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Charles Barker Profile

Charles G. Barker


Boards and Offices Held Past
  •  1985 Vice President, 1986 President and Board Member of Tidewater Auto Dealers Association-instrumental in merger to Hampton Roads Dealer  Association
  •  1986 Chairman, Hampton Roads Auto Show
  •  President, Volkswagen Ad Association
  •  1990 President, VA/NC Chevrolet Ad Association
  •  President, Toyota Ad Association
  •  Officer and Board Member of the Sales and Marketing Executives of Tidewater
  •  1990 and 1993 Board Member, Toyota Dealer Council
  •  Committee Member, Virginia Auto Dealers Association
  •  1993 President, Central Atlantic Toyota Advertising Council
  •  1993 Honorary Chairman, 5 Percent Club
  •  Capital Campaign Board Member, Hampton Roads Boys and Girls Club - mission to build new Boys and Girls Club in Virginia Beach
  •  1994-1996 National Dealer Advisory Board for Infiniti
  •  1995 Board Member, Virginia Beach Center for the Arts
  •  2004 Honorary Deputy Sheriff of Virginia Beach, appointed by Sheriff Paul Lantaigne
  •  Board Member and Chairman of Old Dominion University baseball scholarship committee and clinic
  •  Board member of Central Atlantic Toyota Advertising Council for five state regions
  •  2005 Finance Committee for Jerry Kilgore - candidate for Governor of Virginia in the November election
  •  Board Member Virginia Beach Foundation
  •  President Hampton Toyota Dealers Association, served over fourteen years
  •  Member, Elite National Dealer Board of Excellence Current
  •  Board of Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament
  •  Trustee & Treasurer - The Benjamin School (North Palm Beach, FL)
  •  Co-Chair BASH (Building a Scholastic Heritage) - Raised $972,000 for the Benjamin School
  •  Advisory Board - Virginia Beach Police Foundation
Special Automotive Training Achievements
The following is a list of people I had the pleasure of working with over the years who have become successful in the automobile
business eighteen (18) of which I hired, trained and supervised
  •  George Whitlow Richmond, VA
  •  Scot Crabtree Chantilly, VA
  •  Ernie Hodge* Atlanta, GA
  •  Harry Land Durham, NC
  •  Randy Morris Chesapeake, VA
  •  George Pelton Chesapeake, VA
  •  Roland Walton* Retired
  •  Tom Riddle Deceased
  •  Ken Hall Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Don Williams Norfolk, VA
  •  Nathan Drory Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Grady Harris Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Ron Jordan Newport News, VA
  •  Jay Connolly Chesapeake, VA
References or Verifications Furnished upon request curriculum vitae - 4
  •  Donnie Howard Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Alex Jones Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Allan Rice Norfolk, VA
  •  David Greer Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Frank Bernard Elizabeth City, NC
  •  Ed Mayo Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Bill Fink Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Dennis Ellmer Virginia Beach, VA
  •  Ray Brandt NC
  •  Gary Wright Deceased
  •  Paul Flaxman Deceased
  •  John McHenry Virginia Beach, VA
*Minority Dealer Candidates with General Motors

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Education and Professional Development

  •   Princess Anne High School graduate of 1965Jefferson Business School, Norfolk, VA
  • Attended many undergraduate colleges including Wayne State University, University of Michigan, Mundelein College, Emory University and Old   Dominion University
  • General Motors Institute
  • Leadership and Management for business and the automotive industry Automotive Career Biograph
  • 1970 Started my automotive career with Colonial Chevrolet in December, with only $5.00 in my savings account, and remained there for 20 years, holding all sales management positions until promoted to President and CEO in 1976.
  • 1970 Started my automotive career with Colonial Chevrolet in December, with only $5.00 in my savings account, and remained there for 20 years, holding all sales management positions until promoted to President and CEO in 1976.
  • 1980 Became partner with Josh Darden. We bought our second dealership in 1983, a Toyota-Volkswagen dealership, and added a Cadillac dealership in 1985, both located in Virginia Beach, VA.
  • 1987 A fourth location was added - Subaru-Mitsubishi
  • Became President and CEO of Colonial Auto Group, running the operations until August, 1990. During my career at Colonial, we held eight different franchises of which I was the dealer.
  •   In August 1990, Josh Darden and I dissolved our partnership; I took Toyota-Volkswagen and added Infiniti in 1991, which no other dealer wanted.
  •   1993 Bought Lexus Virginia Beach, which was the only Lexus dealership in the country losing money
  •   2002 Bought West Palm Hyundai in West Palm Beach, FL, and sold in 2007
  •   2004 Added a second Lexus dealership in Newport News, VA, and a Scion dealership in Virginia Beach, VA
  •   2009 Opened Charles Barker Nissan in Norfolk, VA
  •   Became Partner in Advantage Toyota in Long Island, NY ? since sold
  •   2010 Built Charles Barker Pre-owned Outlet in Virginia Beach, VA

