What a great year 2018 has been. By all accounts, we will have the best year in the history of our company. The cynic may say that our company history is fairly short but when you put our performance in context, related to our history, there is no argument that what we’ve achieved as an organization this year is tremendous! Our 2018 results will be 75% better than 2015, 135% better than 2016, and 61% better than last year. It isn’t like we just beat our previous best, we shattered it!!

Each and every one of you should be proud of your contributions to these results, so thank you. Every time I’m out at our dealerships, I’m more and more encouraged by the great people we have within our company. Your passion and commitment to our customers, and each other, provides me with the energy I need to lead this organization to greater heights.

I believe a big part of our success this year is related to our culture. Have you ever worked for a company that has a bad culture? I have, and I counted the minutes until I could leave the office. Work was not enjoyable. Do you think I was giving 100%? Certainly not, and it’s for that reason I believe culture drives financial performance.

Simply put, culture is defined as the beliefs and behaviors that determine how we as employees of Premier Truck Group interact and handle outside business transactions. Culture also organically happens whether you want it to or not, and if we

aren’t actively defining our culture and living it daily, we could end up with a culture we don’t like.

We’ve happily invested over one million dollars this year in training programs such as APEX, REV-UP, ATD, MindWire and Customer Service Training, along with various departmental annual summits. These events, the camaraderie they create, and the opportunity to convey what we stand for and how we will operate are critically important to building a winning culture.

The outcome is a happy organization that has increased performance. The increased performance stems from increased flexibility, empowerment, professional development and knowing that your contributions impact others and make a mark on our company. Additionally, our productivity has increased as a result of our positive culture.I love my job and I love the people in our company. It is Holiday season and the way the Holiday’s fall this year provides each of us an opportunity to enjoy a much needed respite from our jobs, to recharge and spend time with the ones that matter the most to us. My wish is for each of us to have a joyous Holiday with loved ones.

Thanks again and all the best in the New Year,

The President’s CornerThe President’s Cornerby Richard Shearingby Richard Shearing

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Top Tech 2018 Awards On November 3rd, Premier Truck Group’s 3rd Annual Top Tech Event culminated at the Gaylord Texan Resort with an awards dinner. This red carpet event recognizes the top 10 finalists from across North America and awards the top champions from each category. Because of a tie, 11 finalists competed this year. The Top Tech Event was designed to recognize and reward the very best in commercial vehicle technicians. The Top Tech Challenge has two categories of Premier Truck Group technicians competing: EXPERT: Defined as those with five+ years of Freightliner experience; and PROFESSIONAL: Defined as those with one to five years of Freightliner experience.

Expert Finalists: Brett Leech – St. Catharines, North RegionJames McFadden – Chattanooga, East RegionMonte Merritt – Fort Worth, Central RegionDoug Kirkland – North Texas, Central RegionChip Stanesic – South Dallas, Central Region Chase Follis – Amarillo, West Region

Professional Finalists: Jerid Oxley – Amarillo, West RegionRyan Ireland – Tulsa, Central RegionJason Black – Knoxville, East RegionMatt Gorman – Mississauga, North RegionNate Said – North Texas, Central Region

Each of the 11 Top Tech finalists did an outstanding job, and we are very proud to have them represent the Premier Truck Group team! Congratulations to this year’s winners Ryan Ireland and Doug Kirkland!

4th Quarter

PTG Culture Drives 2018 Performance

REGIONAL UPDATESREGIONAL UPDATES

NORTHERN By Tom SephtonArea Vice President,Northern Region

As we close out a record year in the North, there are many individuals

NORTHERN

who deserve recognition. In keeping with our initiatives to grow from within, the following congratulations are in order for Q4 promotions:

Vocational Sales Manager – Tony Conti. The Toronto area holds great potential for vocational sales, and Tony’s experience and reputation in these markets will serve him well in growing this important area of our business.

Jeff Gilmer has worked his way from the Parts Warehouse to assuming the responsibilities of Parts Sales Manager, overseeing and growing the efforts of our Outside Parts Sales Team. Congratulations Jeff.

Nicole Keller has been promoted to Outside Parts Sales in the Belleville area; a testament to Nicole’s always positive attitude and work ethic. We are confident Nicole will continue to grow this area of the business.

