R.M. Stoudt connects to the community

Supporting the community is not a new concept for the R.M. Stoudt Inc. dealership, said Clint Boom, general manager.

"Casey's grandparents started the dealership and felt it was important to give back to the community," he said. "Four generations later and it is still important."

The Running of the Pink is the highest-profile event for the dealership.

"The Running of the Pink is not the only event we do but one of the biggest," Boom said. "The list is longer than we have time for."

The Running of the Pink benefits women's health programs in the Jamestown area with all money raised remaining local.

"No overhead," said Tara Kapp, business development and internet manager. "One hundred percent is gifted back to charity."

The Running of the Pink began in 2007 with about 60 participants. The 2019 event included more than 500 participants with a record participation in 2018 of 707 people.

"Now we have people coming from all around the country for the event," Boom said. This year's edition is planned for June 6.

The event is based in the background of Casey Stoudt and former manager Doug Kloudt, who were both runners in college, Boom said.

"There weren't any runs in Jamestown so they started looking around for needs to be met in the community," he said.

The Stoudt dealership has found other ways to contribute to the community and promote their lines of vehicles through test-drive events sponsored by Ford and Lincoln.

"The corporation donates based on the number of test drives," Boom said. "The event is designed to get people to take a test drive of their cars but the money goes to whatever charity is designated. It keeps the money local in Jamestown."

Kapp said that the community benefit activities of these programs help keep employee spirits high.

"When the cause is right, that's what is fun," she said.

This year's Running of the Pink has another fun aspect.

Casey Stoudt, who turned 70 years old this year, vowed to run the 10K version of the Running of the Pink this June. His blog about his training efforts is called "Casey on the Run" and is available at www.StoudtFord.com.

Aside from the training effort, Casey Stoudt has also pledged to match extra donations to the Running of the Pink of up to $10,000 to improve the benefit to the JRMC Foundation's No Excuses Program and the Women's Way Chapter for Breast and Cervical Cancer.

Boom said the dealership uses the same processes to manage its community events as it does in the operation of the dealership.

"We have committees of employees that work on it," he said, referring to projects. "We usually end up with a huge goal and a step-by-step plan."

Kapp said that helps them meet community and business goals.

"The events we hold are more than charity events," she said. "It is a partnership with the community."

That partnership with the community has allowed the dealership to grow with the times. Currently, the dealership employs about 60 full-time staff and about 20 part-time workers.

While the dealership has grown and the product lines have increased, the goals and mission of the Stoudt family haven't changed since the founding of the business in the 1940s.

"The events we hold are more than charity events, they are partnerships with the community," Boom said. "We want to have a deeper connection to the community than just a building and cars."

This story is advertorial content that appeared in the 2020 Progress Edition of The Jamestown Sun.