GILLELAND ENTERPRISES GMC

The Gilleland story begins with an entrepreneur and mentor named Leonard Rydell. Rydell got into the car business after WWll, opening a dealership in Montgomery, Minnesota. In 1954, at Chevrolet's request, he moved to North Dakota to operate the Chevrolet dealership in Grand Forks. Duane Gilleland was hired by Rydell as an automotive technician out of Thief River Falls Community College to work at the Grand Forks dealership. Ambitious and capable, Duane worked his way up to service manager and then to general manager. After he told Rydell that he hoped one day to own his own dealership, the employer did something unusual. He decided to help Duane achieve his dream.

What is now a company of nearly 200 employees; Miller Auto began in 1932 as a small repair shop which was opened by John Miller, the father of current owner Tom Miller. In 1959, the business became a Pontiac dealer and shortly after, Tom began working for his father in the family dealership and sold his first car a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air. At that same time, the family dealership moved from its humble repair shop beginnings into the downtown St. Cloud location where it stood for nearly 40 years and was commonly known as The Little Profit Dealer. Tom acquired a portion of the business from his father in 1974 and by 1985, Tom had acquired full ownership.