Together or Not NU Experience Leads Brothers to Success through Different Journeys

When Keith and Ken Hudson first began attending Northwood University's Florida Campus in 1986, the two shared a plan to one day return home to manage their family's automotive dealerships in Columbia, S.C. Little did the brothers, 18 and 20 years old at the time, know that their Northwood experience would personally and professionally change the course of their lives.

"Prior to attending Northwood, we arranged a college visit to check out a few courses. ONce we experienced the small class sizes, focused attention, and industry-experienced professors, we knew that Northwood would prepare us to one day manage the family dealerships," said Ken, who transferred to Northwood from another college. "In addition to looking forward tot the Northwood experience, we were excited to experience the South Florida lifestyle. The idea of leaving South Carolina for Florida beaches, water skiing, and volleyball was something we looked forward to," he said with a smile.

"Being only 23 months apart in age, the boys were always very close. When it looked like they wanted to attend Northwood, I remember packing them up as they prepared to room together, while joking that either they were going to get even closer or they were going to kill each other," said their mom, Sybil Hudson. "They did survive the togetherness and made lots of college memories to talk about and laugh about for years to come. Our biggest surprise of this journey may have been meeting two girls at our first Auto Show who would become our daughter-in-law," she said smiling.

After settling in as roommates at Northwood's residence halls, the brothers quickly made friends with other automotive majors while studying hard, enjoying waterskiing, and visits to Singer Island on the weekends. But it was Northwood's Auto Show in 1987 which held the most significance for Ken. "My father came to visit us for the Auto Show and I had the luxury of driving him around campus in a golf cart to preview the show. As we approached the Acura tent, he pointed out two attractive brunettes who were representing the brand. I knew Saundra Consolo was soon to be engaged to someone else, but I got up enough nerve to approach her anyway," said Ken. "We ended up going to T.G.I. Friday's that weekend and became the best of friends," added Ken who has been happily married to Saundra for 17 years.

Keith Hudson and his wife Denise, Saundra Consolo's roommate, met at a Northwood Christmas party. "The funny thing is that I have the first time we me on camera", he said. "Back then it was quite unusual to have a video camera at a party, so we were filming everything. When I walked into a room at the party, there were these three women talking. One especially caught my attention," he said smiling. "Another gentleman grabbed the camera in time to catch me saying to her 'Hi, I'm Keith Hudson', real smooth of me," he said laughing. Keith and Denise are now married 15 years and have two daughters.

Ken and Keith, who continued rooming together, enjoyed college life and double dates with their girlfriends. And although they always knew that they had a lot in common, a few humorous differences became apparent as a "Felix and Oscar" roommate situation developed in which Keith was extremely neat and Ken was a bit disorganized. "Keith was the one keeping up the kitchen while I was spilling sugar everywhere," laughed Ken, who admitted to studying best while outside in different environments. "Looking back, I can see how our different personality traits played a role in leading us to where we are today. Keith is a successful automotive dealer with immaculately organized dealerships, while I work in a creative, spontaneous environment," added Ken who now has four children with Saundra.

"To this day, I can tell you to the penny the balance in my check book. He probably hasn't balanced his in a month," teased Keith, who has acquired and now owns several dealerships in South Carolina. "Thanks to my associate's degree in Automotive Marketing and my bachelor's degree in Marketing/Management, Northwood has provided me with the fundamentals needed to successfully manage and lead," added Keith, who later achieved his Master of Business Administration degree.

It was Professor Cheryl Pridgeon who made the biggest impact on Ken's choice to veer from his original plan of a career in automotive management. "Dr. Pridgeon made me realize how my creative energy could be used to my advantage. She insisted on case studies and classroom presentations which addressed almost all of the five senses. In addition to getting to know the audience and preparing presentation visuals and marketing plans which addressed our specific product and its distribution levels, we also had to evaluate the lighting, smell, and overall environment of the presentation space," he said.

"At some point, the marketing end of it took over my heart and my soul, and I realized it was really fun. When people ask me why I'm in the business of advertising and marketing and not back running my dad's dealership, I tell them about the time I spent at Northwood," said Ken, who graduated in 1990 with a dual major in Automotive Marketing and Advertising and is now Founder and CEO of Omni Advertising based in Boca Raton, Fla.

Constantly studying, strategizing, marketing, and fueling his passion to dominate the market of every product he touches, Ken knows what it takes to move consumers, even in challenging times. And when most of his peers are satisfied with single-digit growth percentage in their client's businesses, he has never been satisfied with anything less than double-digit growth. His devoted leadership and courage to fulfill his vision of achieving success for his clients is what make Omni Advertising a true champion among agencies.

Keith Hudson is the current Dealer Principal and President of Jim Hudson Buick-Pontiac-GMC, Saab, Inc. He has been responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the dealership since 1996. Prior to his position in Columbia, Keith was a Sales Consultant for three years at Pat Moran Oldsmobile-GMC Truck in Rochester Hills, Michigan. There he learned about the car business and studied how other successful GM Dealers ran their operations. This was an opportunity for Keith to witness firsthand how the top selling dealerships in the country were advertising, promoting, and marketing their products and services. Keith Hudson continues to carry on the family business philosophy of "Customer Satisfaction is our #1 Goal."

"You have kids and are proud of them becoming successful in business, but it's the fact that Keith and Ken live with their hearts outside instead of inside that reveals their strong Christian values," remarked Jim Hudson. "I wouldn't change a thing about the roads they've taken, and am most proud of the way they handle themselves while setting examples for other younger people," he said

Originally published in the Northwood Idea Summer 2010 issue.
Written by Susan McCreery
www.northwood.edu