Walker Spotlight: Cecil Patterson
Dan Walker, Lee Walker, Alan Hinnant, Cecil Patterson, Mike Browder, Robert Kirkland, Jr
Cecil Patterson has worked in the parts industry for 51 years – all for the same company, Barnes Motor & Parts, which is now Walker Auto & Truck. He’s developed strong customer relationships and a passion for the big sale, but the story of Cecil goes beyond sales numbers. He’s a man who got his first job because of hard work, kept with the same company because of unfaltering loyalty, grew sales due to strong customer relationships and unmatched competitiveness, but most importantly, used it all to build a great life for his family.
Cecil retires at the end of October, 2020 but his legacy will live on within our company. Cecil we wish you all the best in a happy, well-earned retirement – we know you won’t be able to sit that still!
Q: How long have you worked in parts?
51 years. I started in 1969.
Q: How’d you first get into it?
When I graduated from school, and I finished up our farming for that year, I told my momma, I am going to go look for me a job. She asked if I was sure that that’s what I wanted to do. And I was so I came into Wilson and car parts were the first thing on my mind. I had always tinkered around with cars and my daddy had showed me how to work with cars. Parts were always interesting to me.
Barnes [Barnes Motor & Parts Co] was not the first place I stopped at. I actually went to Batten Auto Parts first and they were right up the street from Barnes. I knew a guy from Bailey that worked there so I went in and Mr. Batten interviewed me but told me he didn’t have an opening at the present time but that he’d call me. I walked out the door and walked down to Barnes. Mr. Kirkland [Bobby, Sr.] was there and he invited me back to his office. I went back there and he asked me the normal questions.
But one question really stood out. He asked “what did you do this past summer?” I said I barned tobacco five and a half days a week and I pumped gas at a station on Sundays. He said anyone who works that hard I have a place for. He said I was hired and told me when to come into work. I started right then.
Q: Do you still farm?
I have a younger brother, and I taught him what to do and we kept farming together for a while. We farmed tobacco, corn, soy beans.
I had 5 acres of tobacco and 7 acres of corn. I would also rent small garden lots on the land. People would pay me to fix up their spots that they would then garden in. Me and the wife, we worked it for 10 years on the weekends when I wasn’t at work. Our girls grew up knowing how to barn tobacco. We took our money that we made off of that and I saved it. So when our girls finished high school, they were able to graduate from college and they didn’t have a dime they had to pay for.
Q: What’s your best memory from the past 51 years in parts?
Well it still tickles me when I hit a big sale. One great one was when I got the okay for the paint booth at White’s Herring. It was a down draft paint booth. They paint big tractor trailers – it at that time was over a $50,000 sale. They are still one of my largest accounts to date.
I also really enjoyed when I got to go to the NAPA Expo in Vegas. I got an opportunity to see the Hoover Dam and did a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon. There were five of us and it landed and we had an absolutely perfect view of the canyon and the river in the bottom. I had a great, great time, it was really the time of my life.
Q: What’s your Favorite Car?
’55 Chevy Bel-Aire – that was also my first car. Mr. Kirkland loaned me the money to buy that car -- $800. He took money out of my paycheck each week to help me pay for it.
What would you tell a young salesperson just getting started in this business?
I have never had a guarantee on salary. I’m not the type of person who can sit still. You can’t make a living sitting on your butt. You gotta make the calls, you gotta hustle. You gotta get to know your customers.
You want to know who your customer is buying from? Look in the trash. You’ll see where they are buying from. But ya gotta work, you can’t sit on your butt.
What has it meant to you working for two family-owned businesses?
I don’t believe in a lot of change. If you stick with it and learn what they expect, that’s the best way to grow. I did what Mr. Kirkland wanted to me to do, and now I do what Alan Hinnant and the Walkers want me to do.
It’s great to be part of a big family operation – everyone is considered teammates. One person can’t do it all. I think you have to have somebody that’s backing you. Our sales team is only as good as our stores.
You’re retiring – what would you say your legacy is?
My legacy is to see this company grow – for Walker to continue to grow and be #1 in Wilson. That’s it for me. I love my company.
