The first time Judy Farcus Serra helped the Miami Lakes Veterans Committee, she was scrubbing banners that are displayed along Miami Lakes Drive and describe veterans’ military careers.
“I didn’t really know what that entailed and [said], ‘What time do I have to be there?’” Farcus Serra said.
They’ve relied upon her ever since. She has helped organize the Reindeer Run 5K for the past three years. It raises money for the committee’s Miami Lakes Veterans Families Scholarship, and a small percentage also goes to American Legion Post 144.
Farcus Serra, 56, began her career in the auto business four decades ago when she was 17, answering phones and working as a cashier at Maroone Chevrolet.
Today, she is the chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Headquarter Automotive Group, two positions she was promoted to seven years ago.
She oversees the Headquarter Toyota dealership at 5895 NW 167th St. in Hialeah and three of the company’s dealerships – Honda, Hyundai and Genesis, and Mazda -- in Orlando, too.
Farcus Serra joined the Veterans Committee in 2022, at the urging of former Miami Lakes Leisure Services Director Willie Sanchez.
“I love serving with them,” Farcus Serra said.
Headquarter Toyota was the title sponsor for many events, including the Veterans Parade; Miami Lakes Food & Wine Festival; Cars for a Cure; The Education Advisory Board Awards of Excellence and the Public Safety Committee’s activities during law enforcement month. Through Headquarter Toyota, Farcus Serra said she has donated over $50,000 toward town events.
For the past two years, the dealership has awarded a leased vehicle to Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Principal of the Year.
For her ongoing support, Mayor Josh Dieguez read a proclamation and named March 18 as Judy Farcus Serra Day. The town and veterans planted a Silver Buttonwood tree on May 10 in her honor at Veterans Park.
Farcus Serra lives in Weston with her husband Gregory Serra, who is retired, and her father, Morris Farcus. Their son Justin Serra is married to Heidi and they have two children, Opal and Amelia. Farcus Serra also has three boxers: Bear, Max and Kate.
Q: Where are you from and what is your background?
A: I’m from Hollywood, Florida and my background is eastern European: Lithuanian, Russian and Hungarian. My family goes back a few years. My grandfather came from Hungary, my parents were born here in America [and I had a] Jewish upbringing.
Q: What do you like most about Miami Lakes?
A: I like the feeling of community, and I really wish I lived there. When I needed a home, my father had cancer and I needed a huge house to have four generations of people. That’s what steered me to Weston. My body lives in Weston but my heart lives in Miami Lakes. I spend more time in Miami Lakes than I do in Weston, 100%, I just go home to sleep. Just the community feeling of the town, the residents, everything. It feels like home.
Q: What do you dislike about the town?
A: I don’t dislike anything. But the traffic on [Northwest] 67th Avenue can get really long to go eat at Casavana and that’s only an eighth of a mile from our dealership.
Q: What are the demands/responsibilities of your current position and what do you hope to accomplish?
A: For the Veterans Committee, I keep threatening to retire from chairing the [Reindeer Run] 5k, but I am not, this will be my fourth one. It’s a tremendous amount of responsibility and it’s a tremendous amount of work. Most of my sponsors are my vendors at Headquarter Toyota … they’re truly sponsoring from their heart. It’s coordinating with the town [too]. I want to break our record of raising money from the last year. It’s a big piece of work. It’s working with sponsors, working with the race administrator, working logistics with the town and working with the police.
My job is extraordinarily demanding. I not only just run this store, I have three stores in Orlando. It’s fun and it’s a challenge. I helped build this company with the ownership team, so we’re still developing and looking to grow more.
Q: What is your biggest accomplishment, whether in your personal life or career?
A: I’m going to say growing from answering telephones and cashiering in the automotive business at 17 years old and becoming a COO and CFO at 49.
Q: Do you have a fantasy career?
A: I’m in the gratitude phase of my career and I want to give back as much as possible. [I’d be] a mentor. I would love to do it full time.
Q: What are you reading, what podcasts are you listening to?
A: I am reading the book “The Let Them Theory” by Mel Robbins and Sawyer Robbins.
Q: What are you binge-watching on TV?
A: “The Last of Us” and “Hacks”.
Q: Where did you last travel to on vacation?
A: I went to Greece and Italy.