We buttoned down the hatches for this year of Red Flannels.

First of all I want to say thanks to the Festival Committee for choosing me this year. I was enlightened as to just how much work is done by all of you special people. The many man hours that goes into making this successful is enormous, but you did it. I think that this year’s crowds outdid themselves, wall to wall people everywhere! Wonderful! God’s blessings were upon us that warm beautiful day.

A sleek black convertible to ride in was by Ed Koehn and again thanks for the pleasure.

All the community businesses did extend to all those that came a warm welcome and they will return again. As this is the Red Flannel Town as it was when The Clipper Gals started in the 1930s and it will be forever known as that! We need all of your help to get our Red Flannels back on our street signs for all the world to see, because you people are that Red Flannel Town and we need to restore that again. I know you will put those here to support it.

I want to thank my American Legion Family also for their support of me and the Festival. May we all come together with love and prayers. Also thanks to my great family for all their help!

Mary Goller Kilts, Grand Marshall 2013

The Collision Center on 14 Mile is now part of the Ed Koehn Chevrolet dealership team. Staff members pictured are: front row (L to R) Lenny Wentz, Rick Palm, Eric Montgomery; back row, Heather Odren and Jack Price.

The Collision Center on 14 Mile, just south of Cedar Springs, is now under the management of Ed Koehn Chrevrolet dealership.

Ed Koehn is a name well known and respected in West Michigan. Owners Ed and Aaron Koehn are excited with the opening of the Ed Koehn Collision Center. The Collision Center shares the same property with the Ed Koehn Chevrolet dealership that was new last year.

“We feel very fortunate to have acquired Jack Price, a lifelong resident of the area, to operate our Collision Center,” said Ed Koehn. The Collision Center was previously part of the John Decker Chevrolet dealership.

“We are now the collision facility for all four of the Ed Koehn Automotive Group dealerships, which includes Chevrolet, Ford and Chrysler,” Price said, “as well as serving those in West Michigan, regardless of make or model.”

This is the first venture into the automotive collision repair business for Koehn’s, according to Price. Experience in car repair is what Koehn’s new Collision Center prides itself on. Price brings 35 years of expertise in customer relations, insurance company relationships and business management that are focused on customer satisfaction and quality of work for customers. Heather Odren brings 11 years of experience in the collision and glass industry and carries the “Mark of Excellence Award” from General Motors. Lenny Wentz has 22 years of experience as a collision specialist, from minor scratch and dent repairs to full structural repair. Rick Palm, a fellow collision specialist, has 35 years of experience from minor scratch and dent repairs to full structural repairs including full frame vehicles using our state of the art computerized measuring system. Eric Montgomery, the Collision Center’s third specialist, has 20 years of experience with the past 16 years spent working at Ed’s Auto Body on Indian Lakes Road, serving the North Kent and Montcalm county area up until Ed Fitzpatrick retired earlier last year.

Ed Koehn’s Collision Center is at 4650 14 Mile NE (M-57) in Rockford and can be reached at (616) 866-9511 or email bodyshop@edkoehn.com or jackprice@edkoehn.com.

If you want a great deal on a new or pre-owned car, you don’t have to look further than your own backyard. There’s a new dealer in town, and chances are he has just what you’re looking for.

Ed Koehn recently purchased John Decker Chevrolet on 14 Mile Road and has re-named it Ed Koehn Chevrolet. Customers can count on Koehn’s experience; he operates a Ford-Lincoln dealership and a Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Ram Dealership in Greenville and a Ford Dealership in Wayland. Ed Koehn’s son, Aaron, will run the new Chevrolet store.

“John built a great name, and a great reputation in the community. As far as we are concerned, that is just as important as the emblem on the car,” Koehn said.

Koehn is community-minded, and said he would keep all of Decker’s 20 employees and plans to at least double employment within the year. “We expect volume in service and sales to increase dramatically. Doing so will have a very positive impact on the growth of employment at Ed Koehn Chevrolet,” he said.

Ed Koehn Chevrolet has already doubled their pre-owned vehicle selection and will be announcing huge savings in both their sales and service departments.  Koehn added, “We want to invite the whole community to come in and visit us at Ed Koehn Chevrolet.”

The dealership is located at 4650 14 Mile Road, just west of Northland Drive, in the Cedar Rock business district.
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John Decker and his sons.

by Beth Altena

After serving the community for nearly two-and-a-half decades, John Decker Chevrolet is being sold and will now operate as Ed Koehn Chevrolet. The family-owned dealership, located at 4650 14 Mile Road in Rockford, employs about 20 people, including John Decker’s two sons, JD Jr. and Jason. According to John, the new owners have agreed to secure all employees’ jobs with the exception of himself.
“I’ve been made a generous offer to go away,” he said.
At 58 years of age, Decker said he has been in the car business since 1974 and opened John Decker Chevrolet in September 1987. Pressures of Michigan’s flagging economy were part of the reason Decker decided to sell. “I’m too young to retire, but I’m not too young to get away from the pressure of doing business in Michigan,” he stated. “I’ve struggled with mortgages and borrowing money just like everyone else.” He said the last couple of years were not what he had hoped.
Decker said he sees the future of dealerships as operations like Koehn’s, selling multiple brands with more than one dealership. He said the advantages, from ordering stationery to advertising, give multiple-dealership operations a financial advantage.
Decker said he has been in negotiations on and off since last June and at one point had three letters of intent to purchase on his desk at one time. He wanted to dispel rumors of the dealership closing. “I’ve seen others go away like Northland Pontiac and I didn’t want to see that happen,” he said.
“This is a great deal,” Decker said of the sale. He is pleased that his long-term employees, including his boys, will continue to have jobs and said new owners Aaron and Ed Koehn have plans to double the number of jobs the dealership is able to offer. “They anticipate doubling staff by the end of the year,” he said.
Decker said he wasn’t sure what was in his own immediate future besides taking the time to have surgery on both his knees, which he said he has been putting off. “I can still do a lot of good in the car business,” he said. “Hopefully word of mouth will spread my fame around.”
Decker said he started out as a Ford and Lincoln Mercury salesman and started selling GM in 1987. In 2003 he began selling Pontiacs with the closing of Northland Pontiac in downtown Rockford. He said part of negotiations included continuing the dealership in the John Decker spirit. “I think I have a commitment to the community and employees,” he said.
“Anyone who knows me knows I am the biggest talker in the world,” Decker stated.
Decker said he will miss the interaction with the employees and customers. “This is where I have lived the last 20 years. That’s the hardest thing.”
He said he is very happy with the transition of the dealership into the hands of Ed and Aaron Koehn and believes the business has bright prospects. “I am very excited about the future.”
Ed Koehn also has dealerships in Greenville and Wayland.