When Carl Barnett Sr. was approached about the Ford dealership in Paris 25-years ago, never did he think he’d be here today, celebrating the momentous milestone.
On Tuesday, Barnett Sr., together with his wife and son, Carl Barnett Jr., were joined by members of the community to celebrate the dealerships 25-year anniversary.
“I had never heard of Paris, Texas, when I first came here 25-years ago but its been very good to me,” said Barnett Sr. “My son, C.J., will start spending more time here because I’ll be 77-years old at the end of the month and it’s time for me to kind of give it to him. My wife and I have been together 56-years and she’s been sticking with me. We’re going to do some traveling. God’s been good and I’ve been very blessed.”
Barnett Sr. started his career in the auto industry straight out of high school in 1966.
Starting in the factory and foundry, he worked his way up before deciding he wanted to get into the retail end of the business and GM helped him do just that.
Now Barnett Auto Group owns three dealership in Austin, Longview and Paris, and while Barnett Sr. may be taking a small step back, C.J. plans on continuing his fathers legacy.
“I’ve built more personal relationships here in Paris than I have in the other two stores combined,” said owner, Vice President, C.J. Barnett. “Growing up in the industry the way I have, it really is a blessing. It’s an honor to work alongside my father all my adult life. That’s priceless.”
While C.J. is responsible for running three dealerships, he said he is “committed to this town because the town has committed to us.”
“Taking care of our customers is the most important part in this business,” said C.J. “I think sometimes in business you miss that because you’re so focused on the dollar, but the customer makes the dollar for us. When I came up here 25-years ago, we had a bad reputation. We fixed it but then it went awry again. Now we’re working hard to fix it and we’re not going back. That is the key to our next 25-years in Paris, that is to put the customer first.”
Paris Ford Lincoln is celebrating 25-years of quality sales and service all month long with deals you don’t want to miss.
Stop by the dealership at 2020 N.E. Loop 286 in Paris and speak with General Manager Randy Carter or visit www. parisford.com
