dealership his father had purchased in 1973. In 1986, he and his brother Michael bought the business from their parents, and as the Beyer Automotive Group, the business expanded to five dealerships, including the Volvo, Land Rover, Kia, Volkswagen, Mazda, and Subaru brands. Beyer sold his share of the dealerships to his brother in 2019. Beyer is a past chairman of the National Volvo Retailer Advisory Board. In 2006, he chaired the American International Automobile Dealers Association. Beyer served as a member of the board of Demosphere International, Inc., a leading soccer registration software provider. He was also a board member of History Associates, which bills itself as "The Best Company in History." He has served on the Virginia Board of First Union National Bank, the board of Shenandoah Life Insurance Company, and the board of Lightly Expressed, a fiber optic lighting design and manufacturing firm. Civic activism During nearly two decades of community activism, Beyer has taken leadership roles on the boards of many business, philanthropic and public policy organizations, the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and the American Cancer Society. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Grand Award for Highway Safety from the National Safety Federation; the James C. Wheat Jr. Award for Service to Virginians with Disabilities; the Earl Williams Leadership in Technology Award; and the Thomas Jefferson Award for 2012 from American Citizens Abroad. In 2017, he received the Leaders for Democracy Award from the Project on Middle East Democracy. In April 2017, he received the Community Integration Leadership Award for Community and Public Service from the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia and the Community Engagement Award from Phillips Programs for Children and Families. In 2021, Beyer received the Excellence in Public Service Award from the Population Association of America. Beyer chaired the board of the Alexandria Community Trust, Alexandria's community foundation, and the board of Jobs for Virginia Graduates, the state's largest high school dropout prevention program. He is a former president of the board of Youth for Tomorrow, Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs's residential home for troubled adolescent boys and girls. He also served on the board of the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. He currently serves on the board of directors of Jobs for America's Graduates. In 2022, readers and editors of Arlington Magazine named Beyer "Best Elected Official" as part of the magazine's annual roundup of favorite restaurants,