Gopy Tharmarajah continues to take on more responsibility as the Assistant Service Manager and will be

WESTERN by Bobby E. CooperExecutive Vice President, Western Region

WOW! How time flies! All my life I have been told that the older you get,

WESTERN

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CENTRAL by Mark LamontExecutive Vice President, Central Region

With few exceptions, winners have written goals. It’s very toughto accomplish

CENTRAL

EASTERN EASTERN

the faster time will pass. It is so true! Every year, I grow older and every year, time does pass faster. As 2018 draws near to closing, I would like to give a special shout out to not only everyone in the West Region, but everyone in the PTG family, and say “Thank You!” I sincerely appreciate each of you for the contributions you have made in making this year such a success for PTG.

I would like to extend my “Congratulations!” to several of our team members in the West Region upon the following accomplishments:

Ms. Terry took home top honors as our sharp shooter, winning a bet with her General Manager. Chattanooga maintained their annual classy appreciation dinner and awards ceremony, topped off by a limo ride to and from the event.

As Darel mentioned in the September issue, October also marked the retirement of our General Manager in Knoxville, Bruce Hager. Bruce has been instrumental in orchestrating a successful transition for us. To be selected to carry on the torch that he lit so many years ago is truly an honor. Thank you Bruce for all you have done to make Knoxville a Premier location.

Bruce’s retirement also triggered another opening in the store. Long time pillar of the service department, Jami Thacker accepted the position of Service Manager effective October 1st. With Jami’s 18+ year tenure, the transition was seamless and welcomed by everyone. We are excited to see where Jami and her team are going to take the Service Department in the years to come. Congratulations Jami!

Speaking of fixed ops, Chattanooga’s fixed ops continues to successfully grow and are forecasting a strong finish for 2018. The Sales teams at both stores are looking for a way to outsell their allocation and still meet our customers’ demands. Now that we have budgets behind us, we look forward to 2019 with a heightened level of excitement. Both stores in the east are poised to “succeed and exceed” in 2019.

shade of orange in support of our favorite college team. There is no better time to be in the East Region. Both of our stores were well represented at the third annual Top Tech event this year. James McFadden represented the Expert category for Chattanooga, while Jason Black represented Knoxville at the Professional level. We could not be more proud of you both for representing us so well! Although we didn’t bring the championship trophy home this year, we know the winners are keeping it shined up for us to take back to the East next year. Congratulations to everyone!

The East has had a lot to celebrate. Chattanooga celebrated with their first annual Employee Family Picnic. It was a fun filled day with games, fellowship, and food. The day wrapped up with a cornhole tournament, with Dave Basil taking home the custom cornhole boards as a trophy. Knoxville celebrated our Veteran employees with an event at a local shooting range. Lots of fun, food, laughs, and of course competition.

NADA/ATD Class of 2018: Deon McGimpsey (General Manager – Amarillo) and Matthew Workman (Parts Manager – Odessa/Midland) along with 13 other PTG team members completed a full year of dealership training. We are very proud of you and thank you for your commitment to the program and dedication to the team.

2018 Top Tech Finalists / West Region: Chase Follis – Expert 2 time Finalist (Amarillo) and Jerid Oxley – Professional Finalist (Amarillo) took part in the competition. We are very proud and excited both gentlemen were a part of this top notch competition.

APEX 2018: Ben Simpson (Odessa), Trent Chancellor (Odessa), Thomas Ornelas (Amarillo) and Colby Odegaard (Amarillo) made us all proud with their willingness to take part in this program and to continue to grow the PTG team success.

A few other accomplishments for the last quarter include the following:

something big without a clear blueprint. It takes time to create a roadmap. It takes hard work to follow the roadmap month after month. I am so proud of the Central Region Team. Not only did you establish a blueprint for 2018, you put forth the effort to execute every day. Your hard work and dedication have enabled us to have a record year.

The management teams in each dealership established a budget and key initiatives for 2018. You not only achieved those goals, you have far exceeded expectations. Your focus on the key initiatives has helped establish habits that will pay dividends for years to come. Your efforts to maximize the

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by Jeff WeilandGM, Knoxville

Winter has arrived in the East! The trees have already changed to a

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(continued on page 12)

This program is call the Leland James Elite Program, named for the founder of Freightliner Trucks. Leland James founded Freightliner in 1942 based on the premise that customers would buy a lightweight, durable, and easy to handle truck. He was right and 76 years later that truck is the industry leader. The Leland James Elite program was designed to recognize sales professionals for their sales excellence,

SALES & MARKETINGSALES & MARKETINGIt’s been a record-breaking quarter!by Ron Long, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing

2018 will go down in the history books as one of the best years in the North American truck marketplace. As an industry we are approaching the sales levels seen in 2006, which was a year that benefitted from customer buying many trucks in advance of more stringent emissions regulations. The imposition of the EPA07 regulation put a significant damper on the market the following year.

