Chevrolet Dealership in California

Moniteau County, Missouri

Chevrolet Dealership in California

California Chevrolet dealership began with the partnership of Fred Andres and August Zey (Andres Motor Company) in January 1916

Chevrolet Agency sold to J. W. Pope (Pope Garage) in June 1918

E. F. Eberhart (Eberhart Chevrolet Company) Buys out Pope in January 1931

Became Tompkins Chevrolet Co. when C. T. Tompkins bought out Eberhart in January 1936

C. O. Putnam purchased the Tompkins Chevrolet Company in 1938

Putnam Chevrolet sold to Ed Morse Chevrolet in 2023

From the January 13, 1916 California Democrat:

Partners in Auto

Fred Andres is in Kansas City for a few weeks' study of automobile repairing. He and August Zey have taken the agency for the Chevrolet and they recently demonstrated here their $490 model Chevrolet. They are planning to sell cars, handle livery service and do repair work, when the auto season opens. A representative of the Chevrolet Company conferred with Mr. Zey here Friday.

From the February 3, 1916 California Democrat:

Home From Auto School

Fred Andres has returned from Kansas City where he has been studying the mechanical side of the automobile business at the Chevrolet factory. Mr. Andres and Mr. August Zey have entered a partnership in the local Chevrolet agency and will also conduct auto livery service. Mr. Andres time in Kansas City is calculated to fully understand the many excellent features of the Chevrolet.

From the February 10, 1916 Moniteau County Herald:

Fred Andres who has been attending an auto school at Kansas City, has returned home. He and August Zey have taken the agency for the Chevrolet car which is being introduced into this section for the first time.

A Chevrolet ad in the March 2, 1916 California Democrat

From the March 8, 1917 California Democrat:

Fred Andres went to Kansas City Wednesday where he will drive a new Chevrolet back. Mr. Andres has established a repair shop and office in the room above J. W. Pope's harness shop where he will locate temporarily.

From the March 15, 1917 California Democrat:

A New Garage

Fred Andres has rented the Seyyfert building north of the Farmers and Traders Bank and will open up a Chevrolet garage. Mr. Andres and Oscar Yoest returned Thursday of last week from Kansas City driving two Chevrolets there.

From the June 6, 1918 California Democrat:

California Business Changes

During the past week several business changes were made. Fred Andres sold his Chevrolet Agency and garage to J. W. Pope who will conduct the business along with his harness shop.

A Chevrolet ad in the June 27, 1918 California Democrat

From the July 25, 1918 California Democrat:

Secured Grant Agency

J. W. Pope received the agency for the Grant automobile. He retains his Chevrolet Agency and signed up a new contract for 100 Chevrolets during the coming year. Mr. Pope and August Zey went to Kansas City and returned with two Grant six touring cars. Mr. Pope and Thos. P. Carpenter leave today for St. Louis where they will drive back two Chevrolets.

From the August 15, 1918 California Democrat:

New Gasoline Station

J. W. Pope is installing a new gasoline station in the front of his establishment. He has the agency for the Chevrolet and Grant automobiles.

A Chevrolet ad in the December 19, 1918 California Democrat

A Chevrolet ad in the January 29, 1920 Moniteau County Herald

From the August 16, 1923 Moniteau County Herald:

New Chevrolet Sign

J. W. Pope has put up a new electric sign in front of his shop that spells Chevrolet.

From the September 10, 1925 Moniteau County Herald:

J. W. POPE TO ERECT NEW BUSINESS HOUSE SOON

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Exchanges with George Wagner for Vacant Lot South of Williams Store

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J. W. Pope and G. A. Wagner have made a trade by which Mr. Wagner becomes owner of the Harness and Automobile Store of J. W. Pope and Mr. Pope of the vacant lot just south of Williams Furniture store. Mr. Wagner will move his butcher shop to the building occupied by Mr. Pope and Mr. Pope will erect a building for his combination harness and shop business and his Chevrolet cars. He already has a garage building back of the site and the building he is to erect will make the convenience just what he wants.

From the January 30, 1936 California Democrat:

Heidbreder Sells to C. T. Tompkins

Eldon Man to Operate Local Chevrolet Agency at New Location -- Change Already Made

C. T. Tompkins of Eldon has purchased the equipment of W. G. Heidbreder and leased Mr. Heidbreder's garage building north of the intersection of highways 50 and 87 for the purpose of operating the local Chevrolet agency which has been conducted for several years by Earl Eberhart.

