Former National Automobile Dealers Association Chairman Jack Kain, 94, died Tuesday of complications from cancer, a family member confirmed to Automotive News.
Kain started his career as a new-car dealer in 1952. He was elected NADA chairman in 2005. Before that, he was finance chairman of the Dealers Election Action Committee, now known as NADA PAC.
During his tenure as chairman, Kain worked to improve relations between automakers and dealers and supported dealerships in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, son David Kain said.
“He made several trips into the areas that were hardest hit, and he gathered together a lot of funding to support the dealers that were really traumatized and to a large degree essentially put out of business during that recovery period,” he said.
A renowned Kentucky auto dealer, Kain owned several stores in the state, including Jack Kain Ford in Versailles. He emphasized employee-customer relationships, David Kain said.
His philosophy was to “embrace your employees as you embrace your customers,” he said. “Make sure that your employees knew that they were valued and then they in turn would value your customers.”
Kain was on the board of the Kentucky Automobile Dealers Association for over four decades until his death.