NORWICH – It has been 50 years since Annette Smith purchased her first car from Christman Motors. The former school teacher and Norwich resident remembers going to the dealership with the intention of trading in her car for something “bigger, better and heavier.” And she’ll never forget the eager young salesman, fresh out of high school, who helped her.
“He told me that he was going to sell me a car,” Smith said. And he did – a light blue 1960 Mercury Montclair with a dark blue top.
Tom Morrone, president of Christman Motors, remembers that car. Because it was the first new one he sold when he began working full-time for the dealership at age 18.
That car – the first of many Smith has purchased from him over the years – marked the start of a long, lucrative career for Morrone. This month, he celebrates 50 years at Christman’s.
The Norwich native says he knew he wanted to work for the dealership even in his pre-teen years. He recalls an afternoon when he and his friends were in 6th or 7th grade. They had wandered downtown during lunch, he said, and were stopped by Bill Hall of WCHN radio. The radio personality asked Morrone what he wanted to do when he grew up. He vividly remembers his response to that all important question.
“I told him, ‘I want to sell cars for Bob Christman,’” he said. “That’s the gospel truth.”
Morrone actually started working part-time at the dealership in 1958, at the age of 16.
“I can remember the first job I had here,” he said. Doug Christman had asked him if he was willing to prepare a car to be repainted, and he said he agreed “like a damn fool.”
“I didn’t know what I’d gotten myself into,” he laughed, recalling the tedious process of sanding down the vehicle and taping it up.
He passed the test, though, and was subsequently “promoted” to cleaning and preparing cars for customer delivery.
Morrone continued working at the dealership on a part time basis until he graduated from Norwich High School. At his mother’s insistence, he went off to college, doing a brief stint Mohawk Valley Technical Institute.
“I went for two weeks,” he admitted, before deciding it wasn’t the life for him.
Back in Norwich, he didn’t immediately return to Christman’s. Instead, he approached Bill Smith for a sales position. Smith turned him down, he said, and so he found his way back at the Lincoln Mercury dealer.
“He always said he regretted that day,” Morrone joked.
Morrone met and married his wife Sally in 1962. He immediately set about proving to his new father-in-law, who he admits was not “in love” with him, that he was capable of supporting his young bride. He succeeded.
“The first year we were married, I made $4,000 more than he did as a teacher,” he said, with obvious pride.
As it turned out, Morrone was very good at selling cars.
“The car business is all about relationships,” explained Hank Scudder, who has sold cars alongside Morrone at Christman’s for 43 years. “He is probably the best grass roots salesman I’ve ever met.”
And sell he did. According to Morrone, he set the local record for new car sales in a single month in 1973 with 37. While others have tried to break that record, “nobody’s topped it yet,” he claimed proudly.
Morrone’s success helped him climb the corporate ladder.
“I worked my way up and became sales manager over the years, and part owner in 1989,” he reported. From there, he rose to general manager, and in 2009, became president and majority owner.
“Norwich, and Chenango County, have been very good to me,” Morrone said. He, in turn, has tried to give back. By far the lengthiest portion of his resume is the list of community organizations he’s been involved with over the years.
Topping the list is his role as chairman of the Chenango County Republican Committee, a position he has held for 29 years – making him the longest standing party chairman in the state. His commitment to the community has also been exemplified by his service on a number of boards and as a member of numerous organizations, including: the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee, the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, the Norwich Kiwanis Club, Chenango Memorial Hospital Building Fund, City of Norwich Traffic Commission, St. Bartholomew’s Church Fund Drive Committee, the Greater Norwich Local Development Corporation, the American Legion and others.
He is also a past president of the New York State Auto Dealers Association, of which he is still an active member, and was recently elected to the Norwich City School Board.
“I think I’ve done things in the community that I can be proud of, and that my family can be proud of,” Morrone said.
He has been recognized for his contributions on more than one occasion, including in 2006, when he received Commerce Chenango’s Commitment to Community Award. The following year, he was named the Boy Scout’s Distinguished Citizen of the Year.
His most recent acknowledgment came earlier this month, when he was presented with a plaque from the City of Norwich in recognition of his 50 years at Christman Motors.
The dealership, too, has been celebrating Morrone’s milestone. Tomorrow, which happens to be his birthday, a month-long sales event will conclude. There will also be a drawing for a 50” flat screen television, compliments of S&S TV and Appliance. No purchase is necessary to enter the drawing. To enter, visit Christman Motors, 159-163 South Broad St. in Norwich.