New Dealership, Kelsey Chevrolet, Is A Family Dream Realized

Friday, March 6, 2015 at 6:28 AM

By Mike Perleberg

(left to right) Paul Cluxton, Mike Kelsey, and Walt Kelsey are the family behind Kelsey Chevrolet, formerly Lawrenceburg Chevrolet. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle 99.3. (Greendale, Ind.) – Lifelong Cincinnati west sider Mike Kelsey did not hesitate to jump at the opportunity when he was approached to purchase his first automobile dealership. “We couldn’t have put our fingers on a store that we would rather be in than right here,” Kelsey says from his office overlooking a new car lot on U.S. 50 in Greendale. Kelsey finalized his purchase of Lawrenceburg Chevrolet from the Williams Auto Group on Wednesday. He, his son Walt, and sons-in-law Paul Cluxton and Bay Guidugli are the new faces that customers now meet when they visit in search of a new or used car or service. The family has been operating the store under a management contract for the past three months. Now, the dealership which has been selling cars and trucks to southeast Indiana since opening as Ande Chevrolet in 1963 is operating under a new name: Kelsey Chevrolet. Owning a dealership accomplishes an enduring dream for Kelsey. He sold his first car the day after he graduated from high school in 1967. He learned the ins and outs of the auto dealer industry during a long career split mostly between Sweeney Chevrolet and McCluskey Chevrolet. “I’ve worked for two really, really good dealers and they’ve been very good to me. But I have three special young men – a son and two son-in-laws – that are really good at this business. I didn’t want them working for somebody else for 47 years. That’s where this came from,” says Kelsey. Fittingly, the business will use the tag line “From our family to yours.” Kelsey says his sights are set high in terms of their sales goals and level of customer service. The store currently employs about 45 people, but Kelsey says more could be hired if sales grow as expected. “We know that there is only one way that is going to happen, and that is to treat people right and take care of the customer - not just at the time of sale but as long as they have that particular vehicle,” Kelsey says. Dearborn County can expect to see the Kelsey name become more prominent in communities and schools. Kelsey says he’ll be visiting various places around town shaking hands and exchanging business cards. A basketball camp is a possibility. Mike’s son Pat Kelsey is a Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball hall of famer and currently the head coach at Winthrop University. Walt also played at NKU and is in the school’s athletic hall of fame. Kelsey Chevrolet sold its first car, a 2001 GMC Sierra, on Thursday. The first new car, a 2015 Chevrolet Impala, rolled out the door hours later.