A Model Business Model

Del Grande Dealer Group provides a fine example of how to acquire a business

By Matt Larson

By now, we’re sure you’ve heard the news that one of Vallejo’s most prominent and beloved car dealerships, Team Superstores, is now operating under new ownership. Team is now officially part of the Del Grande Dealer Group (DGDG), which controls more than a dozen car dealerships from Concord to San Jose, with Team being their first venture into Solano County. Fortunately for us customers, and Team’s employees, DGDG is a company that does things right. So while the Team entity is now under new management, the dealership we know and love remains more or less the same, which includes the name and, most importantly, the employees.

Usually when a company gets bought out, the entire business starts anew from scratch, and the old employees take their severance and figure things out from there. But DGDG opted to instead keep every single one of the 104 employees that were working for Team at the time of the transition. Except for one person who decided to take a job closer to home, pretty much all of the friendly faces you’ve grown accustomed to seeing at Team will still be there to greet you at your next visit.

“They didn’t have to do that. That’s just the kind of company they are,” praised Michael Drinker, Vice President of the Team stores in Vallejo. “Right out of the gate they wanted the employees to feel like they mattered, and that they weren’t going to go backwards just because a bigger auto group bought them.” Drinker had been working with former-owner Kenny Ross since 1988, and he was pleased to see everyone treated so well when DGDG took the reigns. “Everybody was promised a job, and every employee came over with the same seniority that they had here before,” he said. “So if you were a tenured employee with three weeks vacation, then you went to DGDG as a tenured employee with three weeks vacation. That’s just unheard of in any business world.”

That’s really a fine example of why DGDG was the best fit to take over the company; when it comes to treating employees fairly and justly, Team and DGDG shared the same philosophy. “The way both dealerships run their business—how we treat our customers and treat our employees—was quite similar,” Drinker said. “The atmosphere at the dealerships were very aligned with each other. They’re all about making sure their employees are happy; same here with Kenny and I.”

Drinker has already experienced what a warm and welcoming business culture DGDG has created, as he’s had tremendously positive experiences while visiting their other locations. “At every dealership I’ve walked into that is part of this Group, I’ve been welcomed by every person I’ve met,” he said. “And that’s how they want to run all the stores 100% of the time. It’s been a challenge, it’s been fun, and I’m looking forward to the future.”

Perhaps the biggest overall change you might notice is that “Team Superstores” has officially been dropped, as DGDG is the parent company, but each of the franchises on the premises will still be referred to as Team Cadillac, Team Chevrolet, Team Hyundai and Team Mazda. “DGDG knew that Team has a good reputation in Vallejo and Solano County, so they didn’t want to change the name,” said Drinker. “Normally they do change the name of the dealerships when they buy them, but here, it didn’t make sense.”

In many ways this acquisition by DGDG means great news for Team’s employees, as their company just went from about 100 to 1,200. “With this many stores and this many employees, it actually makes promoting people easier,” Drinker explained. “We have so many long-term employees that it was difficult to promote people, because people didn’t leave! You can’t plug a hole if there’s not a hole to be plugged.” For example, Team has had the same three sales managers for the last 7 or 8 years, so there was no way to promote someone to be a sales manager. And they had a similar situation in the finance office. “Now there are so many more opportunities with a group this size,” he added. “There’re people moving around all the time.”

This ease of employee transfer and promotion isn’t only good news for Team employees, but it also can offer a greater incentive for graduates from Solano Community College’s Automotive Technician Training Program. Drinker and the head of DGDG’s human resources department went to the opening of Solano College’s new Automotive Technology building down the street at Turner & Ascot parkways, as DGDG is actively involved with several automotive colleges around the Bay Area. “We’d like to get the first look at their graduates moving forward, because DGDG really likes bringing those kind of employees up into the company,” said Drinker. “It works really well for us, because if we got an apprentice from the auto school, but they travel quite a distance to get here, he or she could actually go to work at one of the other DGDG stores if it’s closer to home.”

