Joseph “Joey” Huang, co-owner of the Great Lakes Auto Group, is a 1988 graduate of Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, OH. Huang studied biology at The Ohio State University in Columbus, graduating in 1992. He also earned a D.D.S. at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry in 1997. Joey feels fortunate to have had a strong support system and family that believed that education is essential in providing a strong foundation for one’s professional and entrepreneurial success. It was a summer job selling autos that changed his career trajectory. During his junior year in dental school, Huang opened a small used-car lot next to his father's doctor office in Ashtabula, OH. Huang was on track to be a dentist before his passion for the car business took him in a different direction. “My father is a well- respected OB/GYN in Ashtabula, who wanted all of his children to be doctors,” Joey often says. “In fact, both my sister and brother are successful doctors. Back then, my father had a little problem with me going into the Automotive business,” Huang recalls. “But his position has softened over the years. I am happy that I have changed my father's opinion of the auto industry, a profession I truly love. I have been blessed." Huang went on to partner with John Rocco in founding the Great Lakes Auto Network in 1996. Great Lakes Auto Group includes dealerships in Streetsboro, Columbus, Elyria, Findlay and Akron, OH. Today, they continue operate and share ownership of Great Lakes Honda in Akron, OH and Great Lakes Hyundai. Joey has also acquired, and is sole owner of Capital Kia located in Columbus, OH, Great Lakes Honda West located in Elyria, OH and Great Lakes Toyota Subaru in Findlay, OH. During the course of his career, Huang’s dealerships have won numerous awards, including seven President’s Award Honors from American Honda Motor Company. Huang was chosen to represent NAMAD as its representative for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award, one of only 49 dealers out of 16,000 nationwide to be nominated for that prestigious award. In 2017 Joseph Huang was the recipient of NAMAD’s, Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his courage, character and consistency in assisting ethnic minority dealers. During the course of his career, Huang has been involved in numerous philanthropic endeavors, including his service as local chairman of Hyundai Hope on Wheels, a program that raises money for pediatric cancer research. Hyundai Hope on Wheels has raised more than $1 million for Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. Huang and his company also spearheaded an initiative in Ashtabula County called Educar, which offers public schools the opportunity to raise needed funds through raffles. So far, Educar has raised more than $250,000 for schools in Ashtabula County. Huang was honored for those philanthropic efforts, receiving the inaugural Community Impact Award from Cox Automotive in 2015, an award that recognized the impact that Great Lakes Auto has had on education in Ashtabula County. Supporting and serving the communities in which his businesses are located is paramount in insuring that positive change and community growth continues.