Mr. Tompkins will operate under the name of the Tompkins Chevrolet Company. He had been in the Chevrolet business at Eldon for about ten years, turning his business there over to his son, Harry, when he took over the agency here.

Mr. Tompkins already has cars on the floor at his new location here. He will make some changes in the arrangement of the garage, secure some new equipment and provide it with a full Chevrolet sales and service setup.

Mr. Tompkins has rented the James Shull property formerly occupied by G. E. Weaver and family and he and Mrs. Tompkins will move there within the next week or ten days.

Mr. Heidbreder who since 1919 has operated a garage at the location leased to Mr. Tompkins said yesterday he had no plans for the future. He built the building there in 1922, tearing away an old structure. For a number of years he had the local agency for Willys-Knight and Whipper automobiles. He has served as president of the school board, member of the city council, member of the California Special Bond District commission, chairman of his church council and in other capacities outside of his business. His many friends regret to lose him from among the business men of the city and wish him well at whatever enterprise he may engage in the future.

Mr. Eberhart will continue in business at his present location where he has operated the past five years. He will sell Dodge and Plymouth and Pontiac and Oldsmobile cars, the agencies for which he has had for some time. The Dodge he has sold the past 6 years. He will operate under the name of Eberhart Motor Sales.

He will also continue in the general garage repair business as in the past.

From the November 3, 1938 California Democrat:

Putnams Buy The Tompkins Agency

Jamestown Man and Associates Add Third Agency to Their Chevrolet Business

C. O. Putnam, owner of Putnam's Motor Service at Jamestown, and his brother, J. O. Putnam of Warsaw, have purchased the Tompkins Chevrolet company of California and will take over the establishment Monday, continuing to operate it as a Chevrolet agency and garage.

This will make three Chevrolet agencies owned by C. O. Putnam and his associates, the third being the Putnam-Gabert Chevrolet concern at Tipton.

The business in Calfiornia will be operated under the name of Putnam's Chevrolet. J. O. Putnam will spend considerable time at the California agency. Employees of Mr. Tompkins, including Roland Purifoy, manager and Roe Boggs, mechanic, will be retained by the new owners.

The Tompkins concern, which operates the Chevrolet agency in Eldon, had been in business here since the first of Januaray, 1936.

C. O. Putnam has been in the garage business at Jamestown since 1924 and has handled Chevrolets there since 1927. A little over a year ago he and Paul Gabert purches the Tipton agency of which Paul is manager. Mr. Putnam owned and operated the light plant at Jamestown several years, selling out a year or two ago to a power company. He built a modern garage and show room in Jamestown in 1929.

"Through the purchase of the California agency we hope to be able to give even better service on our automobiles than heretofore," Mr. Putnam says. "Each of the establishments will operate under a separate contract with Chevrolet but our ? service will be available at any of the three places."

From the August 23, 1945 California Democrat:

Putnam Building On Highway 50

To Operate Chevrolet Agency and Garage at Location Across From Light Plant

C. O. Putnam of Jamestown, one of Moniteau County's leading businessmen, this week started construction on a garage and automobile agency building at the service station property on highway 50 which he purchased from J. M. Shull several months ago.

The new building, which will be directly across the highway from the Municipal Light Plant, will have a 100-foot front on the highway with a depth of 70 feet. It's south wall will be on a line with the south wall of the service station building which already is on the lot. The service station canopy, which will be left as it is, will extend in front of the building. The service station as a whole will become a part of the new building and will be left about as it is except that a portion of the east wall will be torn out so that its southeast corner may become a part of the automobile display room.

The garage shop will extend to which will be a 1-story structure, will be of brick and glass and the east and west walls will be of brick. The north wall will be of cement blocks.

Mr. Putnam, in preparing to build and open a business in California, gave consideration in the matter of sufficient space for the parking of automobiles and finally selected the location on highway 50, where he has 300 feet frontage, partly for that reason.

