41 YEARS OF HISTORY: Built Ford Proud.
Larry Wind wasn't born into the car business, but he was born in Detroit
with an inherent interest in automobiles. His father had worked for Ford
building bombers during World War II, and his mother's father had emigrated to
the United States to work for Henry Ford for five dollars a day and the hope of
a better life for his family. Larry was the first Wind to graduate
college in 1965 from the University of Notre Dame. He immediately
accepted a position with Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, and eventually Ford
assigned him to their Pittsburgh region.
After 10 years of service to Ford and after falling in love with Pittsburgh,
Larry decided to follow his heart into the "retail" side of the
business. He became the sales manager of Pascoe Motor Company, a
longstanding Ford dealer that had been in business in Carnegie since Larry's
grandfather was building Henry Ford's Model T. It was there that Larry
met John "Jack" Woltz, the general manager, who had been a Marine
pilot in World War II.
In the meantime, Larry met and married his wife, Cindy, who grew up in the
Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Her father was a City of
Pittsburgh firefighter and her mother worked at the world-famous H.J. Heinz
factory.
During the construction of what was to be the new, state-of-the-art (and long
overdue) Pascoe Ford on newly developed property that had once been a NASCAR
dirt race track in neighboring Heidelberg, Bud Pascoe decided to sell the
business to Jack and Larry, and Woltz & Wind Ford was established in 1979
at Raceway Plaza. After four years of exponential growth, they partnered
together in a second location in nearby Washington, Pennsylvania, where
Washington Ford was established in 1983.
Larry and Cindy would welcome two children into their home: first a
daughter, Lindsay, and then a son, Dan. After that, Larry would purchase
Jack's interest in both locations; in 1992, Woltz & Wind Ford, and in 1995,
Washington Ford.
Dan is now a partner in both locations with his father. He graduated with
his bachelor's degree in automotive marketing and management, and also holds a
master's degree in business, both from Northwood University (located in his
father's home state of Michigan). Dan also spent two summers interning
for Ford in Dearborn, and one summer interning for New York State's largest
automotive group.
Each facility has undergone many expansions (both on-site and on acquired
off-site properties) and multiple renovations. In recent years,
Washington Ford's showroom and administrative offices were rebuilt from the
ground-up--a project that Larry has cited as the culmination of his 50+ year
career.
Presently, Larry enjoys staying actively engaged on the pulse of the automotive
business, the only one that he has known for over 55 years. He relies on
his son and his long-tenured team to handle many of the daily tasks that he was
accustomed to doing for over 40 of those years. He has nicknamed himself
"Lucky Larry" and truly feels fortunate for the opportunities that
presented themselves along the way. He often reminds team members that
they can only be successful by treating each other and their customers the way
that they would want to be treated, one interaction at a time.
In summary, there is really only one way to describe Larry, his family, and the
entire Woltz & Wind Ford team: Built Ford Proud.
