 1969 had many notable events, such as the historic flight of Apollo 11 to the Moon and back, the Woodstock Concert, the maiden flight of the Concorde, and yes, even the cancellation of the original Star Trek IV series. One more significant event occurred, historic now, but barely notable then. Thrifty Car Rental opened its 21st national franchise in the State of Rhode Island. Thrifty now has over 1,200 offices in over 50 countries. With a small down payment, a loan of $10,000 from the Bank of Oklahoma (Thrifty's home state), and a loan from Industrial National Bank sufficient to buy 17 cars, operations began. The banker's name was Ed Carlone. Destiny must be in a name. The first location was in the lobby of the Yankee Motor Inn across from T. F. Green State Airport. The hotel is now the Johnson and Wales Inn. Founders John Geraci and Tom Celona also opened an office in downtown Newport, serving the busy Navy personnel. The first rates charged for rentals were $7.00 per day and 7 cents per mile for a Volkswagen, and included gasoline. Chevrolet Impalas rented for a whopping $10.00 per day and 10 cents per mile. Other cars offered for rental were Chevrolet Novas, Malibus, and even a Kingswood Station Wagon with air conditioning. The prices of the cars we rented were $1682 for the Volkswagens and up to $2200 for the Impala. Similar cars twenty-five years later cost ten times that amount. Rental rates have only risen about 110 percent, while the price of cars has risen 1000%. Even the price of hotel rooms, which always equaled the cost of car rental, has risen 700%. Later that year, the company hired its first employee, John LaRocca on a part time basis, and the Company continued to grow. The first promotion was to insert a coupon in all credit card bills that were sent out for the local Master-Charge. The promotion was very successful. In the early 1970's, not many people had credit cards, so the office had to verify employment, etc. on a regular basis. In September of 1969 the company rented a former Hudson Dealer-ship building at 2403 Post Road, and moved its operations there. The building had a showroom, garage repair area, and a wash bay. The Battery Shop is now where the building used to be. A third office was added at a Gulf Station operated by G. Warren Madison in North Kingstown. Warren was into racing at the nearby Seekonk Speedway, and Thrifty loaned the Official Pace Car, a Chevrolet Camaro, in the Seekonk Gala Anniversary Race in 1969. At a National Thrifty Convention, John Geraci, with a background in advertising, was elected to represent the Northeastern United States franchises on the National Advertising Committee. In March, 1971, the company purchased a small red building at 2329 Post Road. The building housed a beauty parlor, but had the much coveted automotive zoning because of a prior use. John and Tom built a garage in the rear of the building by hand, because the bank would not finance any more debt. In 1973, President Nixon announced that the Navy would not only leave Quonset Point, but Newport as well. This struck a major blow to the local economy in Newport. Seeking other markets, John and Tom decided to buy the Thrifty franchise for Boston that included Logan Airport, downtown, and the suburbs. During this transition, a local Bank decided to get out of the automobile lending/financing business, and called all the loans on the rental cars. After much negotiation, the company was allowed to pay out the loans according to the original terms. Tom Celona approached Old Stone Bank with the financing proposal for the Boston acquisition. Old Stone enlisted the assistance of the Small Business Administration. The end result was that Old Stone would lend the funds to buy the franchise and provide financing to purchase rental cars. The SBA would guaranty 85% of the loan in the event of default. Boston operations began in March 1973 on Liverpool Street near Logan Airport. The previous owner had run down the business, and only twelve cars were on rent at that time. By the end of the summer, the fleet numbered more than 150, but then an incredible turn of events produced this country's first energy shortage. Chevrolet Vegas were in great demand, but the large Chrysler New Yorkers would not rent or sell. Both the Warwick and Boston operations had their own gas tanks, and the company squeezed though the disaster with hardly a gallon to spare. In 1974 the Boston operation moved to a new building on leased land on Bremen Street. Customers sensed the professionalism of the new operation, and the fleet grew to 250 cars. In 1975 the Boston operation also started Airport Valet Parking on a limited basis. At the height of business activity in the Boston area, the company had ten offices, with two more in Rhode Island. On December 31, 1977 the Logan operation was sold to John Mirak of Mirak Chevrolet and Leasing. Car rental was a great fit for the Mirak family of businesses. In 1975 John Mansolillo approached the company to sell his ware-house building and adjacent property that was to the rear of the Post Road facility. The building was 40' x 80', and had only four concrete block walls and a small electrical service. The building did not have heat or water. After its purchase, the company used the property on Post Road to park cars, and rented the building to National Velour Co. for storage. Beginning January 1978 in Rhode Island, the first order of business was to return hundreds of cars to a Massachusetts dealer under a previous buy-back arrangement that had been in place for the previous three years. This time, the dealer refused to buy the cars, and kept the many rebates that he was holding that were to be applied to the used car to lower the value. On top of this event, the Blizzard of '78 struck on February 6, 1978. Hundreds of cars were buried in the snow, many for some time. The bank notes continued to be paid, sapping the company for much needed funds. The company sued the dealer in Superior Court, and was successful. But, the damages awarded were negligible and were not collected until many years later. With the help of the SBA again, the company was granted a disaster loan from the blizzard. These funds replenished the cash position, and allowed the company to move into the warehouse. The warehouse had only four walls, so a second floor was added within the building to house offices. A rental center was at the front, and repair space for four cars was in the rear. The red office building was razed to make room for parking and a gasoline tank in front. At this time, the company entered the long-term leasing business, adding to its rental and sales divisions. Leasing was only in