Jo Hooker |
General Motors dealer Jo Hooker exemplifies the American Dream. Her family arrived in the United States in 1968 on the last freedom flight out of Cuba as a Cuban refugee. Today she owns and operates Freedom Buick GMC Truck in Odessa and is one of only seven Hispanic women in the country with a GM store.
Mrs. Hooker is now an American citizen, and her love for her country is demonstrated by the 30' by 60' American flag, as well as the name she chose for her dealership. "The flag represents something that is very great to me, which is freedom, and I'm grateful for this country. The bigger the better. It's a statement we want to make at our dealership. We came to this country for freedom and once I got my dealership I felt it was appropriate to name it something important to me."
Mrs. Hooker began her career almost 20 years ago as a cashier in her older brother's dealership in Michigan. She eventually worked her way up to accounting, on to sales, ending up as Finance and Insurance Manager. She moved to Texas in 1993 to work at a different brother's dealership, where she learned about advertising and inventory management. After three years she returned to Michigan and soon enrolled in the National Automobile Dealer Association General Dealership Management Program; she was promoted to Sales Manager while completing the hands-on training and coursework. She acquired Freedom Buick GMC Truck in 2001 through GM's Minority Dealer Development program and is currently purchasing the dealership through the finance program.
General Motors was the first domestic automaker to offer a structured minority dealer initiative; it focuses on training, dealership selection, and retention. Because of the strength of this program, GM now has hundreds of minority-owned dealerships, and nearly 70 percent of the dealers own their dealerships outright.
"All three of us (Mrs. Hooker and her two brothers) have gone through the program, and we're very grateful to General Motors for the opportunities they have given us," she said.
GM has also introduced the Women's Retail Initiative, a program designed to increase the number of female dealers and dealership employees, make the dealership environment more appealing to female customers and employees, and ensure female-owned dealerships perform as well as those in the general dealership population. The initiative is directed by the Women's Dealer Advisory Council, of which Mrs. Hooker is a member. The WDAC has representation on the National Dealer Council.
In honor of Mrs. Hooker's accomplishments as well as the achievements of her business and its employees, Texas State Representative Buddy West selected the dealership as his Texas Outstanding Business for July 2003 and presented her with a Texas flag flown over the Capitol in their honor. Also in 2003, Mrs. Hooker was named Mexican American Network of Odessa Hispanic Business Woman of the Year.
Freedom Buick GMC Truck, along with the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, sponsor the annual ATHENA Award, now in its fourth year, honoring an exceptional individual who has achieved excellence in her/his business or profession, has served the community in a meaningful way, and has assisted women in reaching their full leadership potential. Both Mrs. Hooker and Odessa believe in the underlying values of the ATHENA Foundation; the philosophy of incorporating the talent and expertise of women into the leadership of businesses, communities, and government.
Mrs. Hooker said she believes the Athena Award has had a positive impact in Odessa, raising awareness of the important role women play in the workplace and community. "I think not only did it bring awareness but that we should also acknowledge both women and men who are deserving and need to be recognized," Hooker said.
In addition to operating her dealership, Mrs. Hooker serves her community as a member of the Mexican American Network of Odessa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Odessa Development Corporation Board, the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, the Education Foundation, the Odessa Junior League Advisory Board and the Goodwill West Texas Board.
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