Author: Park Place

Tis the season to give back, and give they did. What started out as a toy drive for Toys for Tots turned into a shopping spree for the Park Place Motorcars Grapevine team.

The generosity didn’t end with toy donations- collecting 3 full boxes of toys, many associates donated money. Word spread like wildfire and more donations came pouring in.

Having raised nearly One-Thousand Dollars, their efforts didn’t go unnoticed. General Manager Robert “Santa” Hinkle saw the generosity and determination of his associates to give Toys for Tots as much as they could, so he personally matched the monetary donations.

The team, including Santa Hinkle himself, channeled their inner child and went toy shopping.

Carts, filled to the brim, overflowing with toys zigzagged through the aisles. From dolls, to stuffed animals, to bicycles no item was too big or too small.

The excitement in the store was contagious as Santa and his elves shopped for kids, anticipating the excitement on their faces on Christmas Morning.

At the end of the day, Park Place Motorcars Grapevine delivered a Sprinter van FULL of toys to Toys for Tots.

Although the toy drive just wrapped up, we’re already looking forward to the next one. The experience and the coming-together as a team to benefit the community was a fun and unforgettable experience.

Park Place Dealerships recently celebrated the grand opening of its new Mercedes-Benz dealership at I-20 and Collins in Arlington. The fête attracted more than 750 guests, who also brought hundreds of toys to donate to the Boys & Girls Club of Arlington.

“When we opened our first Mercedes-Benz dealership in 1987, we had 128 members (employees),” said Ken Schnitzer, chairman of Park Place Dealerships. “Today, we have more than 2,000 members across 18 dealerships. With the opening of Park Place Motorcars Arlington, our fourth Mercedes-Benz dealership in North Texas, we’ve added another 76 members and expect that number to grow.”

The University of Texas at Arlington drumline lined the entrance to the new dealership as guests arrived, setting the tempo for a spirited evening.

The party spread throughout the dealership and on to the service drive as guests mixed and mingled and sampled a variety of scrumptious fare from area restaurants, including Blue Mesa, the Melting Pot, Lombardi’s Taverna, Andalous Mediterranean Grill and Chamas do Brazil.

Libations ranged from classic Hendricks Gin and modern Reyka Solerno martinis to Krombacher beer and Robert Mondavi wines.

The Mercedes-Benz Club of America – Fort Worth Section brought several classic cars to the party, including a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Cabriolet owned by Cecile & DJ de Jesus, which was prominently displayed in the new car showroom next to a 2016 AMG SL63 Retractable Hardtop Convertible.

The Jennifer Baldwin Combo entertained guests with soothing jazz in one of the two new car showrooms.

Guests glammed it up in the photo booth and savored frozen treats by Frost 321.   Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams set the stage for comfortable relaxation with custom seating  in The Star Lounge After-Party, featuring Drambuie cocktails and V-gars along with decadent desserts from Nothing Bundt Cakes. DJ Andre had guests dancing into the night to classic hits and soul music.

Park Place Motorcars Arlington features two showrooms designed to showcase 16 new vehicles, a shop with 35 service bays and 10 make ready bays, as well as a beautiful client lounge and a private kids playroom. In 2016, Mercedes-Benz is introducing 10 new vehicles in the U.S.; including a new four-door mid-sized SUV, several new diesel models, a plug-in hybrid C-Class and a sleek new SLK roadster.

For more information about a new or pre-owned Mercedes-Benz, please contact:

Richard Wasson, New Car Sales Director at (817) 807-4811; RWasson@10.2.54.33

Joel Moss, Pre-Owned Sales Director at (817) 807-4812; JMoss@10.2.54.33

Nearly 2-tons of food were donated to the Tarrant Area Food Bank, thanks to the amazing efforts by the team at Park Place Motorcars FW. When General Manager George Johnson issued a challenge to his team members, they rose to the occasion. And George- well, he had to go shopping!

Two teams competed to see who can collect the most canned goods, and encourage others to do the same. As donations trickled in, George upped the ante: he’ll go out and buy enough canned goods to match all the donations.

That spurred an outpour of donations, with 1,819 food items collected. George was excited to go shopping! He brought in a heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van for the shopping trip.

It was off to the grocery store. Going through the aisles and loading the cart with boxes of canned goods, it looked a lot like the old TV show “Supermarket Sweep.”

With help from the store associates and Park Place team members, they loaded up the Sprinter van.

The Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth team delivered over THREE-THOUSAND pounds of food to the Tarrant Area Food Bank. 3,557 pounds or 1.78 tons to be exact.

Service technician Juan Ibarra was working on a Mercedes-Benz SL550, that Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth received as a trade-in, when he discovered a bag in the trunk. When he opened the bag he saw stacks of $100 bills.
“I jumped back like I’d seen a snake,” said Ibarra. “My first thought was, ‘is this dirty money?’ I immediately took it to my service director. Nobody wanted to touch it. We didn’t even count it.”

“Juan has always been a real ‘go-to’ guy,” said George Johnson, General Manager at Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth. “He’s a man of the highest integrity. I’m very proud of him.”

Juan Ibarra with Park Place Motorcars FW General Manager- George Johnson

“It never even crossed my mind to take any of the money,” said Ibarra. “We just wanted to find out who the money belonged to and get it back to them.”

It took about a week before the owner was tracked down. Turns out he was a bail bondsman and the cash didn’t exactly belong to him either. The money was given to him for a bond. Needless to say, he was very relieved to get it back.

After counting the money, he confirmed that all $50,000 was accounted for and was thankful someone honest had found it.   “About a month later the guy came back with a nice card and some money in it,” said Ibarra. “The card was enough for me. He was very grateful.”