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The McKinnon family of Colton, Brandi, Mark and JD.

Mark McKinnon took over McKinnon Toyota Nissan from his father Wayne McKinnon.

Mark McKinnon with the staff at McKinnon Toyota Nissan.

The crowd at the celebration for McKinnon Toyota Nissan’s 60th anniversary in November of last year.

McKinnon Toyota Nissan participated in a ham giveaway for Christmas last December.

McKinnon Toyota Nissan General Manager Richard Wall, Lynn McKinnon and Sales Director Jeff Smith.

Brandi and Mark McKinnon.

Mark McKinnon and the McKinnon Toyota Nissan staff after being named the 2023 Alabama Retailer of the Year.

Mark McKinnon was Grand Marshal for the 2024 Peach Parade in Clanton.

Story by Carey Reeder

Photos by Carey Reeder and Contributed by McKinnon Toyota Nissan

McKinnon Toyota Nissan went through a roller coaster at the end of 2024. The beloved local car dealership celebrated its 60th anniversary in November, but suffered a devastating loss just a few weeks after losing owner Mark McKinnon on Dec. 3, 2024. A beloved businessman, friend, husband and father, Mark McKinnon made an impact around the Chilton County community in everything he did. That impact affected thousands of lives for the better, and will be felt for decades into the future in Chilton County.

In 1964, Mark’s father Wayne McKinnon purchased a used car dealership from a man who was about to retire. Later that same year, he added the Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge franchise becoming the youngest Chrysler dealer owner in the nation at the age of 23 right in Clanton. Wayne and his wife, Lynn, had two boys, Mark and Bobby, and they raised the boys in the automotive industry.

Mark started working in the dealership in his early teen years. Wayne taught him many things about the car business, but also about life. Mark maintained the grounds of the dealership and washed vehicles, tasks that he said taught him to be detail oriented and have an eye for perfection. He began selling cars during his summer breaks from college — seeing how much affect dealerships have within the community.

Mark was at the dealership full time by January 2001 and transitioned from sales professional to sales manager while also learning about each department in the dealership and how they relate to each other. He eventually became the general manager, and then purchased more Toyota stock to become the majority owner of the dealership his dad started.

Mark got the business involved with the community in many different areas from the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce, YMCA of Chilton County, Butterfly Bridge Children’s Advocacy Center, Chilton County Schools and the Chilton County foster children’s program to just name a few. After Wayne passed away in 2021, Mark found out more about his father’s philanthropy through donations and volunteer work that went unspoken or recognized. This inspired Mark to up the ante with larger contributions that at one point was around 10% of the business’ net profit going to donations towards local organizations and charities.

“It was astonishing how much of a giver he was, and he loved providing for people and his passion was giving back to the community,” Richard Wall, General Manager at McKinnon Toyota Nissan, said. “We just had a meeting the other day about what he donated each year to make sure we keep those donations going.”

Wall said it amazed him how much Mark gave during his life, and he and the staff are being diligent about making sure everything he donated to is accounted for so the dealership can continue all of that. Mark would routinely come to Wall and say ‘Write a check for this,’ so the staff went back to gather every single donation to be exactly the same way.

Mark gave back throughout his life, and he extended that into his personal life as well. He and his wife Brandi are heavily involved with the local foster children’s program and fostered many children over the years. They adopted four of the children — Colton, Jamar, JD and Michael to grow their family and change the lives of four children for the better. That family-oriented mindset the McKinnon family has extended to the dealership and to its customers.

“We treat everyone with dignity, and not a single customer is forgotten,” Cody Smith, McKinnon sales consultant for eight years, said. “You are not just a number to us, you are family. Everyone that visits us knows that they are going to get a true family experience.”

Service Director at McKinnon Toyota Nissan Jeff Smith’s first job at McKinnon was at 15 years old washing cars. He worked his way to a sales representative and went to a different dealership. He said the only dealership out of all the ones he has worked at that he would go back to was McKinnon, and he returned because of the McKinnon family and their heart.

“The rule here is that we do the right thing by our customers,” Smith said. “Someone is going to make a mistake, that is human, but our goal is to come into work every day and do what is right by the customers.”

Brandi McKinnon has taken the reins of the business after Mark’s passing with the help of the McKinnon staff. She has sat in on meetings and is learning the finer details of the business as much as she would like. Brandi has always been hands-on with the dealership in the past helping Mark, and with an MBA and the McKinnon spirit in her soul, she is keeping the business going in this unexpected transition for her and her family.

Wall said the staff is catering to whatever need she or her family needs. From business related things to picking kids up from school, anything to just help out in a time of need and drastic change is being done.

