Company: OC Mazda – with dealerships in Huntington Beach and Tustin.
Special Award: John Patterson, OC Mazda president, as top leader for small companies.
John Patterson owns the Mazda dealership at 16800 Beach Blvd. in Huntington Beach. He is receiving the Orange Ccounty Register's "Top Leader" award for his work there.
Why he won the award: Patterson has done some old-fashioned business management: his two dealerships win awards for customer service, he gives back to the community and he treats his employees with a great big Christmas Party.
Just five years old, OC Mazda has already won several awards from Mazda Corp., which he said "motivates us to stay at the top of our game." A recent grand-reopening at the Huntington Beach location repositioned that dealership as the only "Mazda Retail Revolution" showroom in Orange County. But it had a decidedly old-fashioned party, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Mazda representatives and local politicians.
Patterson sets aside $50 from every vehicle sold to be donated to community charities, such as the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Pancreatic Cancer Research and the Mariners Elementary School Foundation. A member of the Mariners Church in Irvine, Patterson also offers "give cards" instead of gift cards, that offer support to those in need. For instance, the company helped the firefighters and those affected in last year's wildfires.
"Our philosophy is very simple: take care of the community and the community will take care of our business," he said.
The company's annual Christmas Party is "a true morale builder," Patterson said, and he treats his employees to a Prom Night-like party, an overnight stay at a nice hotel, and a babysitter to watch employees' children.
"Many dealers have eliminated this expense as unnecessary, but I could not disagree more," he said.
Last year's party was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Irvine and the company threw a murder-mystery dinner. Gifts ranging from $25 to $2,000 each were given out and presents were also given to the kids.
Downturn strategy: Adopting a theme from a Patterson friend, the company went to a "Nice, but not needed" philosophy. Managers ran down all costs in an effort to "find money," Patterson said. Managers found they were wasting $10,000 a month in advertising costs and even went through electric bills, discovering that thermostats were set too high at night. The oil used for servicing cars was found, after some research, at a lower cost. Vendors were asked for discounts, which were sometimes given.
"We put a pencil to every expense that we have," Patterson said.
Although the company still had to lay off six employees from its staff of 104, Patterson said the savings helped save a few jobs and the company didn't have to pass on any costs to its customers.
http://www.ocmazda.com
2009 HONDA ACCORD, WITH A LOW 7,435 MILES, 
