By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Dennis Ellmer and I were on the way to the Ocean View Democratic Club, a private social club in the heart of Norfolk’s bayfront community, for an afternoon gathering that meant a lot to both of us.
A group of former Norfolk rugby players were gathering to fete Ken Whitley, the former Norview wrestling and football coach who played rugby with Ellmer for more than two decades.
Whitley, who was my linebackers coach at Norview, recently lost his wife and is suffering with Dementia.
Traveling down Ocean View Avenue, we were talking about Old Dominion football when Dennis made a sudden left turn, took a detour through the Bayview neighborhood and pulled up in front of a house at 9600 Red Wing Avenue.
“That’s where I grew up,” he said, with emotion in his voice.
He looked at the house for a few minutes and began naming all his neighbors, at least the ones he can recall. Judy Boone, the Ocean View real estate magnate, lived a block away. And he rattled off childhood memories.
Playing football at Holy Trinity Catholic School and later for the Ocean View Aces. Delivering the Virginian-Pilot seven days a week before dawn. Hours spent sunning at nearby Lewter’s Beach. The time he spent with his four brothers and sisters.
At that point, I remembered something he said to me years ago. “I’ll always be an Ocean View boy.”
The house, built in 1960, is well-kept but small, with 1,100 square feet, three bedrooms and one bath. The oldest of five kids raised in the home, Dennis and his family grew up without air conditioning. And I repeat, two parents, five kids and just one bathroom.
When it got hot in the summer, the kids would often grab a pillow and sleep on the front porch.
If you wanted to buy an ice cream or go to a movie, you were told to go out and earn the money.
They didn’t think they were poor but by today’s standards, but they likely were.
“When I drive my kids by the house, they simply can’t believe all of us actually lived there,” Ellmer said.
It was in that home in which Ellmer experienced both highs and lows of life and where his character was formed, a character that has had a major impact on Old Dominion University and the entire Hampton Roads community.
Ellmer rose from near poverty to create one of the region’s largest and most successful businesses, Priority Automotive, a $2 billion concern with dozens of dealerships all over the state. He has always been a generous philanthropist, but since selling Priority and retiring a few years ago, his giving seems to have increased.
His philanthropic side will be in full view on Saturday when ODU hosts the annual Charity Bowl Spring Game at 2 p.m. at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
While the Monarch football team goes through its annual spring game on the field, Ellmer and hundreds of donors to his charity foundation will be entertained in the Priority Automotive Club by singer Phillip Phillips.
Ellmer took over the Charity Bowl 15 years ago, rescued it from financial collapse, and turned it into a monster fundraiser for children’s charities,
Former WAVY-TV sportscaster Bruce Rader, who helps Ellmer put on the Charity Bowl, says this year’s event will raise about $800,000, which will be divided up between dozens of local children’s charities.
Over the years, the Charity Bowl has raised nearly $8 million for kids.
If you’re a sports fan, you likely know that he and his wife, Jan, donated $2.5 million to help refurbish ODU’s baseball stadium. It is now known as the Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
He also gave $1.5 million to establish the Priority Club, the premiere premium seating venue at ODU’s S.B. Ballard Stadium, which has generated millions of dollars in revenue for Monarch football.
But you may not know that two years ago he and Jan donated $20 million to help fund scholarships for ODU Health Sciences students. Their donation will make possible dozens of scholarships of $12,000 apiece for health science students in perpetuity.
The Ellmer College of Health Sciences and the Ellmer School of Nursing were renamed in their honor.
“The students who receive those scholarships will be required to work here at least three years after graduation,” Ellmer said. “The brain drain here in our medical professions has been a real problem. We’re hoping this will help.”
When asked why he has given so much money to ODU and to charities that benefit children, he said simply: “Our youth is our future.”
Jan, his wife of 47 years, says: “He’s always had a soft place in his heart for children.”
His love of children came from his family.
His parents, Lewis and Georgianna Ellmer, ran a tight ship. His father was a former Marine. You made your bed in the morning and worked hard in school, but Ellmer also recalls festive family celebrations and of the many times his parents showed him love and affection.
An aside about Lewis. He fought in both Korea and Vietnam and was listed as killed in action in South Korea just before the war ended. Then, one day he showed up on his parents’ doorsteps.
The reports of his death had, of course, been greatly exaggerated.
Like most families, the Ellmer’s experienced tragedy. Ellmer was two years old when his twin sisters, both born prematurely, had died only hours after birth.
His parents mourned the loss of their babies the rest of their lives. That helps explain why Ellmer began donating money decades ago to the March of Dimes, which works to reduce premature births, and to the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters.
Dennis was raised Catholic and attended Holy Trinity until he enrolled at Norview High. That’s where I met him more than 50 years ago.
We weren’t close then. I was an athlete who participated in a ton of extracurricular activities and although I remember him as a nice guy, he always seemed to be in a hurry to get out of Dodge.
