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Above: Marshall Rosquin, Dorothy Rosquin and Ken Wendling as Ken presented Roy Rosquin's 2015 MAPA Lifetime Service Award to Dorothy and Marshall during MAPA Industry Day held on September 16, 2015 at the Holiday Inn Gateway Centre in Flint, Michigan.
MAPA's 2015 Lifetime Service Award recipient, Roy Rosquin was honored (Posthumous award) for his involvement in Michigan's automotive aftermarket for over 50 years. Roy and his wife Dorothy opened Marlette Auto Parts, Inc. in 1960. Accepting the award presented by Ken Wendling were Roy's son, Marshall Rosquin and Roy's wife, Dorothy Rosquin.
Ken Wendling shared special stories and memories while honoring his friend and mentor Roy Rosquin. Ken's inspirational and touching memories showed everyone in attendance Roy's committment to his business, his friends, family, customers, employees and to the industry.
Created in 2010, the MAPA Lifetime Service Award is to honor the excellence of individuals in the industry who have made a significant impact in the industry.
Lansing, Michigan - June 10, 2015 The Michigan Automotive Parts Association is proud to announce the selection of Roy Rosquin (Posthumous Award), former owner of Marlette Auto Parts, Inc., Marlette, Michigan as recipient of its 2015 MAPA Lifetime Service Award.
Shared thoughts and memories of Roy provided to MAPA by Ken Wendling; Roy was a very humble man and public recognition wasn't what made him tick. He would much rather be told "thank you" in private, or be given a firm handshake than any type of public acknowledgement. Roy did not measure people in terms of their financial status but rather he measured their value in terms of their word. He had several guiding principles in life, but he felt strongly on doing what he said he would do and expecting the same from others.
Roy, and wife Dorothy, opened Marlette Auto Parts in 1960. Marlette was a small farming community that had no parts store. That was his motivation for entering the automotive aftermarket and opening a business in a town that certainly needed it. During the ten years prior, Roy worked as a sailor on freighters on the Great Lakes, also known as a merchant marine, providing his country with the needed iron ore from the Upper Peninsula to ports in Detroit, Indiana and Ohio.
The site of the parts store was an old dairy creamery in Marlette. It was a small building at the very start but as the business grew so did the building and the number of employees. In the early 1970's a specific addition quadrupled the store's square footage. Besides having more room for product expansion, room was added for a large machine shop that included a much needed crankshaft grinder, which was used to meet the needs of the automotive and agricultural customers. As the business grew Roy's agricultural customers asked if along with the machine shop service he would consider getting involved in hydraulic hose building and increase his bearing and belt offering which would help them fix equipment in the fields. Large inventories of many different Ag product lines were added and eventually Roy added bulk oil and antifreeze.
When the Schwann Food Company opened a depot in Marlette, Roy 'volunteered' his sons to be on call during the night, in case the fleet maintenance team needed parts. He told his sons that it was important that the Schwann trucks be "ready to roll in the morning" and that getting up in the middle of the night to chase parts would do them good and build strong character. Presumably there was a direct relationship between Roy getting a good night's sleep and his sons' character development.
Roy had many different type customers some rich; some poor, some that needed a hand when times were tough and Roy gave everyone an equal chance. Deals were between the buyer and Roy. If a deal went sour, Roy would say nothing to the person's friends or family Roy felt it was a life lession learned by both. Many folks got back and forth to work on parts Roy sold that took months and sometimes years to get paid for. If a person could only afford $5.00 a week so be it. Roy never looked at helping a man as a handout, helping a man keep his vehicle or equipment running so that person could feed his family was all Roy needed. With Roy it was always about healthy and happy families.
Roy worked hard, but certainly enjoyed spending time with family and friends. He enjoyed business relationships and social relationships. He enjoyed a good game of golf and making all the waitresses laugh at his normal lunch spot. Leaving behind scratched off losing instant lottery tickets as a tip was something all the waitresses enjoyed. They knew if they were left an old lottery ticket the tip that was coming their way in the next day or so would be more than generous. It was Roy's quiet way of giving to those that needed it.
Roy wanted each of his children to have a college degree and that goal was kept. He also wanted his children to go into the world with conviction, kindness and having their word valued and that goal has also been met and kept. And his employee's were like family. Knowing what was going on in the 70's and knowing social security may not be enough income for his employees when they reached retirement age Roy added a pension plan to the many benefits his employees enjoyed. A rare benefit for an employee at a small retail store in a small rural town.
As for giving back to the community, Roy, in silent service, helped civic, church and school groups by donating money, door prizes, and his time but always asked to be kept out of public recognition. Roy served as mentor to many young men and women teaching them about credit, financing, how to deal with happy and sometimes not so happy customers and how to work through any situation. Roy always took time to teach the rookie as well as the veteran employee.
On a personal note Roy was one of the greatest mentors I had as a young man starting out my career as a factory representative. After working a few days on store updates, installer calls and throwing in some product and technical training Roy would always set with me and discuss the events of the week and what he felt went well and what I could work on for improvement to make the next set of calls even better. I credit Roy for helping me become a better rep on every call and guiding me along to the position I hold today with Standard Motor Products.
Roy's wife Dorothy lives in Marlette and his son Dave works for Dana and his son Marshall works for Ford and both have stellar careers. The store is now owned by Auto-Wares but I'm guessing if you gathered up all the residents in Marlette and asked them to tell you their favorite Roy story they wouldn't be able to stop at just one. Roy and Dorothy touched almost every life and every heart in the small town of Marlette. For all of the reasons listed above and the many, many more I didn't type this is why I've nominated Roy Rosquin for this prestigious award.
Ken Wendling will be presenting Roy's wife Dorothy and sons Dave and Marshall with the 2015 MAPA Lifetime Service Award during MAPA Industry Day 2015 being held on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at the Holiday Inn Gateway Centre in Flint, Michigan as we all honor the wonderful man so many knew and loved, Roy Rosquin.
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