Hixson Store Team
Tim Caldwell - President
Tim ran a Goodyear retail store for 14 years. He then became a rep for Goodyear’s Independent Dealers, and covered the southeast area for 2 years. After that he decided to finally fulfill his lifelong goal of becoming an independent dealer. With that he opened 3 stores in 5 years. The first store opened Feb. 2005, and the second opened July of 2005. In Aug of 2008, the first two stores merged with the third store which is now Sentry Station. Mr. Caldwell has been certified in Advance Engine Performance. He is also certified as a Parts Specialist, a Master Tech, a Customer Consultant, and he has been ASE certified for over 25 years.
Steve Sorrells- Hixson Store Manager
35 years ago, Steve began working for an independent dealer. He then started working with an automotive dealer and did that for 8 years. His next step was working for Pepboys for 15 years and then he got into consulting for 4 years It was at this time that he got recruited to become Hixson’s Store Manager for Highland Tire in June of 2009. Mr. Sorrells is Master Auto/Truck ASE Certified & Advance Engine Performance Certified.
East Ridge Team
Stefan Michels - Store Manager
Stefan began working in the automotive field part time at an auto parts store while he was going to school. From there he was asked to join the team at Goodyear in Dalton, GA as a customer advisor. Selling automotive services & tires was something new for him, but he enjoyed it immediately & felt that it was something that he could make a successful career at. After working in Dalton for several years, Tim recruited Stefan to join the Highland Tire team at the East Ridge location in July 2005 as the Assistant Store manager. After 2 years he was promoted to the Store Manager position.
Darrell Hutton - Service Manager
Darrell started in the auto repair industry in the mid 80’s at Walter Jackson Chevrolet as a general line tech. He performed a wide range of repairs and also worked with many other local dealers as a service writer and a manager. Prior to joining Highland Tire, he spent many years at Peterbuilt, a commercial truck dealer, as a re-finisher. Darrell has many certifications that include A/C, engine mechanical, and brake systems. He is also a Dupont Certified Re-finisher.
Fort Oglethorpe Station Team
Chuck Cochran - Store Manager
Chuck grew up in Mississippi and moved to Chattanooga in 1991. He worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company for 18 years. Opportunity opened for him to have his own independent store in Nov. of 2004. This was Sentry Station Tire & Auto, Service. After having the store open for 3 years he decided to merge Sentry Station with Highland Tire & Auto, Inc. Chuck is a member of the Board of Directors of Battlefield Civitan Club & a Member of the Advisory Board of Northwest Georgia Technical College Auto Dept.
Brian Erie - Service Manager
Brian was orginally from North Dakota and he moved to the Chattanooga area in 1997. He started working in the automotive industry in 1989 and spent 4 years in the Navy working for the aircraft maintenance field. He has worked at several local dealerships as a Service Manager or Service Advisor. Brian also spent 5 years with the Goodyear Corporate Store as a Store Manager & Service Manager. He is an advisory board member for the GA Northwestern Tech College Auto School.
