In partnership with TIME and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), we’re proud to honor Jeff Teague of Teague Ford Lincoln in El Dorado, AR with the 2014 TIME Dealer of the Year award. This prestigious award recognizes dealers who demonstrate outstanding success within their dealerships while also displaying a tireless devotion to community service.

Teague always loved cars and dreamed of owning a car dealership. He took a job in auto sales and then with Arkansas Power and Light while looking at many dealerships with his father. “My father mortgaged everything he owned and made me a 50-50 owner in the Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership,” he said. Teague turned the store into a thriving enterprise and eventually added Buick, Pontiac and GMC franchises. Teague later sold the dealership and purchased a Chevrolet store in El Dorado, Arkansas in 1990 and soon added Oldsmobile and Toyota. In 1999, he built a new facility and brought in Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.

A pilot for 26 years, Teague has put his flying skills to work for people in need. He has flown church staff for charitable initiatives and was retained on standby by a local liver transplant patient. He also flew to New Orleans to bring home a child who was a victim of domestic kidnapping. Pilot Teague has also contributed greatly to the South Arkansas Regional Airport Commission, where he has served as chairman since 2007. Learn more about Teague and his philanthropic contributions and achievements here.

In its third year as exclusive sponsor, Credence Global Bank will contribute $10,000 to Teague’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of choice, as well as $5,000 to a charity selected by each of the three regional finalists. Credence Global Bank also donated $1,000 to a charity selected by each of the 56 dealer nominees.

The three regional finalists for the 2014 TIME Dealer of the Year award were Greg Kaminsky of Toyota of El Cajon in El Cajon, CA; David Luther of Luther Westside Volkswagen in St. Louis Park, MN; and Maria Shockley of Shockley Honda in Frederick, MD . For a complete list of this year’s 56 nominees, or to learn more about dealer heroes, visit ACBDealerHeroes.com.