“NPDA exists to Promote, Unite, Represent and Educate powersports dealers,” Jayson Davis, owner/operator of PowerSports of Greenville and a National Powersports Dealer Association Board Member told the group gathered in Columbus for the inaugural DealerConnect event. “We want to keep things P.U.R.E. and DealerConnect achieved all these goals at a time in history when we need it the most.”
This wasn’t just lip service! The event was important enough to Davis that he left his storm damaged dealerships to attend DealerConnect, despite the fact that it had been 13 days since he had power or running water in his South Carolina home. After seeing his impassioned presentation to the dealers, we had to sit down with him to find out why he is such a staunch supporter of his fellow dealers!
As the dealership tagline says, Powersports Of Greenville is “Large enough to accommodate, small enough to appreciate…” We certainly appreciate Jayson’s enthusiasm and drive to make us all better… and to keep our motives P.U.R.E.
Hi, I’m Jayson Davis with Powersports of Greenville in South Carolina. We are OEM Can-Am, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha, and we do a great business with pre-owned as well. We manage to exceed customer expectations day-to-day by supplying powersports products and delivering those dreams to everybody… ourselves included! It’s fun.
That’s the great thing about this industry. People get into it to feed their hobby, not because it’s a sound business decision.
No, truthfully, it’s all about me! It’s about my seven kids, it is about our team in the dealership and it is about our riding community. Obviously, if you do it well and really put effort into it. It rewards you. And I think a lot of people in the industry that’s what they’re looking for. It is rewarding. It’s not the same 9-to-5 grind every day… we’re here because we want to be here. Our customers want us to be here. It’s win-win…
It’s all good until the storms come. You are there in the epicenter. You’ve been without power or water for how many days now?
We have been at the house for 13 days with no power, no water. It has been a full three weeks at our subsidiary dealerships in Asheville…
How many stores do you have in total?
Five: Powersports of Greenville, Chimney Rock Harley-Davidson, Cherokee Harley-Davidson, MR Motorcycles of Asheville, Harley-Davidson of Asheville with around 100 employees as part of our extended family.
What we’ve learned through the storms is the same thing we’re trying to do with NPDA, actually. We’re trying to connect and build synergy between all of us. That is what Hurricane Helene reiterated to us — if we work together, it’s amazing what we can accomplish and how fast these accomplishments can come!
It is about what you can do, and the relationships and the long term building of trust that we’ll have. Our stores will never be the same — our people will never be the same — but we’re stronger. We’re poorer for what we lost, but we’re stronger, and that, truthfully, is a benefit.
It’s a shame that it takes a tragedy to bring us together like that, but nothing else is that crucible of fire. You live through it. You are better for it.
It is bad, but as you look and reflect, you can already see the buds on the trees and in our business… These are the beginnings, the new truths that we’re going to live by. It’s a life-changing experience for a lot of people — our employees, families and customers —have experienced death, they’ve had many tragedies, but we also have each other. And as simple as that sounds, it’s an amazing benefit, because the people in this industry are the greatest people in the world!
They really are. And you’ve got that big family, but you also have five stores, they’re all extended family members. Now as an NPDA Board of Directors member, your extended family is getting even bigger! Yet with everything going on, you raised your hand to get on board early with this organization.
Even before DealerConnect was mentioned, I was excited to join this organization. Promote, Unite, Represent and Educate… It’s great to be able to pick up the phone and call someone within this industry. We have many very intelligent people in powersports. Some of them do one thing really well. Some of them do many things well. But if we could connect and unite and build it — not just for us and the people in the industry now, but for the future generations as well — that’s what I’m really excited about!
When we have to hand the reins over, we want it to be bigger, better, more entrenched for our future generations coming up behind us. I want them to experience the same benefits that I have!
