From the Carolinas, a Continuing Tradition of Leadership at NIADA

As Michael Darrow steps away from the NIADA board with the end of his tenure as chairman, one of his fellow Carolinians, Darla Booher, will be taking over the reins of leadership.

Booher, the current president-elect and owner of Deal Depot in Greer, South Carolina, will be installed as president of the association representing more than 13,000 dealers during the Membership Meeting at the NIADA Convention in June in Denver, Colorado.

Darrow and Booher represent a long history of leadership in the national association from Carolinas dealers, who have helped advocate for the industry on the state and national level.

“Many past presidents from the Carolinas still stay very much involved in the success of the association,” Booher said.

Booher, who is celebrating her 25th year owning her dealership, moved into the industry after working previously in a dental office. She began working at a franchise dealership, which sent her to several classes to pick up knowledge about the industry. Booher eventually moved into the independent space, working with two other dealers before opening her own dealership as a leap of faith.

“I just decided to rent a building and get started, and hope everything fell in place, and thank God everything did,” Booher said.

Though she faced some challenges when she started her business shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, she points to being able to lean on members of the industry, including the state association for education and encouragement.

“I've made so many amazing friends and friendships that have helped me through every step of the way, and have encouraged me, and I've believed I've encouraged them,” Booher said.

Stepping into leadership, Booher was driven by a desire to make a meaningful difference.

“I definitely was looking toward being at the forefront of what was going on legislatively in the industry, be active and involved and try to do all I could to be a voice and be heard both on the state level and then on the national level,” she said.

In her years of service, Booher has worked to elevate dealer voices. Her leadership philosophy is also grounded in giving back to the industry.

“I’ve had a lot of mentoring over my years in the industry and wanted to make sure that I could take a leadership role and help mentor other dealers,” Booher explained.

As president at NIADA, Booher hopes to continue mentoring and lifting others, especially other women in the industry.

“I want to focus on celebrating women in the industry. This is a great opportunity to be aware of the women in the industry and the contributions they make to the industry,” Booher said.

Darrow has spent 10 years on the national board after another seven years in CIADA.

Darrow’s love of cars in high school led him to the industry after years in the banking industry. He is in 30th year with Auto Finders in Durham, North Carolina. He became involved with the CIADA shortly after starting his business looking for education. At his first class, he learned about compliance issues facing dealers and said he signed up for all the education he could after that.

“I wanted to gobble up and eat and absorb as much education as I could. I'd come from a different industry, and I really wanted to learn this industry,” Darrow explained.

He was soon approached about serving on the CIADA Board. When he completed his cycle through leadership at the state level, he found his name thrown into consideration for national leadership. He served as president in 2024-25 before serving the past year as chairman.

Over the past decade, Darrow helped to hire multiple CEOs and see the advocacy efforts of the association grow. He’s enjoyed the opportunity mostly to meet fellow dealers.

“I have met dealers from all over the country and just super kind people and excellent operators,” Darrow said.

He plans to stay involved with the association and keep promoting the industry.

“I'll miss it for sure. It's been a part of my life for a good long time,” Darrow said. “I’d love to do some committee work if asked.”

Darrow is honored to see his friend and fellow member of his state association rise to leadership.

“She is totally competent and ready. I think Darla will do an amazing job for NIADA,” Darrow said. “We'll continue to see growth under her leadership, and hopefully we'll see a little bit more diversity come as other women see her and want to get involved in leadership.”