Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is celebrating dealer partners who go above and beyond for their communities. They provide more than just a great place to buy a car – they help their hometowns thrive in the good times and heal in the challenging times. They rise to the occasion, whatever the occasion may be.

O'Brien Mitsubishi is a dealership located in Normal, IL, serving the Bloomington and Normal areas. In 1987, Joe O'Brien built the first non-metro Mitsubishi dealership in the state of Illinois and partnered with Ryan Gremore, O'Brien Mitsubishi Dealer Principal, to provide Mitsubishi vehicles and service to the area. Since then, Gremore has worked alongside his O'Brien Mitsubishi colleagues for over 30 years, regularly partnering with local charities to serve the underserved – and, by happenstance, creating an avenue for his daughter to find her passion in life and career path.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH RYAN GREMORE
Dealer Principal, O'Brien Mitsubishi of Normal, Normal, IL

1. To start, let's discuss the history of your dealer group and the success of your Mitsubishi store. We've been in business since April of 1987; we were the first non-metro Mitsubishi dealer in the state of Illinois. Back then, people didn't know what Mitsubishi was, so we built a 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, opened our doors, and started to show the world what Mitsubishi was made of. It's been a good run for the last 34 years. We're still standing strong, and we have some staff who have been with us for over 30 years. Our community has been extremely good to the Mitsubishi brand and to O'Brien Mitsubishi.
   
   
2. These days it's quite common to have employee turnover, however, you said you have staff who have been with you for over 30 years. Why do you think they have chosen to stay with O'Brien? You always have a little turnover; that's the case with any business, no matter how good or bad the culture is. We've been blessed to have people who work together for a long time and make a difference in people's lives. It's always fun to look back on how business was conducted in the 1990s compared to how it's done today, see how things have evolved, and experience how much quicker everything needs to be as technology has changed the dynamics of our day-to-day lives. We're blessed to surround ourselves with great people.
   
   
3. Do you have any charity efforts that you and your dealership team are especially proud of? We're proud of all the philanthropic work we do. We've been blessed to have a successful business that can give back. One of our larger partnerships is with the local Red Cross, as we've done some pretty great things together to help the Red Cross have a strong position in the community to help people in need. Through our partnership, over half of our staff is trained in CPR and First Aid. Now, we have AEDs in every single store. We've had some instances where we've had trained employees save the lives of other employees who have gone into cardiac arrest, so that's been an impactful partnership.
   
   
4. Which of the charities you've partnered or currently partner with is your personal favorite or affects you and your family personally? I have a daughter in college who found a special niche in helping kids. She loves helping children who are on the spectrum and have special needs, so I called the CEO of Lifelong Access and essentially asked, “I don't want you to hire her just because she's my daughter. I'd like you to interview her and see if maybe you have a position she can fill.” They were happy to interview her, they hired her, and it completely changed her life. She even changed her educational major and became a behavioral therapist. This is going to be her career, so I would say there's a special place in my heart for Lifelong Access and all they do.
   
   
5. Is there anything you'd like to share with your community and the people of Bloomington and Normal? We're just proud to be able to provide our community members with a place to purchase and service their cars. We've been doing this for a long time. We're working on our craft to become an elite customer service facility and provide people with an experience that exceeds their expectations. We're not successful every single time because we're human, but we do really and truly care, and we want to provide exceptional service. As a business owner, you're always very grateful for people patronizing your business. It's never taken for granted that you have a community that will do its best to support local businesses, buy local, and support the local workforce. They should have expectations in return, so we try and exceed those expectations. I'm always grateful to Bloomington/Normal for their patronage and for always supporting us as much as they could in my last 25 years.

For more information on the full lineup of Mitsubishi vehicles, visit MitsubishiCars.com.
For more information on MMNA, visit media.mitsubishicars.com.

ABOUT MITSUBISHI MOTORS NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Through a network of approximately 330 dealer partners across the United States, Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is responsible for the sales, marketing and customer service of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles in the U.S. In its recently announced Midterm Plan – “Challenge 2025” – MMNA's parent company Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has committed to accelerating its efforts toward a sustainable carbon-neutral future, setting goals of 40 percent reduction in vehicle CO2 emissions and 50 percent reduction in operational CO2 emissions by 2030. Additionally, MMC has set targets for global sales of electrified vehicles at 50 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035, leveraging a blend of plug-in hybrids (PHEV), hybrids (HEV) and pure electrics (BEV).

MMNA has its headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as corporate operations in California, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, and Florida. 

For more information on Mitsubishi vehicles, please visit media.mitsubishicars.com.

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