Local dealership changes hands

PLATTSBURGH | Annie and her husband, Shea Brennan, and their two sons moved to the North Country from Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada during the fall of 2021. "It's beautiful. You got the lake and the mountains and everyone we've met has been very welcoming and great hospitality around here for sure," stated Annie. The Brennan's are the newest owners of Knight Automotive, now known as Brennan Buick GMC. "So my family has been in the car business, we're third generation, and we had come across this opportunity and we came and visited the area," Annie went on to add, "We met Rich and Jannette. They told us about all the staff and the history of the store, and it just seemed like the perfect fit." Annie joined the car business at 13 when she started washing cars and has been working with them ever since. Aside from the new name and new ownership not much is going to change at this local dealership. Annie explained, "We'll be adding staff. So we kept the same staff. We will be adding staff, creating more jobs. We'll be working hard to bring in more inventory, and then we're just trying to do things such as extending our hours and increasing our staff to just make it more convenient for our customers." Annie went on to mention that no experience is necessary for a job at Brennan Buick GMC, what matters is if the applicant is a good fit for the team. If that's the case, all training will be provided. Annie also mentioned her mission to diversify the workplace she said, "As a male-dominated industry, I make it my personal goal to bring more females into the car business." Brennan Buick GMC is the first dealership that Annie and Shea have owned and although they may be new to the ownership side of the business, Brennan Buick GMC has a clear mission that they base their operations on. "For our customers, it's to ensure that we offer a convenient buying experience," Annie added, "...for our staff, we want to make sure that it's a fun environment to work in and that everyone no matter which department they're in is offered continuous training and given the opportunity for professional development, personal and professional I should say." This mission is clear in not only how Brennan Buick GMC treats their customers, but also in the time, energy, and flexibility they're willing to give to their employees. "So inventory is the biggest one, but a lot of those challenges have just forced us to learn new things and adapt more quickly to the modern buying experience," stated Annie on some of the challenges they've faced due to COVID-19. To combat this, Brennan Buick GMC is working to increase its online presence so its customers can book service appointments and shop for vehicles from the comfort of their own homes. The Brennan's also understand the challenges that come with being working parents Annie said, "Also as Shea and I are both working parents with young kids we do our best to ensure that we offer flexible working schedules." While Brennan Buick GMC is a car dealership, that's not the Brennan's only goal when it comes to the business. "Dream goal obviously is to sell lots of vehicles, service lots of vehicles. Have a good, strong, large team of employees, and be able to support the community," stated Annie. In the future, the Brennan's would like to get involved with as many local nonprofits as they can. They're also planning on hosting a car seat safety clinic for parents and guardians to get their car seats inspected at no cost. "We always love to get involved with local schools and sports organizations. Especially for kids growing up to make sure that everyone who wants to have access to play, can play," Annie said. So far Brennan Buick GMC has held a 12 Days of Local Giveaways event where they gave away gift certificates to local businesses. This event was done to help raise awareness to other local businesses in the area and is something they hope to do more of in the future. Currently, Brennan Buick GMC is hiring in all departments as part of "Growing the whole dealership," Annie stated. They are also working on creating extended hours as well. To learn more about Brennan Buick GMC follow them on their Facebook page Brennan Buick GMC or visit their website https://www.brennanbuickgmc.com.

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Local dealership changes hands

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