PHIL LONG DEALERSHIPS, INC.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING

 

 

Mr. Philip Long's story began in 1918 in Ponca City, Oklahoma, where he lived until the eighth grade.  He spent his high school years and college years at Principia Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, graduating in 1940.  After just one year of law school at the University of Michigan, Mr. Long enlisted in the United States Navy.  World War II was raging and in 1942, Mr. Long mastered his training as a Hellcat fighter pilot in the South Pacific.  He successfully flew over 120 missions from the USS Enterprise, the most decorated ship of this era.  Mr. Long was a highly decorated soldier, receiving the Air Medal; a Gold Star and a Presidential Citation.

In September 1945, Mr. Long was honorably discharged at the rank of Lieutenant Commander.  One month later, he and R. Doenges purchased Vollmer Brothers Ford and changed the name to Doenges-Long Ford, thus beginning more than a half century legacy of car dealerships.  By 1964, he bought out Doenges, changed the name to Phil Long Ford, Inc. and moved to the dealership to what is now known as Motor City.

In 1975, Philip Long brought in Jay Cimino as his partner, general manager and eventually company CEO.  Ask anyone who knows Jay Cimino, and it's immediately clear how deep his contributions to the fabric of the Colorado Springs community run.

Mr. Cimino's story begins in 1936.  Born and raised in Trinidad, Colorado.   He spent his high school years in Parochial School, excelled in football, baseball and track & field.  After graduating in 1954, Mr. Cimino joined the Marine Corp. and served in the MP / Security outfit and was known throughout his company as a "jack of all trades".  

After the Marine Corp., Mr. Cimino attended Trinidad Community College in Colorado, receiving his Associates degree.  He then went on to attend the University of Denver, made the Deans List and graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.  Immediately after graduating from the University of Denver, he married Emily Roitz and went to work for BF Goodrich as a Territory Manager for the Front Range (Colorado, New Mexico & Kansas), Remaining until 1965 when he moved to Pueblo and worked his way up from a finance clerk to New Car Manager at Jess Hunter Ford.  In 1972, Jay moved his family to Santa Fe, NM and took on the role of General Manager and Partner of the Santa Fe Buick, Pontiac, GMC dealership until 1975.  Over the year's Jay and Phil built the Phil Long Family of Dealerships into what it is today.  Sadly, Mr. Philip Long passed away in August of 2001, but his life's work and legacy continues to flourish through his reputation and passion for solid business practices, commitment to the community and lasting relationships.

It is clear why Mr. Long put the company in the hands of his partner and friend, Jay Cimino – CEO and President of Phil Long Dealerships.  Mr. Cimino's giving nature is a true reflection of the man he is in both his personal and business life.  Committed to improving the quality of life for all citizens, he nurture's and inspires ideas that benefit our community.  

Phil Long Dealerships is a product of innovation.  For example recently Jay implemented a partnership with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) that saved the CSPD and Colorado Springs tax payers $212,000.  The idea was simple …"Recycle".  A team of Phil Long Ford Master Technicians dismantled, rebuilt and restored nine battered and bruised Crown Victoria patrol cruisers to brand new condition.  Once all 100 Crown Victoria Cruisers are restored, the savings to the City of Colorado Springs will be in the millions.  This is truly an innovative concept, as Phil Long is the first Ford Dealership in the Nation to create and execute this unique service opportunity.  This is just one of the many examples of the Phil Long family of dealerships pioneering spirit.

That same passion fueled the partnership with Trinidad State Junior College.  With a donation of more than a half million dollars, a first-of-it's-kind auto mechanic curriculum was established featuring a fully operational 15,000 square foot service facility, state-of-the-art equipment for gas and diesel engine repair, faculty members and even dormitories.  In addition to the grant, Cimino set-up a scholarship fund for this program; a percentage of the gross earnings of the shop are applied to the fund.

His leadership gave life to the Phil Long Community Fund in 1991, which provides grants for 501c3 youth based organizations. The mission of the Phil Long Community Fund is to sponsor activities and resources that will champion the self-esteem and performance of youth in their pursuit of achieving excellence in the areas of education, sports and recreation. Since its inception, the Phil Long Community Fund has granted over 2 Million Dollars to youth organizations across the Front Range.  

The Phil Long Community Fund has also teamed up with John Walsh (from America's Most Wanted) to host the DNA Lifeprint & Safety Days. With help from the police, fire, sheriff and ambulance departments, we provided families with an opportunity to safeguard their children through DNA & fingerprint sample kits.  Over a 4 year period, the PLCF provided more than 4,000 children with DNA Sample Kits.  Although it's not the only way, it is through the Phil Long Community Fund that the Phil Long Family of Dealerships is able to support our young people and to give back to the community.

