While at a holiday gathering, my friend, Dawn McLain, was telling me about Mike Cass, owner of Tunex, in southern Utah. He is just one of the faces that make up the charitable landscape of people who are always looking out for others first. His gift to a family in need was selfless and I thought appropriate to share his example, especially this time of year:
"Inspiration, is what Mike Cass and the staff at Tunex in southern Utah are all about. In these tough economic times, he feels like everyone can use a little bit of it in their everyday life, and he’s more than happy to be the one to share it. Tunex presented a young couple and their two daughters with a vehicle that they were in great need of in their First Ever Tunex Car Giveaway. Team Tunex distributed nomination forms at local businesses throughout are area for people to nominate people they felt were deserving of a vehicle and why. Once the nominations were collected, the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors evaluated them and chose the winners – Brett and Teryl Davis, who received their car on 11/11/2009. For Mike, giving the car away was just the right thing to do. “As a business owner, I feel a responsibility to the community. With the economy today, people are scared. Business owners need to step in and help out, and to promote positive change so that we can get out of the negative cycle. Sure, we could have sold the car and made some money, but we thought we’d change someone’s life instead. It’s a no-brainer.”
I asked Mike what spurred his interest in cars. “…My Mom was a single parent working 2 jobs to feed her kids. We really didn’t have money for a new car, or to maintain the old one we had. As the car became less and less reliable, we worried more and more about her safety coming home late at night. The fact was, there were plenty of times that us kids ate, but she didn’t, so that she could save money to get her car repaired. Many of the repairs we needed were because we could not afford the proper maintenance on the car. It was then that I decided that no one should be in that position, no less a single parent. So, I educated myself, and have been in the car business all my life. I look at our customers the same way I look at my Mother, as family. I want to keep them all safe.”
I asked Mike what spurred his interest in cars. “…My Mom was a single parent working 2 jobs to feed her kids. We really didn’t have money for a new car, or to maintain the old one we had. As the car became less and less reliable, we worried more and more about her safety coming home late at night. The fact was, there were plenty of times that us kids ate, but she didn’t, so that she could save money to get her car repaired. Many of the repairs we needed were because we could not afford the proper maintenance on the car. It was then that I decided that no one should be in that position, no less a single parent. So, I educated myself, and have been in the car business all my life. I look at our customers the same way I look at my Mother, as family. I want to keep them all safe.”