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Neidengard’s joins an exclusive club

100 YEARS OF HARLEY-DAVIDSON — The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. presented Neidengard Harley-Davidson in Wintersville with a plaque recognizing the dealership for 100 years in business as an H-D dealer. Kim and John Neidengard, left, accepted the award from Joe Marcolina, director of market operations for H-D, and Virda Perry, H-D district manager. Behind the counter, from left, are Neidengard Harley-Davidson employees Bob Cain, John Paul Neidengard, Amy Oxley, Frank Alex, Melissa Palcic, Caleb Shepard, Kevin Bell, Bill Ksiazek and Curt Clifton. -- Paul Giannamore

WINTERSVILLE — Neidengard’s Harley-Davidson, 284 Canton Road, joined an exclusive club Tuesday — it’s among very few Harley-Davidson dealerships to be owned by one family for 100 years.

“One of the primary reasons the Harley-Davidson brand has such tremendous customer loyalty is because of the efforts of dealers such as Neidengard’s,” said David Cotteleer, H-D vice president and managing director of the United States.

“One-hundred years is a remarkable achievement, and we just wanted to say thanks.”

To commemorate the occasion, owners John and Kim Neidengard were presented with a certificate featuring a rendering of Harley-Davidson’s headquarters on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee as it appeared in 1913, the year the company introduced a racing department and a year before it introduced sidecars.

A letter accompanying the certificate reads, “The relationships created between dealers and their customers have in large part contributed to our combined success, spanning 114 years.”

Joe Marcolina, director of market operations for the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. for the Northeast, and Virda Perry, H-D district manager, were on hand for the presentation from the company.

Marcolina said very few dealers have reached 100 years under the ownership of one family.

“It’s a love of the sport, to have that passion to sustain any business for 100 years,” he said of the Neidengard’s century of operation. “In their case, I think it’s about more than just the business. It’s about the love of riding and the camaraderie that the customers enjoy and what they give back to the customers.

“We’ve always said the dealer experience is essential to our success as the Harley-Davidson Motor Co.”

John Neidengard said, “It’s quite a goal, quite an honor to have been able to be associated with Harley-Davidson for 100 years, me, my father and my grandfather. There are a lot of adventures involved there,” he said.

Neidengard’s started in business on South Third Street in Steubenville near the Municipal Building. It moved to its current home on Canton Road in 1978.

Neidengard noted he has many longtime employees in addition to loyal customers, including one who has been with the firm for 42 years and several who have been with Neidengard’s for more than 30 years.

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