As a company, Premier Truck Group will have a record year for truck sales in 2018, placing us among the top few dealers in the DTNA network across the US and Canada. We represent great DTNA products, provide excellent service from some of the best facilities in our industry, and serve the best customers in the business! Connecting great customers and products doesn’t just happen on its own; neither does selling thousands of trucks. Success in sales is dependent on having a high performing sales team. The job of a new truck sales professional is part entrepreneur, prospector, cheerleader, detective, engineer and psychologist. Put all that together and take great care of your customers and you can count yourself among the best in the business.

Freightliner runs a recognition program for new trucks salespeople across the network.

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customer service and industry leadership. The Freightliner dealer network employs roughly 1,000 sales professionals. For 2018, the achievement requirements were met by 150 sales professionals.

Thirteen of our Premier Truck Group team members were recognized as Elite program winners. These top achievers represent five PTG locations. Think about that, nearly 1 of every 10 Freightliner sales professionals recognized among their peers belong to our PTG team. That is a tremendous result for Premier and a testament to the knowledge, experience and efforts of each one of these Elite program winners. Please join me in congratulating these fine team members:

Name Location Region

ADRIAN HAMILL PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF MISSISSAUGA NorthBRIAN STEWART PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF FORT WORTH CentralCHRIS CARPENTER PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF CHATTANOOGA EastCLINTON HIETT PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF DALLAS CentralDEREC YAKEL PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF DALLAS CentralDICK BAUMUNK PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF CHATTANOOGA EastDWAYNE FREWIN PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF MISSISSAUGA NorthGARY BOND PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF DALLAS CentralGURMINDER AHLUWALIA PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF MISSISSAUGA NorthMARK MIMS PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF DALLAS CentralMITCH LAKIN PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF KNOXVILLE EastRUBEN BUDHWAL PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF MISSISSAUGA NorthSEAN FITZPATRICK PREMIER TRUCK GROUP OF FORT WORTH Central

opportunity in every area of the business has enabled us to realize record financial results.

As you know, we were limited on the number of new trucks we were able to sell this year. A very strong new truck market caused capacity constraints at the manufacturing level. Our new truck sales teams worked diligently to ensure we were able to capitalize on every available truck. The Central Region was able to achieve the new truck sales objective of over 3,250 trucks. This represents a 40% increase over 2017.

Our used truck team executed on their objective of having trucks front line ready in

CENTRAL REGION CENTRAL REGION (continued from page 2)

14 days. They focused on proactive outbound marketing and took advantage of every opportunity. As a result, in 2018, we will retail approximately 1,200 more trucks than 2017. This represents an increase of more than 35% year over year.

Our fixed operations group had a fantastic year. We saw increases in Service, Parts and Collison Centers. Combined fixed operations are up approximately 15% from last year. This resulted in a marked increase in fixed absorption.

Below are some of the 2018 highlights in fixed operations:

• We tripled the number of field service trucks to take care of customers.

• Our focus on Service thru put continues to improve customer satisfaction.

• The new cranes in Fort Worth, OKC and Tulsa are improving efficiency and safety.

• We have increased YTD online customer parts ordering through Pinnacle Truck Parts by 58%.

• We have decreased obsolete parts in inventory by 37% since January, reducing obsolete inventory, as a percentage of total inventory, from 2.7% to 1.8%.

• Our new Collision Center in Tulsa has had a great first year.

I cannot thank each of you enough for all you did in 2018. It is an honor to be part of this great team. I am so excited to see what you can accomplish next year. I hope each of you have a wonderful holiday season.

COMMUNITY EVENTSCOMMUNITY EVENTS

PTG Partners with Irving ISDPTG has signed on as a “premier partner” with the Irving Independent School District Diesel Program. About 50 students currently participate in the program and PTG’s sponsorship is a way to help further develop these students in preparation to enter the workforce.

Some of the activities that we are presenting include:

• A site visit to the South Dallas dealership to be introduced to PTG, meet with mentors, tour the facility, and have Q & A with the Service Manager and executives.

• The PTG HR staff mentoring students on what it takes to be hired by PTG and how to prepare for interviews.

• On-site meeting in South Dallas in the engine training room for some diagnostic and skills training.

• Mentoring students on what tools they need.• Skills USA competition preparation.• Resume and interview preparation.

Through this program we hope to not only assist these students in their career journey, but also hope to kick start their careers as new technicians with PTG.

OKC, Tulsa Hit the PavementTulsa HR Representative, Domonique Hilaire and Ardmore/OKC HR Representative, Marcy Cummins enjoy competing in various running events. This quarter, in a new Healthy Life “1/2 off entry fee” initiative, both ran the Tulsa 15k. Also this quarter, Marcy ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, in support of breast cancer.

