Welcome Letters
From the Bannister Family
Welcome to the Bannister Automotive Group! For over 40 years, the Bannister family and its partners have been bringing quality automotive products and services to communities across Western Canada. Starting with our first store in 1979, our company has lived by the motto "A Family Business with Family Values", and we extend this to the people we work with, with competitive wages, excellent benefits, and outstanding company culture.
We are thrilled to be purchasing Bannister GP Kia and further serving the Grande Prairie community.
Our number one priority is making this transition as seamless as possible for you.
We know there are likely a lot of questions as we embark on this journey, so we've put together a comprehensive list of questions we anticipate will be asked. Did we miss anything? Ask us! Submit your questions via the contact form below, and we'll get you your answer.
We're so excited to welcome you to the Bannister family, and we can't wait to see what we can all do together.
Thanks,
The Bannisters
From Chris Long
Dear Revolution Kia Team,
I am thrilled to welcome each and every one of you to our remarkable group. Over the coming weeks, I am excited to get to know each of you personally. I would like to express my gratitude to the Minhas family for choosing us as the new owners of Revolution Kia.
Just like all of you, I initially became a part of the Bannister Automotive Group when the dealership I was working for was acquired. I understand that such a transition can bring about questions, and I want you to know that I am here for you if you have any concerns. While it may take some time for me to meet everyone individually, please feel free to reach out to me anytime in the meantime. You can reach me at 780-518-9473.
A little bit about myself - in the attached photo, you can see my wife Elizabeth, our daughter Blake, and our dog Oliver during a recent hike in breathtaking Jasper. We moved to Grande Prairie in June 2020 and we are immensely proud to call it our home.
Looking forward to an exciting and rewarding journey together!
Frequently Asked Questions
Operational & Organizational Changes
Founded by Lyn and Joanne Bannister in Barrhead, Alberta, this family business is led by their children Chad (Nadine), Mark (Laurie) and Mary Jo, their Dealer partners, General Managers, and the Dealer Support Team based in Kelowna, BC.
There will be no impact to the current daily operation at your stores. It will be business as usual as we work together to continue to grow our business. Chris Long will be the General Manager of Bannister GP Kia and Bannister GP Honda.
The Bannister Automotive Group has a Dealership Support Team in Kelowna, BC, that houses additional support resources for the entire group.
As our company has grown, we have always taken the strategy of “buy, invest, and grow” through our mergers and acquisitions. We look for partners with similar values, and portfolios that are complementary, and we invest in businesses that can support our current and future growth expectations.
Continuous improvement is a big part of the Bannister culture. One of the huge benefits of having a group of stores is the ability to experiment, share information, and apply best practices on a group-wide scale. Our partners and managers work together to improve quality, safety, customer service, efficiency and cost in areas where it makes sense. We intend to work the same way with Bannister GP Kia, and we expect to learn a lot from you in the process!
Bannister has several subject matter experts within its Dealer Support Team in areas such as Accounting, Finance, Operations Management, Marketing, and Human Resources. These team members provide resources, knowledge and expertise to all of our stores, and we are excited to offer this same support to Bannister GP Kia.
Absolutely. We know there’s a lot we can learn from Bannister GP Kia, and we’re looking forward to sharing and discussing best practices that can be applied to all of our dealerships.
No. Bannister Automotive Group is only purchasing the Kia dealership. Revolution Group will continue to operate all other locations.
Absolutely! Alongside our partners Chris & Liz Long, we also manage Bannister GP Honda and GP Motorsports.
Job Security, Benefits, & Human Resources
Our motto for this transition is “business as usual”, and we do not intend to lay off staff because of this acquisition. Our goal is to grow our business in Grande Prairie, and our team members are an important part of that. We are going to take our time to fully understand the businesses, get to know our new teammates, and look at how we can better integrate shared resources into the Bannister group.
The Bannister family understands that for many employees, benefits are an extremely important part of their compensation package. One of the many great advantages of being part of the Bannister Automotive Group is our ability to source out the industry’s best benefit offerings at the greatest value to our employees. On August 14th all employees will be enrolled in the Bannister First Canadian Benefit Plan. Click the link below to review the benefit comparison document for additional information regarding this change.
Yes, employees will continue to receive their current incentives open to Bannister GP Kia employees. Bannister Automotive Group also offers significant incentives to their employees, and over time these will be aligned between organizations.
Our goal is to have all our team members on our Centralized payroll system (ADP Workforce Now)—the Dealer Support Team is working on your transition now. Starting August 14th, all time and attendance will be entered into your new ADP platform.
Communications Strategy
In August 2023 we will provide you with a letter to communicate to all business partners and advise them of the change in ownership.
While we will be making our official announcements in August 2023, we understand some key stakeholders require some advance notice. If you believe key customers, organizations, vendors, or partners require advance notice, please contact Chris at clong@gphonda.ca.
Prior to the official announcement, we ask that you keep this confidential.
All media inquiries should be forwarded to:
Chris Long
clong@gphonda.ca
Ask us anything!
Have a question? Ask us!
Contact Us
Have questions that aren't addressed here?
Want to speak to someone directly?
We'd love to hear from you!
Chris Long
Adrienne McKellar
Human Resources Director, Bannister Automotive Group
adrienne.mckellar@bannisters.com
250-448-2247