Mr. Putnam went into the garage business in Jamestown in 1924 and in 1926 took the agency there for Chevrolet automobiles. He owned and operated in his garage the electric light plant at Jamestown, selling this part of the business to the Missouri Power and Light Company several years ago. Eight years ago he and Paul Gabert acquired the Chevrolet agency at Tipton which they continue to operate. Mr. Gabert is building a new building for the business at Tipton as his own property but Mr. Putnam continues as owner of one-half interest in the agency there.

The Putnam Chevrolet agency in California, which was operated by Joe Putnam who closed the business and went to work for the government shortly after the entrance of the United States into the war, was owned principally by C. O. Putnam. Joe does not plan to return to the automobile agency business but rather to remain at his government job.

C. O. Putnam has been president of the school board at Jamestown a number of years, including the period during which Jamestown's new school building was erected. He has served as chairman of the town board. Mr. Putnam said Wednesday he had no definite announcement to make concerning the future of his business in Jamestown except that it will continue to operate. He and Mrs. Putnam and their son, Donnie, who is a high school pupil, plan to move to California, though it may be sometime before all arrangements can be worked out. The Putnams have a modern home in Jamestown, built 10 years ago.

Clayton Holt, son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Putnam, will be associated with him in the business here. Mr. Holt has been employed the last five years in a bomber plant at Baltimore, Md., where he and Mrs. Holt have been living. He returned here recently to await his call for induction.

From the 1980 History of Moniteau County:

As C. O. Putnam prepares for the showing of new 1981 model cars at Putnam Chevrolet Pontiac Co., his thoughts go back to 1923, his first year as a car dealer. Fifty-seven years - over half a century - does not seem that long, but a lot has happened in that time. He established dealerships in three towns, and constructed three buildings for their operation. Dirt roads gave way to gravel and then to hard surfaces. A world war took cars off the market and brought rationing, and then a post war boom took the automobile to a prominence only dreamed of in 1923.

C. O. as he is known by his friends and customers, opened his first dealership in Jamestown, MO, in April, 1923. It was located in a small sheet-iron building from which he sold and serviced Model T Fords. In 1929, he obtained a Chevrolet franchise. The following year he built his first building, which is still used as a garage in Jamestown.

In 1937 he and Paul Gabert purchased the Chevrolet agency in Tipton, MO, and Paul managed this operation. Then in 1939 C. O. acquired Tompkins Chevrolet Co., in California, the business at that time located where Rackers Manufacturing is now.

Things were going well until World War II broke out and our country went to war. As cars were taken off the market, there was nothing to do but retreat and wait it out. The California agency was closed, the tools were taken to Jamestown, and C. O. did service work to keep the cars running through that time of shortages. After the war ended, the present building on Highway 50 in California was constructed. C. O. moved to California to manage the agency. He continued his association with the Jamestown garage for a number of years through a partnership with Tom Geiger, but ultimately sold his interest in that business to concentrate on the growing dealership in California. In 1965 the Pontiac franchise was added. Paul Gabert continued to operate the Tipton agency until he retired in 1967, at which time it was sold.

C. O. is still [in 1980] active in the business at California. In 1979 he was selected by Chevrolet as one of several dealers nationwide to appear in a promotional film tracing the history of Chevrolet Motor Division. The film, narrated by Lorne Green, ends with C. O. describing his pride in being a Chevrolet dealer and the work of providing quality automotive service to his community.

A dream came true when Don Putnam, after 27 years in the aerospace industry, joined his father as general manager of Putnam Chevrolet Pontiac in 1979. Third generation Dave Putnam, a freshman at University of Missouri-Columbia, has already expressed his determination to become part of the business. Thus it appears that there will be a Putnam in charge at Putnam Chevrolet-Pontiac Co. for the foreseeable future to continue the tradition established by C. O. and currently used as the company slogan - "Providing service to its Customers for over 50 years."

On the Putnam Chevrolet website it states:

Putnam Chevrolet Pontiac has been in business in Moniteau County since 1928. We are a local, family-owned dealership. Current owner, Bill Campbell, purchased Putnam Chevrolet-Pontiac from Donald Putnam in 1983.

From the February 8, 2023 California Democrat:

Putnam Chevrolet celebrating its 100th year in business

Clarence O. "C.O." Putnam was a visionary, seeking to build a business through an agreement with a vehicle manufacturing company that was little more than a decade old. What emerged from his efforts was a Chevrolet dealership that has now reached the ripe age of 100 years old, making it one of the oldest dealerships operating in the state of Missouri.

