1964 when it all started.
Lavery Chevrolet has been a family-owned and operated dealership since 1964. Thomas C Lavery (Tom) coming from humble beginnings in Brooklyn, was a member of the Army, an Ohio University Alumni, and an employee of General Motors for 17 years before purchasing the dealership in 1965. The dealership was first located on Hartshorn Street in Alliance, where it was owned by Ernest E. Ashley. Tom Lavery joined the company in 1964 as the Vice President, becoming the owner just a year later, renaming the dealership from Ashley Chevrolet to Lavery Chevrolet.
Two years later, Tom Lavery moved the dealership to a larger facility on State Street, where it still stands as one of the largest dealerships in Alliance. The move from Hartshorn Street to State Street was based on an evaluation that Mr. Lavery made where he said to the local newspaper, "we outgrew our capacity to properly meet the service needs and demands of our customers. The old building sharply limited our ability to function productively." The new building would house new car and truck sales, service and a parts department. The location having ample parking was one of the top items that Lavery emphasized when opening the new dealership. When the new location opened in 1968, customers were able to view the dealership at an open house. These new departments included sales, accounting, parts, service, body and paint. With the relocation, Mr. Lavery said the transition was smooth. Employee opportunities expanded, as well as the service the dealership could give to the members of the community. Employees were trained on new equipment to better serve the customers of Lavery Chevrolet.
In the 1968 Alliance Review article about the new location, Tom Lavery said, "The building program is evidence of the faith of our employees to service area customers. This assures us of a permanent place in the future of the community." In addition to running his business, Mr. Lavery was active on the board of the Alliance YMCA and worked with organizations like Alliance Community Hospital, Hot Stove Baseball League, Habitat for Humanity, and the Boy Scouts. He was a past president of the Stark County Auto Dealers and the Ohio Auto Dealers Association. He was a board member of Mount Union Bank and United Bank. In 2006, Tom Lavery was chosen as the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce's Spirit of Enterprise Award winner.
Tom Lavery, an area businessman, father, friend and supporter of Alliance, passed away January 5, 2010. Currently, the dealership is run by Tom Lavery's son, Bill. Although his son has run the dealership for many years, Tom still stayed a businessman up to the time he passed. He would stop into the dealership daily, where his motto was "Bring your good times with you." Tom and his wife Arline (from Bay Village, Ohio) had 3 children: Bill, Bob and MaryAnn.
Bill Lavery is active in organizations within the greater Alliance area as well as the state and US. He has served as board member with the ACH (Alliance Community Hospital), SCADA (Stark County Auto Dealers Association), the 2014 OADA President (Ohio Auto Dealers Association), GCADA (Greater Cleveland Auto Dealers), AADF (Alliance Area Development Foundation), and Stark State College of Technology. In summer of 2011, Lavery Automotive announced the ground breaking renovation project that completed the new and remodeled GM Service Center as well as showroom and Car Rental building.
One of the things the dealership is known for is the longevity of its staff. Many employees have been working at Lavery Automotive since the early 1980's. A true family owned and operated dealership. If you are in be sure to meet Terry Christy, Greg Ganni or Christina Moore. Their combined experience is more than a decade. When you visit the dealership we hope you sense our commitment to our dealership family, community, coworkers and customers.
Lavery Automotive also has a 80+ rental car and van fleet right next door. Recently they have been re-branded and can visit their website at www.bedrockcarrental.com. The dealership is home to a state of the art collision center with paint booths and body technicians that are trained to repair vehicles of many different makes and models. In the center of the building you'll find the GM Certified Service and Parts Counter. Here you can find tire prices, schedule maintenance work, warranty recalls and get pricing to order custom accessories for your vehicle.
If you have a question at any time feel free to reach out to us. Our job is to make your car buying/financing, servicing or renting experience as seamless as possible.
