Car dealer seals shire honour

By Ed Merrison
AS HE celebrates 25 years at Healesville Toyota, Ian Pollock can dwell on a great many achievements.
To start with, there are Healesville Toyota’s seven President’s Awards for Excellence, awarded by Toyota Australia for exceeding the company’s benchmarks for performance and customer satisfaction.
Then there are the business’s nine Rural Dealer of the Year titles, eight of which were achieved in the last nine years.
Far from resting on his laurels, Mr Pollock learned on Tuesday, 20 September that the Shire of Yarra Ranges would present him with a Letter Under Seal, one of the highest honours the shire can bestow on a member of the community.
The presentation will recognise the awards received by the Toyota dealership, and appreciate Mr Pollock’s general contribution to the community.
But the greatest honour of all for Mr Pollock is in running his popular business with the full support and great company of his family.
Monday, 22 September, 1980, was Mr Pollock’s first day of trading at Healesville Toyota. The staff of five included a detailer, two mechanics and a bookkeeper.
Twenty five years on, Mr Pollock captains a team of 20, which counts among its ranks his eldest son and general manager Adam Pollock, son Glen as service advisor and only daughter Karen, who works as the administration manager.
“I don’t know of any other dealership where all the children of the principal are involved over a long period,” Mr Pollock said.
“They all play an important role and the fact they are all family has been one of the main reasons for the success of this dealership.”
Mr Pollock originally came into the motor trade by chance, having been offered a position as general manager by a client when he was working in the finance industry.
“I said ‘Sure, why not?’ and then ‘What does a general manager do?’” Mr Pollock said.
After about three years at a dealership in Melton, Mr Pollock took a punt on Healesville, a town that he says has changed a lot over the years. “The town’s probably doubled in size, and has gone from being a dormitory town for the outereastern suburbs to a flourishing tourist town,” he said.
Despite tough times such as the credit squeeze and high interest rates of the early 1980s, the dealership and the town have managed to thrive.
“We’ve been able not only to succeed but to flourish,” Mr Pollock said. “Here in Healesville, the heart of the Yarra Valley, we’re in the perfect geographic position to provide local service.”
The Yarra Valley also holds an important place in Mr Pollock’s heart.
His father was a primary school teacher in Lilydale, his mother, now 90, still lives there and Mr Pollock has called Lilydale his home his entire life.
But more than the business, more than the region, it all keeps coming back to family. “I’m lucky to be so close to my family, to have had the love of my parents and to work here with my family. You’ve got to have a good family life to understand what it really is to have a close family,” Mr Pollock said.
As for what the next 25 years has in store for him, he said: “I’m not sure I’ll still be here, mate.”
But there is a fair chance that the Pollock name will be, though.