Richard H. “Dick” Shirley, Jr., president and CEO of Dick Shirley Automotive Group in Burlington, N.C., will receive the Frank S. Holt Jr. Business Leadership Award during a special luncheon at 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 13 in the Woods Center, located at Rhodes Stadium on the Elon campus.
The award was established by Elon’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business to recognize a local citizen whose contributions to business and the community reflect the same progressive, visionary leadership exemplified by the award’s namesake. The late Frank S. Holt Jr. was president of Holt Manufacturing Co. and an active civic leader.
Shirley’s company has franchised dealerships for Chevrolet, Cadillac and Mitsubishi as well as Nissan diesel commercial vehicles. He has served the community in many capacities, including as past president of the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Alamance Country Club, past president and current board member of the Alamance County YMCA and as a member of the Burlington-Alamance County Airport Authority. He has also served on several committees of the N.C. Automobile Dealer’s Association and worked closely with Frank S. Holt, Jr. on a United Way campaign.
Currently, he serves as a director and executive committee member of First State Bancorp., and is a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Community Oriented Police program. He was also named Alamance County Citizen of the Year in 1989.
Shirley is also passionate about auto racing and for 10 years was a car owner and driver in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series for Late Model stock cars. He became one of the most popular drivers at Ace Speedway in nearby Altamahaw, N.C., where he raced in both the Super Stocks and the track’s premier Late Model division.
A strong advocate of quality education, Shirley has been a loyal supporter of Elon and its athletics program. For the past five years, he has taught finance in Elon’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. Shirley earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and a master’s degree in finance from American University in Washington, D.C. A native of Carlinville, Ill., Shirley also served for five years as an officer in the Navy.
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