✬ Shirts 4 Charity – a note from Bob Smith ✬

Has anyone ever said this to you, “Alright, keep your shirt on.” That's usually when you're losing control of a situation. I think my Mom said that to me a couple of times. Right now Advantage Toyota wants to keep their shirt on and wants you to do some judging. The people at Advantage really enjoyed the recent PATH to the Cure 5K walk/run that raised tons of money for our community. As a way of expressing that charitable desire all the guys and gals at Advantage wore a custom designed shirt with the theme, “We wear pink for our community.” Now we want to expand this adventure a little further. We've picked out four local charities and want to know from you which charity's shirt you would like to see us wear next. Soon, we will post pictures of the shirt designs so you can vote by liking your favorite. Here are the four charities we have chosen.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Tri-State, Inc. provides housing for the families of children who have been hospitalized facing serious health problems. It is a home away from home, a place of refuge from nearby hospitals.

Hospice of Huntington helps people with serious illnesses live life to the fullest while undergoing their intense health struggles. The house provides a spectacular setting that brings comfort to the patient and the family.

Lily's Place is a brand new pediatric addiction center in Huntington which offers babies from drug addicted mothers a chance to live and recover from something they didn't ask for.

Huntington Museum of Art has long been the cultural highlight for residents and visitors alike in the Tri-State area. For more than 60 years the museum has brought the finest in the world of art to the local area.

So be on the lookout for future postings as “Shirts 4 Charity” gains full steam. We will also be giving you additional information about each of the charities we have chosen. In the meantime, “Keep your shirt on.”

Fun Thanksgiving Facts!

Here are some fun facts to share on Thanksgiving! You'll be the smarty pants at the dinner table!

1. The Author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was largely responsible for the establishment of the national Thanksgiving Holiday! Her name was Sarah Josepha Hale and she campaigned for almost 20 years to get it to be a national holiday.

2. 91% of Americans eat Turkey on Thanksgiving!

3. The only things known to be served on the original Thanksgiving were deer, fowl, flint corn, cod, bass, and other types of fish!

✬ Service Waiting Area to open on Nov 18th ✬

Thank YOU for your patience. We are so happy to share with you that starting on Monday, when arriving for service at Advantage Toyota, our customers will be treated to a new service drive through and write up area as well as a service lounge that includes a quiet area for you to finish your work and a children’s playroom.

Our new showing room is expected to be completed in mid-December and that is when the rest of the service department will also be finished. We hope to have a grand opening in mid-January so stay tuned for more details.

Meet our staff…

I’m Jenn Brooks, the person behind the scenes connecting with you via social business. I wear many hats in my daily life…in addition to working for Advantage Toyota, I also work for Paris Signs handling the advertising on the Tri-State Transit Authority city buses (yes, including the Advantage Toyota bus), I teach a few yoga classes at Studio 8 and I have an expanding family with a granddaughter arriving in December (possibly on my birthday). I love the flexibility of my life and enjoy working from home, creating connections with businesses that believe along the same lines as me – support of community. When people ask me what I do, I usually stumble around and say that I don’t work which is a ridiculous answer if you could see some of my hectic days. However, because I so enjoy the life that has been created by this flexibility, I don’t consider it ‘work’…I consider it opportunity for learning, growing, connecting and having fun.

I’ve worked with Larry LaFon, the owner of Advantage Toyota, since he came to town in May of 2003 when he established the new dealership. Actually, I probably met him in November of that year after aggressively pursuing his advertising business while I was with WSAZ. Soon, we had Bob Smith on board and the three of us worked together to create a message that expressed to you that we are a different kind of dealership and we are trying to make life a little easier. After leaving WSAZ NewsChannel 3 a few years ago and rebuilding my life as it is today, Larry asked if I would be interested in creating a way for his dealership to connect with our community using social media along with other grassroots marketing ideas. Of course, I jumped at that idea – a chance to design my own job, support my community and have fun!

In addition to the paid jobs I have, I am a Huntington Chamber Ambassador so you’ll see me around locally supporting local businesses, I’ve co-created PATH to the Cure with some caring and brilliant community-minded people (yes, I got Advantage on board supporting this great cause, I hear the sales guys loved participating in the 5k as well as wearing their pink shirts at work) and you’ll find me on other committees/charities from time to time as I’m moved to support them. Although I’m not from Huntington originally I have lived here since 1997, most of my adult life, and I consider it my home.

That’s a little about me in a nutshell. I’d love to hear from you; feel free to follow me at www.fb.com/jbrooks0703 or www.twitter.com/jbrooks0703.