HOUSE MEMORIAL 33

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Sheryl Williams Stapleton

A MEMORIAL

EXTENDING RECOGNITION TO EDDIE CORLEY, SR., FOR HIS LEADERSHIP AND MANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO HIS COMMUNITY, TO MINORITY BUSINESSES AND TO THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, Eddie Corley, Sr., has shown great leadership on behalf of minority dealers in the automotive industry and has advocated for opportunities for other minority dealers; and

     WHEREAS, Eddie, Sr., is a twenty-six-year veteran of the automotive industry and chief executive officer of the Corley automotive group, which has eight dealerships in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, he came from humble beginnings, selling cotton, and, working hard with his wife, Gladys, he bought his first service station, then a second and then eventually bought his first automotive dealership in Grants, New Mexico, in 1982; and

     WHEREAS, his eight children worked with him in the family businesses as they grew up; and

     WHEREAS, Eddie Corley, Sr., was awarded the auto dealer of the year award in 2007 by Black Enterprise Magazine, and it named him number twenty-three on its 2007 list of one hundred top African Americans in the automotive business sector; and

     WHEREAS, he has received numerous awards for market share and customer excellence; and

     WHEREAS, he finished in the top ten for the national automobile dealer's association dealer of the year award for Ed Corley Nissan and was named businessman of the year in Grants; and

     WHEREAS, Eddie, Sr., is nationally recognized as a two-term member of the board of the Ford motor minority dealer's association and has been a member of that organization since 1982; and

     WHEREAS, he has built lifelong relationships with customers by providing quality, value, convenience and courtesy together with extensive knowledge of and experience in the New Mexico marketplace; and

     WHEREAS, he understands what is needed to gain the confidence and support of existing and potential customers; and

     WHEREAS, Eddie, Sr., has been an active member of his community, supporting many activities at local schools, including little league baseball and football teams and Walk of Life; and

     WHEREAS, Eddie, Sr., attributes the success of the Corley automotive group to strong family values and high standards and wants others to know that "we try to be true to the communities and the people we serve";

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that recognition be extended to Eddie Corley, Sr., for his leadership, unyielding service and many contributions to his community, to minority businesses and to New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to Eddie Corley, Sr.

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