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PODCAST: Petition to Revive Dealership Drives Thousands of Signatures

Bob Ladd owned Shenandoah Harley-Davidson from 1998 to 2011. Under new ownership, the dealership permanently closed its doors in August 2020. Community members gathered together to create a petition to bring Bob back into the dealership business.

Three years away from his 50th birthday, Bob Ladd stood in one of his seven pharmacies and had a moment of insight. He knew of a trend that when people turned 50, they have a “coming of age moment,” which is a turning point on how an individual moves forward. Typically, this person does something that they normally wouldn’t have done ten years prior, like buying their dream car and getting a new job. Ladd had plenty of cars, so his next adventure would be to find a new job.

That day, Ladd called Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee and told them he wanted to be a motorcycle dealer. Aligning his application with the motor company, Ladd was on a wait list until a dealership was available in Virginia.

“I walked into a Harley-Davidson dealership and they asked, ‘do you want to buy a bike?’ and I told them ‘I want to buy all of them. I want to be a dealer,’” Ladd said.

After negotiating a deal, Ladd became the owner of Shenandoah Harley-Davidson in January 1998.

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