I remember seeing Dennis rush out the front door at Norview and run to his car when school ended. “What’s his hurry?” I thought at the time.
It wasn’t until years later that I learned he was in a hurry to succeed. He ran out of Norview each day to go to an auto parts store at Southern Shopping Center, where he worked each night. The next day, he would get up at 5 a.m. to deliver newspapers.
When he wasn’t delivering newspapers and selling auto parts, he was selling Christmas trees. As a child, he and Boone both had lemonade stands. Anything to make a quick buck.
The privations of his youth instilled in Ellmer a deep desire to succeed in the business world. He saved his money and drank in as much knowledge about customer service as he could.
He sold motorcycles for a while and then cars and that’s what he was doing when he met Jan.
“I was 26 and my girlfriend decided I had been single long enough, so she set up a meeting with Dennis,” she said. If it wasn’t love at first sight, it was close. We were married seven months later,” she said. “We started dating at Christmas. He asked me to marry him on Valentine’s Day. We didn’t have any money. We were married in a friend’s backyard. It was all very casual. My parents gave me $500 to try to help us with expenses.”
The family moved nine times during the early part of Dennis’ career and he often worked seven days a week.
“Our kids grew up without a Dad for a while,” she said. “He worked every day from 9 until 9. The car business is hard.”
But then in 1998 came what he thought was the opportunity of a lifetime.
He borrowed every dime that he could possibly get his hands on and purchased Jimmy Kline Chevrolet and Toyota in the Greenbrier area of Chesapeake.
“If things hadn’t worked out, I was done,” Dennis said. “I put every last penny I had into those dealerships.”
But it did work out and eventually, as he expanded dealerships, he coined the name Priority Automotive. His dealerships focused on customer service and an ingenious marketing tactic called “Priorities for Life.”
Buy a used or new car at Priority and you get free oil changes and inspections for life. Most dealers around the region have since adopted similar policies.
Jan said that moving around so much when the kids were young, “was hard on all of us.”
“But every time we moved, we moved for a new opportunity. I always believed in Dennis, that he would do anything that he put his mind to.”
Although he attended ODU briefly right out of Norview, Ellmer didn’t become involved with the University until the Monarchs began playing football.
He’s always had an affinity for sports and said playing youth sports helped mold his character. His affinity for ODU began with football but grew as he became more familiar with what it was contributing to the region.
Every year, ODU graduates thousands of students in the so-called STEM majors – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – and with the recent merger with Eastern Virginia Medical School, the University has the state’s largest academic health center.
“ODU became a school that I adopted because of the crucial role it plays in the region,” he said.
Then, he added with a smile: “I really got excited when they brought football back. That’s really when it started for me.”
Eventually, he took on a leadership role in the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation and in July of 2022, was named to the ODU Board of Visitors, the University’s governing body.
ODU President Brian O. Hemphill, PhD., said since becoming a university president, “I’ve been afforded the distinct privilege of meeting some truly extraordinary individuals. However, I can say with absolute certainty that I have never encountered anyone quite like Dennis and Jan Ellmer. Dennis possesses a spirt and a story that are truly one-of-a-kind. His journey, from humble beginnings to unparalleled success, is a testament to the power of grit and vision. But what truly defines the Ellmers is not their success, it is their souls, the way they pour their hearts into uplifting those in need is nothing short of inspiring.”
Dr. Wood Selig, ODU’s director of athletics, said Ellmer “is the consummate businessman,” but that he also has a kind heart.
“He has high expectations for everyone around him and that begins with himself,” Selig said. “But he’s got a heart of gold and is one of the kindest human beings you will ever be around. Dennis’ first question if he hasn’t seen you in a while is always, ‘How is your family? How is your wife? How are your kids?’
“It always starts with you, with family before he goes anywhere else with the conversation. He genuinely cares. It is not a façade. It is who he is. And if his family ever needs anything, work takes a back seat to family.”
Now 72, and retired from Priority Automotive, he is enjoying having some down time. He loves hosting his grandchildren on the weekends or taking trips to exotic locations. He and Jan took an extended trip to Germany last Christmas, and plan to do it again this year.
“His life has been all work for such a long time,” Rader said. “I think he’s decided it’s time to enjoy life, to take it easy and spend time with family and friends and travelling. He’s at the stage of his life where I think he’s doing what he wants to do.”
Clearly, he’s earned it.
“At Old Dominion University,” said President Hemphill, “their legacy is woven into the very fabric of our institution, from academics to athletics to clinical care and community outreach.
“To Dennis and Jan, on behalf of Old Dominion University, we thank you and we honor you for your unbelievable generosity and the transformative impact you’ve had on past, current and future Monarchs. You have not just built businesses. You have built a brighter future with greater opportunities for us all.”
Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
To see past stories from Minium, CLICK HERE