PTG Amarillo employees volunteered for a day with Habitat for Humanity this past October. Habitat for Humanity provided a great opportunity for employees to give back by helping to prepare their ReStore building for future occupancy. Habitat for Humanity ReStores are home improvement stores and donation centers that sell new and gently used furniture, appliances, home accessories, building materials, and more to the public at a fraction of the retail price.

Amarillo, Habitat for Humanity Team UpThis year, Oklahoma City participated in Rock The

Block, an event similar to Touch A Truck. The event benefited the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Attendees were

encouraged to bring a canned food item to donate to the food bank. Pictured: Sandra Ratliff.

Oklahoma City Rocks The Block

Ardmore Coat Drive In order to assist Ardmore Young Professionals, PTG Ardmore placed several donation boxes in their dealership to collect new or gently used winter clothing. They’ll be donated to The Grace Center, a homeless rehabilitation center. 4

5

COMMUNITY EVENTSCOMMUNITY EVENTS

Knoxville Sponsors PVA Golf TournamentService Advisor and Army Veteran, Timmy Perkins, had a vision to help paralyzed veterans. In 2017 he brought that vision to life in a form of a golf tournament to raise funds for the Paralyzed Veterans of America organization. Last year, $2,000 was raised for PVA. In an effort to grow this event, Timmy Perkins recruited coworker and Air Force Veteran, Ed Graves. Together they managed this year’s event which doubled in size and was a great networking event for customers and employees alike. This year, they were able to raise $3,000 that will go towards helping paralyzed veterans.

L to R – Ed Graves, Customer, Timmy Perkins

On November 16, PTG Oshawa hosted 40 tech teachers and guidance counselors from the Durham Board of Education and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP). They broke into groups and did separate presentations for the visitors, touching on the viability of the industry without having 310T and a Parts Counter Apprenticeship Program included in the OYAP standards in the coming years. They also spoke about Co-Operative Education Student opportunities at PTG. Service Tech Apprentice Hakeem Campbell conducted a great Q&A session with the visitors about what it’s like to be an apprentice in the program and how much further along he would be in his career had he had this opportunity in high school with the OYAP covering the 310T.

Ontario Youth Apprenticeship

Program Fall Tour

To join the fight against breast cancer, Premier Truck Group hosted the first ever Premier Pink-Out Day on October 26. Each dealership was equipped with pink bandanas, and employees wore pink in support of those loved ones affected by breast cancer. Monetary donations were also collected. In total, PTG employees donated $6,000 toward the cause. PTG also generously matched the funds raised by employees, for a total of $12,000! U.S. donations went to the National Breast Cancer foundation and Canadian donations went to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

DFW Touch A TruckTouch A Truck was started 3 years ago by a Cystic Fibrosis mom whose sons had an obsession with trucks. She used this event to allow her sons to explore, while also raising money for Cystic Fibrosis, a cause which impacted her children. This year’s event was held on October 7th at the Birdville ISD Athletic Complex. Featuring 80 vehicles, attendees were able to climb, learn, explore, and touch trucks as well as meet those who serve the Dallas-Fort Worth area. PTG Fort Worth employees were excited at the opportunity to give back to the community and allow them to explore one of their trucks.

continued from page 4

EMPLOYEE EVENTSEMPLOYEE EVENTS

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APEX Graduates Second ClassCongratulations to the following employees for graduating from the second APEX Class. Hayes Atwood Domonique Hilaire Will Brooks Mike Good Rick Constable Tim Michael Patrick Jones

Eddie LopezJason HippsBilly JacksonBen SimpsonRobert NorthcuttColby OdegaardEric Lipnicky

Jason ScottKiki SmithTrent ChancellorMatt NorwoodThomas OrnelasPablo NievasLarry Eldredge

Keith MartinBob SasserKevin RookardAlex O’Haver

Nominations for the third class are currently underway. We expect class to commence in early 2019.

Annual HR MeetingThis year’s HR Meeting took place at Texas Motor Speedway in October. It was a week full of learning, absorbing information, and teambuilding. Jerry Rutter did a fantastic job as the HR Team dove into their PI’s and learned more about one another’s personality. The meeting also provided some valuable insight into the business as well as gave everyone a chance to collaborate and explore new ways to become more efficient. The evenings were filled with fun activities and a little exploration. The team had tons of fun paintballing at GatSplat in Keller. The teambuilding event really proved the PI’s ability to pinpoint who those High A personalities were and tagged some of the HR Reps with new nicknames.

