A Year In Review

Can you believe we're already halfway through December?! 2012 sure did slip past us!  With the year drawing to an end we would like to recap some of the important events here at Baum Chevrolet-Buick:

• Thank you to all of the Baum employees and loyal customers for helping us achieve the 2011 Mark of Excellence award for both Chevrolet and Buick! The award, which is presented in 2012 by GM, is based on improvements in sales effectiveness, market penetration and customer satisfaction. Baum was previously awarded the Mark of Excellence in 2001 for Chevrolet and Buick, as well as 2007, 2009 and 2010 for Chevrolet.

• In March the detail department had a busy Friday with a record breaking 90 Quick Washes! After Saturday they totaled 150 Quick Washes for that weekend!

• Baum Chevrolet-Buick found a unique purpose for one of our pre-owned vehicles.  In May the dealership donated a 2000 Buick Century to the family of Tyler Auten, a six-year-old Autistic boy from Bloomington, who was trying to raise $13,000 to purchase a special service dog. The Century was turned into a giant chalkboard for kids and adults to draw or write inspirational messages in support of Tyler. Family friend and parent of an Autistic child, Ryan Abbott, featured the Buick at several car shows in Bloomington throughout the summer to generate additional donations.

"Art For Autism" car

• Baum Chevrolet-Buick and Ted's Garage was proud to host the annual Christy Massey Foundation Bass Tournament dinner on Friday, June 1. Established in 1997, the Christy Massey Foundation is a memorial for Christy Massey; a Clinton native who died in a car crash at the age of 17. Since its creation, the Foundation has built and maintained a children's park and provided scholarship money to graduates of Clinton High School.

Christy Massey Bass Tournament participants

• Baum Motor Company in Farmer City celebrated 10 years with an open house Wednesday, June 20.  Guests enjoyed a meal catered by Bonnie Wright.  All attendees were entered into a drawing for a chance to win an Apple iPad, oil changes, trailer rentals, details, and 1 day Volt cruises! 

• Out with the old in with the new! Construction on our dealership began on June 29^th.  Please pardon our dust as we welcome the future design of Baum Chevrolet-Buick!  The remodeling of our new store should be completed by next spring.  If you’d like a sneak peak on what it’s going to look like come on in, we can show you pictures! 

The future Baum Chevrolet Buick

• To help promote local youth sports, we teamed up with the Chevrolet Youth Soccer program and the Clinton Community YMCA. The CYS program serves as a unique fundraising opportunity for youth soccer leagues across the nation. In order to help cover local program costs, we donated $500 to the YMCA. We are proud to be in a community that supports extracurricular activities for our youth!

Clinton Community YMCA Soccer participants

• Tony Soupreskis retired from Farmer City’s Baum Motor Company at the end of June.  Tony had been with Baum Motor Company’s service department since day one.  We would like to thank Tony for all of his hard work throughout the past years.  We would also like to wish a very deserving man an incredible retirement!

• We wished a happy retirement to sales consultant Barb Rose on August 31^st.  Barb plans to move to Newberg, Indiana where she will become a caregiver.  Besides care giving she also has a list of many other things to keep her busy.  We appreciate your service Barb and wish you the best of your retirement!

• In September we welcomed Dee Rutledge to the Baum team!  She is a sales associate taking Barb Rose's place as she enjoys her new path on retirement!

• It’s “trending”!  Hey Tweeps!  Follow us on Twitter @BaumChevrolet.

• Scott and Ted's 7th Annual Car Show was comprised of months of planning, numerous volunteers, a swarm of participants, a steady flow of spectators, a little bit of glitter paint and one very special boy, Tyler Auten. This year’s event produced a near record turnout of over 215 vehicles- more than doubling last year’s show. Spectators were able to see a wide range of classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, and street rods dating back to the early 1920’s. Every vehicle had a unique appeal and, most importantly, a great background story. This year’s show was comprised of 10 classes, with awards presented to the top-3 finishers as well as Best in Show and Furthest Distance traveled. Aside from the automotive displays event goers were also able to enjoy lunch from Ted’s Garage, get their faces painted by the Zoo Lady, race electric slot cars, and test their vehicle’s horsepower on the DYNO. Thanks to all the participants, volunteers, and spectators, the show was able to donate over $2,700 to Tyler and his family. The proceeds have brought the Auten’s within reach of their goal.

Tyler Auten and Best in Show winner, Jan Sweet

• Since 1974 our Baum Chevrolet-Buick sign has welcomed customers to our dealership. On October 8^th we took a step towards the future with the installation of a brand new sign.

• This past October Baum Motor Company became a franchise dealer for Wells Cargo trailers.  They now carry enclosed Wells Cargo and US Cargo trailers.  If we don’t have exactly what a customer is looking for on their trailer lot we can sit down with the customer and custom build a trailer to suit their needs.

• This deer season we teamed up with Capture the Passion for the first annual Deer Camp Big Buck Contest! Hunters were encouraged to bring their deer to The Irish Circle in Wapella on November 16,17, or 18 for a chance to win $100 cash or a $50 Cabela’s gift card. All participants also had a chance to win a brand new Mathews bow from Baum Chevrolet Buick.  Hunters could also be entered in the contest to win the Mathews bow by uploading a photo of their deer on Facebook and tagging Baum Chevrolet-Buick, emailing their photo to us, or even by test driving a Chevrolet Silverado at the dealership.  We received a lot of great photographs of local hunters and their trophy bucks!

Deer Camp participant, Jason Gentry

• This year we partnered with the Clinton Travel Baseball league; providing the players with t-shirts, equipment, and a $500 donation. The league sold tickets for a chance to win a brand new Chevrolet Equinox or Cruze around the community in order to raise extra funds. They were so successful in their fundraising efforts that they were rewarded with an extra $250 from CYB for selling the most tickets in the North Central region!

Owner, Scott Baum (left), and Business Development Director, Lindsay Watkins (far right), present a $500 donation to Clinton Travel Baseball league board member, Chuck McCubbin (center).

• On November 7^th 4 Paws for Tyler Auten officially accomplished raising $13,000 to have a 4 Paws for Ability service dog placed with Tyler!  All we can say is that is one lucky dog to have the opportunity to become Tyler’s best friend!  We are so thankful for all the support everyone has provided this family with. 

All of these exciting 2012 events wouldn’t have be possible if we didn’t have such an incredible group of customers walking in and out of our door.  The employees at Baum Chevrolet-Buick would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers for the support they have provided us with over the years.  We truly appreciate your business and look forward to serving you in the future.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!