Personal Profile
  •   Born in Norfolk, VA, in 1945. Married to wife, Susan, with two children, Cindy, Mark and one granddaughter, Alexis. Currently resides in Palm    Beach Gardens, Florida.
  •   Over 40 years experience in the automotive industry, other business endeavors and community leaderships.
  •   Corporate citizenship goal to make Hampton Roads a better place for everyone to live with a major focus on our youth.

Professional Experience
1971-1990
  •  President and Chief Executive Officer of Charles Barker Lexus Virginia Beach, Charles Barker Lexus Newport News, Charles Barker Infiniti, Charles Barker Nissan and Charles Barker Pre-owned Outlet, Charles Barker Scion, Charles Barker Toyota
  •  Held offices as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Colonial Auto Group which had eight franchises, including Colonial Chevrolet and Colonial Toyota in Norfolk, VA
  •  Held salesman and management positions throughout dealership operations in Hampton Roads, VA 1990-Present
  •  Chairman, Charles Barker Holdings which consists of Real Estate Holdings and Automobile Dealerships: Charles Barker Infiniti Inc., Charles Barker Toyota, Charles Barker Scion Virginia Beach, Charles Barker Lexus Virginia Beach, Charles Barker Lexus Newport News, Charles Barker Nissan Norfolk and Charles Barker Pre-owned Outlet Virginia Beach
Honors, Awards and Achievements
  •  Received a variety of salesman awards over the years, as well as Toyota Parts and Service awards
  •  1985 President's 100 Award from Toyota Motor Sales
  •  Triple Crown Award, Truck Task Force and Good Housekeeping Awards from Mid-Atlantic Toyota
  •  Guest Speaker for various local companies and schools, including Old Dominion University School of Business and Marketing
  •  Guest Speaker, Nichols Campbell & Morrow 20 Groups
  • 1978-1984 Received Service Supremacy Awards from Chevrolet
  •  1984 Top 10 Award from Chevrolet Baltimore Zone (Top 10 Largest Parts Operation in the region)
  •  1988 Top Dealer Award from Chevrolet
  •  Special Recognition as Top 50 Chevrolet Dealer in the nation
  •  1988-1989 Ichiban Society Award from Toyota
  •  1989 Top Dealer Award from Toyota
  •  Alli Award from Cultural Alliance of the Arts
  •  1990s Served on Special Committee to study the needs of automobile associations
  •  1992 Appointed by Virginia Beach City Council to serve on Department of Economic Development Advisory Board
  •  1992 and 1994 Presidents Club Award from Infiniti
  •  Presidents Award from Toyota Motor Sales - 13 years
  • Infiniti Circle of Excellence - 3 years
  •  Active sponsor in local baseball programs at college, high school and community levels, and coached for ten years
  •  2004 Newsweek Magazine Top Finalist for Dealer of the Year
  •  2005 Time Magazine Dealer of the Year
  •  Lexus Elite - the last 10 years for Virginia Beach and 6 years for Newport News
  •  Honorary Sheriff - City of Virginia Beach
Proudest Accomplishments
  •  One of my proudest accomplishments was establishing a scholarship program for every high school in Virginia Beach, VA, (14 schools). Two college bound students are selected each month from a high school based mostly on their giving back through volunteer work and community service. Each student is presented a $500.00 scholarship and selected to compete for one of two additional $3,750.00 scholarships at year end. Each student must submit an essay explaining the importance of giving back and what they are doing specifically to help others. We put their picture in the local newspaper and send them and their school a framed copy of the article.
  •  The letters and phone calls received for this program have been some of the most satisfying experiences of my career.
  •  We are currently supplying two cars ? one to Old Dominion University and one to Virginia Wesleyan College ? and have done so for 35 years in support of the athletics department.
  •  I was selected as Newsweek Magazine's Top Dealer of the year in 2004, and won the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award (TMQDA) for Virginia in 2005. These are two additional achievements that are special to me, representing exceptional business performance, involvement in industry affairs, and distinguished community service.

