“It’s a great day to have a great day,” might be the first thing you hear when meeting Chris Ford, new service director at Nalley Honda, in Brunswick.
Ford is a positive person and he wants that positivity to radiate throughout the Nalley Service Department, which he realizes hasn’t always been the case.
“Give us a new opportunity,” he said. “We’ve brought in better technicians and advisors who enjoy coming to work and doing what they do.”
Ford considers himself a coach and leader rather than a boss, and is confident in his ability to take a team and make them better.
“Once you change the culture, everything falls in line,” he said.
Ford has more than 20 years experience in the automotive service industry, but he is brand new to the Nalley Automotive Group.
Ford took a circuitous route to get to where he is now. After spending eight years as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, he went into law enforcement and worked five years as a police officer working as a patrolman.
“While I was a patrol officer, I moonlighted as an automotive technician to make ends meet,” he said. “In 2003, I was hurt in the line of duty and was unable to return to the department as a patrol officer.”
Ford says he was offered other positions within the department after recovering from his injury, but since he was a road officer at heart, nothing made him happier than being on patrol.
That’s when the decision to work full-time in the automotive industry was made.
“I worked my way up from being a technician to a service advisor to a service director,” he said. “This is all in about a 12-year period.
Ford was a service manager for eight years at the second-largest Honda dealership in the country, where he had 18 service advisors and 62 technicians, plus support staff.
“I have wanted to work with the Nalley group for a while, and when this opportunity became available, I told my family, ‘we are moving to the coast,’” he said.
At the all-new Nalley Honda of Brunswick, he said, “We really are dedicated more than ever to taking care of our guests and treating them like the family they are.”
In addition to all the other improvements, the Nalley Honda Service Department now services all vehicle makes and models.
“Loving the brand so much, I don’t know why you would want anything other than a Honda, but for those who do, we will service your cars and trucks also,” Ford said.
When he’s not working building high-performance service teams, Ford can be found doing volunteer work with the local Masonic lodge or shrine.
“Being a Freemason and Shriner opened my eyes to just what it means to give back to the community, and I incorporate those values in my everyday life, and my professional life,” he said.
Ford is also a family guy, and he enjoys spending the weekends with his wife, Joy, a pharmacy technician, and middle-school-age daughter, Karissa.
“We usually like to load up in our beloved Mooney airplane and fly to the Keys and all over the Southeast to see friends and family,” he said.
The Fords hope to spend a little time at home getting acquainted with their new community.
“Being new to any area is challenging and we hope to make many friends and plant roots here for the long haul,” Ford said. “Please stop in and meet me; come by where the coffee and smiles are always free.”
That invitation is open to all.
“If you, or anyone you know, might like to join the growing team at Nalley, please call or see (me) for information,” Ford said.
To contact Nalley Honda, visit 178 Altama Connector, in Brunswick, or call 912-289-8528. Regular business hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
September 19, 2020 at 11:00AM
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It's a new day at Nalley Honda - Brunswick News
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