A quick Google search on Dayton native Ellenae Fairhurst reveals numerous articles detailing her remarkable life as a pioneer in the automobile industry. Behind the headlines about the woman who broke barriers to become the first African-American woman to own Infiniti and Lexus dealerships, however, was a generous spirit who strove to help others overcome the obstacles she faced during her lifetime.
“Ellenae was fearless and didn’t take no for an answer. She was a quiet giant who was reserved and resilient,” said Ellenae’s colleague, Jenell Ross, who is the president of Bob Ross Auto Group and the first African-American woman owner of a Mercedes-Benz dealership. “Ellenae was a trailblazer. Her leadership, vision, philanthropy and dedication left an indelible mark.”
Jenell Ross
After Ellenae’s passing in 2024, The Dayton Foundation received word of an unexpected and extremely generous gift from her estate. More than $550,000 has been received to bolster the African-American Community Fund’s discretionary grantmaking process, making it AACF’s largest single unrestricted gift to date. “
AACF is eternally grateful to the Fairhurst family for making this wonderful donation. Countless lives will be impacted by this very generous act of benevolence,” said Kevin Washington, president of AACF. “AACF exists to improve the lives of those in our community and this sacrificial act from Ellenae Fairhurst allows us to continue this service.”
An accomplished businesswoman and entrepreneur, it’s hard to believe that, as a child, Ellenae had no idea what career path she would follow. After graduating from Dunbar High School in Dayton in 1961, she attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and earned a business administration degree in 1965. In a 2016 interview with Auto Trends with JeffCars.com, she recalled picking that major because she might enjoy working in an office, like she had seen in television shows.
“This generous gift from [Ellenae Fairhurst’s] estate to the AACF will help continue her legacy and pave the way for future generations.”
– Jenell Ross, AACF donor and colleague of Ellenae Fairhurst
“I spent many years in great conflict and frustration because when people asked me, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up,’ I could never come up with an answer,” Ellenae said in the interview. “It all evolved through many amazing processes.”
These processes began in Detroit, Michigan, where she worked as a secretary first for Motown Records and then for a local law firm. She was accepted into the management training program at Ford Motor Company in 1968, but had the offer rescinded when she got married between her hired date and her start date.
“When I went back for my first day as a married woman, they were no longer willing to put me in the training program, thinking that I would leave soon, have a family and all of that training would not be beneficial for them,” Ellenae recalled.
Instead, she took a job as a secretary, eventually working her way up to management. In the mid-1980s, as Ford began downsizing, Ellenae explored other career options and heard about the company’s dealer training program. But after asking around, she learned it would not be a career path available to her as an African-American woman.
In 1986, after much persistence, Ellenae left Ford and joined a minority dealer training program at Chrysler. Upon completing her training in 1988, she was named president and general manager of a dealership in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Several years later, she sold her shares in the business and used her life savings to purchase a Dodge dealership in Huntsville, Alabama.
As quoted in her obituary, Ellenae once shared, “I was petrified the first time I met with all of the dealership employees, the most fear I had ever experienced in my life, but it worked out. When they realized I knew what I was doing and was willing to work harder and longer, even if it meant scrubbing the restrooms, I was accepted. I truly believed I had the ability to successfully operate a dealership.”
Believing in herself paid off. In 1999, she became the first African-American female in North America to own both Infiniti and Lexus dealerships. Other highlights of her career included being ranked several times in Black Enterprise magazine’s Auto Dealer 100 list, receiving the Daimler-Chrysler Five Star Award and achieving Elite of Lexus Status for most of the years her franchises were in operation.
Despite these successes, Jenell Ross said, Ellenae always made time to advocate for women and help them to be successful as automobile dealers, values that Jenell incorporates into her work as well.
“Ellenae was always encouraging and proud of me for sharing this unique platform with her. She was much more than a mentor; she was a friend,” said Jenell, who also is an AACF donor. “But most of all, Ellenae was authentic, was always there to help others and wanted to see those who came behind her become even more successful than her. This generous gift from her estate to the AACF will help continue her legacy and pave the way for future generations.”