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"Working for Huffines is just a true joy." said Robert Goodwin, General Manager and Huffines Auto- Dealership in Corinth.

"Just the honesty and integrity that we bring forth everyday is very important to me and it's just a great atmosphere." said Goodwin.

It's an understatement to say Goodwin loves cars.

"When I was 3 to 4 years old, we lived in Wichita Falls, Texas and my mom and dad had some very close friends who operated a Chrysler dealership there, it was the highlight of my day when we got the opportunity to go to the dealership." said Goodwin.

It's a passion.

"I loved, of course, the cars, I loved the smell, I loved everything about it." said Goodwin.

Goodwin says as soon as he could work, he took the wheel in the automobile industry and hasn't let go.

He wouldn't change that route, because outside of the passion, this road led to love.

"She had just graduated from college and was looking for her first car." said Goodwin.

Goodwin met his future wife.

"I sold her a car and it really was not until well after that actually, my manager at that time said Robert, you should really ask that girl out, and we dated for a couple of years and got married and I always joke that I wound up paying for the car." said Goodwin.

Years later, Goodwin convinced J.L. Huffines among others to give him a chance in a management position.

"He's a legend, you know, in this area and just to hear all of the stories, we still had lots of customers up here that would come in and say I remember buying a car from J.L. 25 years ago and told us all kinds of funny stories." said Goodwin.

Stories that extend for decades, many now involving the third generation owner, Ray Huffines.

"Ray has just taken that, and you know, the reputation that they have built over the years of course is very important and Ray has just done a great job at carrying that on and of instilling the culture of customer service in all of our team members." said Goodwin.

And just like the Huffines, one generation taking over the dealerships after another for 95 years, Goodwin says his daughter shares the same passion for cars.

Maybe one day, she could sell you a car, too.

"I came here to use this as a stepping stone, not knowing that I was going to meet a Ray Huffines, not knowing I was going to meet a J.L. Huffines." said Roosevelt May, General Manager at Huffines.

He's maneuvered through the business for the past 25 years after leaving the food industry.

"There was a manager actually, that worked here that frequented my restaurant quite a bit, so he gave me his card one day and said, 'hey if you ever want to do something different, come see me." said May.

May called sooner rather than later after finding himself at a dead end.

That phone call, changed his life.

"When I came here, I felt the energy, you know, there was a lot of good people around." said May.

May started as a car salesman selling mostly Chevy Cameros and Geo Trackers.

This, while working for J.L. Huffines who he says set the bar high.

"He was always upbeat, he was always encouraging..." With Ray Huffines soon following in his footsteps, "...Always asking some of the same questions that Ray Huffines today asks about team members,you know, how is Johnny, how is Billy, you know, were they able to work out their situations, that shows a lot about character, that shows a lot about the love that they have for just people period."

May says he didn't plan to be on this road for the long haul, but after talking to the person who knew him best, he had a change of heart.

"I just remember picking up the phone one day and calling my mom and saying mom, there's a man here who seems to be a really really good person, you know, and my mom told me, she said you know, stick with him, learn what you can learn from him, and that's one thing I've always had in the back of my mind was to learn from the Huffines family, from Ray Huffines and uh, because my momma told me too." said May.

A detour that led to many accolades, friends and a second family.

"That's something we see everyday is businesses that put their reputation on the back burner for the dollar and that's not something that happens here at Huffines, you know, we put people first." said May.

May says the example the Huffines family shows every day makes them successful now, and hopefully, for another 95 years.




"The Huffines family they probably don't know it but they are actually changing the automobile industry as we speak." said May.

"Integrity, honesty and respect, respect for people." said Ray Huffines, owner of Huffines Auto- Dealerships.

Those words describe the core values of the Huffines operation that started in Denton in 1924.

J.L. Huffines Sr., who's portrait now hangs on corporate walls is the man who first sat in the driver seat.

"My grandfather grew up on a farm and he started working at a garage repairing automobiles but he was the person that worked with the customers and did the books and everything and then the other person was the one that worked on the cars." said Huffines.

Back then you could buy a new car for a whopping $265. Today, that money would get you a portable Yeti cooler off Amazon.

Ray Huffines, the third generation Huffines owner says times have changed and so have the cars.

"Inflation, also because of the content of the automobiles, they've progressed so much, and there is so much equipment and things that have been added to automobiles, standard equipment even and so it's pretty hard to compare." said Huffines.

Some say almost a century ago, Huffines Sr. would get you on his sales pitch for Willy's and Overlands. In just three years, the business expanded to the Chevrolet Franchise in Lewisville.

"My grandfather was in the business for many, many years in Lewisville, Texas with the Chevrolet franchise. My dad grew up in the business J.L. Huffines Jr. and he wound up getting a dealership of his own in Commerce, Texas Chevrolet, and then later added Pontiac and Buick to that dealership. So I grew up in the business working in the summers in the service department, the parts department and learning the business that way." said Huffines.

Ray says the business became his passion.

"I enjoyed it, it's a people business and it's exciting because you never know what's going to happen." said Huffines.

95 years of business, decades of changes and shifts in the economy, Ray says much of their success comes from the faith the company relies on.

"That's something that is a part of me. At the age of 31 I decided that God had a better plan for my life than I did, so I decided to trust him and things changed. We contract with a marketplace Chaplin, and so they come and develop relationships with all of our team members, they come on a regular basis and when a team member has an issue the Chaplin is there to help them." said Huffines.

Ray believes if you invest in your team, they will succeed, and they have, the new Corinth location is expected to open in May.

"I don't know how much longer I will be in this position but my son is in the business and the plan is to see if we can take to the 4th generation." said Huffines.

A legacy continuing to build on integrity, honesty, and respect.