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Shaun Velasquez; BookStore Manager Vanessa Velasquez; Seminars and Convention Manager

When you first learn that Shaun and Vanessa Velasquez are a married couple, it’s only natural to assume they met at work. But these two got to know one another before they ever came to ATRA… long before. In fact, they first met as kids, when they were both about 5 years old… and they have the pictures to prove it.

“Shaun went to school with my cousin since about the first grade,” explains Vanessa. “We have pictures of the two of us at a birthday party, sitting at the same table.”

They attended different elementary schools, but they went to high school together. There, Shaun made a name for himself playing football; he played “strong safety.”

“In my senior year we went on to beat Lance [Wiggins]’s school for the championship game, which is pretty cool,” says Shaun. “I give him a hard time about that whenever I can.”

Shaun did well enough on the foot-ball field to have college scouts talking to him. But a back injury and subse-quent surgery took him off the gridiron permanently.

The two “hung out” together

throughout their high school years, sharing many of the same friends. But they didn’t begin dating until after graduation. They married while work-ing at ATRA, and today have a 5-year-old son, Isaac.

Vanessa came to ATRA in 1998, answering phones in the Membership department part time. She soon became a fulltime employee, and worked her way up through the ranks to become the Membership Services Manager. About 3 years ago she was asked to move from Membership into a new position as ATRA’s Seminars and Conventions Manager.

She’s the one who handles the behind-the-scenes details for Expo and ATRA’s technical seminars… all the stuff you don’t really think about… until it isn’t there. Sort of the unsung hero for keeping ATRA’s programs afloat.

You know that coffee that shows up around the break time? She’s the one who scheduled it. The signs that show you the way to the seminar rooms? The vendors who set up to help sponsor the event? Vanessa. She’s even the one who makes the arrangements with the hotel or school in your area for the seminar to take place.

ATRA NEWS

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146 GEARS January/February 2008

ATRA NEWS

“For years, my ideal job was to be a wedding planner,” says Vanessa. “Then I was offered this position doing the seminar and meeting planning, and I thought, ‘I can do that.’” Not coin-cidentally, she recently opened a side business, Weddings by Vanessa. While not exactly the same, she’s quick to acknowledge the similarities between meeting planning and wedding plan-ning: “They’re both about organiza-tion,” she says.

Shaun first came to ATRA dur-ing its move from Ventura to Oxnard. At the time he was working for Coors brewery, stocking shelves and gener-ally helping out as needed (Sounds like a dream job, doesn’t it?) But ATRA needed help moving the BookStore into its new digs, and Vanessa suggested Shaun might be interested.

They were so happy with his work during the move that later, when they needed someone to work in the BookStore full time, they asked Shaun if he’d be interested. He was.

After a few years with ATRA, then BookStore Manager Mike Helmuth left to start his own company, and asked Shaun to come with him. Shaun worked with Mike for about a year before being lured back to ATRA as the BookStore Manager.

In addition to taking and filling orders, he’s in charge of evaluating exist-ing product, ordering stock, monitoring inventory, creating product promotions, and purchasing new programs for the BookStore to offer. His latest acquisi-tions include the ATRA Appointment Pad, and the new book, Building Blocks of Electrical Diagnosis; both currently

available exclusively through the ATRA BookStore.

Shaun is quick to admit that going from BookStore staff to management was a big change. “Back when I was working in the store, I’d be handling the orders and making up invoices, and I’d call over to Mike and say, ‘Are you doing anything?’ and he’d tell me, ‘You’ll see… you’ll see one day.’ He was right; there’s a lot that goes into the job that you just don’t realize until it’s your turn.” It took a little time to grow into it, but today there’s little doubt that Shaun has made the job his own.

What’s it like working together with your better half? “We don’t see one another as often as you might think,” says Shaun. “We work different shifts, so we come in separately, and work in different areas of the building. Sometimes we can go for days without crossing paths.”

Of course, working different shifts has its advantages, too. “Isaac is in kin-dergarten now, so Vanessa gets him off to school in the morning before coming to work, and I finish in time to pick him up,” explains Shaun. And when time gets short, each of their families live nearby, and are happy to lend a hand.

In their spare time, both Shaun and Vanessa describe themselves as “homebodies.” They enjoy spending time together, just relaxing and sharing the moment. Although Vanessa is more of a traveler than Shaun: “A few years ago I broached the idea of going to Hawaii and Shaun was like, ‘I’d rather

stay home.’ But we finally went, and now he can’t wait to go back.”

And while they both enjoy their time at home, those moments are often few and far between. To begin with, Vanessa is currently attending college to earn her bachelor’s degree in busi-ness. And they bought a new house last year, which they’re working on, “to make it our own.”

Shaun spends most of his spare time working out and playing with Isaac. And when he has time, he likes playing pool at his father’s house, which is just a couple blocks away. He plays in a league once a week. Is he any good? “I’m okay… I’m getting there. My dad can still clean my clock, but I’m getting there.”

When asked what they liked most about working at ATRA, both Shaun and Vanessa were of one voice: “The people. Everyone here is pretty close. It makes for a great working environment. Everyone gets along; it makes it fun coming to work every morning.”

GEARS January/February 2008 147

Lance Wiggins ATRA Technical Director

For many people, the auto repair industry is a calling. For Lance Wiggins, ATRA technical director, it began as a need for high school credit. In his junior year, he needed additional credit time to remain on track to graduate. The only course available was an automotive class, and that was only for seniors. But the school made an exception for him.

By the time he reached his senior year, Lance was the “shop foreman,” and he graduated from high school with a 3.85 grade point average. But the class didn’t just help him meet his aca-demic requirements; it also provided him with a foundation for what was to become his lifelong career.

While still in school, Lance interned at a local gas station. There he met Pete Huscher — now an ATRA Technical Advisor, then the service manager for Ojai Ford. When the gas station closed, Pete asked Lance to come to work for him at the dealership.

Pete moved on to another Ford dealer, and it wasn’t long before he asked Lance to join him. Lance made the move, and came on as a line techni-cian. Then the transmission tech left, and Pete asked Lance to take the trans-mission job.

Over the next eight years, Lance immersed himself in learning his craft, taking 93 courses through Ford. “I was just a step away from receiving my master’s certification from Ford when I left to work for ATRA,” says Lance.

Lance worked on the ATRA HotLine for about a year when the technical director’s job opened up. He applied for it, and after a lengthy deci-sion process, he got the job. “Since then it’s been a constant learning process,” he said.

Today, in addition to being ATRA’s technical director, he’s an award-win-ning author and sought-after seminar instructor. His favorite thing about working for ATRA? “Every day’s a learning experience,” he says.

Lance and his wife Holly have four kids: Tyler, 16, Paige, 13, Elenna, 8, and William, 5.

In his spare time, Lance enjoys riding motorcycles; he rides to work

almost every day, and takes part in organized

rides in his area. He loves fishing with his kids, enjoys coaching football at the local high school, and working as an umpire for a local youth and high school age baseball league.

His biggest goal is to be happy; so far, he thinks he’s doing pretty well with that. “I do a lot of planning in my work; planning for seminars and Expo some three years in advance. In my life, I pre-fer to live in the moment. I want to be there when most people aren’t.”

Lance Wiggins