Manheim Nashville was hit by a tornado on March 3 , 2020 . It reopened digitally just 16 days later on March 19 , and in person on Sept . 14 .
Cheerleader-in-Chief
The role of any auto auction is that of a middleman , matching vehicle buyers to sellers . So all those vehicles damaged by the tornado weren ’ t owned by Manheim , but by its clients .
“ Sam will get out there and wash a car , scrape snow off a car , pick up trash off the fence ,” Christina said . “ To me , that shows great leadership . And that ’ s due to Sam ’ s leadership style . He is very deserving of this award .”
Sam stayed in close contact with them , giving updates on the damage , helping with insurance claims and keeping them apprised of the auction ’ s progress toward reopening .
Sam credits his team for rallying quickly to resume operations . “ I was just the orchestrator and kind of a cheerleader to keep everybody going in the right direction ,” he said .
Call It a Comeback
Manheim Nashville made a remarkable comeback , thanks to Sam ’ s leadership and an enormous outpouring of support from team members , clients and the metro Nashville community .
All this , despite the fact that the business was soon in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic as well .
The first post-tornado sale took place digitally via Simulcast March 19 , just 16 days later .
The auction allowed dealers back on the property again to bid during digital sales on Sept . 14 . And in September , Manheim Nashville became one of the first locations to resume driving cars through the lanes for dealers to view in-person .
RECOGNIZE YOUR COLLEAGUE
The Governor James M . Cox Award is named after our founder and recognizes employees who exemplify what we stand for . Know someone deserving of this award ?
Tell us about it by emailing govcoxawards @ coxinc . com .
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