Mary Genevieve McDermott/Cox/Hughes was born in Williamsburg, VA to Tom and Louise McDermott, on May 14th, a birth date she shares with her son, Danny.  Mary has three brothers: Brian, Jeff, and Tim, and a sister named Poppy.  As a kid, Mary's father was in the Army which kept the family moving around.  He retired a Colonel when Mary was fourteen and settled in Newport News, where she has remained ever since.

Mary attended Denbigh High School and was a cool, yet quiet girl who leaned slightly to the hippie side.  In her spare time Mary enjoyed riding horses and practicing karate.  She graduated from Denbigh and Thomas Nelson, where she majored in Accounting.    Mary, at this time, had no real vision of what the future would hold for her.  As a child growing up, she had dreamed of being a dairy farmer.  It wasn't until soon after college, while working at a local Yamaha dealership, that her future began to take shape.

At the Yamaha dealership Mary worked in the accounting department.  While working there she met Chuck Cox, who was the service manager at that time.  Chuck moved on to take a General Manager position at a newly opened Kawasaki dealership in the area and he took Mary with him to help with the finances.  It was at the Kawasaki dealership that the two began dating.  They heard a rumor about the local Harley-Davidson dealer going up for sale and decided to purchase the franchise and go into business for themselves.  Mary and Chuck were married in 1980 and she has three children, Chad (the custom and performance manager), Julie (the manager of Harley Haven), and Danny.  She has 7 grandchildren: Kisha, Robbie, Clint, Chyna, Samantha, and the newest additions, twin boys, Chase and Cole.  She now resides in Newport News with her 2nd husband Jerry.

On a brisk autumn day in the fall of 1978, Mary and Chuck first opened the doors of Hampton Roads Harley-Davidson for business. A converted warehouse, it would become an oasis for the Harley-starved peninsula for the next 24 years.  It wasn't the greatest location and it certainly wasn't the best building, but a spirit and an ambiance existed there with the people that attracted everyone.  People wanted to do business there, they wanted to hang out there, and they wanted to work there.  The aura has only gotten stronger over the years. - Hampton Roads didn't sell a bike on that October 11th opening day.  In fact, the four original employees had to wait until December to get their first taste of delivering a new motorcycle to someone. They turned things around and with an allotment of 12 new bikes, ended up selling 42 that year.  HRHD frequently sells 40 bikes a month now and had a record setting month in April of 2002 with 50!

The dealership did struggle and while they were getting by, they weren't burgeoning.  It would be ten years before the shop began to show a profit.  At the outset, she never expected it to last so long or become what it has today.  Sales generally increased in the early 80's.  With the losses they were taking and the inferior product that the AMF bikes were, they never succumbed.  Through it all they dedicated themselves to victory and persevered.  Mary was encouraged by the reductions in the losses she was seeing from year to year, and could envision a day when they would come out ahead.  When that day finally arrived in 1988, she was in such disbelief finding the checkbook reflecting a positive balance that she had to add it again.  The dealership has always outsold the previous year and it was clear that HRHD was flourishing.  In 1990 they realized HRHD was growing and needed to expand.  A second dealership, Southside, was acquired.

In the years since, Hampton Roads Harley-Davidson has thrived and grown to more than thirty employees.  In the mid-80's they had satellite stores in a couple of the malls nearby.  For three years at Christmas time, they sold Harley clothes and merchandise at these stores.  The stores were called 'Harley Haven' and were the original thought behind opening a permanent satellite store in Va Beach.  HRHD was the first dealership to have a satellite store, something Mary is very proud of.  They've also added one more dealership and one more satellite store.  Mary has achieved more success than she could have ever dreamed and yet instead of relaxing and just enjoying life the way it is, she continues to set goals and challenge herself and her business.  'The same place in a different place', will open in 2003 in Yorktown.  She expects 40% growth and her customers to be thrilled with the location, the size, the appearance of the new Hampton Roads Harley-Davidson. The move will be intense and mean more hard work, but the excitement level is very high and she knows it will be well worth it.

Mary feels that she has the best people possible working with her.  She is the first to direct the accolades towards her employees and would like them to enjoy all the credit.  The people here have melted together to create a weird group, and she enjoys that.  Besides her wonderful people, she's very proud of the star program she implemented.  She feels it's been a great program for everyone and she loves looking over at all those stars in her office.  'Wow' night, the "whoopee on wheels" customer introduction/appreciation night, is also a shining bright star for her.  The customers and employees benefit from it and it's helped to set her even farther apart from other dealers in the world.  She's already aware that she has the preeminent customer service organization.  With the new building, she's hoping to add to her grand tradition with a striking new layout and very enjoyable surroundings.

Her generosity is boundless.  She donates her effort, money and resources to her favorite charities: the American Cancer Society, The MDA, The Achievable Dream, and The Boys and Girls Club.  She also generously gives her assistance and financial support to the Shop with a Cop, numerous poker runs, Toys for Tots, the American Red Cross, and the Hampton Roads H.O.G. Chapter.  For the Achievable Dream, she gave four year scholarships to each of the 35 children in the graduating class of 2000, a remarkable and unprecedented donation.  She helps to run a team for the Cancer Society Relay for Life with her sister-in-law and close friend Donna Cox.  Her husband, Chuck, passed away in 1996 from cancer.  Every year since she has been involved with the Relay-for-Life and the team keeps growing and raising more money and more awareness.  Mary is a person who loves to have fun and truly enjoys life.  She is genuinely selfless and gets very involved in the charities she aids.  These organizations are very proud of her and she is one of the most outstanding women in her community.

Not only have the community and her employees recognized her efforts, Harley-Davidson will present her with an award at the Winter Dealer Meeting.  Harley's Longevity Award was bestowed to Mary and Hampton Roads Harley-Davidson.  It is an award which recognizes outstanding, continuous service as a Harley dealer for 25 years.  The dealership has a vast record of customer satisfaction and a very strong customer base.  This award is rarely earned and this year only 21 dealers worldwide received it.  It is a testament to the long years that Hampton Roads Harley has been giving their customers and employees exactly what they desire, ultimate satisfaction with their Harley-Davidson riding experience.