Susan Moffitt

Susan Moffitt earned degrees in business administration and finance at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston in 1983 and 1984 before joining the Bossier City, Louisiana, dealership founded by her father, Fred, full-time.

“I had worked at the store since I was 14,” Susan said. “My dad matched the money I had saved so I could buy a car. He always wanted me to have some ‘skin in the game.’”

After college, Moffitt was the dealership’s cashier and telephone operator, eventually moving into the service department. “I loved the job of service advisor,” she said. “It taught me how to take care of many different types of personalities.” She later switched to sales, where she excelled and found her niche.

“I quickly discovered that selling was my favorite part of the car business and still is today,” she said. “I’ve learned that I am in the people business and just happen to sell cars. It is all about the customer. I’ve built lasting relationships and my clients have become my friends and an extended part of my family, my automotive family.”

Today, she shares ownership of Moffitt Automotive with her two brothers and one sister. The group oversees dealerships in Bossier City and Shreveport, representing brands Audi, Mazda, Porsche and Volkswagen. “I was blessed to work beside my father for 35 years,” Moffitt said of Fred Moffitt, who passed away in 2016. “My success is based on my work ethics and everything I learned from my father – and the relationships with my family, my work family and our community.”

Moffitt continues her father’s legacy of giving back by spearheading numerous charity initiatives. She is a lifetime sponsor of LSU (Louisiana State University) Health Foundation and LSU Health Shreveport and served as chair of An Evening for Healers in 2017, a fundraiser for the medical and research center.

“The medical school, hospital and the foundation are near to us because of my father's cancer diagnosis 21 years ago,” she said. “He could have gone anywhere for treatment but stayed here. After a long operation he was cancer-free, and he turned his cancer diagnosis into a cause raising money and awareness for LSU Health.”

Moffitt is also proud of her association with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For the last four years, Moffitt Automotive has donated a car to the hospital’s fundraising initiative, the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway. “It was a large financial commitment and time commitment for us to promote the giveaway,” she said. “But after one trip to tour the hospital in Memphis, my siblings and I enthusiastically joined the team and are honored to support this important organization that helps so many children.”

A longtime member of her state and local auto dealer associations, Moffitt was proud to be named 2019 Dealer of the Year by the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association. “This is award is so meaningful to me since I was nominated by my peers in the Shreveport-Bossier New Car Dealers Association who know me very well and know all the things I do for our community,” she said. “I am grateful and humbled by this recognition.”

Other groups that Moffitt supports include Catholic Charities; Shriners Hospitals for Children; Betty & Leonard Phillips Deaf Action Center (Shreveport);  Shreveport-Bossier Military Affairs Council (liaison between the civilian/business community and the commanders of Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier Parish); Barksdale Air Force Base (Bossier Parish); Special Olympics; Volunteers of America North Louisiana; Shreveport Symphony Guild; Boy Scouts of America Norwela Council; Holy Angels (residential care and programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Shreveport), plus many others.

Moffitt was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Will Green, president of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association. She and her husband, Michael Henson Sr., have three children.