In remembrance of a Valencia Acura Dealership owner and beloved Santa Clarita native, the Santa Clarita City Council voted to rename Auto Center Drive ​​in Valencia to Cheri Fleming Auto Center Drive during a council meeting in December. 

The Cheri Fleming Auto Center Drive Dedication Ceremony is scheduled to honor the Santa Clarita Philanthropist who passed away in 2020. 

The official name change in memoriam of Fleming is set to be celebrated at the Auto Center Drive Dedication Ceremony on Tuesday Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. 

The renaming of the road follows a heartfelt letter sent from the Santa Clarita Automobile Dealers Association in October, requesting a name change that honored Fleming, the director of the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association who co-owned the Valencia Acura Dealership with her husband.

​​“I fell in love with Cheri the first time I saw her,” Don Fleming said in a previous KHTS article. “She brought so much joy and inspiration to our lives that it was never dull. Cheri was my world, my everything. I love the lifetime of adventures we had together.”

See Related: Community Leader Cheri Fleming Dies

Together, the couple’s entrepreneurial spirit materialized as they built and owned various successful businesses, including a tanning salon in Encino that at one point became the highest-grossing salon in the nation.

However, it was in the car business where they discovered their passion in 1985. In 1997, the Flemings purchased Valencia Acura, and made the decision to put Fleming in the leadership position as Dealer Principal. At the time, Valencia Acura ranked dead last nationally in sales and customer satisfaction.

With no place to go but up, the Flemings infused their business with company culture to treat customers the way they would want to be treated. Today, Valencia Acura is one of the highest-ranking customer satisfaction dealerships in the country. Their sales penetration in their primary market area and customer loyalty rank among the highest in the nation.

Fleming was awarded “Dealer of the Year” by Newsweek Magazine and the American International Automobile Dealer Association in 2006 based on Valencia Acura’s business practices and community involvement. At the time of her passing, Fleming served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association.

Fleming never lost sight of the importance of giving back to the community that supported them throughout the years. 

“I’ve never met anyone as energetic, positive, and selfless as Cheri,” said Don Fleming in a previous KHTS article. “I will forever be so proud of all she did for others to help make our community a better place.”

Well-known in Santa Clarita for her community outreach, Flemings dedicated her last years helping nonprofits including the Soroptimist International of America, the American Cancer Society Unit Council, Child and Family Center Foundation and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation, according to officials. 

Fleming passed away at 69-years-old at the Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills following a brief illness resulting from a brain aneurysm in 2020

Her dedication ceremony is scheduled to take place next to Mimi’s Cafe on the newly renamed Cheri Fleming Auto Center Drive. Attendees are encouraged to park in the River Oaks Shopping Center near the corner of Creekside Road and Cheri Fleming Auto Center Drive.

To attend, RSVP by Thursday, Feb. 10 with Kathleen Herrera at kherrera@santa-clarita.com or call (661) 255-4939. 

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