Ally and TIME Celebrate the 2017 TIME Dealer of the Year: Carl Swope of Kentucky

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry's most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation's most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Mr. Swope was selected from a group of 49 nominees nationwide and was announced TIME Dealer of the Year at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention in New Orleans on January 27.

During the celebration event, Mr. Swope was recognized for his community involvement, tireless support of civic activities, and commitment to local nonprofit organizations such as Hardin Memorial Health Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and Project United.

"On behalf of all of us at Ally, we are honored to recognize Carl Swope and his commitment to doing right and bettering the community and the state of Kentucky," said Tim Russi, president of auto finance at Ally. "Carl Swope embodies the character and type of leader that the TIME Dealer of the Year program was built to recognize."

A second-generation automobile dealer, Mr. Swope followed in the footsteps of his father and uncle who opened their first dealerships in 1952. He has worked in all phases of the retail automobile business at his family stores, and he even sold cars to friends and faculty while studying at Indiana University. Today, he oversees six dealerships representing nine brands in Elizabethtown and Radcliff, Kentucky.

In addition to his business endeavors, Mr. Swope and his family of dealerships have supported the Community Health Clinic of Hardin and LaRue Counties through many events and contributions since its founding in 2002. In honor of his efforts as the 2017 TIME Dealer of the Year, Ally presented a $10,000 grant to the clinic, on behalf of Mr. Swope. 

"We are so grateful for Carl Swope's involvement with the Community Health Clinic of Hardin and LaRue Counties," said Dr. William Handley, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "We are elated that Carl has been chosen for this prestigious award, and we cannot thank him enough for his contribution to this organization. Day in and day out he continues to inspire and encourage thousands of community members."

The Community Health Clinic of Hardin and LaRue Counties opened in 2002 and provides basic health/dental care, prescription assistance, advocacy and education to residents in Hardin, LaRue, Meade, Breckinridge & Grayson counties who are uninsured or underinsured. The clinic increases access to health care for hundreds of people in the area each year.

Mr. Swope also currently serves on the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce President's Circle; the Knox Regional Development Alliance; Lincoln Heritage Council for the Boy Scouts of America; Elizabethtown Tourism Commission; and Elizabethtown Airport Board. Furthermore, Mr. Swope helped establish the local affiliate for Habitat for Humanity and the statewide Kentucky Habitat; and helped organize a Jimmy Carter Work Project called Hammering in the Hills to build more than 50 homes in Pike County over a one-week period.

Swope graduated from Elizabethtown High School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and earned a B.S. in business administration from Indiana University Bloomington in 1978.

For more information about the TIME Dealer of the Year program, or to learn more about the nominees, please visit www.allydealerheroes.com

About Time Inc.

Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME) is a leading content company that engages over 150 million consumers every month through our portfolio of premium brands across platforms. By combining our distinctive content with our proprietary data and people-based targeting, we offer highly differentiated end-to-end solutions to marketers across the multimedia landscape. Our influential brands include People, Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Real Simple and Southern Living, as well as approximately 50 diverse titles in the United Kingdom. Time Inc. has been extending the power of our brands through various acquisitions and investments, including Viant, an advertising technology firm with a specialized people-based marketing platform; The Foundry, Time Inc.'s creative lab and content studio; and the People Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). The Company is also home to celebrated events, such as the Time 100, Fortune Most Powerful Women, People's Sexiest Man Alive, Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year, the Essence Festival and the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

About Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial services company and a top 25 U.S. financial holding company offering financial products for consumers, businesses, automotive dealers and corporate clients. Ally's legacy dates back to 1919, and the company was redesigned in 2009 with a distinctive brand, innovative approach and relentless focus on its customers. Ally has an award-winning online bank (Ally Bank Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) which offers deposit, mortgage and credit card products, one of the largest full service auto finance operations in the country, a complementary auto-focused insurance business, a growing digital wealth management and online brokerage platform, and a trusted corporate finance business offering capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.

The company had approximately $163.7 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2016. For more information, visit the Ally press room at http://media.ally.com or follow Ally on Twitter: @AllyFinancial.

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SOURCE Ally Financial