Cooperative Living January 2017 - 22

Small-Town
Commitment
to Service
Clockwise, from upper left: Stanardsville's Main Street is a bustling, small-town thoroughfare vital to community life. Leonard
Dunahoo, proprietor of Stanardsville Hardware on Main Street, is a proponent of the town's renewal. The Greene County Record,
also located on Stanardsville's Main Street, is the weekly newspaper that serves readers throughout the scenic environs in and
around the thriving rural mountain community. Mark Lawson turned an old feed-store building that once housed the volunteer
fire department into Lawson Enterprises.
" I just love being in Stanardsville, "
Dunahoo adds. " My church is just down
the street. I eat lunch just down the street
or across the street. I can get to know
people here, and there's a generational
life. " He says he especially loves seeing
three and four generations of families
having dinner together in restaurants
on Sundays.
Among those long generations of
Stanardsville families is that of Mark
Lawson, owner of Lawson Enterprises.
The long-time automotive technician
worked 20 years at Brady Bushey Ford in
Charlottesville, running his own shop at
home on evenings and weekends part of
that time, and then finally deciding it was
time to go into business for himself.
In 2002, he bought the 1932 brick
structure on Main Street in which his
automotive shop is now located. The
building has, at various points in its
history, served as a feed store, Ford
dealership and Stanardsville fire
20 | Cooperative Living | January 2017
department. Two years later, he asked his
sister Carolyn to come on board as his
office manager, and the two have been
working side-by-side ever since. A former
schoolteacher, Carolyn says she decided to
work with her brother because she was
ready for a career change and found
herself enjoying the daily interaction
with customers. " I try to make people
feel welcome when they come in the
door, " she remarks. " We're kind of like
family here. "
As if to prove the point, Mark pokes his
head into the office after Carolyn tells him
to speed up service on a customer's car,
and jests, " Cool your jets! "
Both Mark and Carolyn were born in
Greene County, part of a long line of
Lawsons, and remain here for a variety of
reasons, not the least of which is the rural
beauty. " I've found nowhere prettier or
friendlier, " Carolyn says.
And Lawson Enterprises has certainly
earned its stripes in the community and
beyond. I am the second generation of
my family that Mark has served in a world
where trust is an increasingly valuable
commodity. " Word of mouth is the best
advertising we have, " Carolyn remarks.
" People come from as far as Nelson
County to have their vehicles worked on
here. " The shop is especially well-known
for its diesel work. " Word of mouth is the
best advertising there is. "
SMALL-TOWN COMMITMENT
TO SERVICE
The attitude of service permeates so
many of the businesspeople in
Stanardsville, whether natives of the town
or relatively recent additions to the
community. That's certainly been the case
for Alan and Kaye Pyles, who purchased
the Lafayette Inn and Restaurant 13 years
ago after relocating from Fairfax. The
couple became familiar with Stanardsville
during their time owning a vacation home
in adjacent Madison County.
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Cooperative Living January 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living January 2017