Lowest Price. Best Service. The Difference is Key
Published in Foster's Daily Democrat
On Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Key Auto Group matches donations for
wheelchair van
DOVER - Key Auto Group is pitching in to help Dover mother Liz Harding purchase
a wheelchair accessible van so she can transport her two handicapped sons
around town more easily and efficiently.
Christopher, 5, and Aaron, 6, are both physically handicapped with severe
limitations in motor skills, mobility, and communication. Both of the boys have
significant development delays.
Further, both children are wheelchair-bound and it's a daily struggle for
Harding to physically fit them and their wheelchairs into the car to transport
them to school, therapy sessions, and doctors appointment.
"Basically, my car is too small to fit my children," Harding
previously stated in a June 21 Foster's article.
Since then, a benefit barbecue/pig roast was held Aug. 18 at the Dover Elks
#184 and The Loyal Order of Moose #443 held a benefit breakfast on Sept. 9 at
its Chestnut Street location in Dover.
And now, Key Auto Group is stepping up, too ? offering to match any donations
contributed to the Liz Harding fund. Recently launched, the fund has already
received $185 in donations, which totals $370 after Key Auto Group matches that
amount.
To donate, visit Key Auto Group's Facebook page or website at keyauto.net and
click on the 'Help the Hardings' tab on the top right of the page.
Portsmouth Chevrolet, Portsmouth Used Car Superstore, Salem Ford Hyundai, and
Key Auto Center all have links on their websites as well.
The goal of the project is to raise the estimated $31,000 it will take for the
Hardings to purchase the wheelchair accessible van.
Moose #443 will also hold a meat bingo on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.
The grand finale, a dinner/dance, will also be held by the Moose on Saturday,
October 20.
Published in Foster's Daily Democrat
|
By LIZ MARKHLEVSKAYA |
PORTSMOUTH Just a few weeks after a Chevrolet dealership moves into its new
facility, prospective customers eye the vehicles showcased during the official
grand opening event Saturday.
"Chevy is my favorite make so I had to come
down here," said 25-year-old Shane Jacobson, of Seabrook, Mass., who claims the
Chevrolet Silverado is the best pickup truck on the road.
Throughout the
afternoon, bounce houses and balloons, as well as free lunch offered by The Meat
House, drew visitors to the grand opening event near the Portsmouth traffic
circle, which has hundreds of new Chevys already on display.
In front of
the newly constructed, two-story, 40,000-square-foot facility stood the new
model of Chevrolet Camaro, a black convertible ? offered $1,000 below invoice
price.
Jacobson, upon seeing the Camaro, said, "I think it's the best
car."
Rob Chidester, of Portsmouth, said the event had "one huge
turnout."
He said in the future, he hopes to buy a new vehicle, and leans
toward Chevy.
"They run good, they last, they're worth the value," said
Chidester.
Portsmouth Chevrolet has nearly 400 cars, about 300 of which
are new Chevrolets, said sales manager Curt Sylvia. The preowned cars are
available in various makes and models.
Portsmouth Chevrolet, located at
549 Route 1 Bypass, is part of the Key Auto Group, which also includes
Portsmouth Used Car Superstore, Key Auto Center in Somersworth, and Salem Ford
Hyundai in Salem, N.H.
John Viola, of Somersworth, was among a long line
of people waiting to sample lunch from The Meat House at the grand opening
event.
Viola said he already bought three vehicles from Key Auto Group in
the past, and now he wants to buy a pickup truck, possibly from Portsmouth
Chevrolet.
"I prefer Chevy," said Viola. "I have always had
Chevy."
Speaking about the Key Auto Group, Viola said, "I like the way
they treat their customers."
In addition to the new cars showcased,
multiple antique cars were displayed.
Arthur Cole, of Tewksbury, Mass.,
brought his 1975 Chevrolet Silverado, painted in the scheme of the American
flag. Cole said the car was built for shows, and only has about 9,000 miles on
it.
Cole, a disabled veteran of Vietnam, said he enjoys taking the car
out for parades, on occasions such as Memorial Day and Fourth of
July.
"It's been a good morale boost for me, with my PTSD," he said. "It
makes me feel good to have kids go out and look at it."
By Suzanne Laurent
business@seacoastonline.com
August 29, 2012 9:47 AM
Chevrolet opened last month in a new gleaming state-of-the-art, eco-friendly facility at the city's traffic circle.
"It's great to have the company here," said Brad Solomon, director of business development for the Key Auto Group.
Portsmouth Chevrolet is part of the Key Auto Group that also includes the Portsmouth Used Car Superstore, Key Auto Center in Somersworth, and Salem Ford Hyundai in Salem.
"It's a prime location for selling cars made in America, in a great city," Solomon said.
The new two-story, 40,000-square-foot facility at 549 Route 1 Bypass was built by Whitcher Builders based in Strafford. The old dealership at 2025 Woodbury Avenue in Newington will become a used car processing facility, Solomon said.
The lot holds more than
400 vehicles and all new cars are $1,000 less than the invoice price.
"We want our customers to know up front how much we are asking for the car,"
Solomon said. "The sales staff is trained to be discrete and let the customer
look around."
Solomon said the larger facility will bring new jobs to the community in both the service and sales departments. Beginning in October, the entire facility will be open for business 13 hours a day, six days a week.
"We hope to increase this to seven days a week," said service manager Walter Ferrara.
The service area has 21 bays including three re-alignment pads.
"This is a self-contained department," Ferrara said. "We use air and water lifts instead of hydraulics."
Ferrara said the
hydraulic lifts in the old facility used 210-volt batteries that ran on
electricity.
"We also recycle all of our waste materials," he said.
The building itself is heated with waste oil from the service department. The service area has radiant flooring and there are tinted windows in the showroom to keep out sun glare.
"We use a parts washer that contains micro-organisms that break down oil," Ferrara said. "It's called a smart washer."
Portsmouth Chevrolet was chosen as one of fewer than 200 dealers out of 44,000 to participate in the General Motors workbench pilot program that allows customers to go any service shop in the country and all of their information is available. A full analysis of each car sold at Portsmouth Chevrolet is electronically stored.
"We just had a customer visiting the area with a 2007 car that had a water pump failure," Ferrara said. "We were able to see by his record, that the pump had a lifetime warranty and repaired it at no cost to him."
The spacious waiting room has free Wi-Fi, two large flat-screen televisions and a children's play area.
The dealership held a grand opening celebration this past Saturday that Solomon said was a huge success.
"We had about 400 adults and 100 kids show up," he said.
Solomon said the location of the dealership is ideal for community events.
"We may poll our Facebook fans to see which charity they would like to see us hold a charity bash for in the future," he said.
AT A GLANCE
Portsmouth Chevrolet
Phone: 436-5010
Address: 549 Route 1 Bypass, at the Portsmouth traffic circle
Web: portsmouthchevrolet.com
PORTSMOUTH "You can't let life keep you from living" is the motto Erica Kinney lives by, and it shines through her bright personality, determination and positivity.
When she was 11 years old, the Portsmouth resident, who is 32 years old today, was diagnosed with bone cancer. Fourteen years later, after having a bone transplant and subsequent knee replacement, and battling reccurring infections, her leg was amputated.
Osteogenic sarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer among children, adolescents and young adults. The disease usually occurs in the long bones in arms or legs. The cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body, most commonly the lungs. Symptoms vary, but can include pain, swelling and/or redness at the site of the tumor. Treatment can include surgery, amputation, chemotherapy and more.
Fighting the disease: For the past 15 years, Erica Kinney and her mother, Sandy Berkenbush, have organized Cruise for a Cure, a dinner cruise on the Prince of Whales in Newburyport, Mass. It's raised more than $200,000 to support the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Cancer Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. A date for this year's cruise has not yet been set, but updates can be followed at www.sandyberkenbush.com.
"You have to make sure you have the things that make you happy and put forth the effort to have a quality life and keep living," said Kinney, who now travels to Boston a few times a year to speak with patients going through similar experiences.
She also works in business development for Key Auto Group.
"It's important for people to know their experiences in life have made them who they are and that they shouldn't be ashamed of those experiences, but use them in a way to help others."
It was during one of her family's routine Sunday walks that Kinney, who grew up on the North Shore of Massachusetts, told her mother about pain in her right leg, which she described as "a toothache in my leg."
Doctors found a crack stretching up the 11-year-old's tibia toward her knee, and she was subsequently diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma ? a form of bone cancer. The disease is the most common type of bone cancer among children, adolescents and young adults, and usually occurs in long bones like the femur or tibia.
The cancer cells can metastasize to other areas of the body, most commonly the lungs, but Kinney said hers was caught early and had not spread. At the time, she underwent an experimental protocol that led to 22 rounds of chemotherapy and the bone transplant. She was chosen for the treatment randomly by a computer, and though she wasn't pleased with the decision being made for her as a child, Kinney said she'd have made the same decision as an adult.
On Feb. 7, 1991, Kinney underwent the transplant, receiving the bone of an 18-year-old who died in a car accident. The bone was sent from a Jacksonville, Fla., bone bank.
Two weeks later, Kinney was the maid of honor in her grandparents' wedding, with a pink cast to match her dress.
The anniversary of Kinney's remission, and the last day of her chemotherapy treatments, is St. Patrick's Day 1992. Though she undergoes routine checkups, the risk of Kinney's cancer returning was highest for about a year after her treatments were finished.
But the cancer hasn't been Kinney's only challenge. Years after she went into remission, in 1999, Kinney had a knee replacement after cartilage wore away and bone fragments were breaking. The following summer, the then 21-year-old, who loves to travel, backpacked through Europe.
It was two weeks before her graduation from Johnson & Wales University in North Carolina that Kinney developed a staph infection in her donor bone. For two years, she fought it with antibiotics before convincing her family and doctor that amputation was the better treatment.
"I wasn't going to live my life on antibiotics," she said. "I felt that my leg was only holding me back, and I wasn't going to live a long and healthy life with it. I wanted to be free to live my life and not be confined or defined by an illness."
Before her amputation, at the age of 25, Kinney met with two amputees who shared their stories and answered her questions.
"It was great to see that example, that life could go on and be normal," said Kinney, who was back up and moving quickly following the operation. She traveled to Switzerland, where she was agile enough to ski.
"I'd already taught myself to walk two or three times, so physical therapy wasn't anything new to me, nor was adapting to physical limitations," she said.
Now, Kinney travels to Boston once or twice a year to visit with patients, the majority of whom have bone cancer and are facing a bone transplant, amputation or other procedure. She's connected with the patients through her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Marc Gebhardt.
"I have such a positive attitude toward life; I'm not negative and I am frank with my answers," she said.
Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Kinney met with an 18-year-old Brigham and Women's Hospital patient whose leg was amputated because of an injury that occurred during the disaster and an infection that followed. Recently, she met with an introverted 9-year-old girl from the island country Grenada, who was diagnosed with bone cancer and beginning treatments. After speaking, Kinney said the girl was asking questions like whether her prosthetics were comfortable and what happened to Kinney's leg after her amputation ? it was cremated.
Kinney encourages children to ask questions and be honest in their answers to their parents and doctors. For parents, she advises that they remember, though their children are sick, they are still children and it's important to teach them everyday lessons and give them everyday experiences.
"It gives them the opportunity to ask all the questions that are in the back of their mind," Kinney said. "Obviously, I'm lucky enough to still be here to do it, and I'm grateful for the opportunity. It really helps to make an informed decision when you are able to speak with someone who's been through it and you have the 20/20 perspective."
PORTSMOUTH ? Employees at the Portsmouth Used Car Superstore are rewarding customers who are in a giving mood with discount service rates.
The local dealership and service center is currently offering service discounts for people who donate to Toys for Tots. The program lasts until Dec. 15 and offers customers an oil change for $9.99 after they donate a toy.
Brad Solomon, an employee at the store, said the decision to take part in the holiday charity was made after reading about the higher than normal demand Toys for Tots has experienced this year due to the economic downturn.
"Since we are an auto dealership with a service department and a large sign out front, we figured we could certainly make an impact in this department," Solomon said.
Solomon said his fellow employees have also contributed toy donations.
He said the goal is to collect enough toys to fill three separate vehicles that will be dropped off to the charity on Dec. 16.
"Even if they do not want to purchase an oil change, they are still more than welcome to bring in a toy for the drive," Solomon said.
