About Progressive Chevrolet Company

Progressive Chevrolet Company is a 4th generation family owned dealership that has been part of the community for over 75 years.

Progressive opened its doors in Wilmington, Ohio, in 1937 by the late J.S. “Sandy” Sanders. He had an opportunity to move to the Massillon area in 1939, and relocated to South Erie Street. As the business grew, he needed more space and moved to the foot of the Viaduct on Lincoln Way in 1953.

Sandy Sanders was a huge proponent of giving back to the community. In the 1950’s, he established an Employee Civic Fund. Throughout the year employees donate money to the fund that is then donated to various charities in our area. It has been continued through today. In just the past ten years, Progressive has donated over $310,000 to local charities through the Civic Fund.

In 1977, the J.S. “Sandy” Sanders award was “initiated by The Massillon Chamber of commerce in honor of a man who gave so much of himself to his community”. The award has been given yearly since 1978 to an individual worthy of recognition for loyalty, devotion and continuing endeavors in making the Massillon area a better place to work, live and play.

Sandy’s two sons, Colman “Coke” Sanders and the late Charles “Pitt” Sanders took over, following in their father’s footsteps. In 1976 they built a new dealership at the current location on Hills & Dales Road in Massillon.

Coke and Pitt have been proponents of education about the preservation of wildlife areas. They helped establish The Sanders Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at Sippo Lake Park in honor of their father, J.S. Sanders. In 1982 the building was gifted to Stark Parks from the Sanders Wildlife Foundation. The Center is now dedicated fully to wildlife rehabilitation services and is open six days a week to the public.

Coke had 2 boys, Dan and Ted Sanders. They worked their way through the departments to learn the business. In 1979, Dan took over as Dealer Principal at the age of 33.

The business has continued to grow. In 2000, Progressive expanded it’s manufacturer lines by purchasing Remlingler Cadillac - Oldsmobile - Dodge. Six months later, General Motors closed down the Oldsmobile line. But 10 years later, Dan and Ted expanded again, adding Chrysler and Jeep.

Dan’s boys, Craig and Tim Sanders, and Ted’s boys, Heath and Clayton Sanders, began the same way – working their way through the departments. They are still involved in the business. Heath works in the finance department and Clayton is the new car manager at Progressive Chevrolet.

Craig and Tim Sanders became owners of Progressive Chevrolet and Progressive Chrysler, Jeep Dodge in 2012 and are excited to carry the torch.

They headed up the decision to donate two new 2012 Chevy Sonic LTZ's to two local school districts to raffle off in order to raise money for the schools and participating booster groups. And most recently, Progressive Chevrolet Company donated a 2014 Chevy Impala to help the Stark County Hunger Task Force fight local hunger. All proceeds from the “Food for the People” car raffle were donated to the cause.