Tom Henry Chevrolet Celebrates Grand Opening with Pine-Richland Students, Activities

After months of construction, Tom Henry Chevrolet along Route 8 in Bakerstown is celebrating the grand opening of its new showroom and service center with a plethora of events involving Pine-Richland students—and even the vice-president of General Motors.

“It’s going to be pretty cool,” said Tom Henry, owner of the car dealership.

Henry said he decided to partner with the Pine-Richland Opportunities Fund for the celebration because of his family’s close affiliation with the district.

Henry’s wife, Gail, is a pianist for the high school chorus and their children either graduated from or still attend Pine-Richland.

Celebrating All Week Long

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 4, a vintage car show will be held outside the new 32,000 square foot building. Pine-Richland art students will be on hand to draw caricatures of attendees inside a Corvette or vintage Chevy for a small donation.

Customers may also purchase original hand-drawn and digital artwork done by the students or take part in a silent auction.

All proceeds benefit the Pine-Richland Opportunity Fund, a nonprofit that provides scholarship to students and supports innovative education initiatives through direct staff grants.

At 7 p.m. Monday, May 6, Pittsburgh Pirates star Neil Walker, a Pine-Richland graduate, will meet up with the Pine Richland Softball Baseball Association to sign autographs in the showroom.

On Tuesday, May 7, it’s off to the races from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Henry said Pine-Richland tech-ed students will be racing their own custom made CO2 cars. They’ll also get a chance to meet Don Johnson, vice-president of General Motors—which Henry said is pretty special.

“He doesn’t just come to Pittsburgh,” he said.

Johnson also will judge renderings of concept cars Pine-Richland students designed for the Chevy Silverado, Equinox, Malibu and Camaro.

Henry has no doubt Johnson will be impressed by the clever future concepts created by the teens.

“I think it’s going to be very surprising because some of them are really creative,” he said.

The PRTV staff also will have a chance to interview Johnson and make a video about his visit.

From 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, Pine-Richland High School and middle school orchestra students will play for guests as they browse the showroom floor.

All About the New Tom Henry Chevrolet

Tom Henry Chevrolet has been a part of the Richland Township landscape since 1958, when Henry's father, Tom B. Henry, opened the business.

The new showroom at 5886 William Flynn Highway is next to the old showroom, which was opened in 1962 and was torn down earlier this year.

The building actually opened in December, but Henry said the asphalt in the parking lot was not completed until last week.  

“My inventory has been up the road for almost a year,” he said.

One of the amenities at the new, larger facility is a drive-in service center with a door that automatically opens when customers drive up, protecting them from inclement weather.

There also are additional service bays, a modern waiting area, a playroom for children, parts department, conference room, offices and a special area for Tom Henry Racing.

Henry said the new facility was built to better fit into GM standards. 

“GM wanted certain things and when you looked at it, it didn’t make a lot of sense to put that work into the old building,” he said.

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