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Eastern Plains Chamber
By Pete Gawda
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A new business owner and a firefighter addressed the Oct. 7 meeting of the Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce. About 20 members attended the meeting, held at Grace Community Church and chaired by Dave Ahrens, president of the chamber.
Greg Plunkett, franchise operator of the new Christian Brothers Automotive at 7699 McLaughlin Road, said he is a transplant from Texas who has been in Falcon for a few months. He has been with Christian Brothers for six years and said he could not ask for a better community than Falcon. Christian Brothers, which does all types of automotive work, was started in 1985 by Mark Carr, who partnered with a fellow Sunday School member; hence, the name “brothers in Christ,” Plunkett said. Carr founded the business on four principles: integrity, neighborliness, trust and translucence, he said. The business began franchise operations in 1997 in the Houston area, and now has 227 franchise operators.
Plunkett spoke of winter preparations for cars such as checking the antifreeze, tires and battery. He also advocated having a safety bag containing items like trail mix, water and blankets in case one is stranded in the winter. “Don't let your gas gauge get below one quarter,” he said, so that the heater could be used in the case of being stranded. He said Christian Brothers will conduct a fall-winter check at no charge.
Jeff Petersma, a Falcon native and deputy chief of operations for Falcon Fire Protection District, followed Plunkett. Referring to the newly inaugurated ambulance service, he said, “You call, we haul.” Petersma added that the department has three ambulances on call and one reserve ambulance. Hopefully, he added, there will soon be a fourth ambulance. He said the ambulance service has received up to 106 transports in a month. According to a recent agreement with the Ellicott Fire Department, Falcon ambulances now answer calls in some Ellicott locations. He said since the ambulance service began, they only had to rely on American Medical Response twice to answer calls Falcon could not handle.
Switching gears, Petersma spoke about the new administration building. He said the station 3 property, at the intersection of Old Meridian Road and Highway 24, had to be integrated with the new intersection. He said the fire department is now in the site development stage of the new fire station 3 that will be built on the current station 3 property. He said it would resemble station 4, which is on Capital Drive, north of Constitution Avenue. The new station will have bigger bays and additional sleeping arrangements.
When the new station 3 is built, the current station 3 will be partially torn down and remodeled into an administration building. Petersma said in the past the emphasis has been on service. He said administration needs to catch up. When the new administration building is completed, Petersma said the fire department will hire a receptionist and a fire marshal for inspections. The new fire station and the new administration building will both have meeting spaces for nonprofit community groups.
In response to a question, Petersma explained the difference between mutual aid and pre-established aid. With pre-established aid, there is a pre-determined plan for service — the dispatcher assigns a call to the emergency service agency that can provide the best response time. In contrast, mutual aid is assistance requested by one emergency service agency from another emergency service agency.
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Twisted G heavy equipment dealer
By Leslie Sheley
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Twisted G Enterprises has been in business since 2014. Located in the Rolling Thunder Industrial Park in Falcon, they are a licensed equipment dealer with a business guarantee of “onsite and work ready.”
Bryan Gurule, president, said when he launched Twisted G the business focused primarily on retail sales. They have since expanded to include mobile and shop repair as well as rentals. He said offering rentals has been a particularly good option for people during COVID-19. “There are still lots of construction jobs going on, but business owners don’t want to go out and spend a lot of money on new equipment right now, so they rent from us,” Gurule said.
Twisted G offers not only an in-shop repair service, but also has a fleet of fully rigged mobile repair trucks that can be sent out to provide “on-site and work ready” repair service. “Just like if your vehicle needs a repair, people can reach out to us and we are able to bring the service to them,” Gurule said. “We do everything from oil changes to engine rebuilds, welding, fabrication and hydraulic repairs; anything truck or equipment related, our techs can service it.”
Gurule said when he first began buying used equipment, the sellers would often market the equipment as ready-to-work equipment. Upon delivery, he often found many maintenance and mechanical issues, then when he would call the sellers, they would apologize and say, “Sorry, that’s used equipment.”
Gurule wanted Twisted G to be the business that buys, inspects, services and then sells actual “onsite and work ready” equipment. Twisted G routinely ships equipment nationwide and occasionally to other countries. “Many customers are unable to find the time to travel and see the equipment in person, so we want to make sure if they are spending their hard-earned money, they get what they paid for,” he said. “We make sure the equipment is inspected, fueled, greased, and onsite and work ready. We value our customers and are fully committed to providing timely, efficient, and honest service.”
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State Farm agent adds new location
By Leslie Sheley
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In August, Kreg Kell opened his second State Farm insurance agency at Marksheffel Road and Dublin Boulevard. He started with State Farm working for his father-in-law, an agent who has been with the insurance company for 35-plus years. After four years of mentoring with him, Kell opened his first agency in Fountain in 2014.
“One thing I really enjoy is the relationship side that State Farm offers,” Kell said. “I like to work with people and help them navigate what can sometimes be a complex subject with insurance; to sit down face to face and help walk people through their questions or navigate a claim.”
State Farm has been around since 1922, he said. “A lot of the messages they share with us align with their company philosophy of being there, being a good neighbor,” Kell said. The company values the development of relationships and instills that philosophy in their agents, he said. Clients are a priority. After the onset of COVID-19, State Farm offered a dividend release of $2 billion, he said.
Kell, his wife and four children have been in the area since 2009; they live in the northeast part of Colorado Springs. He has six employees — some with military experience.
“Growth is really exploding in the northeast part of Colorado Springs and the Falcon/Peyton area,” he said. “We’re excited to serve this growing area and get to know our neighbors in the area.”
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