Everyone remembers his or her first car.

Malachi Silva will always remember his, because he won it Thursday night during Knudtsen Chevrolet's annual high school grad car giveaway and 83rd anniversary party.

"I'm shocked, surprised," the somewhat speechless 2022 Post Falls High School graduate said after his key opened the door to the 2022 Chevy Trax. "It's awesome that they did this."

It took two suspenseful rounds for each of the five finalists to try their keys in the door. On the second try, the door popped for Malachi.

"I thought I wasn't going to be able to get it," Malachi said, a grin across his face.

Malachi, who is now a first-time car owner, said the first place he'll take his new car is Pasco, Wash., to see family.

"I'm so excited," his proud mom, Esther Delcomte, said.

The brilliant white Trax has about 10 miles on it and is valued at $23,710.

Dad Ed Delcomte echoed the excitement.

"He is well deserving," Ed said.

The other students in the drawing didn't walk away empty-handed. They were presented with new MacBook Air laptops. The runners up were: Emma Kurtzhall, Lakeland High; Caden Sampsel, Coeur d'Alene High; Grey Shainklen, Lake City High; and Taylor Menti, Timberlake High.

The students all won drawings at their respective all-night graduation parties, where students committed to alcohol-free celebrations and were rewarded with golden tickets at the end. They then met at the dealership and drew unique car keys to try the lock, but only one key was the magic one.

This was the ninth year Knudtsen Chevrolet has given away a new car to a local high school grad.

"It's always so fun," Knudtsen Chevrolet President Eve Knudtsen said. "This is the highlight of the year."

She recalled the first car given away was to a Lake City graduate. The grad had just bought a clunker pickup for $800 and was on his way to school in L.A., but his parents weren't convinced the truck would be reliable.

"When he won, his mother just burst into tears because he was going to be in a safe car that was going to get him to school," Knudtsen said.

Another year, like this year, the finalists didn't give the key enough oomph when trying the lock. The keys were collected and redistributed, although one grad thought she might have had the winning key but was unsuccessful when it was her turn. The young man whose key worked on the second round was about to go on a mission trip.

"He didn't need the car, and he believed that she actually deserved the car," Knudtsen said. "He turned around and he handed the keys to the car to her."

Grads, staff and family members had much to celebrate throughout the evening. Eve Knudtsen announced that her brother, general manager Eric Knudtsen, is stepping away from the day-to-day operations of the dealership to pursue real estate. Her daughter, Lauren Benedict, will step into the role of executive manager and represent the fourth Knudtsen generation to lead the company.

"I'm excited," said Benedict, who has worked at Knudtsen Chevrolet for seven years. "I just felt like I've had ownership. I wanted to be an employee that I was proud of and that other people were proud of from day one."

Eve said it's interesting when the dealership's anniversary rolls around because it has always been such a big part of her life.

"I remember as a little kid, my mom would always have a reason to stop by the dealership during the day," she said. "We were in and out all the time as kids growing up. It just seemed natural when we got into high school and we wanted to earn extra money, that we would earn our extra money at the dealership."

Eric Knudtsen said it was a perfect storm for a transition. He was preparing to embark on a new career with Windermere/Coeur d'Alene Realty with his wife, Shari Knudtsen, and Benedict was ready to advance her career with Chevrolet. Eric and Shari will still be involved in the community as Knudtsen Hometown Group Real Estate.

Knudtsen Chevrolet was established by Eve and Eric's grandfather Clifford Knudtsen and great-uncle Wayne Knudtsen on June 12, 1939. Their father, Wayne Knudtsen, took over the dealership in the mid-1950s and ran it until Eve and Eric took the reins in 1995.

Through depressions and recessions, Knudtsen Chevrolet continues to steer toward success.

"We've endured some very good times, we've endured some very hard times," Eric said.

He said their grandfather and great-uncle could never have imagined the business would flourish the way it has.

"I think they'd be very proud because the family has done a great job," Eric said.