Are You Ready to Lose (Again)?

In honor of Mother’s Day, we want to spotlight a couple of our favorite employees: Sales Consultant Dennis Giles, Jr. and his mother, Business Manager Linda Giles. “We’ve been a Milton Ruben family for a long time,” said Linda, who has worked in the dealership for 16 years. Her husband and Dennis’ father, Dennis Giles, Sr., also worked at the dealership and, soon after he retired, Dennis joined the Sales Department, and has been working at Milton Ruben for 10 years. Currently, Dennis and Linda work in the same building, on either side of the Toyota Showroom. While most people can’t imagine working with their mother and/or child, Linda and Dennis consider it to be convenient and beneficial. The two interact throughout the work day, but maintain their professionalism. In fact, while at work, Dennis calls his mother ‘Mrs. Giles’. “We see each other all day,” said Dennis. “It’s not quality time, but it’s good to stay in touch.” Still, it’s undeniable that the two look out for each other. With the decades of dealership experience in the family, it’s easy to seek out help (or offer it). “Sometimes she gives me a hard time…she calls it advice,” said Dennis. “I do it nicely!” laughed Linda. Aside from 12-hour work days, the mother and son stay close through church and weekly family dinners. If one person has to stay late with a customer, the other will call to check in. And, when asked if they talk about the car business out of work, they both agreed that it’s hard not to bring up. “It’s a common denominator in our family,” said Linda. “That and the grandkids.”

Drumroll please! We’re proud to announce our winners for LoseBaby, our annual company-wide weight-loss competition. Between January and April this year, LoseBaby participants swapped recipes, motivational quotes and even yoga poses with each other to try to become healthier. While body-weight percentages were recorded to find the winner, the theme of this year's competition was stress reduction. Participants all signed waivers to guarantee that all new habits were in fact safe, natural ways to become healthier. The two winners (one male and one female) each took home $500 at the end of the competition. And now, here are our 'biggest losers’: Julia Brown and Tommy Swords are our 2017 LoseBaby Winners! Julia Brown — Warranty Cancellation Administrator Brown won through hard work and intense commitment. She stuck to a high-protein diet (“Eat protein until you never want to see another chicken or fish!”) and became a regular in both the cardio and weight rooms at the gym. Brown's advice to anyone looking to develop a healthier lifestyle is simple: “Get off the sugar and eat more vegetables and lean meats. Go to the gym, and just walk more.” Her motivation came from a few places. Last year, Brown came in second-place in the LoseBaby competition. She said that she kept that fact in the back of her mind this year, and it helped to push her even further. And, with a daughter who is a body-builder and coworkers who join her at the gym each morning, Brown has a support system to combat even the most unmotivated feeling. Acknowledging the need for moderation, Brown did take a break once during the competition, during a vacation to Biloxi, Mississippi. She plans on spending her $500 cash prize on another vacation this summer. However, Brown says she’s not finished losing. “I still have a goal. I’m still working. I still go to the gym every morning.” Tommy Swords - Business Manager Swords says he owes his success to the Atkins Diet, especially since his routine featured “not a drop of exercise.” When LoseBaby was announced, he decided to utilize the 90-day timeline. “I was planning on going on a diet anyway, so I just decided to win the contest!” Swords said, laughing. Swords speaks highly of Atkins, calling it the perfect diet for him. Though the diet focuses on lowering carbohydrates intake, Swords still ate whatever he wanted. He called this the key to success. “Find the right diet for you so that you won’t get bored, and commit to it,” he said. Though he didn’t originally plan to give away all of his winnings, Swords is donating his entire prize to Rabbi Kirt Schneider. He’s so fond of Atkins that he says he’s happy to go back to it at any time. However, that didn’t stop him from visiting Dairy Queen after his final weigh in for LoseBaby. -- -- -- -- Congratulations to all of our winners and a huge shoutout to everyone who participated! We’ll see you next year! Women Winner: Julia Brown - 7.1% 2nd Place: Ashley Stevens - 5.9% 3rd Place: Nicole Cain - 5.7% Men Winner: Tommy Swords - 12.9% 2nd Place: Andy O'Harrow - 7.4% 3rd Place: Jeff Hennen - 5.4%

We’ve always been proud to have Certified Technician Travis Baxter in our Chevrolet Service Department. But we’ve been feeling extra proud lately, since Baxer was named a “World Class Technician” by General Motors on October 1. Certified Technician Travis Baxter holds his World Class Technician statue. According to GM’s website, “The program provides technicians with the opportunity to validate their knowledge and demonstrate their skills to their employers and — most importantly — to customers in all automotive service areas.” To sum up, the World Class Technician is “the ‘one and only GM expert.’” Baxter began working toward this highest honor in April 2014, soon after he was hired by Milton Ruben Chevrolet. Milton Ruben sponsored Baxter’s classes, which included online courses and in-person challenges outside of Atlanta. Specifically, he completed nine Master Technician Certifications and their accompanying Automotive Service Excellence Certifications. Baxter says his favorite part was working with his teachers, most of whom were World Class Technicians themselves. By his estimate, Baxter is only one of two World Class Technicians in the CSRA. According to GM, there are currently 1,250 World Class Technicians in the country. Baxter installs camshaft lifters in a Chevy Silverado. Milton Ruben Chevrolet Service Manager Blake Taylor says he’s very proud. “This is good for not only our dealership, but the industry as a whole,” he said about Baxter’s achievement. “It’s a privilege to have him here being the best that he can be.” We couldn’t agree more with Taylor. To schedule your Service Appointment, click here or call (706) 955-2243.