Who We Are
John
O’Connor is the owner of Shade Tree Garage.
John has been married to Wendy since 1973 and has four wonderful
children named Katie, Kristen, Daniel, & Kelly. When he was younger,
he loved to take cars apart. In 1975, he became an ASE-certified
Master Technician. He has been a Bosch-approved service center
since 1989, and is also a member of The Repair Excellence Council
(2001). He participates in the Bottom-Line Impact Group, which
is a peer review process that helps automotive repair shops stay
on the leading edge of business and industry issues. John is also
a member of the Morristown Chapter of Business Network International.
|
|
| Daniel O’Connor joined the Shade Tree Garage crew after attending County College of Morris. He's not only the Service Advisor for the garage, he's also John O'Connor's son. According to John, "It is invigorating to be able to work with my son. He gives me a different perspective on the business." While having helped his dad around the shop growing up he is now excited to be part of a family-owned business. In September of 2005 he graduated from the RLO Service Advisor Academy where he gained a full understanding of automotive service requirements. He has also attended several training classes designed to enhance his skills at helping customers solve their problems. Dan is available to the customers and can guide them to make the appropriate decision to maintain their car just like the day it was new. |
|
| Our
Office Manager, Marge McEntee, started
with Shade Tree Garage in 1988. She is a graduate of Rutgers and
is happily married to Phil McEntee who owned and operated McEntee’s
Towing Service for many years. She took a 3-year “vacation”
to be with her children Brennan and Jack. To John’s relief
she has since returned part-time. With advance notice, she can
arrange a rental car, a short-term loaner, or a ride to your office
or the train station. If you prefer, she'll arrange to pick up
your car from your home or place of business. Marge also schedules
the work, orders parts, tracks the invoices and answers the phone.
In fact she does everything except work on your car. She and John
are both in the office nearly every day and can answer most of
your questions. |
|
Phil
Eng started at Shade Tree Garage in October of 1995,
bringing with him, his years of domestic car experience. He is
married to Beth and has one son. Shade Tree Garage used to be
solely a foreign car repair shop. When the business blossomed
to include domestic cars, Phil was a perfect addition to the company.
He attend three years at NC State studying engineering. After
moving into the auto repair industry, he earned his ASE and AC
Delco Master Technician Certifications. Phil is also a licensed
NJ MVC private facility inspector and certified emission repair
technician. Phil is a real "people" person with the
ability to listen to your problems. Aside from being a Master
Technician, Phil is also an instructor to other technicians at
Mechanics Educational Association (MEA). He has also attended
all six Bosch Service schools in Chicago to achieve the Bosch
Master Technician status. |
|
| Michael
Chavez started with Shade Tree Garage in October,
2004. Mike attended the NJ Institute of Technology and is a graduate
of Lincoln Technical Institute. He is very thorough and shows
great attention to detail. One of the reasons John recruited Michael
to join the team was a line on his job application. Michael wrote, “I like getting things done correctly and in a timely
manner." Mike is constantly attending classes at the MEA
(Mechanic's Education Association) and is working towards his certifications. One of his goals is
to work as a crew man with a local racing team in his spare time. |
|
| Keith
Vradenberg brings a lot of experience with him to Shade Tree Garage. Keith
earned an associates degree at County College of Morris and attended
Rutgers for a semester. He’s been in the automotive business
since he was nine working with his father's trucking company. Keith
came to Shade Tree Garage with a strong background in domestic
vehicles after running a repair shop in Sparta, NJ. He is an ASE
Master Technician with an Advanced Level certificate. He is also
a certified NJ Emission Repair Technician as well as a Motor Vehicle
Inspector. Keith is married with one son, and he owns a 600hp,
1969 Camaro which is in his garage while he builds an addition
on his home. |
|
| |
|
| Shade
Tree Garage is different from most dealer service facilities.
Our technicians are all accessible, so if you have questions or
concerns you would like to discuss with the man who works on your
car, you can speak with him directly. |
|
