About Robert C. Vackar

Robert “Bob” C. Vackar is a successful businessman, philanthropist, and veteran who was born in Gonzalez, Texas, in 1943. He graduated from Texas A&M University with an accounting degree and worked for Shell Oil Company before and after serving in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.   

He married Janet Ogden and moved to the Rio Grande Valley, where he joined his father-in-law at the original Bert Ogden Motors dealership in Edinburg in 1983. In 1992, Bob became the Dealer Principal and Operator and has since expanded it to 20 locations and 24 franchises, creating over 1,000 jobs and earning several awards. 

Bob is an innovative auto dealer who also invests in health and entertainment projects in the Rio Grande Valley. He and his wife Janet helped DHR Health become the first Level 1 trauma center in the region. They also secured the naming rights to the Bert Ogden Arena, the largest entertainment venue in deep south Texas that has boosted the local economy and created hundreds of new jobs. For their generous and dedicated service to the local community, the Vackars have been honored with various accolades, including the 2016 Border Texans of the Year award and the Texas House Resolution 340, which praised their remarkable philanthropy and assistance in the Rio Grande Valley. 

He is also passionate about supporting education and veterans in the Rio Grande Valley. He is on the Advisory Council of UTRGV, which named its business college after him for his $15 million endowment in 2016. He hires and mentors UTRGV graduates in the auto industry and volunteers at the university to inspire students to pursue their goals. Additionally, Bob encourages us to support veterans and was also a contributor to the construction of the Veteran’s War Memorial of Texas, in McAllen.