Auto Notes: Dealership gives hand to soldier's mom
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, February 27, 2004

A Rocklin mother whose 19-year-old son is a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq recently found help from Land Rover Rocklin, an upscale sport-utility vehicle dealership owned and operated by the Niello Co. of Sacramento.

Debbie Boatwright was attempting to send care packages to her son - Pvt. Jon L. Boatwright, with the 82nd Airborne Division in Baghdad - when her Toyota Camry was stolen. The Rocklin Police Department recovered the car less than a week later, but it had been heavily damaged by the thieves. Boatwright was fearful that even repairing the car would not help because it lacked an alarm.

Elizabeth Axelgard, centre manager of Land Rover Rocklin, learned about Debbie Boatwright's plight from Soldiers' Angels, an organization that provides aid and support to members of the armed forces and their families - mostly through online connections. Axelgard talked with the group's founder, Patti Patton-Bader, a Pasadena mother who also has a son serving in Iraq.

Axelgard said that deciding to help Boatwright was a no-brainer: "I am a firm believer in supporting our military, being a military brat myself and granddaughter of a two-star general."

Axelgard said she talked to technicians at her dealership, and they volunteered their time to fix Boatwright's damaged car. The Rocklin store's parts department bought all the necessary parts.

The Land Rover team received a big assist from DealerWorks, the mobile electronics and accessories firm in Rancho Cordova. Techs there installed an alarm in Boatwright's Camry at no charge.

The result, Axelgard said, "Debbie left our service department a happy camper and was on her way to send out those packages to her son."

More details on the nonprofit Soldiers' Angels organization can be found online at www.soldiersangels.com.