Kia sales manager making sweet music

Enlarge Image

In early February, Ross Roteliuk was appointed to the post of sales manager at Birchwood Kia on Regent.

Ross Roteliuk is having a very good year thus far in 2012. In early February, he was appointed to the post of sales manager (along with Derek Witty) at Birchwood Kia on Regent. Then, on March 3, he learned that he and his songwriting/performing partner Tori Doell, won the Radio Star National Talent Search, a national talent contest for aspiring songwriter/composers.

Originally from Portage la Prairie, Roteliuk has been making music for the past 12 years. He has been selling cars for little more than two years -- or shortly after he moved to Winnipeg and our city's larger music scene.

Needing a day job here, he decided to try selling cars. "I'm a personable fellow," he says. "I thought selling cars would be a good fit for me. I couldn't be happier working for the Birchwood Group."

Roteliuk and Doell (who is originally from Gladstone) hooked up just last summer and have been playing largely small fundraisers. "We are mainly a country duet," he says.

The annual Radio Star National Talent Search, which is sponsored by Astral Radio and presented in association with Canadian Music Week, provides an opportunity for Canadian artists to be discovered by radio programmers, music publishers, industry executives and audiences alike across Canada. The competition was open to all genres of music. There were thousands of entries from across Canada, Roteliuk notes.

"Dave Wasyliw of Doc Walker fame produced our song," Roteliuk says. "As a result of winning the competition, we will be performing a 40-minute set with Dave on March 24 at Canadian Music Week in Toronto. We will also be doing a recording session at Metalworks Studios, Canada's leading record label.

"Canadian Music Week will give us an opportunity to do some networking. We will see what happens after that. We have some bookings lined up."

While his musical career looks very bright, Roteliuk has no plans as yet to leave his other career with the Birchwood Group.

In other Birchwood people news, Michael Palay is back with Birchwood Chevrolet Buick GMC -- as of March 5 -- after a year-long stint at another Birchwood store in the Pointe West Auto Park.

"I wanted a change," says the 10-year auto sales veteran explaining why he moved the GM store about a year ago. "I also wanted to learn more about some of the other Birchwood models.

"But most of my client base are still GM owners and need to be serviced. GM has a great product line. I am happy to be back."

Like Palay, Dain White has also recently relocated from one Birchwood dealership to another. In his case, White transferred to Birchwood Honda on Regent in February. White joined with the Birchwood automotive Group in fall 2007 after spending seven years in the print industry. He has spent his entire career thus far in auto sales selling for Birchwood dealerships on Regent.

White is among a growing number of sales reps with their own websites -- dainwhite.com.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 23, 2012 E3