Stranded motorist finds newspaper quote rings true

A follow-up of sorts to the Jan. 21 article, “A New Owner and Name for Ford Dealership in Lake City.” I stumbled upon this article while trying to figure out the spelling of Daraius’ name so I could send him a thank you.

On Feb. 17, my car broke down as I entered Lake City on my way back toward the north metro. I drive an older Ford, so I called the Ford dealership. Jose got me in touch with a tow and set me up to have my car looked at the next day, as it was almost 6 p.m. at that point.

I was beginning to worry about how I was going to get home. I was searching online for rental cars and trying to figure out how to get an Uber back to where I live, in a suburb north of Saint Paul. I was running low on options.

The team at Lake City Ford recognized my concern. TJ offered to drive me to Red Wing in case they had rental car options there. Another gentleman offered to take me to Rochester because he knew I could find an option there. Again, this was at 6 p.m. The owner, Daraius, asked me, “Where’s home? I’ll drive you.” I told him my home was an hour and a half away and that he didn’t need to do that. He insisted.

I was home in time to reheat dinner and see my girls before bed.

I’m blown away by the generosity and helpfulness of everyone I interacted with at Lake City Ford. I got the feeling that the team at Lake City Ford, formerly Tom Heffernan Ford, has always been that way. After getting to know Daraius for 90 minutes, I am confident that culture will continue.

It was cool having this experience and then reading Daraius’ quote from your article. I got to see the actions before the words:

“I represent community values, honesty, integrity. I’ve always operated that way, professionally and personally. I believe that treating people right is key to a successful career and life.”

I look forward to buying my next car at Lake City Ford.