Past Headlines

August 2020

Steve Huber has supported Toyota service for 50 years, and was selected as Quality Champion in 2011, 2012, and 2020. His passion has influenced other technicians and inspired future Quality Champions.

Thank you for 50 years!

September 2020

Congratulations to Ray Maldonado for achieving 2020 Quality Champion Recognition!

In his early career, Maldonado graduated T-TEN and earned his Associate’s Degree in Automotive Technology. He went on to accomplish Lexus Master and Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician (MDT) status. Ray’s commitment to excellence has earned him the honor of being a Quality Champion for the second time.

October 2020

Shaun began his Toyota career in 2005 as an apprentice working with a Toyota Master technician in Pensacola, Florida. After gaining further experience running his own automotive repair business he returned to Toyota in 2008. Shaun relocated to Brookhaven, Mississippi in 2015 and was able to continue his training and become a Toyota Master Certified technician.

Shaun’s ability to work as a mentor to other technicians as well as his commitment to honing his own diagnostic skills have helped earn him recognition as a Toyota Quality Champion.

November 2020

Luke’s interest in vehicles started early in life, so pursuing a career in the automotive field was an easy decision. After getting started with high school vocational tech courses Luke moved on to OSU-IT’s T-TEN technician training program.

Over the last 18 years Luke has worked his way from a maintenance tech to a shop foreman and gained certification as a Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician along the way. Luke now concentrates on mentoring incoming technicians and performing in-depth vehicle diagnostics. We are proud to recognize him as our newest Toyota Quality Champion.

December 2020

Richard Brock has supported Gulf States Toyota for over 31 years, and we are proud to select him as a Quality Champion. As a Master Diagnostic Technician (MDT) he has been able to display the skills needed to positively influence others in his environment. Richard’s many contributions and his ability to provide actionable reporting have helped ensure each of our customers receive the highest quality product possible.

“I believe if we all do our part we can make a great product even better.” - Richard Brock

January 2021

Blake graduated from Cisco College in Abilene with an Automotive Associate’s Degree. For the past 8 years Blake has been crafting his automotive skills and dedicating himself towards excellence, achieving Master Diagnostic Technician (MDT) status and the role of Shop Foreman. Blake has constantly strived for top quality in everything he does, and is always willing to help fellow team members learn and grow as Technicians.

We are honored to recognize Blake as a reoccurring Toyota Quality Champion.

February 2021

Matt LaGrone has been working with Toyota vehicles for over 11 years, beginning his journey once discovering his talent and interest in the automotive industry after graduating high school. Matt has elevated himself to Master Diagnostic Technician (MDT) certification and is currently working as a dealership technician team leader. His attention to detail and ability to identify and clearly convey customer’s concerns have contributed to high quality Dealer Product Report submissions and earned him recognition as a Quality Champion.

“I sincerely enjoy being a part of the Quality Champions program. I feel more directly connected with the brand as a whole and feel my voice is being heard through my product reports.” - Matt LaGrone

March 2021

With over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, including 16 years at Toyota dealerships, Michael Schoonover has consistently worked to hone his skills and has earned Master Diagnostic Technician (MDT) status. While performing his role of Shop Foreman he spends a considerable amount of time as a mentor helping to develop incoming technicians and assisting them as they work towards their own goals. Michael is looking forward to leaving his mark on the future of Toyota as our newest Quality Champion.

April 2021

With over 20 years in the automotive industry including 19 years of experience at Toyota dealerships James Jeter has developed a strong understanding of what it means to be a Quality Champion. James began his automotive education in high school and continued on, later graduating from UTI with an associate’s degree. He has also earned Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician certification, along with ASE Master and Advanced Level L1 and L3 certifications. James enjoys putting his knowledge to use solving difficult to diagnose concerns, and gets satisfaction from providing his dealership customers with a positive experience. James’ advice to future Quality Champions is “Never stop learning,” and to take advantage of any opportunities for education whether from online resources, in-person classes, or mentor technicians.