Jay personally inspired the idea of the "Fantasy Playground" project.  With the support of his friend Mike Shanahan and the Denver Bronco's Charities Fund, the first "Fantasy Playground" was built in 1996.  Since that time 9 fantasy playgrounds, and 2 fantasy fields have been built:               

1996 ~ City Park - Denver

 1997 ~ Palmer Park - Colorado Springs

 1998 ~ Cornerstone Park, Highlands Ranch - Denver

 1999 ~ Memorial Park - Colorado Springs

 2000 ~ Knapp Elementary School - Denver

 2001 ~ Cottonwood Creek Community Park - Colorado Springs

 2002 ~ Fulton Elementary School & Community Park, Aurora – Denver

 2003 ~ America the Beautiful Park - Colorado Springs

 2004 ~ McGlone Elementary School, Montbello - Denver

 2005 ~ St. Mary's High School Grace Center for Athletics - Colorado Springs

 2006 ~ Byers High School, Byers - N.E of Denver

 2007 ~ Memorial Park * Skate Park – Colorado Springs

 2008 ~ Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center / Boys&Girls Club – Montbello, Denver

Children from each community selected for a playground have creative input on some level of the actual design.  Phil Long employee's rally around this project and turn out in full force along with hundreds of community volunteers.  3 days of teamwork from people of all different walks of life create a safe place for children to play, and provides increased recreational opportunities for youth and family from all income levels.

Mr. Cimino and his partners continue to support the United Way's annual campaign, nurturing this relationship that began more than 60 years ago.  Just in the past 11 years alone the Phil Long Family of Dealerships has raised more than One Million Dollars for the Pikes Peak & Mile High United Way campaigns.

In addition, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Silver Key, Human Society, Rotary Club, Veteran's Association, the military community, the College's of this community and many more organizations also benefit greatly from Jay and his partners generosity through Phil Long Dealerships.

 When the September 11th attacks occurred, Jay was the first in Colorado Springs to step forward with donations and assistance to the American Red Cross through the Phil Long Family of Dealerships.  His actions led the way for the media and thousands of other businesses to band together in a time of national crisis and raise more than $600,000 in a 12-hour period.  As the first anniversary of 9-11 approached, Jays sensitive nature cultured the Patriots Day Silent Memorial March.  He encouraged all Phil Long employees and their families, city administration and the business community to participate in this statement of solidarity and patriotism.  Several hundred people attended the Silent Memorial March in Colorado Springs and the Silent Memorial in Denver.  

Jay Cimino's resolution to champion our civil servant heroes reaches out to the International Association of Firefighters to provide vehicle and volunteer assistance for the annual Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial, annual contributions to the Colorado Springs and Denver Police Association, and community service activities, such as community CPR and First Aid training days with American Medical Response.

When "Operation Iraqi Freedom" started, Jay reinstated a program called "Operation Home Support".  Through this program, Phil Long Dealerships provides assistance and funds to the spouses of our deployed soldiers with transportation emergencies, roadside assistance, vehicle rental and more.  In addition, spouses receive the same discount pricing that Phil Long Associates enjoy on all service and parts and other maintenance.  Jay resolved to keep "Operation Home Support" intact until all of our soldiers have returned home.

In 2004, the Phil Long Family of Dealerships partnered with Ft. Carson and hosted the 229th Army Birthday Ball.  Over 3,000 guests attended (1,000 civilians and 2,000 soldiers), with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard B. Meyers as our keynote speaker.   The gala made history as the biggest extravagant event of its kind to ever be held in Colorado Springs, and also received recognition as the 2nd largest Army Birthday Ball in the nation, second only to Washington, D.C.

In addition to the Ball, we wanted to acknowledge all of our active, reserve and veteran military forces for their dedication to ensuring freedom for all, and created the "Defenders of Freedom" community exhibit.  Designed to take visitors through a dramatic journey of past and present wars and conflicts, the exhibit showcased "Legacy Lane" featuring memorabilia, a memorial for fallen soldiers, audio and visual displays of combat soldiers and veterans sharing their experiences highlighted by a 60' pictorial wall of dramatic, unpublished military photos, and a full static display of military armor, weapons, tanks and helicopters.  The "Defenders of Freedom" exhibit also produced the military appreciation signing wall, which went on tour throughout Colorado in order to gather messages from the community.  The signing wall was then presented to General Wilson and the troops at Ft. Carson for permanent display.

Jay Cimino's philanthropic efforts often go unnoticed due to his modest approach.  However, Jay has received numerous recognition including the Citizen Meritorious Service Award, the Columbine Individual Citation Award, the John Venezia Memorial Award, Council for College Resource Development Award, and most recently the Partners in Philanthropy Outstanding Individual Donor Award  – all of which he contributed not to his own actions, but to those of his partners and employees.  Jay is also responsible for the honor of having the "Phil Long Ford" signature sign on top of Motor City named as a Colorado Historic Landmark.  Jay's contributions to the city have made a positive mark on our community.  

The strength of the Phil Long Family of Dealerships in such a competitive industry is the result of its ongoing commitment to Philip Long's vision ~ Commitment to the community, quality customer service and exceptional value.  Over the years, the Phil Long Family of Dealerships has received numerous industry awards for record-breaking sales, superior customer service, innovative design and presentation, state of the art facilities, community service, design, development and more.  Customers continue to return and refer because of this strong commitment to providing quality products, service and effort.

Philip Long and Jay Cimino's vision for this company, its employees and the community is inspirational.  Passionate commitment to ensure the success of the company as well as helping to build strong communities will be the legacy of the Phil Long Family of Dealerships.

Written By:  Michelle M. Hill, Corporate Communications Manager – Phil Long Dealerships