October 15, 2025
TIME and Ally Financial honor Front Royal dealer
Emily Marlow Beck wins national recognition for community service and industry achievements
Virginia's Emily Marlow Beck, president of Marlow Motor Company, was announced today by TIME as one of the 2026 TIME Dealer of the Year award nominees. She is the first woman since 1998 to be named Virginia's nominee.
Beck is one of a select group of 47 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 109th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Las Vegas on February 5.
At that event, a dealer is chosen as the TIME Dealer of the Year, one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. It recognizes the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Beck was chosen to represent the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition, now in its 57th year.
Continuing the family business
Beck leads Marlow Motor Company, a family business founded in 1947 and representing Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. After earning a B.A. from the University of Virginia (1999) and a J.D. at American University Washington College of Law (2002), she built a legal career focused on automotive compliance at Hudson Cook LLP before returning home in 2010 to join — and soon lead — the dealership. Just months into her return, her father suffered a heart attack and quintuple bypass, accelerating a leadership transition that she navigated with transparency, resilience, and a focus on culture.
“I grew up learning about the car business from my father, who passed away last year,” Beck said. “My first dealership job was in the parts department when I was in middle school,” and after an unexpected setback upon law school graduation, “my father… simply said, ‘you can always sell cars for me. Welcome to the corporate world. If you can get yourself out of this, you can get yourself out of anything.’” Beck then relied on her dealership experience to begin practicing law in the automotive space.
“Looking back, I believe that my father gave me the greatest gift by not rescuing me when I lost my ‘big firm’ job,” she said.
Growth and innovation
Under her direction, Marlow Motor Company has invested in future-ready operations, including EV infrastructure upgrades and expanding heavy-duty/service capacity to better support business and fleet customers.
“Our store is a more rural store,” she noted. “Because we do a lot of fleet services with business, we have added lifts to increase our capacity to service business customers.”
She also created a Cares Committee that engages team members across departments to strengthen culture and community ties—coordinating adoption events with the local animal shelter, United Way baby-supply drives, food-truck appreciation days, and employee recognition programs.
“One of the best things we implemented in our dealership in the last 18 months is the establishment of our Cares Committee,” Beck said. “When we invite our team to take leadership roles in building and establishing our culture, we have better ‘buy in’ and morale.”
See our 2021 profile of Emily Beck before she stepped into the role of VADA chair.
Committed to education
Committed to workforce development and opportunity, Beck provides Degrees@Work — a no-cost, no-debt college degree program through Strayer University to help employees and their families advance their careers while working full-time. The dealership has provided employees and their family members over $400,000 in tuition through the program. The store also partners with local high school vocational centers on apprenticeships and mentored technician pathways, as well as an annual automotive scholarship.
Customer care at Marlow Motor Company is personal and practical. “One of our core values is to be innovative problem solvers,” Beck said, pointing to a recent example: “A woman and her two dogs arrived at our dealership when her car broke down. There was a delay in getting the part she needed. The employees used their personal funds to purchase her meals, care for her dogs, and our service manager used his own funds to get a hotel room for the woman so she would have a safe place to sleep.”
Advocacy beyond the four dealership walls
Beck’s leadership extends statewide through the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association, where she has served as chairman (2021–2022), vice chair, treasurer, secretary, and long-time board member (2011–2024). That role brought a distinctive attorney’s perspective to complex issues including direct sales, warranty reimbursement, EV transition, and pandemic response. Reflecting on a pivotal leadership moment, she added, “Team members will overlook inexperience, but they will not overlook lack of character or commitment.”
In 2022, to mark the company’s 75th anniversary, she launched “75 Acts of Kindness,” mobilizing employees to complete at least 75 community acts in 25 workdays ranging from book drives and food pantry stocking to e-recycling events, shelter support, and neighborhood cleanup. It spurred copycat kindness campaigns by local organizations and drawing broad media recognition.
“When we began the campaign, I was concerned that we would not be able to successfully execute it,” she recalled. “At one point, I realized that the campaign was exactly what my team needed during that time.” The lasting lesson: “The best part of the 75 Acts of Kindness was how effective it was in modeling culture for our team. We continue to work with many of these non-profits to this day.”
More on the Time Dealer of the Year award
Dealers are nominated by the executives of state and metro dealer associations around the country. A panel of faculty members from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan will select one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year. Three finalists will receive $5,000 for their favorite charities and the winner will receive $10,000 to give to charity, donated by Ally.
In its 15th year as exclusive sponsor, Ally also will recognize dealer nominees and their community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice. Nominees will be recognized on AllyDealerHeroes.com, which highlights the philanthropic contributions and achievements of TIME Dealer of the Year nominees.
Emily, Andrew, and their three children.
“The TIME Dealer of the Year award honors automotive dealers who set the standard for excellence and community impact,” said Jessica Sibley, CEO of TIME. “Each year, we spotlight those whose dedication uplifts and inspires their communities. At TIME, we are proud to continue celebrating these extraordinary contributions in partnership with Ally.”
“The TIME Dealer of the Year award honors those exceptional dealers who not only excel in their business endeavors but also demonstrate a profound commitment to uplifting their communities," said Doug Timmerman, President of Dealer Financial Services at Ally. "These nominees embody the spirit of leadership and service, making a lasting impact both in their dealerships and beyond.”
Beck was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Don Hall, president and CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. Emily and her husband, Andrew Beck, have three children: Olin, Marshall, and Margaret.