Born in 1897 in Cooper County, C.O. Putnam's father died as a young man; he and his three siblings were then raised by their mother near Jamestown in Moniteau County. Graduating from the local high school, C.O. was working on a farm near the community of Lupus when World War I mandated his service to the nation.

Military records indicate the 21-year-old was inducted into the U.S. Navy in St. Louis on July 13, 1918, and received his initial training in Great Lakes, Illinois. From there, he was sent to Norfolk, Virginia, prior to his brief assignment aboard the USS Wisconsin, a training ship moored at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was during his assignment aboard this vessel that Putnam learned the duties of a fireman third class.

However, the war came to an end less than two weeks after he was assigned to the USS Wisconsin and, by Jan. 23, 1919, he was on a passenger train and headed back home to Moniteau County.

"After he returned (from the military), we were married in September 1919," wrote his wife, the former Mildred Hoback, in a short biography for the "Moniteau County, Missouri Family History Book" printed in 1980. The two had met while attending high school together, she further explained.

Mildred said, "We settled down to be farmers, but fate changed our lifestyle. C.O. broke his arm in such a way that he was left handicapped. We went into automobile service in Jamestown ... in 1923," she added.

Known at the time as Putnam Motor Service, it was not until 1928 that C.O. Putnam secured a dealership with Chevrolet. He operated this business successfully for many years before entering a business relationship with another former farmer to purchase the Chevrolet dealership in Tipton, aptly naming it the Putnam-Gabert Chevrolet Company.

"TO THE PUBLIC," read the headline of an article in the Tipton Times on Oct. 22, 1937. "Having purchased the Motor-Inn Garage and having been appointed Chevrolet dealers for this territory, we will be pleased to welcome old as well as new patrons."

Years later, an article printed in the Tipton Times on Sept. 5, 1958, noted of the Tipton dealership, "Mr. Putnam and Mr. (Paul) Gabert started operating the business on Oct. 18, 1937, as a partnership with Mr. Gabert as manager."

The newspaper added, "Mr. Gabert, Clarence Putnam and Joe Putnam (C.O.s younger brother) in partnership purchased the Chevrolet agency (Tompkins Chevrolet) in California in 1939."

By the mid-1940s, there were three dealerships carrying the Putnam name in whole or in part: Putnam-Gabert Chevrolet Company in Tipton, Putnam-Geiger Chevrolet Company in Jamestown and Putnam Chevrolet in California.

Putnam's success came in part by recognizing the sales successes of his employees. He hired Karl Herfurth at his dealership in 1931 and, by 1939, he had sold 100 automobiles. This achievement earned Herfurth the award of a $115 Hamilton watch in 1939.

In 1945, a modern brick dealership building was constructed on what was then U.S. Highway 50 in California. As the years came and went, C.O. Putnam's previous partnerships dissolved until such a time as he only retained the dealership in California.

"Our two children, Norma and Don, graduated from Jamestown High School and University of Missouri," wrote Mildred Putnam in 1980. "Norma died in in 1961, age 41. Don has worked 27 years for Sperry Gyroscope and General Dynamics. Don, his wife, Fran, and two children are now living in California ... where he is general manager of Putnam Chevrolet."

Don Putnam, who had served as a junior officer with the U.S. Army in the Korean War, later worked for companies that supported the early Mercury and Apollo missions. In 1980, while on leave from General Dynamics, he took over his father's Chevrolet dealership and ran the company for the next three years.

"I began working for C.O. Putnam as a technician in 1977 and became parts manager under Don Putnam in 1981," said Bill Campbell, current owner of Putnam Chevrolet. "In 1983, I became service manager and then from 1983 to 2018, Don Putnam and I were partners in the company."

With the rerouting of U.S. Highway 50 south of California, the decision was made to relocate the dealership along the northwest junction of state Highway 87 and the new U.S. Highway 50 in 2014. In 2018, Bill Campbell assumed primary ownership of Putnam Chevrolet while his son-in-law, Adam Weber, became a minority partner.

"Adam's great-grandfather Earl Eberhardt owned Eberhardt Chevrolet in California during the same time that C.O. Putnam had his dealership in Jamestown," Campbell said. "What very interesting historical connections!"

