EVERETT — Klein Honda owner Steve Klein was named the Robert P. Mallon Dealer of the Year in May at the Washington State Auto Dealers Association annual convention.
Klein was recognized for his contributions to the auto industry, quality of his dealership and outstanding community service. He was selected for the award by a committee of his peers.
Although his father at one time owned a local Ford dealership, Klein didn’t take over the family business, according to the association.
While still a senior at Cascade High School, Klein and his older brother purchased the local Honda motorcycle dealership, which had gone bankrupt. A few years later, his brother decided to leave the business. Klein stayed and in 1974, he added the Honda automobile franchise.
At 23, Klein became the 132nd Honda auto dealer in the U.S.
With advice from his parents, Klein has had great success and has expanded his dealership several times in 40 years. The dealership is located at 10611 Evergreen Way, Everett.
Over the years, Klein has contributed to a number of organizations including the Professional Automotive Training Center at Shoreline Community College.
He and his wife Carol, a former speech therapist and administrator for the Mukilteo School District, are co-chairs of the Friends of Providence, an organization that benefits Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. Other organizations they support include: Red Cross; YMCA; Imagine Children’s Museum; Schack Art Center; Village Theater; Mukilteo School Foundation; and Housing Hope.
At the convention in Hawaii, the association announced that it gave $1,000 contribution in Klein’s honor to the Providence General Foundation.
The Robert P. Mallon award is named for a former Tacoma dealer who was the association’s president in 1966-67, is a past president of the National Automobile Dealers Association and served 30 years as the director of that group.
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