The Team dealerships still feel like home here in Vallejo, as DGDG has made the transition as easy as possible; everyone keeping their jobs and their tenure was certainly a good way to start. The primary advancement that DGDG has implemented is top-of-the-line technology at every turn of the dealership. Before the acquisition there were maybe 60 personal computers on site, and now they’re probably up to about 100. “Almost one to one for every employee,” said Drinker. “They have spent lots of money getting us up to speed technology-wise. Not that Kenny and I were antiquated, but we didn’t go out and get the latest and greatest technology; we kind of made due with what we had.” But now, Team employees are getting only the best technology around and, naturally, more technology equals a more efficient experience for all parties involved.

“Instead of walking out to a car with a clipboard and a pencil, the guys are walking out with an iPad mini, taking pictures of the car, of the VIN number, and loading the information into the computer system automatically,” Drinker explained. “So the customers actually spend less time getting through that process and service.” With all of these technological advancements, purchasing a car has gone from an ordeal that used to last several hours, to now being less than an hour, start to finish. “It has made it much easier on the customer and on the employees!”

Speaking of making things easier, product specialists have been taken off of commission. They get paid by the sale, so now they can simply focus on finding the car that’s right for you, without any underlying incentive that you’d experience at most car dealerships. “Higher price or lower price doesn’t have anything to do with the product specialist anymore,” said Drinker. “He just wants to sell a car! That is a huge change.” Not that this is necessarily anything new here at Team when it comes to providing only the best for their customers, but now you can be absolutely certain that all the product specialist is focusing on is you and your individual needs.

If your friends over at Team haven’t seen you in a while, pay them a visit! Congratulate everyone on a productive transition, and check out how things have evolved since becoming part of DGDG. They’re located at 301 Auto Mall Parkway, Vallejo. Call (877) 528-0662 or visit www.dgdg.com for additional information.

Especially if you’re considering a job in the field, or know someone applying for colleges (who is still unclear about what career to pursue), taking a tour at Team could maybe help spark some interest in the automotive industry. Team is growing right along with DGDG, a company that plans to continue expanding. As such, getting started with them right here in Vallejo could certainly lead to a promising future. Plus, it’s a pretty interesting field to be working in. “It’s not a business that stays the same; it’s a business that’s constantly changing,” said Drinker. “For me, I’m constantly having to learn something new or change the way I do something. It’s a challenge every day, but I have a blast doing it, so, it’s a fun challenge.”

Larson is an actor/comedian/director from Vallejo who lives a double life between the Bay and LA. When he’s not writing for Local Happenings Magazine he could be editing a short film or working on his next rap album—who knows!

Keep up with all things Larson at: www.MarsLegstrong.com.”

Through the Eyes of the Horse

Equine-Guided Education could be the missing link in your life

By Matt Larson

If you think you’ve tried everything when it comes to spiritual health and mental healing—think again. Melissa Austin is the Founder and President of Horses Healing Hearts. She is a certified Equine-Guided Educator (EGE) and offers life coaching—with horses.

Pioneered and founded by Austin’s mentor, Ariana Strozzi Mazzucchi, EGE is a teaching method that features the use of a horse as a guide, and nature as a witness, to assist subjects (men, women, and children) in learning about and revealing their full potential. Mazzucchi coined EGE in 1998, but horses as teachers and healers have been around for far longer. EGE can be found today in a wide variety of cognitive-learning and training methods, such as psychotherapy, coaching, holistic health practices, and traumatized youth and rehabilitation programs. At Horses Healing Hearts, the horse is the teacher.

Located in Pleasanton on an 80-acre ranch, Horses Healing Hearts (3H) functions as a horse rescue that offers EGE to the public. They also serve as a life-coaching center for adults and children alike, via sessions, workshops, and team builders with the horses, all designed with the idea of helping people see themselves, “through the eyes of the horse.” Helping people and helping horses are two causes that function symbiotically here at 3H. Since it was founded in 2011, 3H has helped more than 350 horses, and even more human beings.

“When people ask, ‘What’s the purpose?’ or, ‘What’s the mission?’ it’s to educate the community about the life-saving value, the benefits, and the gifts that horses can provide to all of us, while simultaneously providing assistance to horses in need,” said Austin. “Horses give us the opportunity to learn, grow and expand our awareness. Interaction and communication with horses tap into the many layers of the human psyche and promote self exploration.”

