Car Boss says thanks with $1000 cheques

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Boss says thanks with $1000 cheques

From: AAP
September 09, 2012 9:01AM



BEFORE retiring, a Michigan car dealership owner wanted to thank his employees in a special way.

All 89 employees at the Howard Cooper Import Center in Ann Arbor were given $US1000 ($A976.42) for each year of service to the 47-year-old car dealership.

"The lady behind me had tears running down her face," employee Sandy Reagan told AnnArbor.com.

"I sat next to a person who drives the parts van and he's been here almost 28 years. He doesn't make a ton of money, but he got almost $US28,000.

"I watched his face and he just said, 'Oh my God'," said Reagan, who has been with the company 46 years.

When Cooper, 83, sold the dealership in April, employee retention was part of the agreement. The business is expected to change hands later this month.

"I wanted to thank my employees and that was a way I could do it," Cooper said of the surprise cheques.

"I hope it makes a difference in their lives like they have made in mine."

Cooper received a standing ovation when the cheques were distributed on Wednesday. He did not reveal how much workers received in total, but Bob Jenkins, a mechanic at the dealership for 26 years, received $US26,000.

"I was shocked," Jenkins said. "You just don't expect something like that. The whole place was just in shock. People are still talking about it."

Jenkins' cheque is going into the bank.

"I have two little kids - a five-year-old and a nine-year-old - so the money will go to good use."

The dealership opened in Ann Arbor in 1965, selling Volkswagens. It later added Porsche, Audi and Honda to its range.

"The business has been my whole life for 47 years," Cooper said. "I love what I've done and I enjoyed going to work in the morning."