Last Minute Gift Ideas for Men

Christmas is right around the corner. Is your Christmas shopping finished? If you’re like many Americans, shopping begins and ends on Christmas Eve. Look no further, we’ve found a great list of gadgets and gifts for men on this holiday season: http://bit.ly/1dyDrHJ

From the desk of Bob Smith...

 

Ann Landers once said, “Do your givin' while you're livin', then you'll know where it's goin'." America is no doubt the most generous nation in the history of the world, and a good percentage is givin' while we're livin'. We just love to give, it's our nature. As we get closer to the ultimate gift this Christmas, Advantage Toyota is proving to be a perfect example of what it means to give. Since its beginning in 2003, Advantage has funneled thousands of dollars into area charities, the latest being #Shirts4Charity. It's a contest for choosing a shirt design for Hospice of Huntington, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Tri-State, Inc., Huntington Museum of Art and Lily's Place. Advantage Toyota is giving in a much more practical way as well. A fancy new dealership is being unveiled as we speak. It will mean a much more enjoyable visit for buying and for servicing your vehicle. Among the Christmas treats to enjoy will be a greatly enlarged waiting area, a drive-up service department and a play room for children. The firm is also enlarging its parts and service areas bringing eight new jobs to the current staff of 40. And to top it all off, you will be experiencing an added quiet room and coffee bar. Most of the improvements should be finished by the end of the year. As Christmas nears, you may want to follow Advantage Toyota's example of giving. Remember, “A man wrapped up in himself, makes a very small bundle.”

On a side note, "Hip Hip Hooray" for Lily's Place receiving a fantastic outpouring of 'likes' for their shirt/design. Stay tuned for some antics from the sales guys at Advantage Toyota as they bring on some holiday spirit and celebrate Lily's Place.

Top Holiday Movies - is yours on the list?

Ah yes! It’s the Holidays, and with it comes Christmas music, family visits, and hot cocoa for days! It’s likely that you’ll be gathered around the fireplace with your family and friends sometime soon. Take a look at the top holiday movies; do many of these make your list? http://bit.ly/1juQnD3

✬ 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.

From the desk of Bob Smith...

Stuck in a rut? You know, the deeper and longer you dig, the deeper it gets. If you're like me, you know the feeling. A few years back I remember taking a walk in a deeply wooded area but there were some well-worn tracks. If I got down in the tracks it was rocky and muddy. It was tough going but if I stayed in the middle, the road was much smoother. Life is much like that. Family relationships are a little shaky, the job is causing major headaches, or perhaps your physical and mental well-being is being tested. We all go through such times. The secret of escaping these situations is ensuring that the episodes are temporary and that you stay on the high ground. If you're in the middle of disappointment that seems as if will never end it's time to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. As a man by the name of Murray Gell-Mann once said, “Enthusiasm is followed by disappointment and then by renewed enthusiasm.” In other words, disappointment can come quickly but leave just as quickly and many times it will lead to even greater happiness and achievements. So the next time discouragement and disappointment comes calling, take a quick self-evaluation and determine to be resolute. Amazing things will begin to happen in your life.

We’re definitely not stuck in a rut right now at Advantage Toyota…we’re about midway through our renovations and really starting to see progress and renewed enthusiasm as we see the hard work paying off. Next time you come to see us, our new, expanded service waiting area may be ready to occupy your wait. We hope to see you soon!

From the desk of Bob Smith...

My wife Billie and I love to travel. A few years back we were high in the mountains on the Island of Patmos during a trip to Israel. Our tour bus had made one of its many stops and we were walking around trying to take it all in. As we turned a corner there sat a very, very old Toyota Truck. It had certainly been around awhile, still running, still in good shape, still faithful. I hear story after story of the durability and dependability of Toyota products and there sat a perfect example thousands of miles away from home. I was tempted to go up to the owner and say “Advantage Toyota, making life a little easier” but I refrained myself.

Toyota is certainly a world-wide phenomenon and we are so fortunate to have one of the manufacturing plants right here at home. The Putnam County West Virginia facility just recently announced a major expansion which will bring its total number of jobs to more than 1,300. The plant builds transmissions for the Lexus RX350, Avalon, Camry, Venza and Sienna. The total investment by Toyota of West Virginia now amounts to $1.3 billion. Hats off to a company that truly believes in West Virginia, and the next time you're on the Island of Patmos, look for that Toyota. It's most likely still “truckin.”

P2C2013 T-Shirt Giveaway!

✬ T-shirt Giveaway ✬
We wore pink and walked for our community at #p2c2013! PATH to the Cure is over for 2013 but it is still #BreastCancerAwareness month and we have extra team shirts available for grabs!

Share a STORY with us about your favorite tri-state #breastcancersurvivor (with her permission, of course) and we will send you both a shirt. Of course, if you have a story in memory of a loved one, we would love to hear that as well.

Be forewarned, we mostly only have larger sizes available. They are so pretty, made from dri-fit material so also super comfy. Please share this post and help us spread word of this giveaway so those who would like a shirt, get an opportunity to share their story. Limited quantity available so just while supplies last.

Toyota 100 Cars for Good!

Voting for the Toyota 100 Cars for Good Program starts today!  This year Toyota will be awarding two vehicles each day to the top two vote getters.  Today there are two finalists within the CAT region!  At 10AM please click on this link https://apps.facebook.com/carsforgood/ and cast your two votes.

The two CAT finalists:

·         Warrior Canine Connection from Brookeville, MD.  The WCC serves wounded warriors with Post Traumatic Stress disorders and traumatic brain injuries.  Their program reduces the symptoms of combat stress by creating a human-animal bond with their service dogs.  To find out more information about this finalist, please click on the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/WarriorCanineConnection

·         Wildlife Center of Virginia from Waynesboro, VA.  The Wildlife Center of Virginia is a hospital for native wildlife.  The center provides life-saving veterinary care to over 2,500 sick and injured bald eagles, owls, bears, rabbits, and turtles.  To find out more information about his finalist, please click on the link below”

www.facebook.com/wildlifecenter