3rd Generation

Richard Gartner
Barry Gartner

Lee Gartner’s two sons, Richard and Barry, started working at the dealership part-time when they were around fifteen years old. To learn the business, they started at the bottom of the company in Used Car Get-Ready and the Parts Department and worked their way up. After graduating from high school, both brothers studied dealership management at Northwood Institute, now known as Northwood University. Together, they took over management of the dealership in the Reed Brothers tradition: Richard oversaw the “front end” new and used car sales and Barry managed the “back end” Service, Parts, and Body Shop. It’s an old adage in the car business that “the front end gets the business, but the back end keeps the business.”

In 1993, when Lee Gartner retired and became Chairman of the Board, Richard was designated as President/Dealer Principal and Barry served as Vice President/General Manager, making Reed Brothers Dodge a third-generation dealer.

All in the Family

Jeanne Gartner
Bonnie (Gartner) Warfield

In 1974, Lee Gartner’s eldest daughter, Jeanne, started working in the general office to learn the business, but soon pursued a different path. Jeanne had earned a Bachelor of Music Education from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in 1972, then after receiving an Artist Diploma from the Conservatoire National de Région de Bordeaux in 1974, and a Master of Music in Performance from The Catholic University of America in 1975, she pursued a career in The United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. She served for 30 years, retiring in the top enlisted grade of Chief Master Sergeant on July 1, 2006. She later rejoined the family business as Internet Director, and later served as Corporate Secretary and Director of Digital Marketing and Advertising.

In 1987, Lee Gartner’s youngest daughter, Bonnie (Gartner) Warfield, joined the business after majoring in English at Randolph-Macon Women’s College and working as the classified advertising manager at the Gaithersburg Gazette newspaper. She later served as the F&I Manager, Director of Advertising, and Corporate Secretary at Reed Brothers Dodge.