The company's namesake, C.O. Putnam, was 85 years old when he died in 1982; he is interred in the California Masonic Cemetery. His son, Donald, died in 2020 and is buried in the Columbia Cemetery.

The legacy of Putnam Chevrolet has now entered the century mark, which Bill Campbell notes is an impressive milestone for an automobile dealership.

"Around the state, dealerships have been bought and sold, have come and gone, and lost the identity of their founders," Campbell said. "But here at Putnam Chevrolet, we have been able to maintain the company for 100 years.

"It has been a privilege to support the automotive needs of our customers throughout the years and to carry forth the vision of our founder, C.O. Putnam."

Jeremy P. Ämick is an author/historian and recently penned the book "Hidden History of Cole County."

From the February 15, 2023 California Democrat:

Putnam Chevrolet Sold

Florida dealer group buys century-old dealership

A Moniteau County staple has been sold after a century of local ownership.

The Ed Morse Automotive Group of Delray Beach, Florida, bought Putnam Chevrolet Feb. 6. Bill Campbell, previous owner of the business who will still be managing the dealership, said he expects very little to change. However, the century-old Putnam name will be one of the few things to go with the new owners.

Putnam Chevrolet will become Ed Morse Chevrolet North, Campbell said.

Campbell said the process of selling the dealership started around September, when Ed Morse Automotive Group contacted him about purchasing the business. According to its website, Ed Morse also owns dealerships in Rolla, Lebanon and Saint Robert. In addition to Missouri and its home state of Florida, the dealer group also owns locations in Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas. The group owns a hotel, auto parts retail store and 240,000-square-foot parts facility to service the wide variety of brands sold at its various dealerships. Campbell said Ed Morse Automotive Group sells "every brand except Kia," including domestic and foreign cars and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

The decision to sell the dealership was based on what was best for the employees, Campbell said.

"I'm 67 years old and I didn't want them to back the black sedan, or the black station wagon, up to the front door and load me up and take me to Windmill Ridge (Funeral Service)," he said, chuckling. "So I figured that I better try to have them plan for all the employees. The Ed Morse group is an employee-friendly (firm). ... They're just letting everybody that is working here just keep on working."

Campbell said image compliance was a goal when Putnam Chevrolet built its current location on the northwest side of the U.S. Highway 50 and Missouri Highway 87 intersection, which made it easier to sell.

"The goal when we built (this location) was so it would be image compliant so General Motors (manufacturer of Chevrolet) would let us sell it to somebody else, because sometimes when there are older buildings they won't let you sell them," he said.

Campbell said service will improve since Ed Morse Automotive Group has more resources to support staff working at the California location.

"(Service is) just going to get better," he said. "They've got a lot more technology, and because there's more of them, they can help support all the employees here better."

The transition ends a century of the Putnam name in Moniteau County's automotive industry. According to a recent story detailing the company's history, C.O. Putnam founded Putnam Motor Service in 1923 in Jamestown after suffering an incident that left him handicapped. In 1928, Putnam Motor Service started selling Chevrolet vehicles. The business would expand to have locations in Jamestown, Tipton and California, but only the California location would survive. Campbell started out as a service technician in 1977, eventually climbing the ladder to manager before becoming a partner with Don Putnam, son of C.O. Putnam.

Despite more than four decades of service to Putnam Chevrolet, Campbell said the sale wasn't hard at all.

"I'm happy because they'll let me stay as long as I want, and I started to work here as a technician," he said. "In the perfect world I'll keep working on cars."

From the May 3, 2023 California Democrat:

VanLoo returns to head Ed Morse Chevrolet

Former Putnam Chevrolet tapped for dealership GM

A decade after leaving his job with Putnam Chevrolet, a California man has returned to lead the dealership in a new chapter.

Much has changed since Derek VanLoo left Putnam Chevrolet in 2012 to accept a role with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). A decade later he is returning to assume the general manager role at the newly-renamed Ed Morse Chevrolet, which is in a new location with a new owner, to help grow the business.

As general manager, VanLoo said he's essentially running the store and overseeing its three departments -- sales, service and parts -- while ensuring customers are happy.

"As long as the customers we service are happy, they're going to continue to come back," he said. "And so that's probably my No. 1 responsibility, is keeping customers happy."

