Despite growing up in Chillicothe, Ill., a town of 6,000 residents, Jason Horack had big aspirations. The youngest of four, Horack dreamt of working on Wall Street. In high school, he played basketball, baseball, and football before attending Florida State University in 1989. After graduating with a double degree in Finance and International Business, Horack began working in the banking business before going to work at a car dealership in Peoria. After building his reputation, a friend recommended him to Bill Estes Chevrolet in Indianapolis, where he spent 14 hours a day, 6 days a week as a Custom Finance Manager trying to improve the lives of others. “There’s a stigma with car salesmen,” Horack said. “It was hard at first, but it’s something you deal with. You have to be different.”
After spending two years at Estes, Horack was recruited to Hare Chevrolet. He started in his specialty as a Custom Finance Manager and worked his way to Finance Manager, then to a Sales Manager and finally found his place as the General Manager of the dealership. Looking back, he doesn’t regret his decision to stay at Hare instead of working on Wall Street.
Horack was recently featured in Raleigh Limited’s spring catalog, a designer store for men. He discovered the store 12 years ago and has developed a relationship with the manager. When he was asked to do a customer profile, Horack gladly accepted. “In college, I developed a taste for dressing up more. I had to wear a suit and tie everyday when I was working at a bank and it was then that I started to appreciate nicer clothes. Raleigh offers such an impressive selection of clothing by designers that are hard to find anywhere else in the area.”
When he’s not working, Horack spends his time with his wife and his puppies. And, if time permits, he finds himself cycling, golfing, and cooking.
But until the workday is over, Horack focuses on keeping Hare Chevrolet number one in the state.
“It’s one of my main motivations in this business - to build trust with our customers and show them we’re better than everyone else,” he said. “It’s a much different experience here and you’ll notice it as soon you walk in. We’re a family. Hare has survived two world wars and several market crashes, yet we’ve thrived and have become leaders in the industry and the community. That says something.”
