Faith, Family and Future: A look at August- 3 years ago!

August is a very special month for the Jenkins and Wynne family.

This month, three years ago, we broke ground for our new facility!

It does not feel like all of this exciting change and development started three years ago.

Time moves so quickly that sometimes we need to stop and look back at where we started.

This Dealership has so much history that it's almost impossible to even write about all of it!

• All of this was started by Vernon Jenkins in 1953, he owned the Lincoln/ Mercury store on Madison St.
• In 1953- the business was started with only 20 vehicles! 
• Vernon Jenkins then bought the Ford dealership in 1960, he was the second ford owner in town, Don Jenkins is the 3rd generation, and Casey Jenkins will be the 4th generation Ford dealer!
• 1962 Built the Lincoln/Mercury building on College St
• 1968 the Ford dealership burned down from the sales department to the service department
• 1973 Jenkins and Wynne purchased the Honda Franchise
• 1992 Built the Truck Center
• 1999 Tornado hit Clarksville Tennessee: Downtown took most of the damage
• 1999 Remodeling Ford
• 2006 Remodeled Honda
• The move was announced July 8th, 2013
• The groundbreaking took place on August 6th, 2014!

What was once 14 acres of corn field, 

is now the beautiful campus of the state of the art Jenkins and Wynne Dealership!

At the groundbreaking, Don Spoke and officially announced Larry Schultz to be taking the General Manager position of longtime Jenkins and Wynne family member Murray Keeter who was there from the start working hard with Don many long years and was the one who was there in the cornfield with Don when he officially announced the move. Muarry will retire at the end of the year and Larry will officially step into the General Manager position as Don announced 3 years ago this month. 

Don brought up his wife Sandy, daughters Casey and Fran and all of his grandchildren to celebrate the groundbreaking with him.
Don Jenkins spoke of the history of the Jenkins and Wynne Dealership and he said a quote that his father Vernon Jenkins said to him:

“you make your money from the community but you have to give back to your community, not just your money but your personal time”

Clarksville Mayor Kim Macmillan was there and she had this to say:

"It’s more than just the dealership to the Jenkins Family, it’s about their commitment to Clarksville, Tennessee!"

Another quote that stuck out during this day and is the montra of the Jenkins and Wynne family:

"Faith, Family and Future"

In our 60th Anniversary video Casey Jenkins said this and it really could not be more true:

"We don’t want to just be a place that employees people, we want to be a place where families grow"

We wanted to get some insight on the emotions and thoughts from Don and Casey Jenkins during this transition of changing locations

1. What do you remember about the groundbreaking event? (Were you excited, nervous, or any particular memory that sticks out from the event itself)

Don:  

I remember thinking “Wow! How do I work in the planning of this mammoth facility when my schedule is already full?”  I knew we must move to increase sales and service and be prepared for the future.   I was excited to have found a site that would accommodate growth for the next 50 years and would allow new, modern facilities that a city of Clarksville’s caliber deserved.
Casey:
I was super excited...this day marked the new chapter of Jenkins and Wynne history. We had talked for so long about growth and what that would look like so to be actually on the purchased property was exhilarating...and HOT! I felt major support from the community on that day as well....felt like one big Clarksville hug. I know the Jenkins and Wynne family felt very loved. I also felt sad that my brother wasn't able to be with us. We released balloons in honor of him. He would have loved this new adventure we are on.

2. What did you do to prepare for the event?

Don:  

 We literally got 2 stepladders so we could be seen over the corn and Murray and I announced the fact that this site would be the home of the new Jenkins and Wynne.   The groundbreaking ceremony the next year was when all the action began. We had visited numerous dealerships in Atlanta, Dallas, and Orlando and had spent months planning what our site would look like.  We took all the things that didn’t work downtown and made sure our new stores would not have those problems.  We spent 3 months on the layout alone!!!   We then worked with APSU to sell them the downtown facilities and our CPA’s so we could take advantage of the tax law.

Casey:

Dad was the backbone behind the groundbreaking but also the entire construction project. I admire him for countless reasons, but one of them is being able to multi-task so well and keep up with details and still have a peaceful and positive attitude.

3. What is it like for you looking back to 3 years ago when we were breaking ground to where we are today?

Don:

I look back and am very proud of our team.  Everything has been accomplished by them.  This is the best group of team members in Jenkins and Wynne’s 64 year history.  Their commitment to customer satisfaction is unequaled.  Our facilities are state of the art and we are learning every day how to better take advantage of them.
Casey: 

When I was told we are approaching 3 years- I was stunned. It doesn't even seem possible. Looking back, the last 3 years have been a whirlwind. As much as we prepared and strategized for coming to the new property....it still proved to be a huge undertaking! We were at the other property for over 50 years! 

4. Where do you see us 3 years from right now?

Don:

3 years from now I feel that we will be a smoothly running machine.  We are process driven and have changed over 100 processes since vacating downtown.  Our industry is changing dramatically and we will be selling and servicing more electric vehicles. Our business will be even more internet driven with the idea of saving customers time in sales and service.  We will continue to treat our team members well so they can treat our customers well.  We are a consumer centric business and we will have formed thousands more relationships by then.  There are exciting times ahead and our new facilities will place our team in position to take full advantage of opportunities in the Middle Tennessee Southern Kentucky market.  Our job is to serve with excellence.

Casey:

2020 will bring about quite a bit of new technology and product changes. Excited to see where the auto industry takes us.

We look forward to continue to grow and we invite all of you to grow with us!

Love Where You're going

Watch our Groundbreaking and 60th Anniversary videos for more info and history of Jenkins and Wynne!