Spring2020_SSCWN_web

EXTRA!
EXTRA!
Presenting the news stories featuring
self serve car washes
They met at a car wash and
the rest is history
National Business
Week postponed
Not all love stories begin at a ball or on a
blind date. Some, wistfully poetic with enchantment
and hearts and flowers begin at….
a self-serve car wash. Back in 1969 Bertha
Gober was getting ready to wash her 1966
Mustang on a sunny afternoon in North Little
Rock, Arkansas. It was then that she saw Jessie,
who five years older. He offered to wash
her car for her and from there, a love story
unfolded. Their love story was profiled in the
February 9 edition of the Northwest Arkansas
Democrat Gazette.
“He said he was impressed with the car and
me,” she said in the story. “He offered to wash
it. He said, ‘Hey, you need some help? I’ll wash
it for you.’ So, I said, ‘Hey, I’ll let you do that.’”
Jessie was at the car wash day to clean his
1967 Chevrolet Caprice. leaning
“I didn’t know that much about her, but I
had seen her and kind of wanted to talk to
her,” he said in the story. “This was my chance.”
When he finished Bertha’s car, the story
reported, he was getting ready to go back to
work on his own. First, though, he asked for
her phone number.
They got engaged about seven months after
they met and were married on February 22,
1970, in the church where Bertha grew up.
“It’s just flown by,” says Bertha of their
half-century-long marriage. “I don’t even feel
like I’m the age I am.”
And, 50 years later, Jessie still washes and
cleans Bertha’s car when it needs
“Yes ma’am,” she said in the story.
Jessie added that he was washing her car the
day of the interview!
How sweet! Here’s to you, Bertha, Jessie
and here’s to positive car washing news.
For more than 50 years, the President of the United
States has issued a proclamation announcing National
Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical
contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small
business owners. This special week was supposed to
take place from May 3 - May 9, 2020, but it has been
postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Small Business Association (SBA),
As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S.
Small Business Administration takes the opportunity
to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs,
small business owners, and others from all 50 states
and U.S. territories. Every day, they’re working to grow
small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation,
and increase America’s global competitiveness.
More than half of Americans either own or work for a
small business, and they create about two out of every
three new jobs in the U.S. each year.
Updates can be found by visiting www.sba.gov
Celebrities
washing cars
Pictured here is Chace Crawford, star of Gossip
Girl and The Boys. The photo was taken at a West
Hollywood self service car wash on April 27.
From farming to car washing, self serve
owner finds success in small
Californian town
Former farmer is now a successful self serve
owner Shayne Brady not only owns the only
self serve car wash in town, but he also is offering
up many other profit centers, the Holtville
Tribune reported. Brady was profiled in
the April 17 issue in which he opened up
about his road to success.
He bought out the former owner of California-based
Holtville Car Wash in December
2018 and immediately put a plan in place for
improvements.
“All four bays have the spot-free air shammy,”
Brady said in the story. “It incorporates
soft water and reverse osmosis, so it won’t
spot your car. But customers must do a thorough
job to get all the water off.”
Brady always knew the value of hard work.
Throughout high school he, along with his
two older brothers helped out their father
with his custom row-crop tractor business,
farming everything from lettuce, carrots, melons,
tomato beds and sugar beets. He attended
and graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1986
with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture
Management and worked again for his
father’s farming business. His father sold the
business in 1999 and then started a storage
facility business and a few years later Shayne
opened a tow trucking business.
As for the Holtville Car Wash, Brady did everything
from completely re-landscaping the
property to adding new equipment and token
boxes.
“We’re getting set up to accept credit or
debit cards,” Brady said in the story. “There
still are some processes to complete with the
credit card companies, as well as the card
readers. Then we’ll have to shut down the car
wash for about two weeks to be refitted to
accommodate credit transactions. It is more
intense than I expected.”
Brady acknowledged in the story that there
are a number of moving parts with the car
wash and things can wear down. Yet should
anything go wrong, he wants his customers to
reach out to him immediately.
“We’ll hurry over and get you into another
bay,” said Brady. “The residents here appreciate
having a good car wash and not having
to drive to El Centro and we value them for
their loyalty.”
30 • SPRING 2020