VanLoo's experience in the car business can be traced back to 1997, when he worked as a loan officer at Boone County National Bank in Columbia. He went from being on one side of a fax machine, where he approved automotive loans, to the other in 1998 when he joined Bill Roberts Chevrolet in Bolivar as a finance and insurance manager. Three years later, VanLoo said he moved to California and started working at Putnam.

During his first tenure at Putnam, VanLoo said he worked in fleet sales and retail sales before becoming a fleet sales manager. His experience in fleet sales eventually led to a job with MoDOT, where he was on the other side of the table as a purchaser.

VanLoo returned to the dealer side after Bill Campbell, former owner of Putnam Chevrolet, sold the dealership to the Ed Morse Automotive Group of Delray Beach, Florida. In that time, the dealership moved from its former location at 500 W. Buchanan St., to its new location northwest of the U.S. 50-Missouri 87 interchange in 2014.

"A lot of things have changed over 10 years, so nothing's quite the same that it used to be 10 years ago," VanLoo said. "It's all good changes, it's just a matter of, I'm trying to develop into my new role as a general manager but I'm also trying to get my feet back under me of the things that I may have forgotten over the last 10 years or the process has changed."

Before returning Feb. 27, VanLoo said he spent time getting to know new staff members. Along with the new owner and new staff comes technology upgrades, which he said other Ed Morse Automotive Group managers have touted as driving additional traffic to their stores.

"... I've been working with a couple of the other stores that have been bought out by Ed Morse ... and listening to them about the new technology and how this new software does this and this new software does that and the amount of business that it brings to the dealership, those are the kinds of things that really excite me," VanLoo said.

For instance, he said, the automotive market has transitioned to being more internet-based. Most customers have already seen the vehicle they're interested in before ever stepping foot on the dealer lot. For him, the changes -- from how people buy vehicles to the advancements in the vehicles themselves -- are a big reason why he loves the automotive industry.

"I've always loved the car business. And there's something about the car business that gets your adrenaline going and finding that new challenge and knowing that I was going back into a business that I loved, just (in) a different role," he said. "It's quite different now being the manager of the store as opposed to just selling vehicles, but I look forward to that challenge. And I know that it's a challenge that's going to be here every day. So when I get up in the morning, I look forward to coming to work and I want to see what's new, because every day in the car business is something different."

Looking forward, VanLoo said he'd like to see the dealership live up to the huge potential he envisions.

"I certainly want to grow the business. I think that we have a huge potential to grow in all three departments -- sales, service and parts," he said. "I think it's going to be a slow movement forward to see the growth that I envision, but I certainly see the potential there and I know it's capable."

VanLoo said he wants to grow the dealership's staff in order to see Ed Morse Chevrolet "blossom" in California. One aspect that will help with growing the business, and help him in his new role, is support from the new owner.

"Even though they're out of state, out of Delray (Beach), Florida, we connect with them almost on a daily basis through (Microsoft) Teams (a business communication platform), they're always available by phone call and email, and the support that we're getting from ... the Ed Morse group, it's incredible," VanLoo said. "Whether you're calling about an accounting question, or a sales issue, or a service issue, they're always willing to help and they've got a huge staff to do it with."

Despite being back in the car business, VanLoo said he's most excited about working in California again.

"Even though I live here in Moniteau County and close by to town, you still feel a little bit disconnected from what's going on in town," he said. "Now that I'm a manager of the store and I'm in town every day, when I go out to eat lunch I see people, and it's just mingling back in the community that I'm most excited about. ... That was probably one of the biggest reasons I took the job, was to just be back in the community."

VanLoo said the Ed Morse Automotive Group will give back to the California community. One of the reasons they hired him, he said, was because of his familiarity in the community.

"I think you're going to see that in the coming months in regard to support at the school and whenever the fair kicks off, and things of that nature," VanLoo said. "You're going to see Ed Morse and how they do support the community, because they tend to do that in every community they're in."

VanLoo is not only thankful for the support from the Ed Morse Automotive Group, but also the support from Campbell, Putnam's former owner. While Campbell has stepped back from the dealership after the sale, VanLoo said, he continues to provide support at the business he managed for decades.

"Over the years, I'm thankful that Bill has taught me what he has taught me, and knowing that he continues to kinda tutor me, to some degree, that's been helpful," VanLoo said. "Those are things that I really enjoy about the job, knowing that he didn't just hand me the key and walk out the door."

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