Community & Charitable Contributions
"Good Corporate Citizenship" is an important goal in my companies because we believe in giving back to the community. The following is a list of contributions from my companies or my foundation, Champions for Kids, which contributes to a variety of youth programs in need. Our giving over the past sixteen years approaches three million dollars.
  •  No Child Left Behind - Ensures communities and schools remain safe and drug free
  •  Every 15 Minutes - Simulates a death every 15 minutes caused by alcohol related accidents
  •  Aggressors, Victims and Bystanders - Delivers a strong violence prevention message and offers coping strategies to students
  •  Celebrate Life - Provides a drug/alcohol-free graduation night for high school seniors
  •  Achievable Dream Academy Scholarship - Special academy for extremely high risk students, of which 90% are African American
  •  D.A.R.E. - A program that gives 4th graders the life skills they need to avoid involvement with drugs, gangs and violence
  •  Cape Henry Collegiate (Independent School)
  •  Food Bank - Donated 2 trucks
  •  Sugar Plum Bakery - Serving the needs of persons with disabilities through employment, education and training
  •  Cox High School/Great Neck Baseball/Lynnhaven Baseball/ Kempsville Baseball - Purchased electronic scoreboards for two fields, a tractor, indoor batting facility and outdoor batting cage, and make annual donations
  •  Jewish Community Center - 50k Pledge
  •  I Need A Lighthouse - A depression and suicide education awareness program
  •  Seton House - youth safe house
  •  Hampton Roads Youth Center - Provides counseling and educational services for troubled youth
  •  Habitat for Humanity
  •  CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children)
  •  Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Virginia
  •  First Tee - Provides elementary students with the opportunity to develop life skills in the challenging environment of the golf course
  •  Children's Performance Workshop - Marionettes show that teaches children to recognize, prevent and disclose abuse
  •  Car Donations for individuals
  •  James Madison University - Scholarships
  •  Scholarships provided to all Virginia Beach, VA, high schools
  •  American Cancer Society
  •  Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges
  •  Virginia Schooner Campaign - Replica built of a Virginia schooner circa 1917
  •  American Heart Association
The contributions over my career are too many to list. The major support has gone to the following organizations:
  •  Virginia Beach high schools (public and independent)
  •  The Benjamin School - $1 million to build a Performing Arts Center
  •  Cape Henry Collegiate School
  •  Old Dominion University
  •  Virginia Wesleyan College
  •  John B. Dey Elementary School
  •  St. Gregory the Great Catholic School
  •  Star of the Sea Catholic School
  •  Virginia Beach Center for the Arts
  •  Virginia Marine Aquarium and Science Museum
  •  Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters
  •  Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Virginia
  •  Great Neck Baseball Association
  •  Sugar Plum Bakery
  •  Jewish Community Center
  •  Urban League of Hampton Roads
  •  Child Abuse Center
  •  Special Olympics
  •  Outstanding Professional Women
  •  Virginia Beach Neptune Festival
  •  Hilltop Outreach Center
  •  Judeo Christian Outreach Center
  •  Norfolk Botanical Gardens
  •  United Way - Successfully ran the campaign internally for the last 35 years, thus becoming one of the leading companies in our area in terms of giving per employee
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