October 28, 2004
Hernandez comes home
John Hernandez came home from his tour in Iraq in July. As a guy who worked here at the marina for 6 years, John has a special place in our hearts. We asked him to tell us how to send care packages to Iraq and started a campaign last spring to see how many packages we could get in to his hands.
At first we thought we’d be handling most of the load. This is a controversial war and some don’t even want to think about it. Others support the troops in their own way. But a whole bunch of our Hoffmaster's family members gave—and I mean a bunch. It was suprising, not expected, and totally heart-warming. Some folks dropped off magazines, batteries and toothbrushes. Some sent money. Many remembered how John had helped them out in some way or another and just wanted to show a little appreciation. Whatever the motivation, we went from being the ones who were going to be the main contributor to simply becoming the ones who paid for the packaging and shipping. 100% of the donations went straight to the troops. Some troops under John’s command even sent their own postcards which was very moving. Most touching of all was John’s visit after just coming home from the war and then a few months later.
When John came back he looked like a man who’d just come home from a war—worn, exhausted, and older. We were so glad to see him—there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. He returned later (looking much better) with 2 momentos for us. The first was a plaque with a detonator, a medal, and a photo. Seems the troops very much appreciated these packages. After awhile we got tuned in to the idea that Pop Tarts were the most popular. John explained that after eating rations for awhile and then unsuccessfully trying to eat the local food, the one snack that reminded them most of home was Pop Tarts. Guys would hit John up reminding him that they were next in line. He ended up splitting packages and handing each man one Pop Tart! At any rate, they were exploding some buried munitions and the photo on the plaque is of a shell they’d written HOFFMASTERS on, the detonator they used, and John’s war conduct medal. The plaque is engraved “Presented to the Hoffmaster's Marina Family From the Marines of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Thank you for Supporting the War on Terrorism.”
John also brought another plaque and another story. He spoke of a time he and Dad took a boat to Alexandria to tow a boat back. John—who’d never seen front line combat—asked Dad how he got through the Battle of the Bulge and subsequent combat on his way to Pilsen. Dad said a lot of things—like how you have to have a joke and a sense of humor in the face of it all. John thought about Dad a lot when he was facing battle and hardships in Iraq. That’s why he gifted to us his Bronze Star with the inscription “Presented to Mrs. Hoffmaster and Joe in Honor of Mr. H.”
This is not about us. This is about my father, the wonderful friends, customers, and suppliers we have in our family here. Most of all, it’s about the soldiers and John. Special men in a tough situation. Our hats are off to them and our prayers are always and shall always be with them.
Customer Appreciation Day
Our Customer Appreciation Day was Saturday the 23rd. As usual the event is a good excuse to pull members of our family together for the purpose of sharing good times and good stories. Francis Chilcoat and his band showed up for a couple hours and played a wonderful acoustic pop and folk mix; Steve got busy dishing up the food. As usual Jeff Atwood and Kathleen Walker did a great job of pulling the party together. By 4 o’clock everyone was full, the band was happy, the keg was dead, and we collected over $100 for the OWL Fire Department. Next party will be the Spring Kickoff Party, February 19th—the Saturday after the Washington Boat Show. That’s only 119 days from now so start pencilling in that calender!
Chaparral Dealer Meeting
Sam just returned from the Chaparral Dealer Meeting. Chaparral has some GREAT new models for us this year. With all the models Chaparral has now, it's getting difficult to find room to stock all the ones we want! Highlights are the new 236 SSi which is a little sister to the 256, and the 255 which is the cuddy version of the 256. But the one we are really excited about is the 21’ deck boat! The new 216 is just light enough to go on a 2” hitch trailer but has an enclosed head that’s actually usable and tons and tons of room. We just got one in stock today. Check out the new 216!
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216 Sunesta |
236 SSi |
255 Cuddy |
Contact Information
Joe Hoffmaster—Sales Manager, General Manager, Sales Specialist new boats. Office hours M-W, F 8-4, Sat 10-4
Martha Hoffmaster—Chief Financial Officer M, T, Th, F 830-11, 1230-3
Kathleen Walker—Billing questions Accounts Receivables, Boat Sales M-F 830-4
Terry Verity and Jeff Atwood—Parts and Service questions Parts Manager, Service Writer M-F 8-4.
Charles T. Hedrick—Sales Specialist M, W, Th, F 830-4, Sat 10-4, Sun 12-4 or by Appointment
Sam, Steve, John, and Dave are techs M-F 8-4
For Service and parts orders and follow up call Terry or Jeff. On the weekends leave Terry notes. Parts order forms and work order forms are located on the parts counter. Anybody in the store can assist you in this.
To put your boat up on brokerage or to get a value call Chuck.
If you have a question about your bill call Kathleen.
Hoffmaster's—Welcome to the Family—Growing Since 1954
1214 Swan Point Rd. • Woodbridge, Va. 22192
Phone 703.494.7161 • Fax 703.494.8786
Open 8-4 M-F, 10-4 Sat, 12-4 Sunday
