SALISBURY — Despite the rain, employees, town officials and guests gathered for a ribbon cutting May 14 as the Cloninger Ford/Toyota Collision Center, located at 645 Julian Road, marked its grand opening. 

Prior to the cutting of the ribbon, brief comments were made by Mayor Pro Tem Tamara Sheffield and Terry Osborne, chairman of the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, who both congratulated the management and employees on this special occasion.

Larry Cloninger, owner and CEO, took the opportunity to say thank you for the support of the community and to express his appreciation for all of the employees.

After the event, everyone was invited to enjoy a barbecue meal with all the trimmings.

In sharing about the grand opening and what it meant to him to celebrate the occasion, Cloninger said, “we wouldn’t have a grand opening if people in Salisbury and Rowan County didn’t come to our business.” 

He shared that you have to have two things, “people have to show up for work and you’ve got to have customers, and you have to take care of customers. Treat people the way you want to be treated.”

Managing partner Ron Lovelace said the day meant a lot. “We try to always give back to the community. We’ve been very blessed to have a very successful business. Just to be able to provide all this for the community and see the community support even with the weather like it is. It’s huge for us. We’re very fortunate.”