Clinton Township Newsletter

2 0 m a r c h 2 0 2 2 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M It's the month of St. Patrick's Day, so we're talking to the new President of the local chapter of the Friendly Sons of St Patrick, and Clinton small business owner, Russell Crosby, of Russ' Wrench Auto Repair. C3Q: As a longtime used car owner and purveyor of 'clunker' vehicles, I have to say that I'm a huge fan of your garage, and have nothing but positive reviews of my experiences there! With new and used cars so expensive, what are some tips regarding vehicle maintenance that you can share with our readers? RC: So, I would say that when it comes to your vehicle, there are so many do's and don'ts.One of the biggest things that people don't realize is about their brakes. The brakes don't actually stop your car, the tires do. People are concerned about their brakes, but forget about their tires.Tires making good traction on the road, especially during inclement weather, is what stops your vehicle. Check the code on the side of the tire to see its date, check for cracks and dry rot, and when you get down to 4/36 tire tread, you should consider a new set of tires. Another tip is to check on your door panel tag what the tire pressure setting is, not the tire itself, especially for trucks. A heavy duty truck tire can hold upwards of 82 psi, but you should only max if you are carrying a big load; you want to run with what the door tag says, which can be a 30 psi difference, which can be important in warmer months. As you drive, the air inside your tire heats up and creates more pressure, 5-10 psi, which is a problem if your truck tires are set to the max, and can lead to tire blowouts, stopping issues, or poor handling. C3Q: What a terrific explanation; I just learned so much! How long have you owned your business, and what is it like being a small business owner in Clinton? RC: We (my wife Victoria and I), have owned the garage now for eight years; we founded it on 2014 on April Fool's Day. We've grown from a 1600 foot facility in Readington to over 6000 sq. feet in Clinton. My wife Victoria grew up in Ringoes, and I grew up in Washington Township in Warren County. I got my start working on vehicles on my parents' farm, taking apart a truck at ten years old that I bought from a neighbor. I learned a lot of valuable lessons working on that, and decided I wanted to work on vehicles at a very young age. We have about ten people who work full time for the company, and we do a lot of activities and fundraisers with our team involved all the way. One of the unique things that we do is a massage for each teammate once a quarter from Massage Therapy Group in Readington, and stretching sessions from Robin's Rehabilitation East in Lebanon. I'm a longtime customer of that facility, because I've beat my body up over the years, and don't want myself or my team to be struggling in our later years. Another area that we focus on is finances for our team; we bring in financial planners to meet our team and do a 'lunch-and-learn', to talk about their futures and the importance of saving and where to put money for their children's futures, which they don't often teach in school. I think some of the perks of owning your own business is being able to work on building a great destiny for your team. It all comes back to my thought process of taking care of my team and making decisions for their future, and giving as much as I can to my team, and not having to worry about the limitations of working for someone else. I can think outside the box and make decisions about the things that I feel are right for my team. Another perk is work-life balance; my team will kick me out of the shop to go home to my family. Yet another perk is building a team which allows me to step out and do more in the community and do more when the community calls. I'm able to move around and do things to help people during the day. I can't help myself when I see people in need. Culture at my shop is the number one priority; my job as a business owner is to take care of my team, my team takes care of the customers, and the customers take care of the shop. One of the challenges of when things like Covid arise is that you have to be okay with change, and you have to be okay with things not working out the way you thought; we have to adapt and overcome, and our whole team has that mindset. We're very fortunate that the community supports us so much, and we're looking forward to growing that over the years. C3Q: Can you talk about some of the charitable activities your shop is involved in, and additionally, some of the activities that the Friendly Sons of St Patrick are involved in? RC: My father was a foster child and didn't grow up with much; he opened his own business with his wife, and one of their focuses was giving back to people in need, so my favorite projects are the ones that help people. Fixing cars is what we do here, but helping people is what we are passionate about. We run a lot of fundraisers; the shop is a 'vehicle' for fundraising. In October, we run events for Breast Cancer Awareness; we've done cornhole tournaments, and restaurant tap-takeovers where the proceeds go to "I Love You More" Foundation; the money goes to women in the county who can't afford mammograms. In December, we do a "Toys for Tots" drive during the Clinton Christmas Parade; we do "Warm Feet for Warriors," and "Soldier's Angels", a charity which collects and distributes socks to active military and VA hospitals; we work with Grow-a-Row and pick corn as a team with our families, all of us walking around in a field, picking corn and having fun. Twice a year, we clean up the "Welcome to Clinton" signs, and mulch and weed the area. We just noticed one year that there was a need, and jumped in. We support the North Hunterdon Wrestling program; I wrestled in high school for Warren Hills, and I love being able to help kids go after their dreams. As for the Friendly Sons, I was invited by a brother of the Friendly Sons through a local business networking group. My grandmother was a first generation immigrant from Ireland, and when I checked out the organization, it was honoring the men who had been doing charitable work and I welled up with tears hearing them talk about their experiences. The Friendly Sons raise money through various charity events throughout the year, such as a Golf outing that helps families in need locally. If there is a local family who is displaced from fire, has car trouble, can't afford to put oil in their tank, the Friendly Sons step in to give them a little pick-me-up when needed. They make sure the money goes where it is most needed; to put them in a better place than they were. One really cool project from this past year was using our tow truck to pick up 4000 lbs of food boxes, and drop them off at the Family Success Center, and partner with other organizations to distribute food. I've recently been honored with the Presidency for the next two years. There has been a lot of recruiting and lots of younger members getting involved across the county, and a Women's Auxillary as well. We are always looking for people who just want to help. A lot of people want to help, but don't always know how, and we're a great vessel to guide them on that journey. C3Q: Simply fantastic; thank you for all of your service; I hope you continue to grow that organization! Lastly, what is your favorite vehicle of all time, and your favorite vehicle of the moment? Any most-hated vehicles? RC: My favorite vehicle of all time is a 1957 Chevy Bell Aire, 2-door, light baby blue or maroon. It's a goal-vehicle one day! I'm increasingly interested in EV vehicles; I'm excited to see that new technology coming out. As a private repair company, there are some roadblocks with proprietary information for repairs and difficult-to-get parts; I'm hoping that in the future the government will help us to service those vehicles and get more access so that we don't get left behind. I don't have any 'most-hated' vehicles; we love taking on tough projects because we're a shop that can get it done. Sometimes with 'project' vehicles, the obstacle is cost... there is so much time and effort that goes into project cars to operate safely for the road, so the hardest part is giving realistic estimates of cost and time. Our goal is helping people and letting them pursue their dreams, and sometimes those dreams are not practical or able to come to fruition. C3Q: Thank you so much, Russ! We look forward to seeing you at the Clinton St. Patrick's Day Parade! Rachel Sprague, a resident of Clinton Township, has a degree in journalism from Rutgers. With her husband Russell, Rachel is raising two young children in the Clinton Township School District. She thinks that Clinton Township is a delightful place to live. Don't Miss the St. Patrick's Day Parade with the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick on March 13 at 3:00 pm in Downtown Clinton! "Fixing cars is what we do here, but helping people is what we are passionate about." – Russel Crosby "I think some of the perks of owning your own business is being able to work on building a great destiny for your team. " – Russel Crosby, Owner of Russ' Wrench Auto Repair Russel Crosby, the newly elected President of The Friendly Sons of St.Patrick of Hunterdon County with Dave Bolduc, 2022 St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshal Welcome to with Rachel Sprague * C linton ree Questions *

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