Austin explains how horses are very social animals of prey, and there are hierarchies within their herds. They are seeking leadership, so when a horse meets a human, the horse wants to know where that human stands within its “herd.” In other words, if you’re not acting like a leader, the horse can pick up on that. “If they don’t feel like you’re leading your life or know where you’re going, they won’t follow you,” Austin explained. “The horse can tell if you’re lying, or if you’re not genuine. The horse wants to know what it is you care about, and why you make the decisions you make—if we don’t know why we’re doing what we’re doing, then the horse doesn’t want to be a part of that.”

She told us a story of a reporter who came to visit who lied about why he was late, saying that he had some other meeting that held him up, rather than just owning up to the fact that he was late. Naturally, the horses didn’t seem to want to come out and visit him. Finally, he confessed that he simply got lost, which led to his delay. “Once he told that genuine truth that he was lost, the horses came out,” said Austin. “If you’re being genuine, the horses want to be with you.”

There’s not a whole lot of talking that happens because so much is happening with the horses as you walk with them (note: maybe 5% of the work done at 3H involves actually mounting the horses, and if you do, it’s more of a sitting and centering act as opposed to giddying up and trotting along). As you walk beside these majestic animals, you may find yourself wondering: “Where am I going? Am I following the horse or is the horse following me?” And as a facilitator, Austin will help guide you to the point where you find what it is you truly care about, pointing out relevant metaphors that can help you better pinpoint the issue that is truly on your mind. “Most of the time, people do have a breakthrough,” she said. “We haven’t had any experience be the same. It’s always very insightful.”

As far as “why” you should come for a session with Austin and her horses, mere curiosity is all you need. “I love it when people are just curious,” she said. Especially if you struggle with being present in the moment, these horses can certainly help with that. “For me, being in the presence of a half-ton animal—you’re going to get present rather quickly,” she said. “You’re captivated by their beauty. There’s a visceral reaction that happens.”

EGE is truly open to anybody, especially those who find themselves at a point of change in their life, such as someone going through a divorce, starting a new career, or dealing with the loss of a loved one. All of the activities during a visit are tailored specifically for the individual, or individuals, who are there at the time. Austin has welcomed a group of kids who were all acting up as bullies at school, and she has programs designed to work with traumatized foster youth in the summer and winter. In some of those situations, traumatized children will be working with horses that have also been traumatized. Sometimes, for the first time ever, these kids are able to feel like caregivers themselves as they care for the horses. “We have collaborated with Youth Homes for 2 years in a row and continue to work with them, tailoring programs for traumatized youth,” said Austin. “And we have provided assistance/sessions to those grieving the loss of a loved one.”

Working professionals even come pay Austin a visit, including therapists who have been experiencing some challenges within their own practice. “We have therapists coming out who are no longer having breakthroughs with their patients,” she said. “We’ve also done clinics with clinicians. But EGE is not just for therapeutic benefits as far as mental health, it’s for everybody.” Of course, you must remain open-minded to truly reap the benefits.

“With the help of horses you can become more focused on your vision and values in life, accelerating your personal growth and propelling your life forward,” Austin explained. “Horses read the truths of our souls through our energetic presence and mirror back our true selves. They react to what they see and feel every moment, giving us valuable feedback about our body language and energy.”

Austin’s first experience with EGE was in 2010. She was at a point in her life where she simply felt stuck. “I was a mom of two, married, and I had taken a break from working,” she said. “As far as traditional therapies—life coach, psychologist, therapist, counselor—none of it was working. It was the horses who helped me get unstuck.” Austin has been enriching the lives of humans and horses alike ever since.

Certified EGE professionals like Austin are pretty hard to come by, and Pleasanton isn’t that far away. If you’re feeling like you could use a new experience, unlike anything you’ve ever done before, then Austin invites you to come and visit her at 3H. Individual sessions are available by appointment only. Open to couples, individuals, families, and even corporate developments, Austin invites you to give her a call at (415) 260-2232, or email her at melissa@horseshealingheartsinc.org.

To read testimonials, success stories of Austin’s horses at 3H, and to research horses that are up for adoption, visit their website at www.horseshealingheartsinc.org. “We will be shifting our focus and mission in 2018 to offer more programs in Equine-Guided Education under HorsePower University,” said Austin. “The 3H portion of the rescue will continue being a resource for the community.” If you’ve been looking at yourself unfavorably lately and can’t seem to find anything that can wake you up to a more optimistic mindset, then maybe try looking at yourself through the eyes of a horse.

