TYSONS, Va. – Harry Moyer, president of Lowe & Moyer Garage in Fogelsville, Pa., is one of six nominees for 2019 Truck Dealer of the Year – a national award that recognizes commercial-truck dealers for industry leadership, business performance and community service.
“It’s an honor to be nominated for this award,” said Moyer, who became dealer principal in 1966. “It’s a humbling experience knowing you have been nominated from so many qualified dealers across the country.”
As a high school student, Moyer worked for Scheffy’s International dealership in Easton, Pa., in a co-op program. After graduating high school in 1959, he continued to work at the dealership as a service technician and in the parts department.
In 1964, he began working with his father-in-law, Lawrence Lowe, at Wm. J. Lowe & Sons, a sand and gravel quarry in Martins Creek, Pa., servicing and driving trucks. The business closed when the quarry could not expand.
Lowe and Moyer, while working as service technicians at C.F. Merkel Garage, were presented with an opportunity to purchase the dealership in 1966. Founded in 1933, the business included International Harvester Trucks, Cub Cadet lawn tractors and Corsair Travel Trailer franchises. After purchasing the business from Merkel, the dealership name was changed to Lowe & Moyer Garage.
“My experience becoming a dealer was very memorable. Lawrence and I were business partners in the dealership with many years of success until his passing in February 1997,” Moyer added. “Things were quite different 52 years ago than they are today. Through the years, we’ve worked with many exceptional field representatives from Navistar.”
Today, the dealership, which is operated by second- and third-generation family members, includes 50 employees at one location offering a full line of International Trucks.
Promoting vehicle safety and youth sportsmanship in their community, Moyer and his family are lifetime members of the Lehigh Valley Quarter Midget Racing Club in Kuhnsville, Pa., where they volunteer in different capacities.
The national Truck Dealer of the Year award is sponsored by the American Truck Dealers (ATD), Heavy Duty Trucking magazine and Procede Software.
The other nominees are David Kriete from Kriete Truck Centers in Milwaukee, Wis.; Kim Mesfin from Affinity Truck Center in Fresno, Calif.; Terry Minor from Cumberland International Trucks in Nashville, Tenn.; Trey Mytty from Truck Center Companies in Omaha, Neb.; and John Nichols from Palmer Kenworth in Indianapolis.
The nominees were selected by ATD board members and dealer association executives. Professors from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, Ind., will evaluate the nominees based on dealership performance, industry leadership and community service.
The winner and runner-up will be announced on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, during the 56th annual ATD Show in San Francisco, which runs concurrently with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show from Thursday, Jan. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 27.
ATD, a division of NADA, represents more than 1,800 heavy- and medium-duty truck dealerships in the U.S.
For more information about ATD Show 2019, visit atdshow.org.
This is the fourth article in a six-part series featuring the nominees for 2019 Truck Dealer of the Year.
