Thank you all.

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It’s times like these that I take 20 minutes sit down and reflect on life for myself and this business. The entire year thus far has been a roller coaster to say the least. Every day is a learning experience and every day brings new challenges and avenues I never imagined.

Stress does not begin to explain the feeling I get when it comes to owning and operating a small business. For those of you on this board who know what it is like to own a small business and be responsible to your employees you know that it can be a very tough endeavor. As an owner you are always last in line for anything. The old saying shit rolls down hill does not apply here because as an owner shit lands on your head like a laser guided bomb. No matter who’s responsible for a problem, in the end you are responsible. These are the risks one takes when entering a business venture and I for one wouldn’t change it for a moment.

However there are things that make this job worth it. A few of those things are all of you members. Everyone here. I am the kind of person that just wants to see people smile. It’s in my personality to go out of my way to make people happy. I’m not sure if anyone can relate to this but it makes me happy to make others happy. I mean this. That is the only reason I have spent this long busting my ass day in, day out. All the years thus far of late nights and exhausting deadlines only to keep on top and make sure people get taken care of. I know I can come off as “angry” or " grumpy" sometimes. There is more to that story than most realize. I have lost alot of things because of my insatiable appetite for other peoples satisfaction.

That said I stand here before all of you and say thank you for your support. Sometimes it is the only thing that keeps me going. Seeing my customers smile is a real pick me up.

I have to especially thank a few extra special individuals.

I have a few very close friends who have stood by me even when they were put second so that I could keep the doors open and keep my employees paid. These people have put up with me and stood by me through some rough shit and I honestly say that I appreciate them more than they know. I want to thank Rubicant (Matt), Zerodaze (John), evoMR (Sam), D3x (Chris), Fairgentleman Z (Jeremy aka Julie), Fastandcheap ( Dan),and last but not least GStairs (Andrea). You all have been like family to me and I appreciate all the help and friendship throughout these last couple years. I don’t know how I would have done all of this stuff without you guys.

I am truly sorry that some of you had to be put second on some of your projects that I did for you on a friend basis. I thank you for your patience and virtue with me through those times. Keeping the doors open and keeping these guys paid has not always been easy and you all have been around long enough to know that. Thank you all.

I need to thank Mike McGinnis. Mike has helped us out alot as much as I would like to think that we have helped him out. In all reality if mike were not around getting vehicles tuned would have been a big logistical nightmare.

I need to thank my guys, OF COURSE. I have the best group of guys in this area bar none. Josh and Justin (Ecoshardcore and JREX) keep the front end on lock down and take care of all of you guys that call in for parts and appointments. These are the first guys you when you walk in and are bursting with knowledge and info. Gary (DeviousTSi) is my right hand man. End of story. There is no one I trust more in the shop. I know that I can leave him alone and he will get the job done well and bypass my expectations everytime. I am proud to say that he works here. Gary is a very gifted technician who cares about what he is doing and that is hard to come by. Chris (Pitlord) amazes me more and more every day. Veteran of the UB Formula SAE, chris brings a very different view and approach to the shop that we all appreciate. He is an amazingly quick learner and impresses me more and more every single day. I couldn’t do any of this without them. In all honesty it’s not even fair for me to say that I couldn’t do this without them. This place would not exist if it were not for their hard work and dedication.

I need to thank Lee and Mike Thorpe (Freek) as they are no longer with us. Lee has left Hybrid Connection to take a break. He stated he was burned out and wanted to be a Car hobbyist again. Sometimes I can’t blame him it is hard to work on everyone elses stuff and never your own. We let Mike go unfortunately but he was an excellent asset and addition to this Motley Crue…If we were the A team, he would have been Mr. T :stuck_out_tongue: We all love both of them and they are still family.

Simply put I have the best, most knowledgable crew in all of WNY and the Rochester area. They are loyal and hard working and that is all I could ever ask for.

