Trey Blakley leads the family business in a new direction
Alton Blakley Family of Dealerships Director of Operations Trey Blakley sits in his S . Hwy . 27 office flanked by a life-size portrait of his late grandfather and founder of the family business , Alton Blakley Sr .
Photo by Steve Cornelius
By Steve Cornelius
As Trey Blakley walks around his office of the car dealership named after his late grandfather , pictures and vintage mementos of Alton Blakley Sr . are splattered all over his office walls . Alton Blakley Family of Dealerships has been a longstanding business icon to the Somerset area for nearly 60 years .
The Alton Blakley family dealership campus sits in the hub of Somerset ’ s most congested business district . As Trey Blakley gazes out his office window , some of the largest national retail businesses in the world surrounds his family business . This was probably a stark contrast to what his grandfather might have viewed from his office window back in the late 1960s on the newly built South Highway 27 .
“ I don ’ t think anyone could have ever envisioned the growth and development around our [ Alton Blakley dealership ] campus ,” Trey Blakley laughed . “ At that time [ in 1965 ], we were surrounded by farms and now to see what this corridor of Highway 27 has become is truly amazing and we hope to see it continue to grow . This is something we often talk and laugh about .”
In the early 1960s , Alton Blakley Sr . was the General Manager / Partner of a car dealership in Clinton , Tennessee when he saw an opportunity to acquire the Ford store in Somerset , formerly known as Beaty-Stacey Motors . Blakley moved his
30 • SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky august 2023