Meet Alex Zapata

Rachel Dorman joined the Classic Honda family 6 years ago and has come a long way since. Rachel started her career at Classic Honda as a temporary file clerk. At the time, she had been going from temp job to temp job, unsure of where to go next. The service manager at Classic Honda offered her a full time position as a cashier. Then, for a couple years, she ran Honda’s new rental program at the dealership. Not too long ago, the warranty admin retired, and that’s when she started in her current role. more When Rachel was young, her parents decided to move from their home of Oklahoma to Orlando, Florida. She has lived here ever since. She loves being on the beach, so living in Central Florida has worked out well. Rachel also enjoys spending time with her daughter and son. Her daughter rides horses, and her son is on the wrestling team. Supporting her family and their hobbies motivates Rachel to work hard. Being the only one who does her current job, Rachel finds that taking time off can be difficult. Returning to work after a vacation involves severe catch up work to get back on track. This keeps her focused on doing her job well to keep the department running smoothly. In her role, she does a lot of paperwork, including verifying repair orders from every service performed at the dealership. Fortunately, Rachel enjoys the atmosphere at Classic Honda and gets along with all of her coworkers. While at work, she feels like she is with her family, people she trusts and can count on to have her back. One of her main goals is moving up in the company, since it has treated her so well. In her current position, she is the happiest she has been so far in her career. Working in a fast-paced industry that is constantly changing has been demanding but rewarding for Rachel, and she would say the same for anyone who can thrive in that kind of environment. “If you want a nice, steady, not boring job, this could be a perfect fit.”

Josh Swiernik, service advisor and assistant service manager at Classic Honda, works to create a great life for his family and a future for himself. About fifteen years ago, Josh started his career with Holler-Classic as a porter at Classic Volkswagen. His best friend at the time was a technician at the dealership who helped him get the job. Before working with Holler-Classic, Josh worked at Crystal Magic, where he would take pictures and make them into laser etched 3D portraits. At some point before that, he worked at Krystal. more Josh says sleep is his number one hobby. He also enjoys going to Tampa Bay baseball games and theme parks. His family all have Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World passes. His children are full of energy, and he cannot wait until they are adults who realize that money does not grow on trees. Unlike his children, Josh did not grow up around theme parks. He lived in upstate New York until his parents moved to Central Florida in 1999. Supporting his family motivates Josh to work hard. At the end of the day, he is making money for them. This drives him to do the best he can in his role. He enjoys working in customer service, especially when customers show that they truly appreciate what he has done. For anyone looking to work in the automotive business, Josh says it is important to not take anything personally. Having a good work ethic and an open mind helps when it comes to communicating with different personality types. Keeping these things in mind has helped him succeed. The Holler-Classic company likes to fill positions internally. Josh appreciates this, since he is looking to move up one day. When there’s a mutual respect between everyone on staff, Josh finds it easy to come into work. The sales staff and service staff get along, even though their roles are separate most of the time. When not at work, sleeping, or entertaining his rambunctious daughters, Josh finds time to take management courses. He is a year away from his bachelor’s degree. Since this career path has served him well, Josh would like to become a service manager. To achieve this, he plans to learn more behind the scenes at the dealership and pay close attention in his college courses.

Rodney Bridgemohan enjoys working as a parts associate because he meets people from all walks of life and has the opportunity to interact with them on a personal level. Even after 10 years at Classic Honda, Rodney is excited to go into work because he never knows what to expect. Rodney started working at the dealership in June 2010 when his wife’s cousin who worked there referred him. He started out as a parts driver, and 4 months later, he moved up to his current position as parts associate. more Before starting out in the automotive industry, Rodney was a lab technician at Quest Diagnostics. At that time, he mostly interacted with other technicians, testing samples in a lab. This job served him well enough at the time, but he wanted more personal interaction. In his parts associate role at Classic Honda, he talks to different people from all walks of life, and he experiences the best of all worlds. During his early life, Rodney’s family made a few major moves. Rodney was born in Trinidad, and in 1989, his parents moved to New York. In 2002, they decided to retire to Florida, where Rodney has lived ever since. Of everything Rodney has accomplished in life, he is proudest of starting his own family and raising a son. In his spare time, Rodney enjoys photography and reading. His favorite subjects to read about are self-motivation and science fiction. Lately, Rodney has kept himself busy outside of work by going back to school, taking courses here and there to figure out what to pursue next. Getting an education is the next big goal he is looking to accomplish. While working on achieving this goal, he is also looking to buy a house. For anyone looking to start a career in the automotive industry, Rodney says the most important thing is to have a love for it. Rodney did not grow up loving cars and knowing about them, but he has learned to love cars while working at Classic Honda. This career path has served him well, and he’s excited to see where it takes him next.