Sensational Seniors – October 2018

Jacksonville resident, Dave Mills, has a compelling story about how hard work, determination and a supportive spouse will allow anyone to be successful. Dave Mills is proof of this—while in high school, he started as a “lot boy” for the Medford Skinner-Butler Cadillac dealership and just recently retired as the co-owner of Airport Chevrolet.

Dave’s life began in Medford on February 24, 1947. He joined an older sister, and later, a brother completed the family. His father was a mechanic for Skinner Buick-Cadillac; his mother worked in the office of Dr. Wayne Roberts, a long-time Central Point doctor. Dave started elementary school in Medford, had a short schooling stint in Canada, before returning back to Southern Oregon and the Phoenix school system. His final educational stop was at Crater High School in Central Point where he played basketball for three years and where he graduated in 1966. Dave relates,” School was not easy for me… my family struggled economically and college was not an option.” This led to young Dave being drafted into the Army just as the Vietnam War was escalating. Like many young men from the west coast, he completed his basic training at Fort Lewis and then was sent to Fort Blitz in Texas for further training. Dave requested to be sent to Vietnam. “I wanted to go somewhere and not be stuck in the states my entire duty time.” The army was pleased to oblige. He started out as a company clerk in Vietnam but asked to transfer into combat and ended up as a helicopter door gunner. While some would argue with his logic Dave says, “Even though I was on helicopters that were forced down a couple times, I really believed that I was safer in the helicopter than on ground.”

Twenty-one-year-old Dave Mills was honorably discharged from the army and returned to the Rogue Valley in search of work—only to return to a lot-boy position with Jay Allen Toyota. With his prior lot-boy experience in high school, he quickly became a master at washing and detailing cars, but this job was to launch him into a career in the car business—and what a career it became!

After two years of lot-boy duties, he moved into car sales, working his way up to being a used car sales manager. From there he moved over to Travel Land RV in Medford and tried his hand at selling recreational vehicles. From there he went to Lithia Motors, initially as a salesman but, after six months, was promoted to used car sales manager of all the Lithia stores. In 1980 Dave continued his car sales education at Valley Chevrolet, first as the used car manager and then in 1983 as General Manager of Valley Chevrolet, overseeing Valley’s move to a new location on Biddle Road.

On July 1, 1985, Dave ventured into ownership of a car dealership with Alan DeBoer and Dwayne Wallace when the trio purchased Town and Country Chevrolet in Ashland. In 1990, after Valley Chevrolet went bankrupt, Dave and his partners re-opened the Biddle store as Airport Chevrolet, which has been a Southern Oregon institution ever since. Once Airport Chevrolet was up and running well, the partnership became very active, first by acquiring the GEO franchise, followed by purchasing the Dollar GMC/Oldsmobile dealership. Then, going back to Dave’s roots, they purchase the Buick and Cadillac franchises from Skinner. Their expansion was completed in 1992 when they opened a Subaru/Volvo/Mitsubishi store. Dave concluded his long-time involvement in the car business on January 8, 2018, when he sold his part of the businesses to Alan DeBoer, his son and other partners.

Dave Mills’ business philosophy is one of simplicity and hard work: “I worked seven days a week for 25 years at Airport, giving 100% each day. It didn’t take me long to figure out that you can learn something from everyone, even if you learn what not to do. The car business was easy for me, because I was willing to put in the time to be successful. For years I was the first one to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night. The most important aspect of being successful in any business is, if you are married, to have a supportive spouse and I was blessed to have that in my wife of 42 years, Janice.”

Dave’s “hard work” ethic and his salesmanship were formed when he was a young boy. Having access to the family lawnmower, he would go in search of a lawn that needed mowing and then, without talking to the homeowner, he would mow the lawn not once, but three ways with a criss-crossing pattern. He would even throw in a little weeding to spruce-up the front lawn. He would then talk to the owner. “Sometimes people were not very happy and sent me on my way but often they would say the lawn mowing job is yours if you want it. I really think this experience set me on my way.”

When asked what his biggest challenge was in his professional and personal life, he did not hesitate admitting, “The death of our son Greg from cancer at age 37 was devastating for our family and for our business, because he was going to fulfill a father’s dream and take over the business.” Dave continued, “We were sustained by our faith and our strong marriage during this difficult time and for many months after his death.” Dave and Janice are thankful that their other son, Doug, remains in the business.

Now that Dave is retired, he and Janice enjoy spending time at their summer home at Lake of the Woods and a vacation home in Bandon. Golf, boating and enjoying his four grandchildren are his three main interests in retirement, but he also gets great pleasure in supporting any number of causes. He was instrumental in bringing the Sparrow Club to Jackson County, a club that works through the school systems whereby schools adopt a fellow student who is in medical need. This nationwide program is noted for teaching humility and compassion and has been well-received in Jackson County. While Dave and Janice do not drink alcohol, they have an extensive and impressive wine cellar just for the purpose of donating it to charity auctions. They made a sizeable wine donation to the 2018 Oregon Wine Experience in memory of their son, Greg, and to support the Asante cancer treatment program.

A humble man from humble beginnings, Dave Mills was honored in 2003 by the Medford Jackson County Chamber of Commerce as the “Retailer of the Year,” but he is even more proud of the “Community Spirit” award he received in 2012 from the Chamber.

Dave and Janice moved to Jacksonville in December 2008 when their new home was completed on Pair-A-Dice Road. They enjoy the peace and seclusion of their home that sits on five acres. They sincerely appreciate Jacksonville where people are friendly and the city is well-managed and well-policed. In summing-up his life in the car business Dave notes, “I had no college degree and barely graduated from high school…I was fortunate to have a strong work ethic and my wife, Janice, who stayed at home to care for our boys when I was working 16 hours a day…she was always understanding and supportive and was a major reason we were successful.”