Ray Chevrolet scores sixth Dealer of the Year award

FOX LAKE — That Ray Chevrolet in Fox Lake has scored its sixth Dealer of the Year award comes as no curiosity to longtime customers like Woody Powers.

Since 1991, Powers, his business and his immediate family members have purchased more than 200 personal and commercial fleet vehicles from Ray, Powers said.

“It’s not at all surprising,” Powers said after learning of the accolade. “I can’t believe it’s only six.”

The most recent award, announced this spring, is based on 2025 transactions, and puts Ray Chevrolet in the top 2 percent of roughly 2,900 dealerships nationwide for sales, service and operational excellence. It is General Motors’ most challenging honor to achieve, and it’s one Ray earned in 2013 and 2017-20 as well.

Ray Scarpelli Jr. and his son, Ray Scarpelli III, currently own and operate the 35-year-old business started by Scarpelli Jr.’s father. Both said they are extremely honored by their latest Dealer of the Year designation.

Ask either of them and they’ll attribute their success to three things: a great employee team; wonderful customers who provide repeat business and referrals; and community involvement that stems from gratitude.

“We’re set in a great community,” said Scarpelli Jr., seated with Ray III in the latter’s office at the dealership at 39 Route 12, Fox Lake, a glass case brimming with company awards just outside. “We’ve been very fortunate.”

Sherri Messina, a Ray employee ever since Scarpelli Jr. took over in 1991, said Ray’s family orientation, and the Scarpellis’ continual customer-experience improvement emphasis, make it a tremendous place both to work and to do business.

Both Scarpellis said they spent much of their childhoods at the dealership — washing cars and observing how solid, handshake business was done. When Scarpelli Jr. took over, Ray had 18 employees. Now, more than 100 full- and part-time employees work for Ray Chevrolet, which sells about 120 new cars and 80 to 100 used cars each month.

The dealership has been a pace-setter for modern services such as online shopping and mobile servicing, the Scarpellis said. “We’ll come to you and we’ll service your car at your house or place of business,” Scarpelli Jr. said. “We can perform 101 mobile services, everything from an oil change to a tire replacement or a brake job, to name a few.”

Additionally in keeping with the times, Scarpelli III is launching a podcast called “The Road Ahead,” aimed at demystifying the car buying process. Community involvement and employee recognition events also play a major role in how the Scarpellis conduct business. Blood drives, food drives, toy drives, area school supply awards, and activities in support of Habitat for Humanity, Save-a-Pet and the USO all are part of the calendar, engaging community members in quality-of-life endeavors.

“We’ve helped raise over $50,000 since 2013 for the United Service Organizations of Illinois,” Scarpelli Jr. said. “There’s no shortage of good causes out there. We try to pick things that help our community first, and things important to the team here.”

The Scarpellis’ sister dealership, Ray Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, also on Route 12 in Fox Lake, has donated more than $300,000 in new Jeeps for the Jeeps on the Run Toys for Tots Run raffle since 2020.

It’s all served to make the dealerships not just places to go in search of a new vehicle or for a part or service, but also as community hubs. For customers like Powers, it’s also all served to make Ray Chevrolet not only Dealer of the Year, but dealer for life.

“They treat you like family when you walk in the door, from top to bottom,” he said. “Anytime anyone asks us where we go for vehicles and why do we go there, we tell them Ray Chevrolet — for the way you’re treated, the way they care for you.”