In 1947 Charles H. Betts, Sr. purchased the Cadillac franchise in Des Moines from the Hardy family. In 1958 his son, Charles H. (Chuck) Betts, Jr. came to work at the dealership, later becoming the dealer principal. And in 1972 I began working at Betts Cadillac while attending Simpson College.

I learned from my father, a Chevrolet dealer in Delaware, and from Chuck Betts, that this business is about having good people who care about putting the needs of the customer first. In 1988 we began a process to purchase the dealership. That process was completed in 2000. Chuck and I have always discussed that the time would come when we would transition the name of the dealership from his family to ours. As I begin my 36th year at the dealership, with our sons, Jason and Matt now in the business, it seems that the time for this transition has now come.

Our 60th Anniversary last year was a celebration of the traditions the Betts family established. Those traditions will now continue as the Willis Auto Campus.

Rich Willis
Dealer Principal