At the Industry Summit 2012, scheduled for Sept. 10-12 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, F&I and Showroom magazine will name its 12th F&I Dealer of the Year. Nominations for the award are now being accepted and must be submitted by Friday, July 20.

Sponsored by Resource Automotive, the F&I Dealer of the Year award is handed out annually to a dealership touting a highly profitable F&I department that also demonstrates a commitment to a customer-centric F&I process.

Dealership employees, general agents, F&I product providers and technology makers are encouraged to nominate their dealerships and customers for the award.

“This is the part of the job I enjoy most, being able to meet and honor the best F&I operation in the nation,” said Gregory Arroyo, executive editor of F&I and Showroom magazine. “We’re simply looking for a high-performing F&I department that can demonstrate to us a commitment to regulatory compliance, ethics and a customer-centric sales and F&I process. If that’s your dealership, then nominate it today.”

Past winners of the award include Lithia Motors Inc., Riverside Auto Group, The Suburban Collection and Tuttle-Click Automotive Group.

The magazine will first select five F&I Pacesetters of the Year, which will serve as finalists for the coveted F&I Dealer of the Year award.

Individuals representing the five dealerships will then be invited to Industry Summit 2012, where they’ll be honored during a special ceremony to open the magazine’s conference. Pacesetters also will receive a two-night stay at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and a complimentary full-conference pass.

Those selected as F&I Pacesetters will also be profiled in the magazine’s special conference issue and September edition.

At the conclusion of the special ceremony, one finalist will be named the 2012 F&I Dealer of the Year. That dealership will appear on the cover of the magazine’s October issue, which will include a four-page profile on the dealership’s sales and F&I operation.