its infancy, and all leases included full maintenance. The early accounts included First Federal Savings Bank, X-Ray, Inc., and Kingston Pipe Company. In 1980 the company sold the remaining Boston Suburban Franchise to Mirak. Joseph Morra joined the company to head the leasing division. Equipment leasing was added to the leasing services that the division provided. In April 1980, John Geraci had a terrible accident while felling a tree. Tom Celona was elected to the National Advertising Committee representing the Northeast. In 1981 John Wiggins, then a high school student at Hendricken High School, joined the Company as a part time rental agent. John continued part time as he attended Bryant College, majoring in Accounting. John is now the Controller of the firm. Also that year, Tom Pigeon joined the company as an auto mechanic. Tom now is the Service Manager, and has the respect of many repeat clients. In 1984 the company needed to expand its building. With financing provided by Old Stone Bank, a showroom was added on the front, and a 36' by 110' addition was added to the repair area. Also that year, Cindy Silvia and Paul DiBiasio joined the company. Ron Cooke joined the next year, Paul and Ron continue today to be terrific service technicians. Ron is now married to Cindy. During this time, the company continued to grow in all areas. Partner Tom Celona wanted to start an Airport Valet Parking business on the land that was to the rear of the building across the street known as Lauderdale Blvd. Tom began talks with the owner of the property several years before he was successful, in December 1986 in acquiring the property. In early 1987 Thrifty Airport Valet Parking began operations, using the building as its office, the current airport shuttle vans to transport the parkers, and the newly acquired land to park the cars. Convincing airport travelers to park off the airport instead of at the airport was a formidable task. Business grew very slowly, helped by continual visits to travel agents and the use of coupons. In 1988, Tom Celona was elected Chairman of the National Advertising Committee, a position he still holds. The advertising fund grew from Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in the early years, to now about $25,000,000 including Chrysler Product Promotion Advertising Allowances. In 1988 Gary Taravella joined the Company. Gary has an extensive car rental background with Avis and National Car Rental. Gary was a welcome addition to the management team, as the company was growing very rapidly. Gary was appointed a Vice President and General Manager, and joined John and Tom as an owner. Gary persuaded Karen Castelli, who has extensive car rental experience, to join our company. Karen is now the Manager of the Rental and Valet Parking Departments. In 1989, Chrysler Corporation acquired Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc., the franchisor. In 1999 Chrysler let a new company, called Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (DTAG), become a public company on its own. Today, DTAG, comprised of Dollar Rent-A-Car System and Thrifty Car Rental System, share purchasing power where it makes sense in several areas of common interest, such as the vehicle fleet and financing. In 1991 the Company acquired the contiguous property on Lauder-dale Blvd. owned by Eastern Narragansett Oil Company. An office building was razed for more parking, and the garage was renovated and used for the automotive reconditioning shop and a drive-thru automatic car wash. Later in 1991, the Company acquired the office building at 2317 Post Road, directly to the North. The building was razed, and 4000 sf of parking was added to the front lot. In 1992 Prestige Limousine Service was added, with the purchase of a used white Lincoln Stretch Limousine. Gail Bell, was hired to run the limousine business. That division now has eight limousines, thirteen executive cars, and two executive Coaches. The daily rental division provides other passenger vans and cars on an as-needed basis. In January 1993 Joseph Morra left the company. In March 1993 the Company started another division, called Air-port Van Shuttle. This company operates from TF Green State Airport, and provides jitney service from the airport to downtown Providence and return. In 1999 Airport Van Shuttle disbanded servicing the routes to a local taxicab company. In 1994 the Company made its sixth real estate purchase, adding the HN Trucking property to its South. This property has two and a half acres of land, and a 13,000 sf building. After extensive renovations, the new building houses the used car sales, extensive service, and leasing divisions. The main building houses car and truck rental, airport valet parking, limousines, and administrative offices. In October 1994, The Company opened a rental center inside TF Green State Airport to better serve arriving passengers. The continued success of TF Green Airport has allowed the rental and parking departments to grow substantially. The year 2000 has arrived to see continued growth for Thrifty. The company acquired the former Redwood Lodge Motel on Post Road and renovated that property to become the new offices of Prestige Limousine. Also, Tom Celona and Thrifty were awarded the Small Businessperson of the Year Award by the RI Small Business Administration. Tom also received the Executive Leadership Award presented by the Association for Car Rental and Truck Rental Independents and Franchisees (ACTIF) at their annual U. S. convention. The Spring of 2002 brought a brand new building for the Middletown operation, enabling it to expand to offer truck rental, limousine service, and used car sales. Today, The Company consists of six divisions with more than one hundred employees and occupies five acres of land and three buildings. The company has grown and prospered. The philosophy then is the same now. If the business is transportation related, the company will consider adding it to its growing family of companies. Now there is a much more defined Mission Statement. That Statement is as follows: "To provide transportation and financial related services at a low cost, and delivered in a consistent and friendly manner." The Community has benefited from the Company's existence. Its management and employees have given freely of themselves to make a difference. After all, they work, live and play here. Today, Thrifty provides the following services:
The overall philosophy is to GROW, MAKE MONEY, AND HAVE FUN. The journey has now begun for the next thirty years. It is quite evident that the company and its executives and employees have passed the philosophy check. It does look like fun. |