Westminster Repair Shop Owner Wins ‘Small Business Person of the Year’
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (Feb. 9, 2009) – Lake Arbor Automotive & Truck’s owner, Dana TePoel, has received the Metro North Chamber of Commerce’s “Small Business Person of the Year 2008” award.
The Chamber announced the award at its Annual Gala & Silent Auction recently in appreciation of TePoel’s “entrepreneurial spirit and outstanding support of the Metro North Chamber of Commerce and its members.”
“In Lake Arbor Auto’s 17 years of business, I have become abundantly aware of the large number of outstanding, high-integrity business people within the Chamber, and I know the large pool of award candidates,” TePoel said. “So, I accept it with the greatest of humility, knowing that it could have gone to any number of people. But I also take pride in the Lake Arbor Auto employees who have made customer satisfaction their No. 1 priority, allowing Lake Arbor Auto to be mentioned in the same breath as the elite of this community’s businesses.”
Under Dana’s leadership, Lake Arbor Auto has grown to a business of 12 employees with annual gross revenues of over $1 million (up from $180,000 in 1992). Lake Arbor Auto processed more than 54,000 transactions over the past eight years without a single customer complaint to the Better Business Bureau.
Said TePoel, “Clearly, we could not have won this award without the loyalty of our customer base; and I wish to thank them for taking the time to understand the intricacies of ongoing maintenance and repair requirements. They listen, and they use a long-term perspective to make their car-care decisions.”
TePoel purchased a failing emissions-testing shop in 1992 and expanded it into a full-service auto repair shop. His shop survived while dozens around him closed their doors at the time that Colorado adopted a statewide emissions-testing program. He attributes his survival to his policy of steering his customers to the state-sponsored clinics and his obvious willingness to “do the right thing” for customers. It is now Lake Arbor Auto’s official slogan: “We do the right thing for you every time.”
About Lake Arbor Automotive & Truck
Founded in 1992 as the Emissions Clinic, Lake Arbor Auto moved in 2006 to its current location at 91st Avenue and Marshall Place in Westminster, Colo., with a state-of-the-art facility designed for maximum customer comfort. Lake Arbor Auto is a recipient of the BBB’s Gold Star award, is a Triple-A approved repair shop (one of only 85 in the entire state) and has the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence with five ASE certified Master Technicians on staff. Lake Arbor Auto is an ASA (Automotive Service Association) national and state member, is the highest volume emissions repair facility in Colorado and is a member of the Association of Diesel Specialists. For information, call 303-429-7700 or go to HYPERLINK “http://www.lakearborauto.com”www.lakearborauto.com. “We do the right thing for you every time.”