Well with all the insight and pouring out of my heart here I am a little drained. I just feel the need to thank everyone every so often as I have learned to never take anything for granted. I consider everyone who walks through my doors a friend and I hope to be able to serve everyone of you with the utmost respect and best service possible for many, many years to come.

Thank you WNY for all of your support and smiles it makes more of a difference than you all know. :slight_smile: If you are in the neighborhood stop in and say hi, If you need work done you know how to find us.

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:tup:

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:tup:

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miss you russ.

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I miss you too :tear:

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Don, you and your whole crew are a rarity in the automotive buisness. The bottom line has always been customer satisfaction rather than the almighty dollar.

I learned this the first time i brought my car to you guys. Not only did you work more hours than I paid you for to make sure the job was done right, but you also welcomed me into your family. I respect all of you, for being a great bunch of guys. And i appreciate you letting me live out my dreams through your eyes.

I hope you experience the success you all have been working so hard for. :tup:

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:hug:

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i remember talking to you years ago when BRTNrider wanted to take a look at you old 2g camaro… and you were talking about opening up your own shop. i think you were 21 then… i didn’t believe anyone could do it at that age, even with your ASE baller master tech status and being at the top of your classes.

holy shit, you did - and every time you say something on here, i know there’s a lot of integrity and logic that backs up what you say. but more importantly, i think myself and a lot of other people know that even behind that - we know you genuinely care. i feel honored to have a shop like yours sponsoring our forum… hell, we don’t even have a forum down here that matches this. and i’ve yet to know of a shop anywhere else that has such talent, dedication - and lack of negative feedback - as yours does, with high-performance applications and on-site fabrication.

:tup:

i have a lot of respect for you and your Crue. :slight_smile:

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Everytime I see you I wonder, does he actually enjoy cars, and working on them? Or maybe it has become the routine to suck the life out of you.

It would make me happy to see you get behind the wheel. It is the least I can return for the lift time, parking space and invaluable knowledge and help.

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:tup: I have nothing but positives to say about you guys from when I’ve been in there dealing with Dave’s car.

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You have one of the most difficult jobs in the world right now Don, but I’m sure you know that already. As you stated, with the good comes the bad. Sometimes you don’t deserve the bad but somehow it gets turned back towards you wether it be from a series of mishaps, or wrong place/wrong time, or even wrong parts from SkrappaR :frowning: . This is a part of your job/buisness wether you deserve it or not, you seem to understand that completley. That alone is a very important part of being succesful, and you handle it better than most I know ever could.

Without you guys, my car would be light years behind what it is now. I am very sad to see you and Lee apart…but I look forward to bright horizons for both of you as I will try to remain to serve you as one of your main parts guys.

I’ll never forget the time I met you and Lee at NAPA like two years ago, and we talked about your new buisness, your plans to be able to fabricate anything and so on. I had no idea how quicky you guys could accomplish that.

I feel like I didn’t do enough for you guys compared to how you went out of your way for me. No matter what it was, you were there to help.

:violin: Sorry, I’m done.

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i liek to think of myself as being on permanent vacation :wink:

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I was very impressed with the shop and grateful to be able to use the end bay to detail Freek’s Corvette. I didn’t get a chance to thank you for that, but it made my job easier and everybody was super cool. :slight_smile:

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oh theres always a hot dog and cheddar wurst on for you mike.

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I knew you were good guys when both you and lee starting digging around in my engine bay fixing some vacuum lines. I dont even think I had to ask you guys to do that. I REALLY knew you guys were awesome when we had that pants party in my pants in the hatch of my dsm. But, we an save that story for later.

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quiet…your making the others jealous :stuck_out_tongue:

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haha sorry. but, seriously, i wish you guys werent so far from mah house. id like to come in and bug you sometime.

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:tup:

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:tup:

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Glad to have helped you out and been there for you guys these past few years, it’s been some of the best times in my life… :tup: