, or spearheading, you know, charitable events and giving and community outreach.
25:51
So how does that shape your perspective in in putting these same sorts of events together?
25:57
Speaker 2
Yeah.
I mean, I think that that's a big part.
I mean it wasn't certainly the driving force of the decision maker.
But again, discovered organically that a lot of the times when we're out at these events, when we're out giving back to the community, when we're volunteering, when we're investing in these charities, it is it is mostly women that we're connecting with just because they're the ones that are there between the volunteers and the employed in the nonprofit area.
26:29
It is it is mostly women in Canada.
And that makes me very proud.
But it also lets them know that this is important to us too.
And the things that matter to you matter to us.
And when you're buying a car, it is, it is a large purchase and you, you can make that decision and invest that in somebody that invest back into the things that matter to you.
26:57
So a lot of the messaging when we're, when we're out in the community and, and a lot of the conversations are thank you for supporting us so we can support others.
And that's that's a pretty cool message to give to anybody, especially women, who care so deeply about these organizations.
27:19
Speaker 1
Yeah, it it brings me back to the late Zig Ziglar.
Help as many other people achieve success and you'll be successful.
You guys are definitely proving that.
I love.
We have a quote here from Charles Glenn's founder, Glenn Richardson, who I have here.
27:35
It says he often said, quote, look after your city and they'll look after you close quote.
So how do you how do you carry the philosophy forward today, and what's next on your philanthropic horizon?
27:50
Speaker 2
Yeah, that's that's Glen is definitely service above self.
It's definitely one of the pillars on which were founded at Charles 1 Toyota.
It was something I inherited as an employee was a just so you know, this is who we are, this is what we do.
28:10
But it certainly makes me proud to be a part of it.
And it's, it's something that is at the core of a lot of the marketing initiatives that we do.
Is, is this giving back to the people who invest in US?
28:26
Is this bettering our city?
And like I said, right now we've got the corporate giving and and matching campaign, which is amazing.
We just wrapped up Operation Celebration, which is our community initiative.
So we're done that for the summer, but we do have our, our corporate giving campaign is, is in full swing right now.
28:50
Movember is after that.
And then of course the food bank over Christmas.
And through all of that there's, you know, kids sports teams and lots of organizations that, that reach out to us and, and ask us to be a part of the thing that they're working on.
29:09
It definitely has gotten momentum, which is great because now again, you're creating that poll where they come to us and say, can you celebrate us?
Can you talk about the thing that we have coming up?
Can you help us get the news out that this event is happening?
29:26
And GR is the one that inspired that all and definitely continues to carry that forward.
29:35
Speaker 1
Putting events together is messy.
I mean, life's messy, but like putting events together is messy because they're they're never going to really fully end up 100% of the way that you want them to go.
There's always going to be something, right?
What do you say to those?
29:50
But I also wrote down Operation Celebration, Movember, food Bank, Christmas sports teams.
You're thinking ahead.
And I think we have a problem with think not thinking ahead in our industry.
It's like, I want to caution those that are listening that that are feeling inspired.
30:06
Like we want them to feel inspired, right?
But I don't want some poor marketing individual and some poor marketing agency to be like, Oh my gosh, Saturday's coming up and there's a, there's a, a pumpkin patch and we should totally do.
30:22
How do you manage the messiness of it, the desire to do immediately something with also this idea of like, well, we need to plan ahead, we need to look ahead, It takes a lot of work.
What does that look like for you?
30:40
Speaker 2
A lot of sticky notes, a lot of cattle and.
30:42
Speaker 1
Are you going to a pumpkin patch on set?
You're laughing because you're like, I'm actually going to.
30:46
Speaker 2
Noted.
Yeah, I mean, because we, we celebrate every single day.
We're known as Alberta's celebration destination.
I know you've seen them before, but we, we do celebrate every single day.
And that wasn't, again, it's not a brand story, it's not something we made-up.
31:05
It's it's actually who we are.
And so part of that is knowing what is coming up, what can we celebrate?
What can we make sure that we're telling the the community about today's National Taco Day?
31:23
We've had national talk like a Pirate day, but we've also had just as many community organizations and initiatives coming up.
