He may have

been a school teacher.

When Steve

Mader graduated from Pennsylvania's Edinboro University in 1972, though,

full-time teaching jobs were hard to find.

He worked as

a substitute high school economics teacher and said in a recent interview

that if he had been hired permanently, he would probably be an educator

today.

Mader's journey,

however, brought him to Atlanta, where in 1976, out of work, without a

vehicle and about to lose his apartment, he applied for a sales position

at Colonial Lincoln Mercury in Buckhead, reasoning that there he may be

eligible to drive a demo.

He was hired

his family's home and drove him back and forth to work with him for about

six weeks.

Mader met Hal

Phillips at Colonial in 1977. The duo became friends and learned the car

business together in Buckhead. Later, they became partners with Eddie

Birnbrey and Harry Mazier and chose the south side of Atlanta to establish

themselves as automobile dealers. Hence, the name Southtowne.

On March 12,

1992, Mader and Phillips opened a Cadillac-Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership

on a six-acre lot east of I-85 in Newnan, where two predecessors had already

failed. Many of the 28 original employees were resurrected from the ashes

of the most recent failure.

"We went

two weeks without selling anything," Mader said.

A little blue

pickup, purchased by a guy named "Lucky," was the first car

to leave the lot. If Mader could find him today, he'd buy it back.

During the

rest of that year, Southtowne sold a total of 769 cars and trucks, new

and used. In 2001, with more than 90 employees, they sold 2,208.

Phillips went

on to open Southtowne dealerships in Riverdale and Stone Mountain.

In January

of this year, Mader and Phillips purchased Mike Patton's Chevrolet, Jeep,

Chrysler dealership across the street.

The 55 employees

there were all given an opportunity to stay on board.

A total of

150 people work at the two locations today.

"We try

to hire someone for as long as they want a job," Mader commented.

Forest Smith,

who opened Southtowne's service department 10 years ago, has been promoted

to service director. Gene Morris runs the dealership's body shop.

Other folks

who have been with Mader since the beginning include Barry Blum, used

car sales manager, Ken Spurling,sales, Richard Prange, sales and Malcom

Smith, sales.

Mader's impact

in Newnan has gone way beyond the car business. He is a member and past

president of the Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow.

He serves on

the board of trustees of Southern Charities, the advisory boards of Wachovia/First

Union and Emory Peachtree Regional, the board of directors of Community

in Schools and is a member of one of Roy Barnes' new school councils.

If you see

him during the next few weeks, he'll sell you a chance to win a new car

as a fund-raiser for St. George Catholic Church in Newnan, where he is

a member.

It seems a

long way from being a pedestrian, unemployed, and almost homeless, but

Mader isn't comfortable with that angle.

Many people

in their 20s find themselves on the edge at one point or another, he said.

Not all of

them end up a partner in two large car dealerships, however. In getting

there, he said, two four-letter words come in to play.

"Hard"

and "work."

"Well,

maybe three," Mader added. "Luck."

"I was

fortunate enough to build a relationship with Hal Phillips," Mader

said. "We learned the business together and we were able to pick

our shot."