Don Widmer Legend Award Winner: Mike Schritt
Legends Award, Fixed Operations
In Memory of Don Widmer
A little about Don Widmer and what the award represents:
Don was a class act from the word go. Don Widmer started working at Enerson Motors in 1963 and when he passed in 2003 he was a few months shy of 40 years of combined service with Enerson Motors and Davis Pontiac Buick, 14 of those years with Davis. Obviously Donny was extremely dedicated and loyal to Davis Pontiac Buick. Don’s loyalty earned him loads of respect and helped build a culture of hard work and dedication in the service department. Don was a mentor. He was passionate about training and made it a priority for his team. Don was a huge proponent of the General Motors Technicians Guild and made it his priority to ensure every member of his technician team was in the running for this prestigious recognition.
Don lived and breathed Davis Pontiac Buick. He was extremely loyal and was fiercely protective of his team. He coached them and trained them so he was confident in their skills. He never left a technician hung out to dry. If mistakes were made he always made sure that he resolved the problem for the customer first and foremost before circling back and using the situation as a mentoring opportunity behind closed doors. Don was a humble man and although somewhat awkward in expressing emotion, he strongly valued his employees and they were drawn to him. They loved and respected him. It really meant something if you had Don’s recognition and approval and everyone worked hard to gain his approval. Young technicians wanted to model their technical and diagnostic skills after Don. It’s an overused term but Don was a model of integrity. He did what was right for the customer and didn’t give up on a problem until it was solved. Not only did his staff of technicians respect him; his peers respected him. To be recognized by the Davis Automotive Group with the Legends Award in Don Widmer’s name means that you are an excellent teacher, mentor and friend.
Award Winner: Mike Schritt
Mike Schritt started working at the Pontiac Buick dealership in Medicine Hat in 1979. Like Don Widmer, Mike is an extremely loyal and hardworking individual. He is dedicated to his craft and makes a constant effort to stay ahead of the curve in his field.
Mike also leads by example. Most days Mike is the first person in the dealership and one of the last to leave. His work ethic and sheer knowledge has earned him a tremendous amount of respect from his staff. Mike has also earned the respect form his peers and from his customers. He is always willing to share his knowledge and roll up his sleeves to assist with others in the auto group. Like Donny we often have customers who are restoring a car or need accessories that only want to talk to Mike. Mike puts the customer front and is a very deserving recipient of the first Davis Auto Group Fixed Operations Don Widmer Legend award.
From all of us at Davis GMC Buick in Medicine Hat, we congratulate Mike Schritt on this prestigious honor and look forward to sharing in his wealth of knowledge for years to come.