We are starting a new tradition here at Tom Benson Chevrolet. Every week we will be spotlighting one of our employees in our Staff Story series. This week, David Garza became the first brave volunteer in our new endeavor.
For those who don't yet know David, he has been with Tom Benson Chevrolet for four years, adding wonderful talent and knowledge to our New & Used sales department. Thank you David for taking the time to tell me your amazing stories.
Note: Some names have been emitted for privacy purposes.
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David received the Chevrolet Mark of Excellence Award
for May 2011 |
What did you do before Tom Benson Chevrolet?
I worked at Domingo Vara Chevrolet for 4 ½ years. Before that I worked at St. Peter’s St. Joseph’s Children’s Home. I started out as a volunteer but eventually I became a supervisor and then a director. I helped with abandoned and abused children, and later on, as a child’s advocate in court.
It was my best and worst job experience. There is a feeling of accomplishment when you can change the life of an individual, but it’s the worst because you see how bad they’ve been manipulated over the years. Many of these children have known and seen things they shouldn't.
For instance, one morning, something told me it was time to go and check on the children and make sure they were okay. One of the children assigned to us was acting a little strange. I tried talking to her and something told me something wasn't right. I let the staff send her to school, but I had a gut feeling -- something was wrong. I went to her school and I talked to the principal and told him I need to speak this young lady. Long story short, she was contemplating committing suicide at school that day.
I went off of gut instincts. We had psychiatrists and psychologists that we could call 24 hours a day. I talked to Dr. ______. He said, "Bring her in to me right now, because if you're concerned I'm concerned." We went in and she confessed to it, "I am going to kill myself, one way or another." Dr. _____ put her in Laurel Ridge, which is an exclusive set up for St. Peter's St. Joseph's home. With proper counseling....My last check-up on her, she is doing fine.
She was, at that time, about 11 years old. But it happens.
In the fifteen months I was there, there was so many ups and downs. The ultimate goal was to see them getting back on the right track. Sometimes the parents would cop out by signing their rights over to the children. In other words, they would have nothing to do with them anymore. Children as young as newborns. We couldn’t take a child who was under 2 years, but we would work a lot with the children’s shelter.
Being a child's advocate was interesting too. Not only would you go before the judge but you would have the parents and families right there. There were a lot of threats. I had a lot of them. I told them, “Get in line, but every time you threaten me, I have to give notice."
Then before that, I worked for AT&T. It was still Southwestern Bell back then. I worked there for 31 years, doing installation repair, engineering, and, in the beginning, some central office work. I retired about ten years ago, but I'm not really a stay-at-home guy.
Before that, I was in the Air Force. I was an aircraft electrician.
We would taxi the planes every once and a while, but they took that job away from us. The mechanics are the ones who became what they call “Crew Chiefs”, then I went back to Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois to instruct. That was kind of crazy, 18-19 year old guy teaching people how to work electronics.
What is your favorite Tom Benson Chevrolet memory?
Last year around Christmas I met Tom Benson. He asked me, “You’re my oldest salesman, aren’t you?” I told him “Probably.”
Then he put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a hug and thanked me for being with him. I told him that he had given money to my Alma mater, Central Catholic. That’s when he told me that his son, who had passed away, had also gone there -- way after I did.
What do you like the most about working here?
Getting to work with people, and especially working with people who need a car real bad but have a small chance of getting it done, because of whatever issues they have, then getting the deal done. Those are the best accomplishments. My motto is, "Make the impossible happen."
What is your favorite Chevrolet vehicle of all time?
The El Camino. It’s an old man’s car. I like it. I’m still trying to find one that I want to buy. Both my son-in-laws can work on cars, but my youngest son-in-law is gifted at building cars. He got that from his Dad. He has an El Camino now. He’s restoring it. I still get the bug every time I see it.
