90 Years. 90 Stories.

Tom Haynes

Tom is a former employee and Goodyear Account Executive for 42 + years.

The date was Friday, November 28th, 1980. A crisp, 12-inch snow had fallen the night before. I was admiring the beauty of the snow when it dawned on me that I had to get going. It was a 20-mile trip from Richwoods, MO. to Potosi Mo., and this would be my first day of work at the Purcell Tire retread plant in Potosi. I knew that MODOT did not yet have time to get the roads cleared, and I did not want to be late for my first day. After all they did take a chance on hiring me to work at a retread plant as we were preparing for winter. This was the time that most retreaders were laying off people and not hiring people. It took me almost an hour to travel 20 miles that morning. However, I pulled in, just in the nick of time. I punched the time clock 2 minutes early on my first day. This was the beginning of my journey with the Purcell’s and the Commercial Tire business.

Over the course of the next 6 months. I was trained to become a retreader. As it turns out, this was more of a skilled trade than just a labor-intensive job. One of the first lessons that I learned about Bob and Juanita was that they were not bashful about investing in their people. If they saw potential, they would start working with those individuals to help better themselves and their company. At that particular time, they had a hand full of stores in the Missouri , Kentucky and Southern Illinois Region with another commercial facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. During those times, each employee looked forward to the Birthday card that Juanita would send out each year. When someone in the plant had a new baby come along, Bob and Juanita would always send a small gift to remember that day.

While working in the plant, I was able to watch Bob and Juanita move into Growth Mode. It was in the mid 1980’s that they acquired Western States Tire, which was based in Phoenix, with several locations in the Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada markets. This proved to be a great move for the Purcell’s. A few years later came the acquisition of Tom’s Tire, which was based in the Springfield Illinois area. This acquisition added another 9 stores in Southern Illinois and Central Missouri. There were many more acquisitions on the horizon, D&D Tire in Reno, Phelps Tire in Seattle and Alaska, Quality Tire in the Salt Lake City area, Jacks Tire and Oil in Ogden Utah and a few more along the way.

April of 1999, I had the opportunity to accept a position with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company as a Territory Manager for the St. Louis Metro area. This is the point in my life when I realized just how iconic Bob and Juanita were in the Commercial / OTR Tire business that they were. I was able to meet and work with other larger independent tire dealers across the country. Every one of those business owners had nothing but the best to say when talking about the Purcell’s. There were such words as Integrity, Respect , and Credibility mentioned when talking about the Purcell’s. They have a great reputation in the industry.

After taking the job with Goodyear, I made several store visits with Bob and Juanita, to several of their stores. One of the things that I was impressed with was that while Bob and I would be discussing business with the Store manager and their sales teams, Juanita would be out in the shop and in the warehouses talking with each of the employees. This was her way of checking on the Health and Well Being of the employees and their families. She was genuinely concerned for each and every one of her employees. On occasion, she would skip lunch and run to a local mall and pick up some needed items for an employee or something that the store needed right away. There are numerous stories that I could mention regarding her and Bob’s kindness. Bob and Juanita are a great Team. When they came up with an idea or a vision, Bob would hit the streets selling that vision and Juanita would put it all together and make it work. They have helped jump start successful careers of so many people in this business. I for one am very grateful for them taking the chance on me on that snowy November day in 1980. Congratulations on the 90-Year Anniversary! You have positioned this company for continued growth for a least another 90 Years.

Tom Haynes
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. - Retired