As a member of the community and owner of WholeSaleCars.com, I’m involved with a program called Junior Achievement here in Albertville, Alabama. In a nutshell, I go into a middle school for eight weeks and I hold a class for 45 minutes to teach financial literacy.
I do this because in my business, I see what not having financial literacy causes. And I love to see the light bulb go on for those seventh grade and eighth grade students. We talk about insurance, finances, how to apply for a job, and even how to quit a job -- all those things. I'm a big supporter of Junior Achievement.
I'm also involved in a worldwide prison ministry called Kairos. We go into a maximum-security prison twice a year. I just have a heart for the downtrodden, and I think it has a lot to do with the way I was raised. I was raised without a dad in a single parent home. Until I reached about 30, I had no concept of what my mother went through to raise three kids. I have a soft spot in my heart for single moms, too.
We also hold customer appreciation events once a year, every September and at that time our 1000 plus customers get a chance to have have their car paid off. We throw a big party and feed everybody. It’s a great opportunity for people to meet our staff and mingle.
We usually have about 700 or 800 people attend and give away prizes like flat screen TVs, camping equipment, free car washes for a year, bicycles, and things like that. We have a local radio station here, too. We also pay up to $10,000 off the customer's car note – but they have to be there for that. We typically draw six or seven names before the person's here.
You know, some people may think all the things we do is a gimmick, but we are the real deal. We really care about our community and the people in it. Anyone who is a current or past customer knows that, and we look forward to proving it to everyone.
