SLS 22RS-734 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 16
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Bob Giles on being named TIME Dealer of the Year and
recognizes his years of community service.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Robert "Bob" Giles on being named the 2022 TIME Dealer of the Year and to
3 recognize his many years of outstanding community service.
4 WHEREAS, Bob Giles has been a resident of Lafayette, Louisiana, since 1982,
5 where he met and married his wonderful wife Sandy, and together they have two children;
6 and
7 WHEREAS, originally from Texas, Bob began his training in the retail automotive
8 industry at the young age of eleven, when he was paid twenty-five cents an hour to wash
9 vehicles on the lot of his father's Ford dealership in Denison, Texas; and
10 WHEREAS, at the age of twenty-four, Bob starting selling cars and landed a role as
11 sales manager at his father's automobile dealership; and
12 WHEREAS, Bob purchased a Volkswagen dealership in Lafayette, Louisiana, and
13 in 1982, he moved to Lafayette on his twenty-eighth birthday and established what has
14 become Giles Automotive, Incorporated; and
15 WHEREAS, over time, Bob grew Giles Automotive, Incorporated to more than
16 fifteen new and used car dealerships across the United States before scaling back in recent
17 years to three locations in Lafayette, one location in Opelousas, and another in El Paso,
18 Texas, and as one of his career accomplishments, Bob is credited as instrumental in
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1 launching in 1984, Lafayette's very successful annual car show and sale involving several
2 dealerships in a variety of brands coming together at an offsite location for a car shopping
3 extravaganza; and
4 WHEREAS, each year TIME magazine, in partnership with Ally Bank and the
5 National Automobile Dealers Association, honors new car dealers across America and their
6 tireless efforts to improve their communities and the world around them with the Dealer of
7 the Year award; and
8 WHEREAS, it was announced at the National Automobile Dealers Association show
9 in March that this year's top recipient of this prestigious award, out of the nearly sixteen
10 thousand dealers across the country, was Bob Giles for his efforts in the Acadiana area, of
11 Louisiana; and
12 WHEREAS, Bob's community involvement includes partnering with a local
13 television station to create the Acadiana Community Heroes campaign which recognizes
14 deserving individuals or nonprofit organizations that make a difference in the area with
15 exposure for their cause and a monetary prize; and
16 WHEREAS, Bob started Giles Gives Back to provide financial support and exposure
17 to several local community organizations including Red Bird Ministries (grief support
18 ministry that focuses on bereaved families who have experienced the loss of a child),
19 Lafayette Education Foundation (provides grants and recognition to teachers to support and
20 promote excellence in education), Lafayette Police Department's Fallen Heroes Fund
21 (provides funding for the families of Lafayette officers killed in the line of duty), Dreams
22 Come True of Louisiana (grants dreams to children with life-threatening illnesses), Acadiana
23 Animal Aid (a no-kill animal adoption center), Hunters for the Hungry (local sportsmen
24 provide fish and game for meals at homeless shelters), Boys and Girls Club of Acadiana
25 (provides youth programming in the Acadiana area), and the Outreach Center (addresses the
26 root causes of homelessness and assists women and children in need by providing critical
27 recovery services); and
28 WHEREAS, in addition, for one day in 2009, Bob sold gas at his dealership for
29 ninety-nine cents a gallon, donating proceeds to local outreach programs; in 2019, he
30 announced a thirty-day challenge to the community regarding three churches that were
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1 burned in St. Landry parish and agreed to match funds raised; and during the recent
2 pandemic, he launched Giles Essential Errand Running Service offering grocery and
3 essential item deliveries by the dealership staff to senior citizens and immunocompromised
4 individuals; and
5 WHEREAS, Bob Giles' generosity with his time and resources truly epitomizes the
6 kind of community service that is both inspirational and effective, and the pride he brings
7 to this state with national recognition for his actions should be celebrated.
8 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
9 does hereby recognize and congratulate Robert "Bob" Giles on being named the 2022 TIME
10 Dealer of the Year and commend him on his many years of outstanding community service.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
12 Robert "Bob" Giles.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Kathy Liberty.
DIGEST
SR 16 Original 2022 Regular Session Boudreaux
Commends Bob Giles on being named TIME Dealer of the Year and recognizes his years
of community service.
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