There are two sayings that summarized Carl Hogan’s professional and personal philosophy.
“Take care of your employees, and they’ll take care of the customers; and the customers will take care of you” characterized his success in business.
“I got the check” spoke to the generosity of his spirit.
Hogan, 74, died on the morning of New Year’s Eve in Pensacola, Florida, following a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer.
Born in the Birmingham, Alabama, area, Hogan lived roughly the last 20 years of his life in Florida. But it was 24 years in Columbus that he became known as one of the most successful car dealers in the region, beginning in 1996 with the founding of Carl Hogan Automotive with his childhood friend and business partner Jim Cannon.
At the time of his death, the Chevrolet, GMC, Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Ram, Honda and Toyota dealerships were under the Carl Hogan umbrella selling thousands of autos and generating enormous amounts of sales tax revenue for the city.
“I’ve been able to watch Dad become an incredible businessman throughout my life,” said Josh Hogan, Carl Hogan’s eldest son, who serves a comptroller of Carl Hogan Toyota. “I’ve had the pleasure of working for my dad for 16 years, and I’ve heard from countless employees every step of the way over the years how much they enjoy working for him. So many said that he was the best boss they ever had. I feel that way too.”
From satellites to sedans
Hogan began his career installing satellite dishes in Alabama then opening a convenience store and liquor store and partnering in a bar and grill before getting into car sales. After several years working for Jim Cannon at Cannon’s dealership in Jasper, Alabama, Hogan and Cannon partnered in opening the first of the Carl Hogan dealerships in Columbus.
Clyde Rhea has been with Hogan from the start.
“I was the second person he hired for the Columbus dealership,” Rhea said. “It opened in December of 1996, but I started a couple of months earlier to help get things organized for the opening.”
Over an almost 30-year working relationship with Hogan, Rhea came to know his boss for his kindness.
“He was the greatest guy to work with,” Rhea said. “He would do anything for you and was generous to a fault. If there was anybody he thought was down on either luck, he wanted to help them.”
His commitment to his employees was not idle talk.
“Working for Mr. Hogan completely changed my life,” said Zachary Rodriquez, now a small business owner in Georgia. “I remember back when Toyota had their sudden acceleration issue. Before there was a fix in place, there was a stop sale on just about every Toyota. He came in and met with all of us, … told us not to worry and gave us all $500. That showed me that he genuinely cared for us and our families.”
Josh said that generosity extended beyond his workers.
“I have heard countless stories of so many people he’s helped and befriended throughout the years – some I know, and hundreds of others I’ll never know because Dad helped them anonymously,” Josh said. “I’ve gotten to watch Dad help out and give people the opportunity to get back on their feet, be able to go into business for themselves, find a new career path they couldn’t have attempted otherwise, or get to a future they never thought possible. Every single time he helped anyone, he never expected anything in return.”
Picking up the check
Josh said the surest way to raise his father’s ire was to pick up the check at a restaurant.
“He loved to take people to dinner or invite them to his home for a meal,” Josh said. “Everyone who knows Dad knows the easiest way to get him angry at you was to pay the bill at dinner before he could. I’ve seen him get downright hostile any time a friend or employee would sneak out and handle the bill before someone could bring it to him. Being able to take care of people like that always brought him incredible joy, and I really think he was always angry because someone took that opportunity away from him. Above all else, Dad enjoyed being able to take care of other people: Through meals, through gifts, through assistance, through encouragement, through employment, through opportunities.”
Although funeral arrangements haven’t been completed, Josh said he is encouraging people not to send flowers.
“If you would like to do anything like that to honor Dad, call up someone that also knows dad and make plans to have dinner with them,” Josh said. “Share stories about him or about anything y’all have in common.”
And, by all means, be sure to pick up the check.
“That would make Dad smile,” he said.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
