[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4328-4329]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MR. BILL SWOPE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today I rise to commemorate my very 
dear friend, Mr. Bill Swope of Elizabethtown, KY, for his many 
successes in business and in life. Mr. Swope has made many 
contributions to philanthropy and his local community, and has affirmed 
a commitment to public service on behalf of the Commonwealth while 
setting an example for his family and others of what it means to be a 
distinguished citizen.
  I have been very closely acquainted with Bill Swope, his brother Sam, 
and the rest of their family for quite some time. Bill was born in 1922 
in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH, 
with a degree in business administration. Bill served in the U.S. Army 
during World War II as a sergeant specializing in artillery. He 
recently received the French Legion of Honor in 2009, and is now 
considered a knight of the French Republic.
  His wife Betty was a lieutenant, junior grade, in the Navy WAVES 
before she married Bill on July 26, 1945. According to Bill, the 
couple's long-lasting relationship is because Bill has always 
remembered who holds the higher rank--and it isn't him.
  The first business venture of Mr. Swope was established in 1952 in 
Winchester, KY; it was called Swope Motor Company Plymouth-Dodge. There 
were many doubts about the future of the young company in its 
beginnings, but the Swope family business survived and thrives. This 
year marks the 60th year of the family business. Bill is now retired 
has left the running of the business to his three sons Carl, Bob, and 
Dick.
  The first generation of Swopes laid the foundation of the business. 
The second generation is now in charge and makes sure the business runs 
smoothly. One thing both generations can agree on is that the company 
needs to remain a local, family-run enterprise. Bill is excited about 
the next 60 years in the automotive industry, and he is the first to 
tell you how proud he is of the three generations of Swopes' 
leadership.
  Mr. Swope has been involved in a tremendous amount of volunteer 
activities, charities, and leadership roles throughout the years. He 
has been an active member of the Lion's Club since 1952, a deacon, 
elder and trustee of First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethtown, KY, 
and the past president of the Fort Knox Chapter, Association of the 
United States Army in Fort Knox, KY. As a former member of the 
Elizabethtown City Council, he holds his community very dear to his 
heart. He has made sure to give back to the place he calls home in just 
about every way possible.
  If you ever have the chance to sit down and talk with Bill Swope, you 
would quickly learn his passion for cars. Starting a company that has 
sold over 500,000 automobiles is just the beginning of his immersion in 
the industry. Bill likes to collect and restore antique and classic 
cars. Over the years he has become so good at this that in 1999, he 
opened Swope's Cars of Yesteryear Museum in Elizabethtown, KY. The 
museum is open Monday through Saturday, and admission is free. The 
attraction houses every type of classic car you could imagine, and 
people from around the world have made a trip to the Commonwealth just 
to take a look.
  Bill is very proud of his accomplishments in the business world, not 
because of the success he himself acquired, but for the opportunities 
he has helped to provide for so many other Kentuckians. Bill is a 
sensitive and thoughtful individual, and a natural-born leader. And he 
is first and foremost a loyal family man, a husband, father, foster-
father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
  Bill is a joy to be around, he has a great sense of humor, and he 
always knows how to make you smile. He is an instrumental part of the 
economy of Hardin County, he is a vital part of the success of the 
State of Kentucky, and I am proud to say he is my good friend. I extend 
to him my heartiest congratulations on his lifetime of accomplishments, 
and I look forward to his future endeavors, wherever they may lie.
  I would like to ask my U.S. Senate colleagues to join me in paying 
tribute to all Bill Swope has achieved for the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky.
  An article was recently published in Hardin County's local newspaper, 
the News-Enterprise, which highlights the life of Mr. Bill Swope, and 
also follows Bill as he looks back on over 60 years of success in the 
private sector. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that said 
article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to appear in the 
Record as follows:

               [From the News-Enterprise, Jan. 29, 2012]

                 Swopes Celebrate 60 Years in Business

                           (By Sarah Bennet)

       Nearly 60 years ago in March of 1952, Swope Dodge-Plymouth 
     was celebrating its grand opening at the corner of College 
     and Mulberry streets. The dealership already had been open 
     for a couple months, but people crammed into the one-car 
     showroom for the event.
       As Bill Swope remembers, two competitors, Buick and Pontiac 
     dealers, were there that day and were overheard to make the 
     following exchange: ``I'll give them six months,'' one dealer 
     said about Bill Swope and his brother Sam.
       The other replied, ``I think you're being pretty 
     generous.''
       This year marks 60 years in business for Elizabethtown's 
     Swope Family of Dealerships and Louisville's Sam Swope Auto 
     Group.
       Combined, the two Swope businesses have sold more than 
     500,000 automobiles, Bill said.
       ``We're kind of proud of that,'' the 89-year-old said 
     during a phone interview.
       ``We think the 60 years have given us pretty good practice, 
     and we're pretty well set for the next 60 years,'' he said.
       Today, Bill is retired and his sons are managing the family 
     business. Bob, 64, is president of Bob Swope Ford, while 
     Carl, 54, is president and CEO of Swope Family of 
     Dealerships. Their brother, Dick, is CEO of Sam Swope Auto 
     Group.
       As the second generation closes out the family's first 60 
     years, Carl said the ``dynamic third generation'' is getting 
     involved with the business, which will continue to be a 
     local, family-owned company.
       ``As the successive generations get involved, there's more 
     of them,'' Carl Swope said. ``There's certainly an increased 
     capacity to do things. We're very excited about the next 60 
     years and think that the growth of the family business will 
     be even more fantastic than what we've seen.''
       ``I think that's very important,'' Bill added about keeping 
     the Swope Family of Dealerships both local and family-owned. 
     ``We're very proud of our family. Our family seems to be 
     well-adapted to the automobile industry. We're very proud of 
     the products that

