Car king
Family Ford dealership keeps trucking
Walking the halls of his Ford dealership in Bellingham, Bob Diehl is on a mission to find Service Manager Ed Turrell. His brisk pace leaves even those much younger in the dust and his eyes leave no doubt of determination. Still, when he notices an employee limping he asks how the knee is holding up and, moments later, inquires about another employee’s recent vacation.
See, for all of Diehl’s determination and success -- including one of the largest dealerships in Washington state, the third oldest continually running Ford dealership in the world and now the 2004 Whatcom County Business Lifetime Achievement Award -- he has never stopped believing that a happy and respected staff is the best staff.
“My first priority is with my own people,” Diehl said of his employees at Diehl Ford, Inc. “If our people aren’t truly satisfied with their job they will not be able to help nurture satisfied customers. I like being around people and listening to people and I like my team. They are my family and I hope they feel the same way.”
Diehl said that because of this attitude employees form a cohesive unit. And there is little turnover.
A stable, seasoned staff has helped the dealership cultivate loyal customers.
Turrell, for one, said he is a respected employee. He started working at the dealership as a teenager and still looks forward to showing up at work everyday.
“I feel like part of the Diehl family. It would be hard not to,” Turrell said. “Bob lets us do our jobs, but makes a point of coming out of his office and mingling with everyone. Jeez, there aren’t too many people that I talk to who love coming to work everyday.”

Lifetime of achievements
Diehl didn’t expand this fourth-generation Ford dealership by simply creating a family atmosphere. It took hard work, good ethics and the good business sense he learned from his father, Robert H. Diehl, and his grandfather Hugh W. Diehl, who started the business in 1908.
As a third-grader Diehl was already tracking inventory at the dealership and by his early teens he was unloading and driving new cars back from the train station.
“My grandfather and father taught me work ethic but also an extreme sense of ethics, integrity and honesty,” Diehl said. “They told me to always do what’s right -- that’s what I learned, thank goodness -- because it has helped me in this business my whole life.”
But Diehl said he wasn’t always sure he wanted to take over the family business. Instead, upon graduation from the University of Washington in 1961 he joined the U.S. Army, gaining the rank of Captain before returning home to sell cars for his father in 1964.
In 1970, he became the general manager and served as contractor during the construction of the dealership’s current building on James Street. Since 1980, Diehl has run, and aggressively expanded, the business.
“When I did come back I felt a high sense of responsibility,” Diehl said. “I wanted to make sure not only that I didn’t screw it up but that I made it better. That’s a big load on your shoulders and at times I was awestruck with the responsibility I had put on myself.”

Lead by example
Diehl’s son, Mike, a retired U.S. Navy pilot who will eventually take over the business, said his dad’s work ethic and leadership is legendary at the dealership. While he doesn’t lead in a rah-rah style, Mike said it is nearly impossible not to be inspired by his father’s energy, loyalty and confidence.
“He leads more internally. He likes to be doing a lot and others notice that,” Mike said. “In terms of providing a vision, which way the ship is supposed to be pointed, he is a great leader.”
Turrell said that Diehl is an easy person to follow because he is a motivator. More important, Turrell said, is Diehl’s ability to be both a “coach and team player at the same time.”
“The biggest key for me is really wanting to do my job,” Diehl said. “I have an intense desire and have what I call tenacity. If you want people to believe in you, you need to believe in yourself.”

Community servant
In addition to being a hard worker and motivator, Diehl moonlights as a public servant extraordinaire.
“I don’t think people in the community really know how much he loves Bellingham and the Bellingham community,” Turrell said. “He does so much in the community that people just don’t know about.”
Just like his father and grandfather, Diehl has served as Rotary Club President and YMCA President.
But Diehl is involved in so much more. He is currently the Director of the Horizon Bank Board, serves on the Mt. Baker Council, the St. Lukes Hospital council, The Western Foundation, Western’s President Club and he is involved in the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and DARE program.
“He takes a lot of pride in being so involved in the community,” Mike said. “It is important to him to be a visible and contributing person in the community.”
In addition, Diehl was recently inducted into WWU’s Hall of Fame for his efforts as the school’s first rowing coach. He has dreams of creating a community-rowing program for Whatcom County youth.
Diehl said, however, that without the support and assistance of his wife, Conni, none of his hard work -- at the dealership or in the community -- would be possible.
“She’s my cheerleader,” Diehl said. “She supports me in everything I do and we really do a lot of the stuff together.”
Diehl said that because of Conni, Mike and the rest of the Diehl Ford team, his recent battle with lymphoma was a relative breeze.
“I had an amazing support group,” Diehl said. “Family support, employee support and community support. This situation has made me become a little more warm, and open up to people more.”
Just as Diehl beat cancer, he said the dealership will continue its long run, through thick and thin, in Mike’s steady hands.
“There was a time when I thought he might not come back…” Diehl said. “After four generations you get a real sense of pride and believe in your permanence. We’ve dealt with the Depression, fires, floods, recessions, good times and bad -- very little can mess us up.”