Brad Akins is President and Owner of Akins Ford Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM in Winder, Ga. He is a graduate of Winder Barrow High School class of 1984.
Brad has worked for Akins beginning at 8 years old working in the Service Department after school. During the summers he worked in all departments. After graduating from High School he began working full time in June of 1984 at the age of 17. The next 6 years enabled him to work and learn every department in the dealership. He became dealer principal for Akins in 1990 at the age of 23 after the untimely death of his father, Harold Akins from leukemia.
Through Brad’s leadership, Akins currently employees 363 staff members and is one of the largest volume multi-franchise dealerships in the State. Akins Service, Accessory & Collision Departments combined work on over 70,000 vehicles in a calendar year. These Departments are equipped to handle repairs and modifications of all makes and model cars, trucks and most medium and heavy-duty vehicles including school busses, dump trucks, trailers, motor homes, etc. Akins Sales Department sells over 12,000 New & Used vehicles annually and was #9 Nationally in Ford Sales in 2021. In 2017 Brad was one of five dealers inducted into the inaugural class of the Ford Motor Company Hall of Fame.
Brad currently serves on Ford’s Marketing Board and has served on Ford’s Dealer Council and many various other boards with Ford & Chrysler in Sales and Service through the years. Brad currently serves his community by serving on the board of Piedmont Athens Regional Foundation and the First American Bank Board. He is proud to serve in an advisory compacity on several boards of organizations that he personally and Akins sponsors. He was chairperson for the outdoor Athletic Facilities for Prince Avenue Christian School and donated necessary funds for the Football and Baseball Complexes. Against his wishes Prince Avenue Christian School named the football field the Brad Akins Field in 2013. He was one of the founding board members for the Brad Akins YMCA located adjacent to the dealership where he donated the 20 acres and funds for the initial development of athletic fields and a 45,000 sq.ft. YMCA facility.
Brad employs a full time Director of Community Outreach and Ministries who is involved in a multitude of community charities and events. Even though he has a full-time staff member to assist in these events he greets the community with the same ‘hands on’ approach as he does the dealership and, will regularly be seen among other things playing basketball with elementary students, or helping man the barbeque grill at The Sparrows Nest as well as assisting at community other events.
Brad and his wife Vanessa spend their free time organic farming and homesteading where they have chickens, cows, and other farm animals that they consider pets. They also currently have 7 dogs with several being rescue dogs. Vanessa is a commercial and residential interior designer. They have four daughters and one son, and 5 grandchildren. All of their daughters and son work at Akins.