Don Hall
Treasurer and Executive Committee Member,
The Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership
State Advisory Board
Don Hall is President & CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association as well as the chief executive officer of its subsidiary corporations, including Virginia Automobile Dealers Services, Inc., the VADA Group Self-Insurance Association, the VADA Education Foundation, the Virginia Automobile & Truck Dealers PAC, and the Greater Richmond New Car Dealers Association.
Prior to entering automobile retailing Don served as a Commercial Lending Officer for First Citizens Bank of Raleigh, NC. Don was business/finance major at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, and is a graduate of the Institute for Organizational Management at Notre Dame University.
A native of Los Angeles, Don came to the east coast upon enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. As a Marine Noncommissioned Officer, Don served four years on active duty in the infantry overseas and in the states.
After nearly a decade in the automotive industry and service in the United States Marine Corps, Don joined VADA in 1988 as the chief lobbyist for the franchised dealers of Virginia. In 1996 Don became the Association’s President and CEO.
Under his leadership VADA developed into one of the leading lobbies in Virginia; VADA has been recognized repeatedly as Virginia’s leading lobby by legislators in polls conducted by Virginia Business magazine. He has been recognized by the Washington Times as one of the “Who’s Who: Five Lobbyists You Need In Your Rolodex.” Additionally, he has developed the Virginia Auto & Truck Dealers PAC from a negligible entity into one of the largest non-corporate PACs in Virginia.
Don was a founding gubernatorial appointee to the Virginia Career Education Foundation and in 2004 he was appointed by the General Assembly to a joint subcommittee to study conflicts of interests and lobbyist disclosure filings. In 2008 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees for Virginia’s Veterans Services Foundation, which serves as an advisory foundation in the executive branch of state government. The Veterans Services Foundation is governed and administered by the board of trustees for the purpose of providing funding for veteran services and programs in the Commonwealth through the Veterans Services Fund.
Don serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia as well as the boards of numerous other non-profits. He has conducted lectures at the University of Virginia, James Madison University, and the University of Richmond on effective lobbying. He also serves on the Advisory Board of The Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Corp., Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Don’s rise from extremely humble beginnings in East Los Angeles have been profiled in Virginia Business magazine and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as national automotive trade publications. Don resides in Richmond with his wife and has two adult age children.
Virginia Automobile Dealers Association (VADA)
Formed in 1943, VADA represents Virginia’s franchised new-car and -truck dealers, with more than 560 franchised new-car and -truck dealerships holding domestic and import franchises selling nearly one million vehicles annually, including more than 480,000 new vehicles and over 500,000 used vehicles, accounting for more than 20% of the Commonwealth’s retail sales.
In addition to representing Virginia dealers in their interaction with automobile manufacturers, VADA represents dealers before the Virginia General Assembly, works with regulatory agencies, manages an educational partnership with the Virginia Department of Education, oversees an Educational Foundation, and operates training and service programs to improve dealership business operations, sales, and service practices. VADA’s annual revenues exceed $16 Million.
CONTACT: Michael Allen, VADA Director of Public Affairs
Phone: (804) 545-3012 Mobile: (804) 301-1777
Email: mallen@vada.com
Biographical notes provided by the office of Don Hall
