New Book Recounts CF's Risky Rise & Success Secrets

When a 12-year old boy walked out of a Polish village in 1882 in search of a better life, it was literally the first step toward the founding of Checkered Flag.

The story of how Checkered Flag came to be, the obstacles it faced, and the customer-service philosophies that propelled it to success are told in the new book We All Win: How the company launched on a whim succeeded, written by Audrey Knoth.  We All Win has received advance praise from leading auto industry executives, who call it "a remarkable book about a remarkable business enterprise."  We All Win is now available for sale here on CheckeredFlag.com (click here) and, starting on Friday, August 8th, in all Checkered Flag parts departments.  Funds raised through its sale will benefit United Way of South Hampton Roads.

The book recounts how the near-penniless Louis Snyder arrived in America in the late 19th century and how, from a small dry goods company, he built a major Norfolk, Virginia department store operated by successive generations of the Snyder family.  His grandson Ed Snyder took over management of Snyder's department store in the early 1960s.  In 1964, Ed invested in a small British sports car dealership and, at his wife Jean's suggestion, named it Checkered Flag.

We All Win explains how Checkered Flag prevailed over challenges, failures, and risks to grow from one humble showroom to the auto retailer it is today, with 11 new-car franchises and a used-vehicle superstore in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, and selling more than 12,000 vehicles annually.  Ed Snyder continues as president 44 years after its founding; son Steve Snyder is senior vice president.

The author, Audrey Knoth, is a former broadcast and newspaper journalist who's now a Norfolk business executive.  She says she had the idea to write the book after helping Checkered Flag with several projects in early 2007.

"I became intrigued by Checkered Flag's history, which had never been researched and told," she says.  "The more I learned about Checkered Flag, the more I realized its story is a compelling one that has meaning for people both inside and outside of the car business."

Audrey spent over a year researching and writing We All Win, conducting extensive interviews, consulting with auto industry and academic experts, and poring through historical and newspaper archives.  Vintage photos, illustrations, and original cartoons accompany the book's absorbing narrative.

"I found that the principles that originated more than a hundred years ago remain at the foundation of Checkered Flag today," Audrey says.  "Among them: if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers; nothing is more important than customer service; failure should teach you rather than frighten you; and taking risks is absolutely essential to succeeding."

All of us with the Checkered Blog are excited about the book and we hope you will consider purchasing it.  It's a great read and with the funds raised benefiting United Way, you could say We All Win!