Working in Clark County: Milton Copeland, sales manager, Dick Hannah Honda

As a young man, Milton Copeland worked in food service and the entertainment industry for a number of years, struggling to find his way while supporting a wife and child. A chance meeting with a sales manager from Dick Hannah Honda led to a career where he now finds himself a sales manager, earning multiple salesperson of the month awards and holding sales records for the dealership.

“He saw something in me, maybe passion, enthusiasm, a willingness to work hard, somebody he could shape and mold into someone who would do a good job. Failure was not an option when you have a wife and kids — maybe he saw that kind of thing.”

Residence neighborhood: Old Evergreen Highway Neighborhood.

Employer: Dick Hannah Honda.

Business address: 3321 N.E. Auto Mall Drive, Vancouver.

Age: 35.

Educational/professional background (include where you’re from/your early interests, jobs): I grew up in a government housing complex with my mother in Grand Rapids, Mich. I always wanted money because we didn’t have much, so as a kid I would wash cars and shovel sidewalks for money. At 14, I got my first real job at Burger King and worked in food service for several more years. I went to Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids for two years but had to drop out to support my wife and soon-to-be child. I was transferred to Las Vegas to help with the company’s live shows and front-of-the-house duties but was laid off after 9/11. After painting holiday decorations on windows for a few months, I found my first sales job selling coupon books. Within a month, I became the top salesman. My employer moved us to San Francisco a few months later. The transition wasn’t smooth and we lost everything. After having to sleep out of my car for a few weeks, but still hitting my sales numbers, I was transferred to a better territory in Portland.

How — and when — you got started in your business: I started with Dick Hannah Honda almost 13 years ago. I had been selling for a door-to-door sales company that wasn’t doing so well when I ran into a manager at Dick Hannah. He saw something in me and offered me a job. I had never sold cars before, but he seemed to think I would be good at it. The Hannahs do a good job of hiring morally ethical people, so many of the managers became role models for me. Being only 22 when I started and growing up where I did, I didn’t have many successful people to learn from. It seemed you could make a good living selling cars while staying morally ethical, and that was important to me.

Personal/business philosophy: My personal philosophy is “life is a downhill race, even if you fall, you are still moving forward.”

Many people in life quit or make easy goals and don’t take risk. You can’t get what you truly want until you are willing to lose what you already have. I had no choice when I lost everything, but it helped me understand everything.

I also believe that helping someone become a better person first outweighs making more money. My goal is to help people gain skill and knowledge that can serve them all through life and in any job. Lastly, I feel it’s important to teach your kids money management early in life.

My business philosophy is to focus more on effectiveness rather than personal ideology. We do the best we can to make everyone happy. The Hannahs are instrumental in that. Our philosophy is “believe in nice” and “honesty is the best policy.” I believe in giving the customer all the correct information so they can make an informed decision. Being a part of such small community it’s our job to take care of the people in our community.

Most rewarding part of job: I had a young couple who didn’t qualify for a car because of their credit. I sat down with them and counseled them for over an hour on how to improve their scores. Over the next few months, they would call me for assistance on managing their debt and disputing old collections. A couple of years later, my wife and I were walking in Costco, and out of nowhere a lady comes up and hugs me. The husband walked up, and he had tears in his eyes. They told me that they just bought their first house, and it wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t go over their credit and help them along the way. Helping people be better is the best part of my job. Selling cars has actually been easy for me. Once you understand people, you understand everything.

Most challenging part of job: Being in a customer-first industry means they come before your personal interest. I get customers calling me at all hours of the night, and I have to answer. I miss many recitals, games and performances because we always have to be ready for the customer. This will be the biggest purchase many people make, so it’s our job to follow through with the transaction in a way that the customer feels comfortable. I need to be the person my customer needs me to be — whatever it takes.

Something surprising about your work: How little people know about credit and how credit affects you. In this day and age where we use credit for everything, one would think the average consumer would be more informed. Also a lot of people think we’re out to take advantage and mislead them, and that is the farthest thing from the truth. Part of that comes from the way it was run in the ’70s and ’80s. It was not ideal for the consumer. With the internet and social media, now the idea of customer service is totally different. We represent Honda and have to hold ourselves higher.

Best feature of my Clark County community: The family areas like the park at Marshall Center, Esther Short Park, the Columbia Springs fish hatchery, the Waterfront Trail and the farmers market. Clark County has a good sense of community and family that makes living here really feel like a home.

What would make your community a better place? A children’s museum would be great.

What is your favorite travel destination and type: Every other summer, we drive back to Michigan with the whole family. It’s a 40-plus-hour drive, and with five kids it feels like a month. Driving through so many other states, you really appreciate the Northwest’s beauty.

Favorite restaurant/pub/coffee shop/store: Being in the business I’m in, I eat out a lot. So Oishi, Thai Terrace, NYC Pizza are favorites. My favorite pub is Main Event and my favorite coffee shop is Dutch Bros. The $1 not-so-hots are my kids’ favorites.

Hobbies: I like to oil paint and play golf. My wife and I love Cinetopia. I am working on application games for smartphones. I am also an aspiring motivational speaker and sales trainer.

Most enjoyable book/play/movie/arts event in past 12 months: Books: “Ender’s Game,” “Atlas Shrugged,” “The Alchemist,” “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and “The Secret.” Movies: I’ve seen them all literally so too many to name, but “The Matrix” and “Beauty and the Beast” (animated) are my two favorites. Groove Nation put on a dance rendition of “Annie” and it was great.

Something you’d like to do this year/within five years: I am in the process of writing two books, so I would like to have them done by the end of the year. Within five years, I would like to be a New York Times best-seller.

One word to describe yourself: Audacious.

Person you’d most like to meet: Anyone who knows what I need to know but don’t know yet.