TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 28, 2020, Dennis Murphy the co-founder and driving force of Murphy Auto Group, succumbed to an 11-year fight with cancer. However, the Miracle of Dennis Murphy surviving his initial diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma for nearly a decade will be carried on through the car dealerships he founded with his son, Mike Murphy. The dealerships include Miracle Toyota in Haines City and Miracle Nissan of Augusta. The three remaining dealerships in the Murphy Auto Group will be rebranded as Miracle locations to continue the legacy of the man who impacted hundreds of lives during his time on this Earth.
Dennis Murphy grew up with the desire to succeed in anything he touched after experiencing humble beginnings growing up in a household of five with a father who didn't read or write. That propelled him to do well in school and sports to get to the next level. After being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, and during his career as a professional athlete for 5 years, he learned many valuable lessons from his coaches. He carried these principles with him when he began his automotive career in 1971 at the Deel Ford Dealership in Miami, Florida. His leadership skills and lessons were imparted to hundreds of employees during his nearly 50 years in the car business.
In 1979, Dennis parlayed his stake of ownership into acquiring the New Port Lincoln-Mercury dealership with his partner, RL Nunn. He took 100% ownership of the dealership in 1986 and continued to build his portfolio by purchasing Lincoln Mercury in Orlando, in 1997. Dennis created the Mission Statement: To be the Dealership of Choice - Meeting Expectations is our Business; Exceeding them is our Goal. This was the foundation for his dealerships. One of the first lessons he taught his employees is the importance of customer satisfaction and repeat business.
Dennis Murphy not only coached his employees, but he also used his knowledge from leadership seminars such as "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" to help them set goals. He understood that people need to know what brings joy and purpose in their lives to develop the focus for their true desires. A person inspired to achieve their goals will lead to great outcomes and help the business grow along the way. Dennis was adamant his son Mike understood these lessons from the moment he began working at the dealership at the age of 14 as a detailer.
Dennis and Mike were a great team and Mike absorbed all the lessons he could from his father. The journey included purchasing additional dealerships including Toyota of Winter Haven, Toyota of Albany, and Kia of Albany. In 2009, Dennis and Mike founded Murphy Auto Group to restructure the individual dealerships into one company. As they continued to purchase and divest dealerships through the years, they continuously worked on creating processes and procedures to set them up for success in the years to come. Even as Dennis retired from the daily activities of Murphy Auto Group in 2006, he was always there to support and motivate the team. Mike Murphy will share the 10 incredible life lessons that Dennis Murphy used to create the foundation of a family owned business empire in a soon to be published book called "Dennisisms – The Lessons I Learned from my Father".
Media Contact
Sylvana Murphy
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SOURCE Murphy Auto Group
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