Behind the Scenes with Checkered Flag's Cathy Ray Hodges

Cathy Ray Hodges has pretty much seen it all at Checkered Flag. She started with the company in 1973, when there were just two dealerships, Toyota and Honda! She has held positions in parts, payroll, as an office manager at the old Hilltop location, and as the assistant comptroller. Currently, she is Vice President of the Operations Center, the consolidated billing and financial center at Checkered Flag.

Some dealer groups have individual offices in each store for all the paperwork that comes with purchasing or servicing a vehicle, but Checkered Flag chose to do it differently. The idea was that customers develop a rapport with their salesperson and they do not want to be passed off to different people. Cathy explains, "A centralized operation allows for economies of scale. Everyone here does things the same which is more efficient and leads to increased customer satisfaction which is, of course, the main focus at Checkered Flag." Along with Checkered Flag human resources, the operations center houses 35+ employees all of whom may be "behind the scenes" but are an integral part of the business.

When asked if she anticipated her future with Checkered Flag back in 1973 and what has surprised her since, Cathy laughs, " It all surprises me! I never anticipated still being here after 35 years, but the car business gets in your blood, I guess. We have been successful in good and bad economies, through gas crunches, market crashes, and everything else."

The Checkered Blog would like to recognize Cathy and all the operations center personnel for all their hard work that keeps things running smoothly at the Flag.