May 2021

After earning his associate’s degree at Texas State Technical College Brent Grygar went to work in the automotive industry as a technician, and has since gained 17 years of experience. Brent has put that experience to good use, earning ASE Master Certification, ASE L1 and L3 Advanced Level Certifications, earning recognition as a Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician, and even winning the Gulf States Toyota technician skills contest in 2013.

“To me `Quality Champion’ means someone who goes above and beyond simply fixing a vehicle and moving on to the next one. It is a commitment to improving Toyota products for our customers.”

- Brent Grygar

June 2021

Blake Giles got an early start in the automotive industry through his high school’s work release program, initially working in body repair shops and then beginning his career as a technician in 1999. After owning his own repair facility, Blake brought his experience to Toyota in 2010 and rose to the level of Toyota Master Technician. Blake’s commitment to improving Toyota quality through Dealer Product Reports has earned him recognition as a Quality Champion.

July 2021

Geoff Robinson has been supporting the automotive industry for over a decade. Since graduating from Universal Technical Institute (UTI) he has dedicated countless hours in manufacturer training which he puts to use daily as a Toyota Master Technician. His aspirations have helped him stand out as a leader, and ensures confidence within his team. We are proud to recognize Geoff Robinson as a 2021 Toyota Quality Champion.

August 2021

Reggie Marquez started his career with Toyota almost 21 years ago while attending the T-TEN program at Eastfield College where he graduated with a T-TEN Certificate and an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science. While working his way from an Apprentice Technician to a Shop Foreman he has put all of the knowledge and experience he has gained to good use. On top of submitting high quality Dealer Product Reports, he has also participated as a mentor in an Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) event, supported the SEMA trade show in Las Vegas, and continuously worked to motivate and educate the industry’s incoming workforce. Reggie’s inspiring personality as well as his ability and willingness to take on leadership roles have earned him the title of Quality Champion.

September 2021

Jason Whisenhunt began his Toyota career in 2005 as a maintenance technician. In the time since he has worked his way up to a Master Diagnostic Technician, earning ASE Master Certification and ASE L1 Advanced Engine Performance certifications along the way. Jason has found that each day brings the chance to learn something new and overcome challenges, which has kept his passion for his role going strong. The pride he places in his work along with his desire to help create a better product has kept him submitting Dealer Product Reports and earned him a spot as a Quality Champion.

October 2021

For the last 22 years, Jeremy Lowe has been developing his skills in the automotive industry, spending 7 years with Lexus, and most recently 11 years at Toyota dealerships. Shortly after the launch of the 2013 Scion FRS Jeremy found himself working in-depth on a developing issue with the vehicle, and noted Toyota’s willingness to go the extra mile in ensuring vehicle quality and in supporting their customers. This experience was Jeremy’s introduction to the world of Dealer Product Reports. Since then Jeremy has used to his skills to submit a large number of high quality, and actionable reports, and is the technician with the largest number of Dealer Product Reports submitted in the Gulf States Toyota region for the year 2020. A Quality Champion is a professional technician who goes above and beyond for customers, is respected for their commitments and professionalism, and is a leader within their service department. Jeremy Lowe has exemplified this. We are proud to welcome him as a 2021 Quality Champion.

November 2021

Tim Carter has spent 30 years gaining knowledge and experience with the Toyota brand. Since starting as a maintenance technician in 1991 Tim has graduated the T-TEN program, completed an associate’s degree in automotive technology, and reached Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician certification. Finally yet importantly, Tim earned recognition as a Toyota Quality Champion for 2021.

As a technician who has been recognized at the highest level, Tim was recently able to seize an opportunity to advance his career and will now be helping to mold the next generation of Quality Champions as an instructor in the T-TEN program.

Congratulations, Tim!

Early 2022

The leadership team at Sport City Toyota is committed to encouraging technician engagement, and continues to motivate their technicians with a positive culture.  It was an honor supporting technician recognition at the dealership and celebrating their many recent accomplishments, including T-TEN graduates, technician ASE achievements and tenure, DPR PROs, and report rank ups.  Additionally, we were able to acknowledge our 2022 Quality Champion, Josh Wood. Keep up the amazing work team Sport City!