One of the greatest things about being on the publication team for Klamath Living is that I get to meet and interview some of the most inspirational families and business people in Klamath Falls.

This month I had the privilege of interviewing an exceptional business leader here in our local community — Juan Maldonado.

The Founder's Cup Award

On Tuesday, January 24, 2023, one of the auto dealerships that Juan manages here in Klamath Falls was recognized as the #1 auto dealership in the nation by a panel of corporate advisers and executives at Lithia Motors, Inc.

What an extraordinary honor for someone from our humble community to be given such high recognition of achievement.

What Makes the Award Significant

The Lithia Toyota dealership that Juan manages was selected from a list of nearly 300 Lithia dealerships in 135 cities across the nation to receive the coveted Founder's Cup Award.

This is an award given only to the highest achievers — ranked not just by total sales, but also various other metrics including:

  • Customer-service ratings
  • Employee retention
  • Employee morale
  • Promoting green technology
  • Community-service participation
  • Other key areas that the panel uses to measure overall success

The award reflects excellence across the entire operational picture — not just hitting sales numbers, but running the kind of dealership that genuinely takes care of customers and employees.

Juan's Story Begins in the Willamette Valley

Juan Maldonado knows cars.

Some of his earliest and fondest memories in life are of his experiences working with his dad at their family's small used-car dealerships in Willamette Valley, Oregon.

For Juan, going to work with his dad was the coolest thing ever.

He remembers his dad giving him small jobs and things to do around the lots to keep him occupied while his father was working with customers. As Juan got older, he got used to washing cars and emptying trash cans — the entry-level work that taught him the dealership business from the ground up.

From the Family Lot to Lithia Leadership

That foundation — growing up in a used-car family business, doing every job from cleanup to detailing to sales — gave Juan a bottom-up understanding of every role in a dealership.

By the time he became dealership manager, he had walked every position in the building. That earned respect with his team is one of the things that produces the employee retention and morale the Founder's Cup recognizes.

What the Award Says About Klamath Falls

Beyond Juan's personal achievement, the Founder's Cup recognition says something meaningful about the Klamath Falls market:

  • Klamath customers value relationships — and reward dealerships that build them
  • Klamath employees stick around when they're treated well
  • Klamath community involvement matters — and Lithia's community service participation under Juan's leadership is part of the win
  • Customer-service excellence is sustainable in a smaller market where reputation travels fast

For Lithia Motors, having their #1 dealership in Klamath Falls is a powerful signal that excellence isn't limited to high-volume metro markets.

Why Juan's Leadership Matters

For the Klamath Basin business community, Juan's success is exactly the kind of leadership example worth celebrating:

1. He grew up in the business

Hard work and the dignity of starting at the bottom were modeled by his father.

2. He stayed in a smaller market

Talent of Juan's caliber could go anywhere. The fact that he leads in Klamath Falls is a win for the basin's professional ecosystem.

3. He measures what matters

The Founder's Cup criteria — sales + service + retention + morale + community + green — represents the multi-dimensional definition of business success that distinguishes great companies from merely profitable ones.

4. He invests in his team

You don't win employee-retention and morale awards without genuine investment in the people who work for you.

5. He represents the community

Lithia Toyota of Klamath Falls is woven into the basin's community-event sponsorships, charitable giving, and civic life. That presence is part of what the award recognizes.

A Model for Klamath Business

For Klamath Falls business owners and managers reading Juan's story:

  • Long-term thinking beats short-term sales pressure
  • Employee investment produces customer-service excellence
  • Community involvement isn't a marketing tactic — it's a core operating principle
  • Multi-generational family business roots carry forward into corporate leadership

That formula has produced a #1-in-the-nation dealership in a town most national executives couldn't find on a map.

Congratulations, Juan

To Juan Maldonado and the entire team at Lithia Toyota of Klamath Falls — congratulations on the Founder's Cup Award and on representing Klamath Falls with such excellence.

To the Klamath Basin community — Lithia Toyota's success is your success. The customer-service reputation, the community investment, the employment opportunities, the dealership presence that anchors the local automotive market — all of it is built on the foundation Juan and his team have created.

Well done.

For Klamath Basin readers considering their next vehicle purchase or service appointment — give Lithia Toyota of Klamath Falls a look. The #1 dealership in the country is right here in your basin.