Willis Auto Campus

You can make Des Moines Performing Arts experience possible for more than 46,000 K-12 students this year! Thanks to the Willis Lexus Drive for Kids, donations to support Des Moines Performing Arts Education programs will be matched by Willis Lexus.

With your crucial support, we're able to welcome all students to Applause Series performances for just $1 each, when the actual per-student cost is more than $6. Plus, Broadway workshops, master classes, residency programs, school partnerships and more also benefit from your support and help introduce young people to the Des Moines Performing Arts experience, providing a unique extension of classroom learning unlike any other.

Through the years, the Willis Auto Campus has partnered with the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines to help bring Iowans the best and brightest shows from the Great White Way. This year we are thrilled to announce our most magical lineup yet!

In 1947 Charles H. Betts, Sr. purchased the Cadillac franchise in Des Moines from the Hardy family. In 1958 his son, Charles H. (Chuck) Betts, Jr. came to work at the dealership, later becoming the dealer principal. While attending Simpson College in 1972, I began working at Betts Cadillac.

I learned having good people who care about putting the needs of the customer first from my father, a Chevrolet dealer in Delaware, and Chuck Betts. In 1988 I began a process to purchase the dealership. That process was completed in 2000. Chuck and I have always discussed that the time would come when we would transition the name of the dealership from his family to mine. As I begin my 36th year at the dealership with my sons, Jason and Matt, who are in the business now, the time for transition has come

Our 60th Anniversary last year was a celebration of the traditions the Betts family established. Those traditions will now continue as the Willis Auto Campus.

Respectfully,
Rich Willis President