Murray Chevrolet teams up with Olympic swimmer

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This article was published 05/01/2018 (3180 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Murray Chevrolet has a proud history of supporting amateur athletes in our community, and is proud now to be sponsoring Chantal Van Landeghem.

Van Landeghem says she has been swimming since she was four years old and has been a member of the Canadian national team since 2011. She competed in the 2016 Olympics and was part of the bronze medal-winning Canadian 4×100-metre relay team. The medal was Canada’s first in the event in 40 years. Van Landeghem is also the reigning 100-metre freestyle and 4×100-metre freestyle champion in the Pan Am Games — setting games records in both events.

“Dan (Murray, dealer principal for Murray Chevrolet) was a supporter of me personally and of our team in Rio,” Van Landeghem says. “After Rio, he asked me to speak to his staff about my experience at the Olympics.”

In December, Van Landeghem announced she was stepping back from competitive swimming for now to focus full time on her studies toward a master’s degree in psychology. Last summer, she volunteered as a sports psychologist at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, which reinforced her decision to pursue a career in that field.

And that is where her new association with Murray Chevrolet comes into the picture.

“Last summer, I sent Dan a business proposal,” she says. “I expressed my interest in becoming a part of Murray Chevrolet in exchange for providing financial support for my studies.”

Van Landeghem’s role with Murray Chevrolet is representing the dealership at community events as well as on social media. She is also being called upon for motivational presentations to Murray sales staff.

The arrangement is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Should Van Landeghem decide to get back into Olympic competition, she is scheduled to graduate from her master’s program in time to start training for the 2019-20 season, in preparation for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Vickar Clearance Centre

The year-old Vickar Auto Group Clearance Centre at 1501 Dugald Rd. in Transcona is promising service with a difference.

“We offer customers a more personal touch compared to larger dealerships,” managing partner Anthony Cantin says. “We operate more like a smaller, family-owned business where you only have to deal with one or two people.”

He reports the clearance centre has an inventory of about 60 vehicles. “We stock all makes and models, domestic and foreign, ranging from lower-end vehicles in the $10,000 range to luxury models selling for up to $70,000,” Cantin says.

“And we can bring in any model a customer may want.”

Cantin has been in auto sales for more than 20 years — and has been part of the Vickar Auto Group for most of those 20 years, having served in a variety of management positions. He assumed his new role in June 2017. He says he appreciates the opportunity to move to the next level as a managing partner.

The Vickar Auto Group Clearance Centre sales staff is rounded out by Craig Ouendag, a seven-year veteran of the Vickar Auto Group team, and Kevin Waytiuk, who doubles as finance manager.

“Our sales have grown by 76 per cent just since last June,” Cantin says. “We have customers from across Western Canada.

“We are looking forward to our official grand opening in June.”

ADESA supports the community

Gregg Maidment, Winnipeg general manager and senior vice-president of Canadian operations at ADESA, reports another strong year for ADESA’s local charitable activities. In 2017, Maidment says, ADESA conducted 54 charity auctions in the community, which raised $6.9 million altogether. The most recent such auctions, he adds, raised $20,000 for Winnipeg Harvest and $10,000 for the United Way.

Maidment says he and his team are looking forward to raising even more money for charity in 2018.

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