Franklin Sussex Auto Mall Blog

On December 5th, Santa and Mrs. Claus joined forces with the United States Marine Corps to gather toys for the underprivileged children in the local community.  Franklin Sussex Auto Mall teamed up with Wanamaker Photography to bring the event to the area.  A new toy donation, valued at $10, was gratefully repaid with a beautiful, professional photo with the big guy…and this time it wasn’t Bill Snouffer!   Santa and his lovely bride pulled up to the showroom in a red 2010 Dodge Challenger with a Hemi replacing the 9 reindeer-power  motor they are used to.   The Children smiled (well, not all of them) on Santa’s lap as the wish lists were heard.  With neat and clean pictures out of the way it was time to enjoy the free BBQ.  The Auto Mall’s last one of 2009.  Then off they went to win a prize and make a christmas penguin with WSUS radio station.  Some went right for the video game wall, which Bill Snouffer had set up for the day.   And as the toy pile grew larger and larger, a bit of Holiday magic set in….it started to snow.

In Memory of  Dale Wanamaker 1945-2009    -Thanks for the snow, Mr. Wanamaker.

Each year the tri-states Jeep dealers get together and sponsor a contest through Army Sports Properties called the “Jeep Touchdown Toss.”  This year the Grand Prize Winner received a 2010 Jeep Wrangler! Entries were submitted through GoArmySports.com, and contestants were randomly selected for a total of ten (10) Semi Finalists and  Five (5) Finalists.  The football toss challenges tookplace during halftime of pre-selected West Point games.  This year the lucky winner was Lieutenant Colonel David Ell! Franklin Sussex Auto Mall had the honor and privledge of being the presenting dealership.  He selected a beautiful deep water blue pearl Wrangler, and the whole Ell’s family made the trip from West Point to pick it up.  They also saw first hand just how unique our dealership is!  Free BBQ, military vehicle display, and our HUGE Operation Gratitude donation collection.  We completely filled a 2010 Dodge Ram inside and out, plus covered the floor around it!   Lt. Col. Ell has proudly served in Iraq and Afghanastan, and what a great feeling it was for him to tell us how he received Operation Gratitude packages while overseas! Lt. Col. Ell said he can relate to how the Operation Gratitude program helps to lift soldiers’ spirits while they’re away from home and their loved ones. “It’s absolutely fabulous,” said Ell of the program. “It shows the support of the people, which means a lot to us.”

Thank you letters and hand made cards from some of the local school children.

November is turning out to be such an amazing month here at Franklin Sussex Auto Mall.  The donations for our troops are pouring in!  I would like to especially thank Sparta Curves for Woman, who actually became a self proclaimed “Donation Location” for our “Donation Location!”     Also, special thanks to Gail Thome and friends who decided not to buy Christmas gifts for each other this year, but to use that money to buy food, socks, and phone cards for our troops instead.  I was so touched last Saturday by a modest gentleman who walked into the showroom with a small bag.  He said he heard our radio ad that stated we had a salesperson whose son was a marine.  He asked if he could met him.  Sam slowly lifted up his head from his work, acknowledging the gentleman.  He walked over to Sam, shook his hand, thanked him for the service his son is doing, and handed me the bag, which included a couple of cans of shaving cream.   Even the smallest item makes a difference.  These are a few examples of the kindness we have experienced within our community, and we are proud that FSAM can be part of it through Operation Gratitude.

John “Bo Duke” Schneider will be returning to Franklin Sussex Automall for the 2nd Annual Hazzard County Fair! Join us on August 22nd from 10AM until 5PM for our John Schneider Autograph Signing Session and Giveaways! For all of those interested in buying a car during our event, come in between 10AM and 12PM to buy your new vehicle directly from John Schneider himself! We’ll also have another Daisy Duke Look-A-Like contest where the winner will receive a brand new 47″ HDTV! And don’t forget about all of the food, fun and music we’ll have all day long!