Molstead one of 4 finalists for national honor

To The Press

Mike Molstead, owner and president of Mike Molstead Motors Inc. in Charles City, was named this week as one of the four finalists for the 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year award.

Molstead was announced in October as one of a select group of dealer nominees from across the country who were to be recognized at the 104th annual National Automobile Dealers Association Show.

At that show, held virtually this week, the four regional finalists and the dealer of the year were announced.

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious honors. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service.

Molstead, 58, was chosen to represent the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition – one of only 40 auto dealers nominated from more than 16,000 nationwide.

The dealer nominees are being recognized for their support of local organizations in the midst of the global pandemic. Molstead’s initiative was raising money to finish a new gymnasium at the Charles City Middle School.

“I accepted the challenge and asked my good friend O.J. Tomson to donate with me,” Molstead said. “Together, we gave $150,000, and the new competition gym was completed.

“From day one as a dealer, I have always felt that giving back to the community we serve was as crucial as anything we do as a company,” Molstead said.

He has served as an assistant football and basketball coach for both the Charles City High School and Charles City Middle School over the past 25 years.

“I love kids, so we emphasize on helping the schools,” he said. “Just in Charles City alone, we have contributed in excess of $400,000 over the years directly or by fundraising efforts.”

Molstead, whose dealership carries the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jeep and Ram model lines, also participates in Ford Drive 4 UR School and Ford Drive 4 UR Community test-drive events, and supports Charles City Lions Club, the Charles City Area Development Corp. and the Charles City Chamber of Commerce, to name a few.

Molstead and his wife, Paula, have five children.

At the NADA annual show this week, in addition to Molstead, the other regional dealer finalists announced were from Massachusetts, Texas and Colorado.

The dealer of the year is a New Jersey-area dealer, Rick DeSilva Jr.

The award is sponsored by TIME in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with NADA.

Ally will give $10,000 to the charity of DeSilva’s choice, and will donate $5,000 to a nonprofit organization selected by each of the four finalists.