“She is so smart, very quick and so sharp,” Wall said. “We always knew that, but when you sit down and talk business with her it is like ‘Okay, I like this she really knows what is going on.’ She has backbone, and has our full support.”

McKinnon values the relationships it builds with its customers above all, and it has shown with the awards it has piled up over the years. This includes multiple Best of the Best Chilton County wins, CarGurus Dealer of the Year, CarFax Top Rate Dealer, Toyota President’s Award, Nissan Award of Excellence and the 2023 Alabama Retailer of the Year in annual sales of more than $20 million by the Alabama Retail Association.

“We focus on building relationships over merely selling cars,” Tracy Kimbrell, Business Development Manager for McKinnon Toyota Nissan, said. “We want to give our customers an experience to remember, and we strive to foster trust and loyalty that extends beyond the showroom floor.”

Part of the healing process for the business after the loss of Mark occurred at his funeral on Dec. 8, 2024 with hundreds of attendees showing their respects. It was images like that that proved McKinnon’s far-reaching impact locally that everyone appreciated. McKinnon’s impact stretched from intimate levels like helping people get into a new car during a dire time in their lives at his dealership, to bigger levels like creating scholarships for Chilton County Schools students to further their education. He was always trying to offer up assistance in some way, and those types of people do not come around very often.

Prominent figures, coworkers and friends shared their memories of McKinnon to showcase his widespread influence after his passing. The community he impacted would be able to encapsulate what he meant to everyone around better than anyone.

Jeff Mims, Mayor of Clanton

“People do not realize that did not know Mark personally, but with us knowing Mark like we knew him, he had one big heart. He was always wanting to do stuff for the kids, and me and him did stuff together for the city schools.

He is just a good guy, and now people are going to realize how good he was as far as donating money to the community for this and that. You do not see a lot of people around doing that, and there are quite a few people in Clanton and Chilton County that have money but they were not as free with it as Mark was. That was because of his heart. Mark was trying his best every way in the world to do things for the community and make it better.

We worked on things with the city and property, and he was not going to sell some of his property just to anybody. He would always call me, and we would sit down and see what we would do and if it would be a good thing for Clanton. A lot of people would just sell it to get the money, but Mark always wondered what would be best for Clanton. He was just that kind of guy, and you could not beat him. His impact … People are going to feel that from now till years down the road, they will be talking about Mark McKinnon. We are going to miss him.”

Corey Clements, Superintendent of Chilton County Schools

“I do not make friends real easily, and I did not know Mark well until I took this position, but just in the short time we have known each other we have gotten to become really good friends. He was a good friend to me, someone you could talk to and always wanted to do stuff.

He would bring breakfast for our whole central office staff, he would bring us lunch for 30 people and no one would ask him. He would just call and say ‘Hey, I am about to show up with Chick-Fil-a’ or ‘I am about to show up with Neighborhood Grill.’ Just always wanting to do things for people, and that is just small things.

It was his idea to start the educational scholarship for our local students who want to pursue a career in education, he set up a scholarship program for our career tech students that wanted to go on and get further credentials or a two-year degree and he was so involved at the Clanton schools and giving extra money to the Gridiron Club (at Chilton County High School) and teachers for extra supplies. Just always going above and beyond with no strings attached, and never asking for things in return.”

Mike King, Executive Director of Raleigh’s Place

“In the nonprofit world, there is a term that is often used to describe your biggest supporters — Champions. Mark McKinnon was a Champion for Raleigh’s Place. The mission of Raleigh’s Place is simply to Live the Gospel by Loving the Fatherless. Our desire is to love and serve foster children and families in as many ways and as best as we can. Mark understood that mission in his own life. Not only did he support our ministry financially, but he served as a long-time foster parent himself. He and his wife, Brandi, have been a huge blessing to us and the many children served because of them. Mark leaves behind quite a legacy. I am happy to have called him a friend.”

Rachel Martin, Executive Director of Chilton County Chamber of Commerce

“I’ve always heard people say ‘You can be replaced at your job and in your community. The only place you are irreplaceable is in your home.’ That is not the case with Mark McKinnon. He was, and is, irreplaceable in Chilton County. Mark had a true servant’s heart. Whether it be offering a helping hand to set up for an event, a listening ear, telling a funny story or sponsoring a community event, Mark was always the first to jump in and support his community. He did so much behind the scenes that everyone didn’t realize because he didn’t do it for the recognition, he did it because he loved his community and the people in it. Mark was my friend and I’m thankful for the time we had with him. I’m thankful for his service on the Chilton Chamber board. I’m thankful for the example he set and the legacy he leaves. Mark is irreplaceable, and we will miss him greatly.”

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