As prepared for

National Council of La Raza – Latinas Brunch
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Bill Fay, Group Vice President, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., General Manager, Toyota Division 

Thank you for that very warm introduction.

On behalf of everyone at Toyota, it’s a great pleasure to be here with you today. Welcome to the 2014 NCLR Latinas Brunch!

The theme of this year’s annual conference is “think, create, aspire,” and looking out at the thousands of talented and dedicated – wise – Latinas at today’s brunch, I know that you take those words and that job very seriously.

I’d like to recognize one of those inspiring Latinas.

No stranger to adversity, professional golfer Lizette Salas has worked hard to earn her spot on the LPGA Tour.

The Southern California native began playing golf at the age of seven. Her father was a mechanic at the local golf course and bartered his talents in exchange for golf lessons for his daughter.

Lizette went on to make her rookie debut on the LPGA Tour in 2012 and has since been ranked as high as number 14 in the world by the Rolex Rankings.

We’re honored to have Lizette here with us today.

Lizette – Thank you for being an example to all of us!

Make sure you stop by the Toyota booth this afternoon to meet Lizette and to get her autograph.

Think. Create. Aspire.

That’s the work that the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization does in neighborhoods, and cities, and parks, and playgrounds, and voting booths – all across the country… to help enrich the lives of our nation’s Hispanic communities.

And Toyota is proud to partner with you in that work…

At Toyota, building great cars and trucks means listening to and learning from the people we serve. And we are proud of our commitment to the Hispanic community…

In fact, today I am proud to announce that 2014 marks the 10 year anniversary of Toyota being the number one auto brand for U.S. Latinos… and to that we say, “GRACIAS.”

As anyone who’s ever been in any kind of significant relationship knows, ten years of any kind of successful relationship depends on good communication. It’s about being in it together. That kind of longevity is based on listening and being heard and not taking things like loyalty and commitment for granted.

And that’s why we don’t want to just talk the talk…

To that end, Toyota is proud to, once again, be a title sponsor of this year’s conference. We are also honored to have been a partner of NCLR for 15 years now; and to have Toyota’s Vice President of Hispanic Business Strategy, Patricia Salas Pineda, as a member of NCLR’s Corporate Advisory Board.

But our commitment doesn’t end there… In fact, Toyota spends more than one billion dollars each year with minority- and women-owned businesses . . . one of just 18 U.S. companies to do so.

And we have nearly tripled the number of Hispanic-owned Toyota and Lexus dealers since 2000.

One of the programs of which we are most proud is “Abróchate a la Vida” or “Buckle Up for Life” – a safety program designed to keep kids safe on the road.  If you are a parent, you probably know how difficult it is to properly install a car seat…

Well, the fact is, 75 percent of all child car seats are installed incorrectly. And Toyota wants to help ensure we all get it right. Let’s take a look…

Did you see yourself in that video? I know I did!

The positive impact “Buckle Up for Life” has made in communities all across this great nation inspires us…

And so do the opportunities that come along when we partner with an organization like NCLR.

In fact, I want to take a moment to recognize the contributions that NCLR President Janet Murguía and Board Chair Jorge Plasencia have made to this country.

Janet, Jorge — we know you have been there for us in both the good times and in the more challenging times… and we are VERY grateful.

One of the reasons we love partnering with NCLR is because it gives us a chance to help advance the Latino community… And one of those moments came last year, when we met Amparo Nunez in New Orleans.

Amparo said if she had a Toyota vehicle, she would be able to transport immigrant farm workers and families to get medical care – both to their regular appointments and to emergency care. What a worthy endeavor.

And so it was with great pleasure that we announced here on stage last year that we would supply her with that vehicle to do what she was passionate about – helping others.

Once we learned more about her plans – we figured out that a Sienna minivan would be the right vehicle for her. Amparo has put her Sienna to good use. Folks in her community have even nicknamed it – El Micro.

Let’s take a look…

Amparo is here with us today…

Amparo — Toyota salutes you—and we’re proud to call you a friend!

I am so proud to award a brand-new 2014 Toyota Prius to someone in the audience today… CHECK IT OUT!

Who wants to take it home? I don’t blame you – it’s a GREAT car.

Now, many of you stopped by our booth yesterday and told us where you’d take the Toyota Prius and why. We had many GREAT answers… but we can only have one winner…

Well, the jury is in, and we’ve got a verdict…

Our winner said she would take the Prius to Savannah, GA to help promote and encourage Latino teens to graduate high school and apply to college.

Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the BRAND-NEW 2014 TOYOTA PRIUS IS….Audrey Moscosa

COME DOWN TO THE STAGE TO GET THE KEYS!

Congratulations again to…Audrey Moscosa  

Thank you to each and every one of you here today for thinking, creating, and aspiring.
Enjoy brunch and have a great time at this year’s conference!