VANCOUVER, British Columbia — OK Tire Stores Inc. has named OK Pneus La Malbaie in Clermont, Quebec, its National Store of the Year for 2021.
The honor is awarded annually to an OK Tire/OK Pneus location that upholds OK Tire's "Honestly Driven" motto on a regular basis and provides outstanding quality auto service to the local community.
OK Tire executives presented store owners Frédéric Ouellet, Marc-Antoine Leblond, Martin Dassylva and Jean-François Marier with the award at the franchise group's recent annual general meeting, which was held virtually.
Ouellet, Leblond, Marier and Dassylva moved their business in 2019 to a purpose-built, 13,000-sq.-ft. facility in Clermont that allowed them to add mechanical, fleet services, storage and distribution to their service offerings.
The owners support a variety of charitable organizations and events, including local hockey, skiing, tennis and events such as "Noel des enfants." Well known for their community involvement, the owners' strong charitable presence in the community has helped ensure their success with all of the challenges faced during the pandemic, the company said.
"We are honored to receive this award and proud to provide our customers with exceptional customer service at each visit," Ouellet said.
"We wanted to take this opportunity to thank our team, customers and corporate office employees who continue to support us daily. We are overwhelmed with this honor and will continue to put our customers' needs first today and in the future."
OK Pneus La Malbaie, formerly known as GCR Tire Centre, has been operating under the OK Pneus banner since 2018.
OK Tire President and CEO Jim Bethune said OK Pneus La Malbaie's owners and staff went "above and beyond every day to service customers. As businesses faced hurdles in 2021, we are tremendously proud of OK Pneus La Malbaie for showing true innovation and leadership in driving best-in-class customer service in Clermont."
Clermont is a community of 3,000 residents in eastern Quebec on the St. Lawrence River about 85 miles northeast of Quebec City
In addition to naming the National Store of the Year, OK Tire also recognized six regional stores of the year and one commercial store:
- OK Tire Quesnel Ltd., Quesnel, British Columbia (Pacific Region) — Syvert Mytting and Dustin Brown, owners;
- OK Tire Whyte Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta (Alberta Region) — Dave, Doug, Evelyn and Mark Waddell, owners;
- OK Tire 8th Street East, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Prairie Region) — Ken Achs and Rodney Janzen, owners;
- OK Tire Owen Sound, Owen Sound, Ontario (Central Region) — David and Rebecca Booy, owners;
- OK Pneus St-Hyacinthe, Sainte Hyacinthe, Quebec (Eastern Region) — Luc Poisson and Josée Brodeur, owners;
- OK Tire North Sydney, North Sydney, Nova Scotia (Atlantic Region) — William and Karen Taylor, owners; and
- OK Tire Port Kells, Port Kells, British Columbia (commercial store of the year) — Darrell and Evangeline Armstrong and Michael and Theresa Alexander, owners.
