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2012 Men of the Year Honoree: Rick Hughlett

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If Rick Hughlett keeps picking up accolades at his current pace, he might have to build a new trophy case at his company’s recently expanded facility.

Just this year, his Rick’s Automotive Inc. was named Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the year, received a top honor in Springfield Business Journal’s inaugural Business Class Awards and was a recipient of the Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics by the Better Business Bureau.

Hughlett personally was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni of Ozarks Technical Community College and was chosen among 50 Missourians You Should Know by Ingram’s magazine.

The numbers speak for themselves.

Founded in 1980 with two employees, Rick’s Automotive has grown to employ 35. In 2011, the company posted revenues of $5.1 million, up 6.3 percent from $4.8 million in 2010.

Hughlett projects a 20 percent increase in 2012 revenue, largely due to the company’s $2 million, 14,000-square-foot expansion in the last year on South Campbell Avenue. The company added 10 bays and five employees across its 28,000-square-foot campus.

Hughlett also has worked to elevate the automotive repair industry by helping to form a local chapter of the Automotive Service Association, which he served as president for several years.

“It raised the level of training that was able to be obtained on a local basis by bringing in national technical trainers,” he says. “Through our lobbyist, now all shops had a voice in all state and national government decisions in bills and proposals that would affect the automotive industry.”

Hughlett also was instrumental in bringing American Automobile Association certification to Springfield repair shops. Rick’s Automotive earned AAA certification in 1996 and is one of three local shops currently certified through AAA.

With an eye on the next generation of auto repair technicians, Hughlett helped to form an advisory committee of local automotive service providers to work with the OTC transportation department. His company also holds free oil-change and vehicle maintenance seminars for women and is partners with the BBB of Southwest Missouri for the Car Care for Teens Clinic.

Through acts such as donating cars to Women in Need and cleaning up rivers with the James River Basin Partnership, Hughlett has been recognized as the Southeast Rotary Volunteer of the Year, Council of Churches’ Gift of Time recipient and with The Kitchen’s Excellence Award.

Click here for full coverage of the 2012 Men of the Year.


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