Larson is an actor/comedian/director from Vallejo who lives a double life between the Bay and LA. When he’s not writing for Local Happenings Magazine he could be editing a short film or working on his next rap album—who knows!

Keep up with all things Larson at: www.MarsLegstrong.com.”

A Season of Recovery

Napa Rising After the Fire

By Nate Gartrell

When the North Bay burned for days on end last October, it felt like blue skies would never shine down on the area again. A black and brown haze engulfed the Bay Area, as millions of people around the world waited on edge, watching in horror for days as the blazes grew, the evacuation orders spread, and reports of the devastation trickled in. Forty-three people and hundreds of pets and farm animals lost their lives. Thousands of Californians were displaced, each experiencing a personal tragedy when they returned to their properties and found black and grey nothingness where their homes once stood. The historical fires have changed this state’s history; folks will be talking about them for the next 100 years and beyond.

A large portion of the Napa Valley was affected, but Santa Rosa bore the brunt of the destruction to homes and structures. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed, and much of the national media coverage in the aftermath has had an unintended effect; according to multiple Napa Valley business owners interviewed by Local Happenings, a lot of out-of-state tourists who don’t know the area have come away with the impression that most of wine country is no more.

“The worst of the devastation was in Santa Rosa,” Napa Chamber of Commerce CEO Travis Stanley said. “But if I’m in Virginia, and I see footage of neighborhoods burning in the Napa Valley, all I see is, ‘the Napa Valley is on fire.’”

As the recovery effort continues in Santa Rosa and throughout the Napa Valley, though, local business owners are facing a new challenge: attracting tourists and shoppers to the area, in the wake of the state’s deadliest fire spree. To prepare for the holiday season, local shop and winery owners have a simple message: if you’ve been planning a trip to the Napa Valley this year, there’s no need to cancel. They’re open for business and, in true Napa fashion, they’re helping organize charity events to benefit those impacted by the fires.

“The best way to help the Napa Valley is to encourage people to visit and experience the Napa Valley spirit in person and see for themselves that the Napa Valley is just as beautiful as ever,” said Angela Jackson, the media relations director at a local group called Visit Napa Valley, which helps plan events and encourage tourism in the region.

There are too many holiday events to describe here, so check out Local Happenings‘ calendar in this magazine or online, or go to www.VisitNapaValley.com. However, December will see a return of the popular Napa Valley Wine Trolley “Holiday Light Tours,” which start Dec. 1, 2, and 3, and continue for the next two weekends, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The tours take guests through downtown Napa and its Victorian neighborhoods on a vintage cable car complete with carols from the 1890s-1940s. Proceeds from each tour will be donated to the Foster Children of Napa Valley.

Other popular December events include the “Brightest Town in Napa Valley” in Yountville, featuring six weeks of holiday-related events, activities and performances, including carriage rides through town, holiday movies, photos with Santa, wreath making classes, a Santa’s Workshop, gourmet food walking tours, holiday cooking and cocktail classes, theater performances, ugly sweater parties, SantaCon Yountville, and more.

Tourism is a pillar of the region’s income, and shows no sign of stopping; the region added more than 2,000 tourism jobs from 2014-16, with a combined 2016 payroll of $387 million according to a study released last year. It’s a $1.92 billion industry that generated $80.4 million in tax revenues. And a large chunk of that comes during the Thanksgiving/Christmas/holiday season, when good wine, food, and sweets are most important.

“[The fires] threaten to interrupt our flow of visitors to the area, in what is typically one of the busiest times of the year,” Stanley said.

All and all, 27 wineries were damaged, some significantly; the Ahh Winery at Glen Ellen was utterly destroyed. Unlike the South Napa quake of 2014, however, the fires left most of downtown Napa—and almost all of the area’s more than 1,200 wineries—unscathed.

“There won’t be as much rebuilding needed downtown like there was during the [2014] earthquake. There are a lot of people who were really adversely affected by the fires,” Stanley said. “But at least the businesses didn’t burn down.”

As often happens during tragedies, from the stories of the fires emerged tales of heroism and the community coming together. In Vallejo, the Solano Fairgrounds were transformed into an impromptu staging ground for farm animals affected by the fire, and volunteers poured in from the Bay Area to help. Police and fire departments throughout California sent men and women to help with the emergency response and coordinating evacuations. And in Napa’s Browns Valley, two contractors, Dan Wynn and his boss, Eli Ponce, jumped into action and used two bulldozers to build a fire break in the heat of the moment, saving an entire neighborhood in the process.

