This year, I achieved two milestones; I celebrated my 65thbirthday and Osceola Garage celebrates its 40thyear in business. Two events that will now be overshadowed by the coronavirus.
I have lived through many economic and challenging events; from the stock market crash in the late 1980’s, to the housing bust of the 1990s, the tragic events of 9/11 and the great recession of 2008. This is totally different.
Never, have I experienced anything as serious as this. The economic effects that will occur are unknown. We are in uncharted territory. My father used to tell me, “One thing you can rely on are the Churches. Churches don’t close their doors.” Well Dad, “this time it’s different.”
As a business owner, father, husband and part of the community, I have an obligation to many people. That obligation is something that I take very seriously.
We, at Osceola Garage, are having daily meetings to prepare as best we can to be there for you and the community. We know that what we do matters to you and the community. While many of you will be working from home, we also know that many of you are considered essential personnel and need to be on the road. You have my promise that we will be there every step of the way to do our part, in order to help you in every way that we can.
Everyone will be affected by this event, and we, as a small business, must forgo profit and put the needs of the people in our community first.
I want to thank my wife and family for supporting me through the years and understanding that I need to be there for the community, now more than ever.
I want to also to thank my loyal and amazing employees who have worked every day since this outbreak and kept vigilant, for one purpose only…to be there for you and the community.
Lastly, I want to thank you, my loyal customers. For decades, you have allowed me to be a part of your automotive family and I look forward to the day when we will celebrate beating this thing….and we will beat this!