So it's definitely something that I search out in automotive.
There is a lot of last minute.
Here's the thing we need to do make it happen.
31:40
But it this is one of those tangible things that I do have the ability to be a little a type about and plan ahead.
And so I, I try to as much as possible and then bringing that, giving back community investment, investing in your community, bringing that into everything we do.
32:03
Measuring ROI when you can’t “track” community relationships
So if we are going to host a sale, can we tie that around the food bank over Christmas?
Or if we are going to do a women's initiative over International Women's Day, is there a women's focused charity that can sort of be the recipient of that participation?
32:25
So just making sure that we're bringing that back into whatever plans that we're making.
32:31
Speaker 1
So good.
And I'm thinking about the we, we've, we've weaved, weaved, woven in and out of a variety of different topics.
There's some recurring themes that you've brought up storytelling, authenticity, brand building attention, high level attention, right philanthropy service.
32:59
I can't help but think culture.
Oh my gosh, we've talked about so many things.
I can't help but think that the employees of Charles Glenn's lives are also being impacted in in positive ways, like the influence of that the industry can change lives for the better.
33:27
Do you have maybe an example or a story of some of the other employees or just an employee that as a result of working in Charles Glenn, have have brought that spirit of celebration into their personal life or into their personal community?
33:45
Speaker 2
Yeah, I think I, I don't know that it would be 1 individual.
I think that it it's sort of becomes a movement, and that's the beauty of corporate culture.
33:55
Speaker 1
You know, I like a good movement.
33:59
Speaker 2
Yeah, exactly.
Is that because it is fundamentally who we are and the ability to just take that and roll with it.
I mean, we're Alberta's celebration destination.
When you are tasked with finding a reason to celebrate every day, it changes the way you look at the world anyways, which is which is pretty fortunate.
34:20
But we do have, we do have a lot of team members that find their own passions by participating in something beyond just selling servicing cars is they discover something that becomes incredibly important to them.
34:42
We were involved with the Ronald McDonald House charities recently and I had a number of employees that join me on that to volunteer for the event and participate in the event.
And, and there were a lot of employees that didn't even realize what this charity did and the, the work that they do for these, these families and then find themselves asking more, how can I go and help support these families?
35:08
Can we go cook for them?
Do they want us to come to the house?
Can.
And so, you know, just something as simple as going and playing board games at our, our local Senior Center, you just feel good and you feel like you're a part of something that's bigger than just I'm an employee at Company ABC.
35:32
Speaker 1
Well, hey DPB gang, feeling bad about yourself today?
Go serve right, can you say?
Because like, think of how simple it is to just on your way home today, pull into the, the Senior Center and go read them a book, play chess with them.
35:59
You know, I, I almost had to fight back the tears there because I think about my own grandfather who was in a senior home in Burnaby, BC and I would go to school in downtown Vancouver and, and periodically would just stop in and just sit with him.
36:18
He was couldn't speak anymore at the time, like the dementia was starting to really kick in.
But, you know, just having them look at me and just give me a smile, you know, and just sitting there and we did nothing.
Like I would just sit there and look at them.
You know, I can't help but think in this moment that my one wish is that I did it more.
36:41
The feeling that comes from serving another person, lifting their spirits, helping them, smiling at them.
Think of how easy it is to smile at someone when you're in line at Winners, TJ Maxx for those that are when you're in line at Winners because everyone is struggling with something.
37:00
And look at the very real impact that our industry and individuals in our industry can have on the community.
I think it's so inspiring, actually.
I'm so glad that we could have this conversation today.
How can those listening and watching connect with you?
37:14
Speaker 2
LinkedIn.
Linkedin's the easiest way to find me and I'm on there all the time.
Or get toyota.com.
37:23
Speaker 1
Love it.
Ashley, thanks so much for joining me on the Dealer Playbook.
37:27
Speaker 2
Thank you.
37:28
(Outro) Hey, thanks for listening to the Dealer Playbook Podcast. If you enjoyed tuning in, please subscribe, share and hit that like button. You can also join us and the DPB community on social media. Check back next week for a new Dealer Playbook episode. Thanks so much for joining.
