Family, friends & staff gathered Thursday morning at the Bruner Chevrolet showroom in Brownwood to celebrate Dwain and Carolyn Bruner’s 50 continuous years of partnership with Chevrolet.
Both the City of Brownwood and Chevrolet recognized the Bruners for their long-lasting success and the manner they conduct business with character while supporting the community.
DFW Zone Manager for Chevrolet at General Motors Tim Hughes presented Bruner with a crystal trophy commemorating the occasion.
Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes proclaimed August 2, 2012 as “Dwain and Carolyn Bruner Day” and Howard Payne University President Dr. Bill Ellis thanked Mr. Bruner for his support of the community, especially HPU both financially and for having served on the HPU Board of Trustees.
During the ceremony, it was announced that Bruner Auto Group has a new name, the Bruner Auto Family. This name change, according to Bruner’s son & co-owner Greg, was made to honor the family values that the Bruner’s business was built upon.
Dwain Bruner announced that Bruner would soon be rolling out a new program to all customers, “The Bruner Advantage.” He stated that details would be coming soon but that it was a program designed to better benefit their customers. Greg Bruner also announced that the company is proud to support HPU with supplying a 2012 Chevrolet dually truck to haul HPU’s recruiting trailer.
According to company officials, the Bruner Auto Family has sold more than 25,000 Chevrolets throughout the last 50 years by the multi-plex dealership’s third-generation owner, Dwain Bruner.
Greg Bruner spoke about the significance of this year of business for both Bruner and Chevrolet.
“This year marks 101 years of Chevrolet production in the United States, 85 years of Bruner involvement in the auto business and now 50 years for dad’s hard work selling Chevrolets,” said Greg Bruner, president of Bruner Auto Family. “Achieving 50 years as a sales partner with General Motors Chevrolet Division is a remarkable achievement, offered only a handful of times each year.”
In the mid 1920’s, Charlie Bruner owned a gas station outside of Corsicana in Kerens. He brought his son Vernon into the family business in 1927, added automobile sales and called his new place Bruner Chevrolet. Three years later, Vernon welcomed his son Dwain as new car salesman. After attending Baylor University and completing time in the Navy, Dwain returned home to the family business. In 1962, Dwain opened his own Bruner Chevrolet in Wolfe City and then expanded into the larger Stephenville market in 1969. Dwain’s son Greg arrived to the car business in 1984, and Bruner expanded to Brownwood in 2007.
Bruner Auto Family is the largest GM dealership in the area, carrying Cadillac, GMC, Chevrolet and Buick under one roof. The dealership also offers an extensive selection of commercial trucks. Bruner serves Chevy, Buick, GMC, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Cadillac and Toyota customers from the following communities and their surrounding areas – Stephenville, Brownwood, Granbury, Cleburne, Glen Rose and Hamilton. The family also owns and operates a pre-owned automotive dealership in Glen Rose, as well as The Car Wash at Bruner’s in Stephenville.
Pictured at top are (left to right) Greg Bruner, Dwain Bruner, and Tim Hughes. See photo gallery from the celebration below as well as a video of Mayor Haynes’ comment.
{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=344|
limitstart=0|limitcount=1|detail=0|displayname=1|
displaydetail=1|imageshadow=shadow1}
{denvideo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvQfAlVAM-w 400 300 }
