Parts dealer honored- Todd CPHA Volunteer
By Vanessa Grieve
POCATELLO — There are more than 6,200 corporate-owned NAPA Auto Parts stores in the country and about 5,000-6,000 more independently owned NAPA franchises.
For all of those locations, Todd Carpenter, the store manager at NAPA Auto Parts located at 2215 Garret Way, was just the 12th recipient ever to earn the NAPA/ASE Parts Specialist of the Year.
Carpenter learned he’d won in October.
“I never win anything,” Carpenter said. “This kind of took my breath away.”
This was the first time he was nominated for the award.
Carpenter has been in Idaho for more than two years and is the first person from Idaho to win the award.
Originally from Minnesota, the managerial job offer brought Carpenter and his family to Idaho, making it his fourth management position.
This year marks his 33rd year with the auto parts company. He said he has never worked for anyone else. At 13 years old, he began stocking shelves at a NAPA store in Cambridge, Minn., for his father, Dennis Carpenter.
The 46-year-old credits his success to his emphasis on training and mentorship, having personally taken more than 300 NAPA online training courses.
“Everything I’ve learned (was) because I wanted to learn it,” he said.
The training courses covered topics such as management, running the business, driver safety, product knowledge and outside sales.
He also has training as a certified locksmith and is an auto mechanics graduate from the Vocational Technical Institute in Anoka, Minn.
Carpenter said a sales representative from the Salt Lake City NAPA distribution center nominated him for the award.
After being nominated, Carpenter was required to put together a packet of information to fulfill application requirements. The binder included a personal profile, letters of recommendation, certificates, a list if courses taken and his thoughts on the auto parts industry. He said since he is a stickler for detail, his binder stood out among other applicants.
Community involvement was also a key component of winning the award.
For the past 17 years, he has coached youth hockey. He enjoys teaching children, and is involved in the Chubbuck Pocatello Hockey Association.
“I have this firm belief that kids are the future,” he said. “Whatever you can teach them is worthwhile.”
Carpenter and his wife, Kristi, received an all expense paid trip to the October award ceremony in Atlanta. He was given a plaque, a Super Bowl-like ring and an article in the “NAPA Outlook” magazine.
He was also awarded a trip to the NASCAR race of his choice and will be involved in drafting an ASE parts exam in Virginia in February.
“That is something I pride myself in is my certifications, so being a part of that is beyond belief,” Carpenter said.
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/article_e4346284-fe52-11df-b95c-001cc4c03286.html