Red River RivalryIt’s no secret football reigns supreme in Texas. One of the longest standing college football rivalries exists between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. Each year the rivalry game is played at the Cotton Bowl stadium during the State Fair of Texas in October. This year, Fort Worth Technician Bill Jewell made a bet with General Manager Chad Pennington. Whoever’s team lost, the other person would have to wear the winning team’s jersey and take a picture with the winner. Chad, whose oldest son attended OU, was born and raised in Oklahoma and is a die-hard Sooners fan! Bill, born and raised in the great state of Texas, is a die-hard UT fan. The game ended with a UT victory, 48-45. Thanks Chad for being such a great sport, burnt orange looks good on you!

Bill Jewell and Chad Pennington

Ragin’ CajunThe Payroll Department not only pays our employees, they are also culinary geniuses! Kiki Smith, Christina Gibson and Brandy Bush took those skills to the kitchen and whipped up a delectable Cajun style meal for the Shared Services Center September month end lunch. All three have ties to Louisiana and it’s no secret that they know how to “laissez les bons temps rouler.”

L to R – John Pruitt, Kiki Smith, Christina Gibson, Hank Thompson, Brandy Bush.

DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE IN THE PULSE?

Email tonya.adams@premiertruck.com to tell us about yours!

EMPLOYEE EVENTSEMPLOYEE EVENTS(continued from page 6)

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The HR Team spearheaded a Win By Losing Challenge to motivate employees to live healthier lifestyles. All PTG locations went head-to-head to see who could lose the most weight during the months of September-November. Not only was it a chance to shed pounds but also an opportunity to win some awesome prizes. Overall, 1,766 pounds were shed from 342 participants. Congratulations to the Oklahoma City team for winning first place! Each one of the Oklahoma City team members will receive a FitBit Alta to continue to motivate weight loss. In addition to competing against each other, PTG as a whole organization was entered into the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan competition, competing against other companies, and taking home 1st place overall!!! Way to go!!

WIN BY LOSING!

Bruce Hager RetiresAfter 18 years of service, Bruce Hager announced his retirement. In honor of the occasion, he was taken out to dinner at Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Knoxville. The dealership also celebrated Bruce with a farewell lunch at the end of September. Thank you so much, Bruce, for your years of hard work and service to PTG. We wish you well in your retirement.

Better Today than YesterdayPTG Chattanooga had shirts made for each

dealership employee to wear as a reminder to continue to provide better customer service each day. This was driven by the Customer Excellence Training classes that Shannon Chamber’s delivered to each dealership.

Amarillo Heads to the RodeoPTG Amarillo volunteered to work a day at the concession stand for the annual Advo Team Roping event. Advo Companies provides work, services, and skills for special needs young adults in the Texas Panhandle. The roping event is a World Series Team Roping qualifier for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. This is one of their favorite programs and they are honored to have a partnership with Advo!

EMPLOYEE EVENTSEMPLOYEE EVENTS(continued from page 7)

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Take Our Kids to Work DayOn Wednesday, November 14th, the North Region brought their kids to work. Take Our Kids to Work Day is the most recognized career exploration event in Canada that provides an experiential learning opportunity for Grade 9 students. Students spend the day at the workplace of a parent, relative, friend, or volunteer host. Through Take Our Kids to Work Day, students are able to witness the world of work firsthand, promoting early career planning, and enabling students to make informed decisions pertaining to their future goals and endeavors. By participating in this event, students are able to learn about a variety of careers, industries, and sectors. At PTG we like to be a part of this great career exploration. 3 students came to the Oshawa location and worked in the Service and Parts Department. Left to right: Margaret Taylor presenting awards to Dakota Bouvier, Jared Ring, and Corran Bain.

Jeff Wieland, Jamie Thacker PromotedCongratulations to Jeff Wieland and Jami Thacker on their recent promotions! Jeff is the new General Manager for the Knoxville location and Jami was promoted to Service Manager. Both have been assets to PTG Knoxville and we are excited for these next steps in both of their careers. Congratulations!

Scrimshaw Dominates on the IceKeenan Scrimshaw, son of PTG Oshawa employee Lee-Anne Scrimshaw, was selected as a member of the U-16 Team Canada Junior Ball Hockey Team. At the end of the summer, he competed in Nitra Slovakia at the 2018 World Ball Hockey Federation- World Junior Championships. Canada competed against, Hungary, United States, Team Europe and Slovakia.

