Brent Blanck didn’t choose cars. Cars chose him.
“I grew up with my dad basically flipping and restoring Corvettes,” he explained. “My brother and I used to help him in the garage. When my brother got old enough, I helped him, and then he helped me with my cars.”
But did he see himself in the role he has now… Body Shop Manager at Garber Chevrolet Midland in Michigan…when he was younger?
Not exactly. When picking a career path, he had his eyes on a different type of automotive prize.
“I didn’t necessarily plan on working at a dealership,” he said. “I originally went to an automotive school in Ohio. The plan was to work for a race team like NASCAR. I wanted to be a part of the pit crew. But then push came to shove, and I decided I didn’t want to live on the road. I wanted to be grounded.”
Originally from Midland, Michigan, Brent decided to take his talents to the south. He worked for his friend’s after-market radiator company in South Carolina.
In June 2010, he returned home to the Mitten state. He found a job serving at the Midland Country Club.
But soon, the automotive world would come calling again. This time, he would answer.
No More Waiting
Working in the service industry can help you cross paths with people…and those people can end up changing your life.
That’s what happened to Brent.
“I was a waiter at the Midland Country Club, and Mike Weinert was the General Manager at the Garber dealership in Midland,” he said. “I waited on him a handful of times at the club and he would say to me, ‘Why don’t you come sell cars for me?’”
Brent decided to apply to work at Garber: not because of what he heard, but because of what he saw.
“It was the people that attracted me to working at Garber,” he said. “I had waited on Mike a lot, and he would bring in a lot of managers and I would get those tables…seeing those people and how they presented themselves, I’d think, ‘I want to be like that.’ Everyone was really nice and warm. It was an at-home feeling.”
The Midland dealership didn’t have any openings at the time. Brent interviewed with Erica Fritzler, Assistant Sales Manager, and Rich Perdue, General Manager at Garber Buick in Saginaw.
“Interviewing with Erica and Rich and trying something different was intriguing to me,” he explained. “I was sick and tired of waiting on people. I wanted structure and I wanted more of a constant versus variable days.”
In May 2013, Brent was hired to work in New Car Sales at the Saginaw dealership. He was now in service of a different type.
A Garber-Filled Career
Since his start at Garber, Brent has proved himself to be a versatile team member.
After spending his first few months in New Car Sales, he moved to Used Car Sales. He never forgot Mike Weinert’s original request at the Country Club.
Mike didn’t forget, either.
“The whole plan was to work at Garber Buick in Saginaw and then transfer to Midland,” Brent explained. “Every couple of months, Mike Weinert would say, ‘Are you ready to come work with me?’
Brent wanted to get more experience. But then the day came for him to make the switch.
“I said, ‘Give me a year to make sure I can turn this into a career,’” Brent said. “It was 11 months in and Mike said, ‘You ready?’ I asked Rich, got the go-ahead, then came over here to Midland and worked in Used Cars.”
After joining the Midland team in 2014, Brent got experience under his belt with various role over the years, including:
- F&I Manager
- Assistant Used Car Sales Manager
- Service Department
- Assistant Body Shop Manager
On September 22, 2021, Brent was offered the role of Body Shop Manager, the role he holds today.
He said his time at Garber in each of his roles helped him learn and grow.
“It gave me a drive to make myself better,” Brent said. “Each role made me better. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Garber has taught me structure and kept me on a straight path. We have a lot of fun.”
He said Craig Lang, General Manager at Garber Midland Chevrolet, has helped him grow as a person and team member.
“Craig actually cares about my career goals and helping me achieve them,” Brent said. “We had a one-on-one and Craig asked me, ‘Where do you see yourself?’ I said, ‘I want to be in your seat one day.’ From there, he put me in our Growers Program to help me learn. That conversation with Craig really stuck with me. He invests in me, and it means a lot. I wouldn’t have moved up in the company if it wasn’t for Craig.”
All in the Family
Brent said Garber is more than an employer – and their team members are more than employees.
“Garber treats you like family; they actually care about you,” he said. “You aren’t just a number. If there is anything you need, they are there. If you want to grow, they will grow you.
The familial mentality starts from the top down, Brent added.
“The fact that Dick Garber can walk in and know exactly who I am means so much,” Brent said. “He’s been that way since I was new. It’s great to work for somebody who is who he is and will still be able to BS with you and have a conversation and not think he’s better than you or above you. He acts like any other guy. That makes me want to work for him. I don’t think you can find a better person or leader than Dick Garber.”
Garber is so much like a family to Brent, he’s gotten his actual family involved in the company, too.
“I convinced my brother to move his family from Tennessee and work for Garber,” he said. “He wasn’t 100% convinced to work at Garber. I told him, ‘Listen, I will retire from here. There’s nothing that will change that.’ I told him how great the culture is and how much I love it…how much fun we get to have and still be working and laugh, but still get the job done and make the customers happy. Now he works here. It’s making my family whole again because my brother is back. In a roundabout way, Garber helped my family.”
Now that he’s at Garber, how does it compare to his past professional life?
“Compared to other places I work, it’s night and day. Garber is family. I am at home here.”
Fast Five
First concert? The Beach Boys
First car? Chevy S10 Blazer. Blue. I totaled it a year later, three weeks after I put a crazy fast engine in it. I was pulling out and got T-Boned. I was 17.
Favorite meal? Tacos
Three words your friends/family would use to describe you? Honest, happy, outgoing
Item on your bucket list? Skydiving