[[Page 4329]]

     we're selling and certainly of the people that we have, our 
     associates, that help make our business successful.''
       But as the Swope men point out, the 60 years in business 
     hasn't been a cake walk. The automobile industry has had its 
     ups and downs throughout the years, and in January 1966, the 
     Swope's second location at the corner of St. John Road and 
     U.S. 31W burned down.
       The building was a total loss, and the Elizabethtown Swope 
     dealership was without a home for nearly 12 months.
       ``We ran an ad in the paper at the time--a picture of the 
     building totally destroyed,'' Bill said. ``Here it is, winter 
     time. I'm standing in the rubble of the building and there's 
     still smoke billowing up from the ashes. We ran a full-page 
     ad and the headline of that ad was, Low overhead? We have no 
     overhead.'''
       But, somehow, with help from some competitors and their 
     hard-working employees, the Swope family stayed in business, 
     he said, and they began building where the Swope Chrysler-
     Dodge-Jeep-Ram building is today.
       ``January to December 1966, we were kind of operating out 
     of the backseat of our cars and out of briefcases and various 
     stalls that were loaned to our technicians,'' Bill said. ``We 
     moved out to what was then out in the country, and we dubbed 
     that part of Dixie `The Miracle Mile.' It wasn't much of a 
     miracle at the time, but we thought it would be. Certainly it 
     has turned out that way.''
       Asked about the recent downturn in the automobile industry, 
     the Swopes stay optimistic.
       Americans love their automobiles and will always need a way 
     to travel from Point A to Point B, they say. That fact always 
     will remain true regardless of how cars evolve in the future.
       ``Over that 60 years, we've seen a number of ups and downs 
     in our industry,'' Bob Swope said, ``and we certainly learned 
     to make adjustments that were necessary for getting through 
     those slow periods. It seems like each time we've experienced 
     slow periods, the industry then comes back very robust.''
       The recent downturn was difficult for the entire industry, 
     Carl said, but the Swope family made it through without 
     making any layoffs.
       ``I would give a lot of credit to our associates for how 
     they responded to (the downturn),'' he said. ``Our people 
     rose to the occasion. They became more efficient and 
     effective in what they do.''
       Bob said over the years the Swope Family of Dealerships has 
     developed a culture in its stores that values its associates 
     and makes them part of the family, a business practice that 
     has contributed to the company's longevity.
       ``One of the things that we learned very early on was to 
     make sure our associates were also very happy with their 
     working experience,'' he said. ``So we work very hard to try 
     to make sure that they feel like they're just an extended 
     part of the family.''
       In 2011, the Swopes were up 20 percent compared to the 
     previous year, Carl said, partially because of activity at 
     Fort Knox. The Hardin County locations sold 4,538 retail 
     vehicles, which was ``a pretty steady mix'' of both used and 
     new cars.
       Combined, the Elizabethtown and Louisville locations sold 
     more than 22,000 vehicles in 2011, he said.
       As they celebrate 60 years in business, the Swope family is 
     expanding. Later this year, the business will hold grand 
     openings for a new Nissan dealership as well as the expansion 
     of its museum, which is one of Bill's projects.
       Bill referred to it as a tribute to the Hardin County 
     community and the customers who have supported the Swope 
     family over the years. Open each Monday through Saturday, 
     admission is free.
       Reminiscing about the early years in the business, Bill 
     recalled one of the first business deals he and Sam made in 
     January 1952, not long after they opened the Swope Dodge-
     Plymouth doors for the first time. An Elizabethtown cab 
     company, Dixie Cab, wanted to increase its fleet.
       ``So one of the first orders we got was a big order,'' he 
     said. ``They increased their fleet from two cabs to three, 
     which is 50 percent. That was one of our first sales, and it 
     was a Plymouth Cranbrook for Dixie Cab.''
       Bill recently located a 1952 Plymouth Cranbrook with some 
     15,000 miles on it which he plans to detail.
       ``You don't see many of those anymore,'' he said. ``You 
     will see that car parked out in front of the museum when it 
     is completed.''

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