Premier Financing Bosses DayDirector of Premier Financing Jermain Long was celebrated for Bosses Day. His crew gave him a shirt with “Funding is Fun” on the front because he is always running around the office reminding the Premier Financing staff that funding is indeed fun! It’s a running joke in the office (no pun intended) but serves as a reminder to all of us that it’s okay to have a little fun while getting the job done.

AtPremierTruckGroup,weareaboutonething…ExceptionalCustomerService.

Wewillachievethisthrough:• Hiring and developing the best Employees.

• Exceeding our Customer’s Expectations.

• Demonstrating the highest level of Commitment, Respect and Responsiveness to one another, our customer, our partners and our communities.

• Maintaining a High Quality and Safe Work Environment that makes us an employer of choice.

• Fostering a culture of Collaboration & Continuous Improvement.

• Valuing Honesty, Ethics and Integrity in all we do.

• Encourage Risk taking and Ownership for mistakes.

• Providing great Facilities in great Locations.

MISSION STATEMENT

Email tonya.adams@premiertruck.com to tell us about yours!Do you have an idea for an article in The Pulse? Do you have an idea for an article in The Pulse?

VISION STATEMENTDriven by our employees our vision

is to be the Best in commercial vehicle products and services by providing

Superior Customer Satisfaction through a culture of continuous improvement,

integrity, respect and passion.

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It’s All Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus! PTG dealerships enterprise-wide got into the spirit of Halloween 2018 with costumed events

Knoxville Service Department

Mississauga Dealership

Corporate Office

Amarillo Dealership

Odessa Dealership

Oklahoma City Dealership

Midland Dealership

Fort Worth Dealership

Facilities UpdateBy Freddy Stephens, VP of Infrastructure & SafetyDecember marks the end of the year - it’s a great time to reflect on days gone by. As we formulate our inevitable New Year’s resolutions, we think not only about our future, but how the past year has shaped us into what we are today. Reading the many articles posted in this newsletter, I believe you would all agree that Premier Truck Group has experienced a great year.

PREMIER FACILTY VISION – Premier Truck Group will have premium facilities purposely designed to optimize customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, employee pride and safety.

Our company, and perhaps many of you, participated in over 150 projects in 2018. Far too many to list, but I would like to share a few of them with you.

Corporate: New Shared Service Center

Central Region: Ardmore – paved back parking lot DFW – design and start the process for a new

Collision Center Fort Worth – new fencing, install crane,

remove paint booth and prep for new dyno, design and start paving process for lease property

North Dallas – add ventilation system in parts and service, open upstairs office areas

Oklahoma City – paved and upgraded parking lot, installed LED lighting at sales parking lot

South Dallas – ramp modifications in between buildings, internal and external painting, upgraded HVAC control system

Tulsa – new Collision Center, main service shop remodel and crane install, new fencing at main facility

East Region: Chattanooga - demo of current remarketing

building to prepare for future build, added access ramp, parking lot upgrade, new LED lighting in Collision Center

Knoxville – new service flooring, new flooring in admin building, security upgrade

North Region: Belleville – leased new facility and completed

admin, parts, and service modifications Niagara Falls – design and start the process

for adding admin, parts and service space to our current facility, paving parking lot

Oshawa – completed second floor remodel

West Region: Amarillo – purchased new property for

future build

CDK Solutions:

SMART GRID By Ryan Hadley, VP of Parts

I have the pleasure of meeting many people throughout our organization, and during my interactions, I’ve noticed a varying degree of expertise as it relates to CDK. There are a few tips and tricks I have learned along the way that can improve efficiency when using CDK.

One of the useful tools within CDK is a Smart Grid. A Smart Grid is the format displayed when a report runs. What many people may not know, is how easy it is to customize the layout displayed. To change the position of a column simply left click and drag the column to the position you desire. In many cases, the Smart Grid has optional columns of data not displayed. To customize what columns of data display, right click on the header and select Column Chooser. Once you have created the desired layout, right click in the Smart Grid and save the layout for future use.

These are just a few quick tips about the Smart Grid. For more details and further customization options, click the Service Connect icon and use the search field to search Smart Grid.

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about CDK. If you have a request for future CDK Solutions or any questions related to the Smart Grid, please email me at rhadley@premiertruck.com

Odessa – purchased new property for future build

As I have stated before, we are very blessed to work for an organization that is willing to invest in our employees and facilities. We should all be equally excited for what I define as a very bright future ahead.

As you know, Mr. Penske recently visited and we presented our future facility projects with an anticipated spend of $70 million dollars over the next five years. We currently have several major projects in our 2019 budget, which I will share in future articles.

People are one of the five keys to a very successful company, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your contribution to our success.

Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a Happy Holiday season and all the best in the New Year!

