HENDERSON, Ky. — On May 31, 2021 Tony Zehner retired from Henderson Chevrolet Buick GMC. A decision he described as “tough” because Zehner had been working there full-time for 50 years.
“I spend more time here than I do at home or I have over the years,” Zehner said while showing Spectrum News 1 around the auto parts inventory area at Henderson Chevrolet.
Even though Zehner retired from being the full-time parts manager, he still works part-time in the parts department at the dealership.
In 1969, Zehner was offered a part-time summer job by the owner of the dealership at that time, Don Mahurin. However, the 16-year-old told Mahurin there was an issue.
“I said, ‘I don’t have my driver’s license, yet. So I won’t be able to drive the parts truck for you for a couple weeks,’ and he said, ‘That’s fine,’ “ Zehner recalled. Instead, he washed vehicles for a couple of weeks. Then, when he had his license, Zehner went to work in the parts department.
“Back then, we had some [Chevrolet] S-10 pickups, which were kind of replaced by the Colorado and Canyon pickups, nowadays.,” Zehner explained. “Buick Regal, Buick LaCrosse nowadays was a Buick Limited 225, which parts consultants called that a deuce and a quarter.”
Back then, what fueled the dealership’s inventory also cost way less than a deuce and a quarter.
“If I can remember correctly, probably 30 to 35 cents a gallon, and they had gas wars, which brought the gasoline down to 25 or 26 cents a gallon,” Zehner said.
After graduating high school in 1971, Zehner started working full-time. Since then, the dealership has been run under five different owners. The current owner, Ron Faupal, has had the dealership for 20 years.
“And I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job because I was able to retain my job with all five of them,” Zehner joked.
He may have kept the same full-time job for 50 years, but he hasn’t always had the same role. Zehner told Spectrum News 1 some of his titles have included telephone administrator, assistant computer administrator, service manager, and body shop manager. However, his longest stint was parts manager.
“And I’m the type of manager that lead by example. I wouldn’t expect any of my employees to do anything that I wouldn’t do, and I tried to teach that way, and they are just human beings like I am,” Zehner said.
Over five decades, Zehner has hit a lot of milestones while working at the dealership, from celebrating birthdays to winning parts sales competitions. He also has kept his certificates from various trainings he attended during his career, such as completing parts management at General Motors University of Automotive Management.
“I’ve had plenty of opportunities over the years to move to different dealerships, I’ve just, I don’t know, I guess it was the people that I worked with and the customer base that we had that I took care of. When I work the counter some of them still buy parts from me today,” Zehner said. “That just kept me energized to take care of those customers.”
No longer the parts manager, in retirement Zehner now works the same amount as when he started in 1969, part-time.
Logan Patberg, who Zehner used to manage, took over as parts manager when Zehner retired.
“He’s pretty by the book,” Patberg said about Zehner. “And so you’ll learn how to do things the right way if you learn how to do things his way. That’s more-or-less what I’ve learned from him. There’s no cutting corners. You got to do it the right way.”
Zehner isn’t the only family member who has worked at the dealership. All three of his children have worked at the dealership in some capacity previously, and his wife still works at the dealership after a decade.
“I’m proud of him for his work ethics, and he cares. He has always been about his job and taking care of people,” Cindy Zehner told Spectrum News 1. “He’s been a good provider, and he still had time for the kids and me so I’m proud of him for sticking everything out because I know it’s not easy.”
Besides working part-time at Henderson Chevrolet, Zehner also works for his son’s business, golfs, and loves watching UK basketball.
“A lot of my friends, you know, they kept asking, ‘How long are you going to continue to work,’ and I said, ’As long as I enjoy it, I’m going to continue,’ but it finally came to the point where I was ready to give it up. So basically I have, other than I’m still working part time,” Zehner said.