The Next Generation Takes Over At Prairie Ford
In a sale that was completed at the end of January, ownership has changed hands at Prairie Ford in Stanley. Gary and Vicki Evans sold their shares to Matt Evans, who has been with Prairie Ford since 1993.
National Garage was established in the early 1920s. Willie Walters purchased the dealership and operated it until 1966 when he sold it to his son. In 1970, Curt planned to close the doors, but employees decided it would be worthwhile to keep the business open. They invited local investors to keep the business open. In 1970 the National Garage Ford dealership was purchased by investors: Oakley Lee, Gary Evans, Dr. MG Flath, Bill Roloff, Gay Hovda, Jim Wilhelmi and Gordon Wilhelmi.
On July 1 of 1970, National Garage became Prairie Motors and was run by Gary Evans as service manager, Oakley Lee as general manager, and Bill Roloff as parts manager. In 1973, Wayne Evans purchased the shares from Bill Roloff and became the parts manager. Over the years, Gary and Wayne purchased the shares of the original shareholders.
Matt, the son of Wayne and Diana Evans, has been working in the family business since 1993. He and his wife Sara are now in a family partnership with Wayne and Diana with the sale.
Matt and Sara run the day to day operations and have continued to add to the business over the past years.
They have added more employees to meet the needs of the business, going from five employees to their current staff of ten full-time and two part-time employees.
They have continued to update the service departments with new equipment and training for their mechanics. They have also worked to update the parts and office departments. That includes adding more marketing to provide their customers with what they are looking for.