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THANK YOU for your serviceVeteran’s Day 2018

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by Scott Moss EVP, Human Resources and Administration

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Well, the end of the year is upon us so quickly, and as a close friend of mine shared at his retirement, “the days were long but the years went fast.” What a great year it has been for the Premier Truck Group. As I have often shared, we have great facilities, great products to sell and are in great markets, but the success of our company is attributable to having great team members out there serving our customers’ needs. Each of you make such great contributions to our success and we are so grateful for your commitment to our business.

Beyond our fabulous financial results, our Human Resources performance has been outstanding during the past year. As you know, we recently held open enrollment meetings in all of our U.S. dealerships. We are particularly pleased to have been able to hold cost increases at a minimum while offering an enhanced retirement savings plan to our North Region employees. It was also pleasing to offer the Money Lion benefit to U.S. employees;

please take advantage of this great benefit (we hope to be able to offer this in the North as well). It is pleasing to note that approximately 80% of all our employees participate in our retirement savings programs.

It was gratifying in the past year to add to our training offerings by delivering our customer satisfaction and phone skills classes. We are currently analyzing our phone systems/operations in order to enhance the efficiency and service we can provide to all of our customers, but plan on additional training next year in this key aspect of our business.

We also completed our third annual Top Tech competition with nearly 80% of our technicians completing the written exam. What a great celebration we held for our winners at the Gaylord in Dallas, in early November. Also in November, we graduated 25 managers from our second APEX management development program and another 13 managers successfully completed the grueling Academy of Truck dealership (NADA/ATD) program over six weeks in 2018, culminating with a great recognition ceremony which included their family members in Dallas during the first week of December.

We will be once again provide APEX and the ATD program for select candidates in 2019, along with a refined Starting Line and RevUp orientation program. We are proud to have institutionalized these as part of

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HUMAN RESOURCESHUMAN RESOURCES

Year End Update

our overall Premier University. In 2019, we also anticipate further trainings for all employees focusing on job skills and leadership. We are absolutely committed, as an employer of choice, to provide training and growth opportunities for all of our great team members who wish to pursue career advancement. Our objective remains to promote from within as often as possible.

As you know, the economic and hiring markets remain robust and our ability to achieve even greater heights is impacted by candidate shortages throughout. Our best sources for hiring good people remains all of you. Remember, we have a $1,000 total incentive for anyone you refer to us who is hired, regardless of position. You may have also heard of our additional incentive offering for any technician that you refer to us. In 2018, nearly 100 referral bonuses were paid out so please keep bringing those candidates to us.

As I sign off for 2018, please know that our doors are always open for input on how we can enhance our workplace. Our success is driven by all of you so feel free to contact me at any time. The best to each of you and your families for a great Christmas, New Year, and Holiday season!!

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WESTERN REGION WESTERN REGION (continued from page 2)

Reputation Management (Google Reviews): I am very excited to share with you that the West Region (including all Amarillo and Odessa/Midland locations) is holding at a 4.4 benchmark for our market. The goal is 5.0 which is not an easy task but with the team we have and their willingness to better serve our customers, we can do it!

Veteran’s Day 2018: It was such an honor to take part in 2 separate Veteran’s day events, celebrating the Veterans in the West Region locations. Amarillo celebrated with a steak lunch and a sporting clay shoot at the River Breaks Ranch near Amarillo. Odessa’s celebration began with a limousine ride for all the veterans and their spouses to the Barn Door in Odessa for a steak lunch. A trip to the Chris Kyle Memorial followed the meal. Both locations honored each veteran with a special shirt with a patch and color that represented the branch of the military in which they served. I wish there were words to express the appreciation we have for the men and women who have selflessly given of

themselves to insure the freedoms we have in our great country. I don’t have them, so please accept a heartfelt “Thank You”.

Volunteers 2018: We were afforded many community service opportunities and we look forward to more in 2019. The most recent effort in Amarillo involved 25 individuals serving up hotdogs and nachos at a team roping fundraiser for Advo Companies, and 30 individuals assisting the team at Habitat for Humanity. Odessa had 25 volunteers to assist with all sorts of tasks during the local Special Olympics Bowling Tournament.

There are volunteer opportunities within every organization and ours is no exception. The following is a true story and involves one of our own helping another one of our own. The story begins on November 11 as stated by Derrick in an email to his office (his father was hospitalized and underwent numerous surgeries)…

”….on a more positive note, an example of people that are part of our team, Vostrez put me in touch with Doug Phillips (Amarillo) who dropped whatever he was doing with his Sunday afternoon and drove an hour and a

half plus each way to go get my dad’s truck and bring it back to Amarillo so it was not just left at a truck stop. I don’t think I’ve ever met Doug or even talked to him before but when I called him hoping to get in touch with a tow company …he told me to just let him know where the keys were and he’d take care of the rest.”

