There I was standing in the showroom of Mercedes Benz of Bend. A sophomore in high school drooling over all the beautiful cars on the showroom while my parents purchased their ML350. Mercedes at that time was under the management of Robert Durfee who offered me a job as a Lot Attendant and that’s when I first found myself in the auto industry. I worked in that position till I received a scholarship my senior year to play baseball. After an injury halted my career in, I decided to move back home to Bend and started working for a family friend framing custom homes. During that time, I also learned and started fabricating off road rock crawlers primarily utilizing 1980’s era Toyota pickup frames and 22RE motors for the heart and soul of the vehicle. When the recession hit and building came to a screeching halt, I began my search for the next career.
At that time, I owned and loved my 1995 Toyota 4Runner with a 3.0l V6 which had a head gasket that needed replaced. I took it into Dave Holt Toyota to complete the work and that’s when I realized I really liked being at the dealership. As I was walking around the showroom, I saw the new Tundra (2007) which left a lasting memory. Shortly after I was rolling through the newspaper and saw that Dave Holt Toyota had a sales position posted, I remembered how I felt during my experience at the dealership, so that afternoon I went in and applied. Robert Durfee was the General Manager of Toyota at that time and hired me on into Sales which was the launch of my journey with Toyota.
After 4 years on the sales floor, I was promoted into Finance. My goal was to operate Toyota of Bend as a GM and more if the opportunity arose. My next step was into the New Vehicles Sales Manager position which I had a major passion for this specific title but when the opportunity came, I took the next step and became the Used Vehicle Manager. In 2014 we went through an acquisition with the Kendall Auto Group. I took on the role as GSM for Kendall Toyota of Bend and shortly after they register me to attend the NADA Academy in DC which was an absolute privilege. I have been growing and learning everyday since my return from the Academy and will always keep the mind set in my career.
