Meet Sarah Price, Warehouse Manager at Virginia Tire & Auto

From the time she was 18, Sarah Price knew she wanted to work in the automotive industry.

“I took an auto tech class in high school and really enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together,” she says. “It was fun.”

But Sarah says she never expected the journey that took her from being a high schooler interested in cars to Warehouse Manager at Virginia Tire & Auto.

Paths to Success

Here at Virginia Tire & Auto, we take pride in the diverse career paths available to our team members. While many of our staff follow a conventional career path, we encourage employees to discover the path that is best for them.

When Sarah started working for us in January 2010 as a General Service Technician, her end goal was to be an Automotive Technician, completing complex and high-skill automotive repairs.

“I was going to be a technician,” Sarah says, “but the store managers just always saw other potential in me.”

Over the next nine years, Sarah has worked as a General Service Technician, Service Advisor, Junior Sales Manager and General Service Manager at our four Ashburn locations. She also worked as a Training & Development Coordinator at our Operations Support Office. Then, in summer 2019, Sarah took on the challenge of managing Virginia Tire & Auto’s warehouse and internal distribution systems.

A New Challenge

We asked Ben Wilson, our Chief Operating Officer, why Sarah was chosen to be the Warehouse Manager. Here’s what he had to say:

“When we needed a strong leader heading up warehouse operations, Sarah was the only choice. Her energy, passion and enthusiasm make her easy to get along with, and we trust her to make sure the warehouse meets our stores’ expectations.”

As Warehouse Manager, Sarah is responsible for preparing store deliveries, tracking down special-order parts, keeping track of stores’ needs, billing invoices and more! Even though she’s only been in the position for a few months, Sarah has already made positive changes and has high hopes for her position and the warehouse’s role at Virginia Tire & Auto.

“I’ve already been trained in the values that Virginia Tire & Auto holds to [at the stores], and I want to bring that to the warehouse,” Sarah says. “If we’re going to service auto shops that are at a higher caliber, then our warehouse needs to be at that higher caliber too.”

Mentorship Matters

Though her career path hasn’t been what she expected, Sarah credits her success to managers and coworkers who believed in her and taught her the skills she needed to be successful.

In the same way, Sarah consistently mentors and trains those around her to help them improve.

Whether as a Training & Development Coordinator or General Service Manager or any other position, Sarah says she’s loved watching new employees “get it.”

“When they have a new skill, you can see that they’re proud of themselves and they want to learn more,” she says. “And that makes me really happy.”

Sarah’s No. 1 piece of advice for anyone starting a career in the automotive industry is to not be afraid to ask questions.

“Always be asking questions. No matter what position you take on in the auto industry, it is changing so fast that you have to be constantly learning and gaining as much knowledge as you can.”

Start Your Career at Virginia Tire & Auto

We’re always looking for more talented, hard-working people to add to our team! Learn about some of the career paths available at Virginia Tire & Auto and apply today!