Driven to Give
"Our family has been in Holyoke for over 130 years so it’s important to me that we continue the tradition of being active and supporting our community." – Gary Rome
Editor's Note: This story also appears in the Fall 2024 edition of the HCC college magazine, The Connection, where you can easily read and share more stories about the college, and its people and programs.
By DOUG SCANLON
As owner of Gary Rome Hyundai, one of Rome’s favorite community events is the annual Holyoke High School Car Giveaway, in which the dealership donates a car to one graduating high school senior. It’s always a fun and rewarding experience to see the jubilant expression on the young recipient’s face, but it is also Rome’s way of giving back to the community that has supported his business for so many years.
Of all the winners through the years there is one Rome will never forget. The young woman was grateful for the car and planned to use it to commute to the HCC campus to continue her education. But she was worried she could not afford to pay the tax and fees on the new car.
Her mother was not able to help, as she was living on social assistance and recovering from cancer treatment. Despite both parents’ best efforts, the family’s financial circumstances made it difficult to cover the unexpected expense of their daughter’s new prize.
While Rome was able to find a solution, the eye-opening conversation illuminated the hurdles many local youths encounter while pursuing their educational dreams.
“We really have no idea what’s going on in other people’s lives,” Rome said.
That moment reminded Rome why he first joined the Holyoke Community College Foundation Board of Directors and what has inspired him to help the college collectively raise more than $700,000 through the college’s annual giving day, “Together HCC: Drive to Change Lives.”
For four consecutive years, Rome has partnered with the college to support the Together HCC campaign, which raises money for scholarships and programs that support students facing sudden financial emergencies as well as those experiencing housing and food insecurity.
“I wanted to find other ways to give back and to let people know about HCC,” he said. “It is a crown jewel.”
With deep roots in the local community, Rome’s commitment to supporting the city of Holyoke is ingrained in his family’s history. His ties to the region date back more than a century. His great-grandfather Louis Ricklas moved to Holyoke in 1890, opening a shoe store on Lyman Street and a grocery store on High Street.
Rome’s grandparents, Dorothy and Samuel Rome, opened a haberdashery on High Street in 1926. His father, Jerry Rome, started Bay State Motors on Maple Street in 1958, which became Jerry Rome Motor Company and later Jerry Rome Nissan.
In 1997, Gary started Gary Rome Hyundai on Main Street in Holyoke, renting the building from his father before eventually purchasing the business and continuing the tradition of operating in Holyoke (in addition to opening a second dealership, Gary Rome Kia, in Enfield, Conn.).
"Our family has been in Holyoke for over 130 years so it’s important to me that we continue the tradition of being active and supporting our community,” he said.
Active might be an understatement. Since helping HCC launch the first “Together HCC: Drive to Change Lives” campaign in 2021, Rome has been a catalyst for the campaign’s success. Each year he works with HCC staff to develop a campaign strategy, arranges and funds promotional videos, schedules interviews with area media outlets, sets a major challenge gift, and makes personal solicitations on behalf of the college.
“Gary brings so much energy to our giving day,” said Julie Phillips, HCC director of development. “He truly believes in education as a vehicle for social mobility.”
Rome’s philanthropic efforts were recognized on the national stage when he was named the 2023 TIME Dealer of the Year after being nominated as the Massachusetts Dealer of the Year, both in recognition for his community service and accomplishments in the auto industry.
Rome continues to sing the praises of HCC to everyone he meets. He has hired many HCC graduates and encourages his employees without a degree to enroll at the college just up the hill from his Whiting Farms Road business.
“I want to see HCC grow and develop and have a very rich and vibrant future, and I will do whatever I can to be a part of that,” he said.
PHOTOS: (Thumbnail) Gary Rome. (Above) Rome visits HCC to celebrate his $5,000 donation to the college's Thrive Center and Food Pantry.
