Rick Tappan got his start in the car business as a just-graduated 17-year-old working as a clean-up boy at Mike Turks Inc. in his hometown of East Liverpool, Ohio. He had to wait 1 ½ months before he could start selling cars, because of a rule that car salesmen had to be 18, said his wife, Barbara.
From there, he moved to Nick Ickes Chevrolet in Robinson, Ill.
And in 1986, he and family moved again, this time to Henderson, where he took a job at Dempewolf’s. He remained at Dempewolf’s, worked his way up general manager, till it was sold in 2019.
After that, he worked at Sonitrol for four years.
When Kate Faupel acquired the business and opened Kate Faupel Ford, Tappan came back and took a job as operations manager. Since then, he’s worked there with daughter, Elizabeth, and son, Ben, whom he also had worked with at Dempewolf’s before it was sold.
Being able to work with two of his children, he said, was a thrill.
Instead of the stereotype of car salesmen, Tappan said he’s always seen his as a noble profession and a job he looked forward to going to. He said people need cars, and he was proud to sell them and be able to offer service to fix them.
“I was very proud to be in the car business,” he said.
Barbara said without her encouragement, he wouldn’t retire—at least now soon—because he still feels like he has much to offer and is energetic for the work.
“I’m the one who’s been pushing for it,” she said with a chuckle.
She said they’re planning a trip to the Florida Keys and then a drive up the East Coast soon.
