Exciting things keep happening at TNT, and it’s all occurring so quickly we can barely keep up! We try to celebrate every accomplishment and milestone, though at times I confess it seems we go from party to party to milestone to accomplishment to celebration. In the middle of the whirlwind, if I would ever start to get overwhelmed by it all, I stop to breathe and choose to call it blessed.
This month we were able to celebrate a very special accomplishment for our TNT family: Lloyd Hodges renewed his inspector license and was found to be one of the oldest licensed inspectors in the state of Virginia!
I spent some time on the phone with the Virginia State Police and Trooper Steele to try to find as much detail for Mr. Hodges as possible, and more and more interesting information kept coming.
Fact: While the State Office is “pretty sure” that Mr. Hodges seems to be the oldest certified inspector in Virginia, those certified before 1986 were kept on file through an index card system in a time when computers weren’t such a necessary staple. Because we do not have a perfect and accurate record, we decided to “settle” on a title that we know for sure for him; that he is most definitely “one of the oldest inspectors” in an area that covers 16 counties in Virginia.
Mr. Hodges can be found at the Service Center side of TNT at his beloved garage, Lloyd Hodges Garage, Monday through Friday. And since TNT has been running Saturday morning hours, he can even be found out there many Saturdays between 8:00am and 12 noon. He has visitors and friends alike show up daily for unique car questions, inquiries for ancient parts, and even the occaisional tinker job. He knows right off where the parts are if he has them, what exactly is wrong with your vehicle if you describe it to him, and how to fix it if you bring it by. He knows just how much he can handle, and has no problem resting in his office or even the shop bench to watch our crew do what he no longer has to if he so chooses!
You can hear his wrecker start up just before 8:00am on any one of those days, ready to be pulled out of the garage to start the day. He parks it outside during the day so we can carry out inspections, oil changes, brakes, tires, alignments and other basic services. Somewhere between 4:30pm and 5:00pm, you will hear that wrecker rev up to signal the end of another day, ready to be parked inside for the evening.
Sometimes we start our TNT day a little sooner than those hours, and he lets our crazy crew move that beloved wrecker to get our day going. Sometimes, our TNT day ends a little later than that, and he waves good bye as we finish up jobs and pull that truck in to end the day for ourselves.
This month, we had an extra flurry of activity going on as we celebrate the triple certification of our TNT team: Roger Gillispie, Brent Allen, and Travis Piccioni, each one of them already a vital part of our TNT crew. Every one of them took and passed their inspection test, and Trooper Steele spent the morning at our facility training and instructing them even further in safety and hands-on vehicle experience.
We are so proud of the growth we are seeing in our team, and even more grateful for the ways that it enables us to better serve you. Our TNT team is not just a bunch of people that punch in their time every day and count down the minutes before they can go home. While every one of them loves to go home to their beautiful families at the day’s end, when they are at TNT, you can be sure that they are giving their best to make it better every day for every customer that walks through our doors. It is because of this hard work, dependability and passion that we can do what we do. If you need an oil change, brakes, tires, an alignment or an inspection, come visit us at TNT and enjoy the show you see across the street as you enjoy free coffee, WiFi and great service work from an even greater team!
