In May of 2009, then-Mobile branch manager Will Bruser, now Truckworx President and CEO, finally convinced Chad Rodgers to join the company’s team in Mobile after years of recruiting the South Alabama native.
The hire of Rodgers, the current parts manager in Mobile, is one he has come to be even more sure of now than he was then.
“I knew Chad was a big-time hire for us when I brought him on 13 years ago,” Bruser said. “In his time here, he has grown into a leader who our other employees can look up to. He is someone who truly has a heart for people and makes sure our customers are taken care of every time they walk through the door.”
Chad served as the store manager at TruckPro in the aftermarket parts industry for 10 years prior to becoming a member of the Truckworx family, a move he does not look back on with regret.
“Working here has shown me that you can love what you do and still get paid while doing it,” Rodgers said. “Being part of Truckworx has really forced me to truly understand how to lead by serving other people.”
When Chad started, he says the Mobile dealership had definite room for growth and improvement, and helping the team develop the location to its full potential has been one of his biggest accomplishments.
“Over the years, the team has had the opportunity to grow the Mobile dealership into a powerhouse on the Gulf Coast,” Chad said. “That was a huge project, as well as a task that now allows us to enjoy the fruits of our labor a little while still striving to make this location the best it can be.”
Chad describes his leadership style as, “Being harder on himself than others,” and leading by example helps him keep others as the focus of the day-to-day operations of the parts department in Mobile. Overall, he says his role is to care for the customers and the employees themselves.
That leadership style, in turn, has also been shaped by the Truckworx culture. Chad said, “Truckworx has really invested in me on many different levels. The leadership team has put me through training classes and lots of leadership courses.”
In fact, Chad is currently enrolled in the NADA ATD American Truck Dealers Academy. This prestigious, year-long training course prepares current and future truck dealership leaders to improve each department’s profitability while examining how new technology and innovations are reshaping the industry. Throughout the course, participants have six one-week intensive training classes held in Washington D.C, with eight weeks between each for hands-on practical application throughout their dealerships.
While he appreciates the investment Truckworx has put into making him a better leader, Chad says what has meant the most to him over his 13 years at the company is the family-like atmosphere and way of thinking that surrounds Truckworx.
In March of this year, Chad experienced what he calls the most devastating event he has ever had to go through when his mother passed away.
“My mother was my biggest role model,” Chad said. “She took on the roles of both mother and father when my father moved out of our lives when I was three. She taught me the values of loving God and all his people the way that Christ loves them. She always worked hard to make sure I didn’t fall victim to the poverty-stricken neighborhood where I grew up.”
Through the pain of facing her passing, Chad says his workplace team has continually been there for him through all the pain and hardship.
“The prayers and support I received from my Truckworx family, and the leadership team in particular, was amazing,” he said. “Every morning, I look forward to doing what I do because of the support team around me. We are all always there for each other and there’s nothing else like it.”
And, just like his mother did, Chad continues to reciprocate that type of support and positive energy to his coworkers and everyone around him. He regularly attends Dr. Levy Knox’s Living Word Christian Center in Mobile and says that the teaching he listens to each week substantiates the values that he shows and practices each and every day.
Thank you, Chad, for being a bright spot to so many and for being such an invaluable part of our Truckworx team and family!