Women in Business: Andrea Foote – Anderson Auto Group

In Lake Havasu City, a local car and powersport dealership does a lot more than sales. Andrea Foote, Marketing Director for Anderson Auto and Powersports, coordinates with non-profit organizations to help sponsor events in town. In almost every event at Lake Havasu City, Anderson Auto and Powersports is involved in giving back to their customers.

Personal background

Andrea was born and raised in Lake Havasu City and attended school in town until graduating from Lake Havasu High School. After high school, Andrea attended Arizona State University, where she received a bachelor’s in communication and a master’s in higher and post-secondary education. Following graduation, Andrea found success working for the city of Scottsdale in multiple departments. After her time in Scottsdale, Andrea began working for the city of Peoria. In Peoria, she gained the marketing skills she uses with Anderson Auto and Powersports by planning up to 72 events a year with 25 thousand people in attendance.

After spending time in bigger cities, Andrea and her husband decided to move back to Lake Havasu City. Since moving back to town over a year ago, Andrea and her husband welcomed their newborn son. Now that she is back in her hometown with a family of her own, Andrea explained, “I love being involved in our community at a high level. What we do here is more than sales. We give back the dollars that our customers spend with us to their local community.”

More of Andrea’s work

Recently, Andrea has worked on significant projects for Lake Havasu City and surrounding areas. In Kingman, Anderson now has naming rights for the next 5 years, with now called Mohave County Fairgrounds Anderson Ford Rodeo Arena. At the fairgrounds, a 4-day fun-filled event took place in September featuring live entertainment, a carnival, vendors, amazing food, and more.

Also taking place in Kingman, a Ford Mobile Service Unit will now come to your home for most services done at the dealership. In Bullhead City, Anderson also acquired naming rights for 5 years at the Colorado Union High School District (CRUHSD) Fieldhouse, which is now the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse. At the Fieldhouse, you can expect a “ultimate indoor sports experience in a climate controlled atmosphere” featuring artificial turf, meeting rooms, and stadium seating. Specific to our town, Lake Havasu High School recently remodeled their gym to a sparkling new facility that all students, faculty, and staff can use. Anderson’s role in the remodel of this gym was providing the financial support to make it happen.

Anderson Auto and Powersports

While Andrea works with Anderson to sponsor many events in town, their work with the special needs community is extremely dear to them. Anderson Auto and Powersports employ members of the special needs community and some of their employees have family members who are a part of the community as well. As all of their work with the special needs community is extremely important to them, a few events stand out.

Anderson Powersports just recently landed a 3-year title sponsor for Desert Storm. During the 3-day Desert Storm event, “Kruisin’ for a Kause” takes place the Wednesday before Desert Storm kicks off for members of the special needs community to take a ride in the boats. Coming up this month, Anderson will have their Boo Bash event, separate from Fright Night, for members of the special needs community to enjoy in a quiet and less-chaotic environment. On a larger scale, Anderson is the title sponsor for Special Olympics Arizona. Andrea works with Anderson to raise money for the Special Olympics team that helps pay for their trips to the competitions at the state or national level. Locally,

Anderson actively participates in Mile Markers, New Horizons, and Rise, and they aspire to increase their collaboration with Shining Stars.

Even though Andrea hasn’t been with Anderson Auto and Powersports for long, she has already made valuable impacts in our local community. When asked about her future goals with Anderson, Andrea stated, “I want to continue learning more about private sector business from the top down and making contributions to our community.”

This content was written by our amazing staff writer Alicia Armendariz

And sponsored by The A Team- Real Estate Professionals.

Women in Business: Kim Finch – Finch House Boutique

Here in Lake Havasu City, a talented entrepreneur has found pure success as a small business owner. Kimberly M Finch owns and operates 6 businesses in town: Cabana Boat, Kimberly Michael Salon, The Chair, Beach House, Finch House Boutique, and Tasty Waves. Being successful with all of these businesses would not have been possible without the help of her husband, Dallas Finch, who for 27 years helped run the famous Kokomo Beach Club.

A little about their background

Kim, born and raised in Lake Havasu City, left for college in Los Angeles after high school and trained to become a hairdresser for 6 years. She returned to Lake Havasu City, where she met her husband Dallas. They later purchased the property for Kimberly Michael Salon and have owned it for 11 years.

Prior to Kimberly Michael Salon, they established Cabana Boat 3 years earlier, initially operating 3 boats, but now have 11 in total. Cabana Boat is a popular Lake Havasu City attraction for locals and tourists, offering boat rentals for special occasions and leisurely days on the lake. Their other businesses are located in the bustling English Village, frequented by both locals and tourists.

Timeline of their businesses

About five years ago, the owners of the English Village approached Kim and Dallas. They had found success with Cabana Boat and Kimberly Michael Salon and encouraged them to open something in the village. Shortly after, The Chair – Lake Havasu was born, joining Beach House, Finch House Boutique, and Big Fin’s Tasty Waves, all opening within a year. Kim explained that owning 4 businesses in the English Village is special to her.“I have a huge attachment to the village. I grew up hanging out down there, running around, riding our bikes and scooters, going down the grass hill and it’s been really cool helping bring that back to life. That’s probably the best part is seeing it evolve and being a part of that since we have a lot of the land down there.”

Kim and Dallas achieved great success, with each store earning over 4 stars on Yelp. Owning a small business, let alone 6 of them, is no easy task. When asked if she could give advice to aspiring small business owners, Kim stated, “Take the risk. You don’t get anywhere without taking a risk… If you have a dream, go for it.”

To Kim, the most special part about being successful in her hometown is giving back. “Giving back to my community and being involved is my favorite part.” Kim and Dallas employ over 130 local workers, positively impacting Lake Havasu City’s economy by providing jobs.

What is next for Finch House Boutique?

Coming up, an exciting expansion is coming to their stores. The Finch House Boutique will be expanding their retail store by offering online shopping, nationwide. Soon, customers will be able to visit their store in the English Village, or shop from home.

This content was written by our amazing staff writer Alicia Armendariz

And sponsored by The A Team- Real Estate Professionals.