Nov 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 11

and many others. Seven Acres was simply the one
believed to have been closest to his heart.
Jack Helfman had been honored over the years
for many achievements. In 2004 Jack Helfman
was the recipient of the 2004 Time Magazine
Quality Award. This award is given to new car
dealers for exceptional performance in their
dealership, and distinguished community service.
This award was given to 63 dealers out of nearly
20,000. This is the highest honor achievable
by a dealer. Jack was honored that his son Alan
decided at an early age to follow in his footsteps
into the auto business. Alan earned his business
degree at UT and quickly adopted the strong
work ethic his dad lived his entire work life. “Dad
was very austere but fair,” Alan said. “He taught
you a hard work ethic – work morning ‘til night,
six days a week. Work hard and play hard. He
didn’t have a lot of outside interests. We (the
car industry) went through tumultuous times in
2007 but he was grateful that we had something.
He wasn’t the kind of man to spend money on
expensive hobbies or pastimes.” Jack Helfman
also taught his son to give generously to worthy
causes “as long as they were legitimate.” The
Helfman family made a large contribution toward
the construction of Helfman Football Field
at Emery-Weiner School, where Alan and Renee
Helfman’s three children attended school – Blake,
Eric, and Caitlin. Today, Jack Helfman would be
extremely proud of his son’s generosity and unending
desire to help others.
66 The BLUES
66 The BLUES