VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Dennis Ellmer was a standout football, basketball and baseball player for Holy Trinity Catholic School and the Ocean View Aces while attending grade and middle school. And he likely would have been the same had he continued to play sports in high school.
Raised in lower middle-class Ocean View, Ellmer had clothes on his back and enough to eat but had to work if he wanted “luxury” items such as a Slurpee from 7/11 or tickets to see a movie.
So, by the time he entered Norview High School, he cast aside kids’ games and worked for a living.
Ellmer saw what others had and dreamed of making it big in the business world. Ellmer indeed made it big. He founded and heads Priority Automotive, now a $2 billion per year business that has more than two dozen car dealerships all over Virginia.