I am Thankful to be a part of such an elite group.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Prosperous 2019!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO YOU!CONGRATULATIONS!CONGRATULATIONS!

KnoxvilleRandall Adkins 25Robert Colbert 20 Samuel Gentry 15David Marshall 5Timmy Perkins 3Jacob Miles 3Geromie Falk 1Micah Green 1Juan Lopez 1

MississaugaCedric Bush 20Jodi Golden 15Marek Rachwal 15Scott Campion 5Graham Karreman 5Ruben Budhwal 5Angelica Montgomery 3Gagandeep Atwal 3Siddhanth Luthra 1Scott Adams 1Babu Sutdhar 1

Natasha South 1

Niagara FallsJeffrey Thompson 5

North DallasGeorge Hernandez 20Jesus Alvarez 3Alberto Verduzco 3Santos Donaciano 1Nicholas David 1Jimmy Trevino 1Zachery Gallup 1Timothy Pederson 1Bradley Bearden 1Christopher Graham 1

Jazmin Lopez Medina 1Aaron Moreno 1

North TexasKaren Holland 1

OdessaEli Velasquez 15Jose Giron 5Claude Lee 5James Taylor 1Adolfo Ruiz 1Adrian Murguia 1Morgan Taylor 1Jesus Rodriguez 1

Oklahoma CityCathleen Watson 30David Clark 25Ronald Cooper 20Hubert Daniel 15David Howard 5Edward Aquino 5Travis McClendon 3Mathew Jorgensen 3Thomas Jordan 1Corbin Kinney 1Michael Kelley 1

OshawaJames Baker 30Steve Lazarich 25Kyle Cromwell 1

Premier FinancingJermain Long 1Christopher Brown 1Shane Remp 1Mary Ingram 1Lawrence Scarpone 1

AmarilloNarciso Florez 15Zechariah Tabor 5Kolton Flatt 3

Eric Garcia 3

BellevilleLisa Chapleau 3

Central Region ManagementEric Westermann 3

ChattanoogaDavid Basil 20John Stephens 20Jeffrey York 20Daniel Cates 20Randy Gann 10Matthew Heilman 5James McFadden 5Tyler Sentementes 3Leslie Glenn 1Greggory Owens 1John Nichols 1

CorporateWhitley Burr 5Victoria Davis 1

Fort Worth Samuel Briscoe 20Nickey Smith 20Honor Noble 3Richy Murga 3Raymond McMurray 1

HamiltonChristine Rolson 3Tyrone Carr 1

South DallasScott Marshall 10Gary Bond 10Darrell Thomson 5David Marez 5Crystal Wilkins 3Marcus Shiels 3Michael Hall 3Michael Huffman 3John Sczykutowicz 3Jeremy Harris 3Sean Spencer 1Ollecia Daniels 1Raul Gutierrez 1Cortland Fraser 1Chanel Wells 1Fany Ruiz 1Donna Coker 1

St. CatharinesJoshua McCart 1

TulsaTony Brown 25Murray Johnson 20Reggie Humphrey 20Lance Hale 5Robert Cook 5Ryan Ireland 3Austin Adams 3Tyler Brown 1Heath Smith 1Lori Meadors 1

Tulsa Body ShopSandra Shaw 15

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counted on to help stabilize and grow the Service Department in Mississauga.

In November, Matt Gorman (Mississauga) and Brett Leech (St. Catharines) represented the North Region at this year’s Top Tech Event. They are great ambassadors for the competition, we are very proud of their accomplishments.

NORTHERN REGION NORTHERN REGION (continued from page 2)

In early December, Margaret Taylor & Colleen Porter graduated from the 2nd NADA academy. Congratulations on completing the course. Your commitment and dedication to professional development is appreciated.

Once again, in 2018, Adrian Hamill has been acknowledged as the top performer for New Truck Sales in the entire Freightliner network, and has been awarded the prestigious Leyland James Award. Congratulations Adrian. It is great to see

your efforts and professionalism rewarded.

Ruben Budhwal, Gurminder Ahluwalia and Dwayne Frewin had very strong sales results and placed in the top 75.

We have much to be thankful for as 2018 results have smashed previous records, and all indications point to this being the case for 2019.

From all of us in the North Region, we wish you a Safe & Happy Holiday Season. All the best for a healthy and prosperous 2019.