“Yes, he saved my house and this neighborhood would look like Fountain Grove if they hadn’t saved,” Browns Valley area resident Stephen Greco said, referencing one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in Santa Rosa.

Wynn’s harrowing story (described in our sidebar) had a happy ending, but it’s difficult to imagine what he and Ponce went through. They took minimal breaks during a five-day period, surviving—as Wynn describes it—“purely on adrenaline” and knowing that they were the only thing standing in the way of the fire. They succeeded in creating a fire break in the valley—at times having to dump dirt on the fire to extinguish parts of it—and the community response has been incredible; Ponce and Wynn were immediately hailed as heroes.

“If you look at what happened in Santa Rosa, that could have easily happened in Browns Valley,” Wynn said. “Once homes start burning up, there isn’t much anyone can do.”

The community has responded to the tragedy by coming together, including with a series of wine and food events with proceeds being donated to the recovery effort.

“Many of the wineries in Napa Valley are donating their tasting room fees to fire relief funds, as well as hosting fundraisers for fire relief,” Jackson said.

“Cabernet Season, which begins in November and continues through April, is one of the best times to visit the Napa Valley,” she continued. “It’s a time when the pace slows down, the natural beauty of the vines shine, and when the chefs offer heartier meals, which pair perfectly with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.”

November saw two major fundraising events, including a week-long “ChefsGiving” event to help those directly impacted. On Dec. 2, the Culinary Institute of America hosted a benefit dinner and auction with every dollar of the proceeds going to the region’s recovery effort. In downtown Napa, Cadet’s Wine and Beer Bar helped organize a beer crawl fundraiser, and First Street Napa in partnership with Trademark Property Co. offered a matching donation of up to $50,000 for the Napa Valley Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund.

“The outpouring of support from around the world has been heartwarming to everyone in our community, and the spirit of collaboration to rebuild and reopen is remarkable,” said Clay Gregory, president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley, in a statement. “Our thoughts remain with those impacted by these wildfires, including the more than 13,000 people whose jobs are supported by the Napa Valley tourism industry.”

For additional information on local events in the Napa Area, check out www.VisitNapaValley.com, or follow @VisitNapaValley on Facebook and Twitter.

Local Heroes Emerge as their Neighborhood is Threatened

By Nate Gartrell

Dan Wynn was in San Francisco enjoying Fleet Week with his daughter the Sunday the fires started, when he noticed a black cloud on the distant horizon. He had no idea what the next five days would entail for him and his boss, Eli Ponce.

That night, in Napa, as she watched the flames creep towards them, it was Wynn’s daughter who sounded the alarm.

“She came running in and said, ‘Dad, the mountain by our house is on fire,’” Wynn recalled. The time was around 11:35 p.m.

Wynn called Ponce, and the two of them did the only thing they could do: they pulled together a couple bulldozers and began trying their hardest to set up a big enough fire break that the flames wouldn’t be able to reach a nearby neighborhood and hundreds of homes. They told friends approximately where they could be found and headed into the night alone, towards hellfire and utter devastation.

As he worked to churn dirt between the houses and fire, occasionally driving straight through the blaze to do it, Wynn saw the ground get so hot the flames turned pink. It was a moment only comparable to one other time in Wynn’s life.

“It reminded me of the Persian Gulf War when all the oil fields were on fire,” said Wynn, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of six years.

Ponce, Wynn said, “Did a great job.” The two worked alone together for 18 hours, but it didn’t take that long to realize that they were the last line of defense.

“There was no one else out there,” Wynn said.

Wynn works at E Ponce and Sons Contracting, and he said he’s got plenty of experience driving bulldozers, rock trucks, and all kind of other heavy machinery.

“My job is kind of like big Tonka toys for adults,” he joked. But using them to build fire breaks in the dead of night, with flames all around and smoke billowing in your face, is another story.

“It was an emergency situation,” he said. “We were lucky to have equipment that was right there ready to go.”

Nate Gartrell grew up in Benicia, studied journalism in college, and has written for a handful of media outlets since age 15. He aspires to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums and to hit the trifecta at the horse track.