For those who think that Veterans Day is another bank holiday, or just a day to celebrate the service of a bygone generation, haven’t met our IADA members and employee veterans who are working on the front lines of the auto industry today. To hear their stories is to appreciate what they (and other veterans) have done for our safety and our country. Please meet these veterans we have the honor of featuring this month:
Chris Baxendale, Phillips Chevrolet
Chris Baxendale, Sales Specialist, and a seven-year Phillips Chevrolet team member served in the Air Force National Guard for six years, a successful move he had seen his older sister make. Initially, Chris joined the Guard as a way to pay for his college education but learned so much more that was equally valuable. After basic training, he served one weekend a month at the Will Rogers Air National Guard Base in Oklahoma City. While there, he specialized in satellite wideband telemetry followed by a specialty in ground radio, and prepared himself for deployment if called.
“I really learned a lot that you can’t learn in school,” Chris says. “The training, structure, teamwork, technical skills, and meeting people from all over the country was very different from a traditional education.”
At Phillips Chevrolet, Chris has earned an Elite status for sales volume and customer service. “Serving in the Air Force National Guard prepared me for success in automotive sales by helping me keep a cool head for anything that comes at me,” Chris explains.
John Hopkins, Truck Centers, Inc.
John Hopkins, CEO of Truck Centers Inc., was one of the very last men drafted into the U.S. Army in 1972 out of Ferguson, MO. He went to Fort Leonard Wood, MO for basic and advanced infantry training where he became a Combat Engineer/Bridge Builder. After deployment to Europe, he was asked to be the Legal Clerk for the 547th Engineering Battalion in Darmstadt, West Germany where he served with 1200 soldiers from several different units. He reported to both the Captain and his superior, the Lt. Colonel, working with Military Justice and serving as a court reporter for court martials.
He credits his knuckle-rapping high school teacher at Rosary High School in Spanish Lake, MO, with earning this position. She forced him to learn to type – eventually at 52 words per minute.
His oldest child, Katie Hopkins, was born in Wiesbaden, West Germany at the Air Force Hospital after a harrowing ride in the back of a van with an Army doctor who had never delivered a baby. Fortunately, after arriving at the hospital in time, he didn’t have to. Today, Katie is Truck Centers President and COO, and brother Justin is the EVP of Sales.
“Serving in the military provided the greatest lessons learned in my entire lifetime, and I am so thankful I was given the chance to serve,” John says. “So many incredible blessings.”
In October, he had the privilege of hosting the traveling Vietnam War wall at his dealership in Troy, IL for the public to remember and honor those who served and weren’t able to come home.
Dustin Hightower, Apple Chevrolet
Dustin Hightower, General Manager and three-year employee of Apple Chevrolet, grew up with his dad’s revered legacy as a Vietnam War Army veteran. After high school and seeking a way to pay for college, Dustin enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps to take advantage of the GI Bill.
He served in the Marine Reserves for six years followed by a one-year tour of duty in Iraq in 2005. His unit arrived shortly after the famous battle of Fallujah. When asked, he describes it as “the best of times and the worst of times.”
The brotherhood that he experienced in the Marines he says is hard to describe. Despite the heat and stress, his unit formed a close bond and deep friendships. “This experience really shifted my perspective on my whole life,” he explains.
Every year, as many members of his fellow Marines as possible, reunite in Tulsa where they gather to reminisce and honor a fallen friend who hailed from Tulsa.
