The Dishman Dodge Ram Chrysler Jeep Story

The late Mark K. Hollenback, who purchased this family-owned dealership in 1964, began his career in the automobile business in 1936 as a "grease monkey" - as he termed it.  In 1940 he took over a Texaco station at Trent and Argonne called Millwood Auto Service.  It was during this time that he started dealing in used cars and just before World War II he obtained an associate dealership for the Nash franchise.  Unfortunately, that operation ceased with the advent of the war.

In 1946, Mark had a chance to buy the property in Parkwater at 5303 East Trent where he did repairing and sold second-hand cars.  He got his first real new car franchise when he took on Jeep in 1949 and named his business "Hollenback Motors".  In 1950 he added the Nash line, then in 1957 took over the lease on the same building on "Auto Row" at Sprague and Park in Dishman where he began his automotive career back in 1936.  At this point he was dividing his time between the Dishman and Parkwater locations.

In 1960, Mark consolidated his two operations to the corner of Sprague and Park in Dishman where he held franchises for Rambler, Jeep, Peugeot, Renault and BMW.  After purchasing Dishman Dodge, he designed and built the present Service and Parts facility at 7700 East Sprague and moved his Dodge operation and 30 employees to this location in 1968.  In 1971 Dishman Dodge opened a downtown location, Downtown Dodge, at Third and Madison.

In 1976 he purchased the downtown Volkswagen dealership with a partner and operated that dealership until 1984.  Mark was a "National Grand Award" recipient of The Volkswagen Service Excellence Award in 1982 and Dishman Dodge held Chrysler's prestigious "Five Star Excellence Award" until his retirement.  In 1983, he received Washington State's prestigious "Dealer of the Year" award from the Washington State Auto Dealers Association.

His daughter, Marlene (Marti) Hollenback, now carries on this excellence.  Having had a very successful career as a Registered Nurse for over 25 years, Marti took over this family dealership in April of 1995.  After attending Washington State University for a year, Marti completed her Registered Nurse training at Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing and received her Bachelor of Health Science degree from Whitworth College.  Marti currently serves as the Washington State Director to the National Automobile Dealers Association and is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Washington State Auto Dealers Association.  Marti's personal recognitions include:  "Everyday Hero Award" presented by the Kiwanis Clubs Division #46 in 2003, Northwood University's "Automobile Dealer Education Award" in 2004, Spokane Business Catalyst Magazine's "Best Local Business Woman Silver Award" in 2006, 2010 and again in 2013, NAWBO/Wachovia's "Business Woman of the Year Finalist" in 2007, in 2009 Marti was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame and in 2015 the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce presented her with the 2014 Harry E. Nelson "Citizen of the Year" Award.  Her son, Mark, began working at the dealership in 1985 while still in high school and is currently serving as General Manager.  Mark graduated from Eastern Washington University (EWU) with degrees in Business Management and Marketing and went on to graduate from the National Automobile Dealers Association's Dealer Academy in 1994.  Marti's younger son, Matt, is also involved in the business as Computer Technician and Systems Administrator.  Matt graduated Summa Cum Laude from EWU with a degree in Computer Science.  Mark and Matt work very closely with Marti in the day-to-day operations of the dealership, as they will be her successors.

Marti volunteers a considerable amount of her time by serving on numerous community service boards.  During her tenure, Dishman Dodge has been the recipient of several awards:  Finalist in the Spokane Chamber of Commerce "Agora Award for Business Excellence" in 1998, "The Washington State Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award" presented by the Washington State Psychological Association in 2002, the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce "Award of Excellence" in 2003, the Association of Washington Business "Better Workplace Award" in 2003, a semi-finalist in the Spokane Chamber of Commerce "Agora Award for Business Excellence" in 2004, the "Community Beautification Award" presented by the Association of Washington Business in 2004, nominated for the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce 2004 "Community Caring Award", the "Humanitarian Award" presented by the Valley Rotary Club in 2005, winner of the krem.com Z Best of Spokane Auto Dealerships competition in 2009, in 2012 received Seattle Business Magazine's prestigious "Washington Family Business Transitions Award", and Chrysler's prestigious "Five Star Excellence Award" throughout the years.  Dishman Dodge attained membership into Chrysler's "Chargers Club" for being one of the top 100 Dodge volume dealers in the nation in 2003, 2004 and again in 2005, and also holds the distinction of being the largest Dodge dealership in the state of Washington for 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008.  

In 2004 Dishman added the Business Link/Commercial Division featuring the Dodge Sprinter, now called the ProMaster, along with the exciting line of Dodge vehicles.  The Business Link Division caters to the special vehicle needs of businesses.

In January of 2004 Dishman Dodge opened their new state-of-the-art Sales Center, The Mark K. Hollenback Building, at 7614 East Sprague adjacent to their former facility.  This lovely new facility has been identified by many members of the local community as "The Gateway to Spokane Valley".  The former building, now their Service and Parts Center, has been remodeled and redecorated as well as the Body Shop building.  On May 7, 2010 Dishman Dodge added the Chrysler vehicle line and became branded as Dishman Dodge Chrysler.  On November 15, 2012 the Jeep brand was added and we celebrated our 50^th Anniversary!