Johnny Dionas, who bought Peninsula Subaru just last April, was honored recently by none other than Takao Saito, president and CEO of Subaru of America.

In a ceremony held in the Gorst’s dealership’s showroom, Dionas was presented with the Stellar Performer Award, the top award a Subaru dealership can earn. Dionas is only the second Subaru dealer in the nation to receive the award, which is bestowed for all-around performance, including sales, customer service, parts and human resources.

Afterwards, Dionas, who received the award as his wife and two small children looked on proudly, said modestly, “It was certainly an honor to have the president of the company take the time to come all the way from the east coast to little old Gorst to honor us. Especially since we’ve only been here for nine months.”

Dionas said his dealership couldn’t have accomplished the feat if it wasn’t for the hard work and caring attitude of his employees. “They’re the ones on the front line,” he said. “This belongs as much to them as it does to me.”

Subaru of America President and CEO Takao Saito cuts the celebratory cake honoring Peninsula Subaru and owner Johnny Dionas

Dionas has made a number of changes since taking over the dealership. He has increased the inventory of both new and used cars significantly, as well as expanded the used car department to encompass the property to the north of the main showroom. He has increased advertising, added signage, upgraded the level of customer service training and perhaps, most importantly, brought a new, positive attitude to a dealership that until now has never quite been on the cutting edge in Kitsap County. Some other local dealers admit privately that they’re taking Dionas seriously and recognize Peninsula Subaru as a legitimate competitor for the car-buying dollar — something they haven’t always done in the past.

Plans call for the dealership to undergo a major remodel and expansion in the next 12 months. Dionas said that it would become what the company terms a “Subaru Signature Facility.” In what will be a state-of-the-art dealership, Peninsula Subaru will feature new customer-friendly waiting areas as well as expanded parts and service departments, all geared towards providing the highest level of customer service possible.

“Our employees work hard at treating the customer the way they want to be treated,” he said. “What we want to do is give them more tools to be able do that even better. We want everyone that works here to be a Stellar Performer.”.