This weeks “Up Close & Personal” features Gerald Lamigo, accountant at Porsche Centre Victoria, Matt Kennard, Brand Ambassador at Porsche Center Victoria, Adam Davies, General Sales Manager at Audi Victoria, Chris Silveira, General Manager at Three Point Motors and Oliver Booth, Senior Financial Officer of GAIN. We appreciate all of our hard working fathers and everything they do for us here at GAIN! Keep reading to hear some hilarious quotes, heartwarming stories & some truly helpful parenting advice from each of these amazing men who are all at different stages of their everlasting career in fatherhood!
Gerald Lamigo
Accounting at Porsche Center Victoria
Gerald Lamigo joined the GAIN Group in September of 2018, as the accountant at Porsche Centre Victoria. Gerald was born in the Philippines and comes from a big family. He came to Canada when he was three and says “he didn’t have a lot growing up” He agrees he is most definitely of a car guy and admits to owning five different cars in the past five years! Another hobby he enjoys is playing basketball with his co-workers that he met while working at Porsche. Gerald and his wife welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Liam, 7 weeks ago! He describes being a new father as, “tiring but absolutely fulfilling and an amazing blessing, despite those sleepless nights” he couldn’t be more excited and overjoyed! The funniest moment he can recall is when giving his new baby a bath, all clean and ready for bed, Liam pooped right in his hand! Gerald is happy to say that work has been very supportive of his new role in fatherhood, they even provided a new baby gift basket of onesies, blankets, socks and toys as a congratulations! His advice to new fathers out there is “to use cloth diapers! They’re not only better for the environment but also more cost effective” – Gerald Lamigo
Matt Kennard
Brand Ambassador at Porsche Center Victoria
Matt Kennard has been with us for 18 amazing years! He started, at what was then known as, Speedway Motors, washing cars in 1989 and eventually worked his way to sales in 2001! He is definitely someone who appreciates cars, even outside work. On weekends he can be found working on his Westfalia, or his old VW Beetle, but he enjoys nothing more than to spend time with son Riley and his wife Celeste! When asked “how would you describe being a father?” he says “it’s the absolute best thing ever!” It brings him all the joy in the world to have a son and since becoming a father he has completely become a different person. Finding himself more focused on family and what’s best for them! The funniest moment he can recall is when Riley was four, and Matt wouldn’t give him a toy, Riley told him he was going to move out because of his inefficient management skills! Matt feels supported by his team at Porsche, when it comes to his fatherhood responsibilities and his last bit of advice to all the other new or soon to be dads out there is to “Enjoy it, because it goes fast! Savor the moments and all of the little things!” – Matt Kennard
Adam Davies
General Sales Manager at Audi Victoria
Adam Davies joined the GAIN Group January 15th 2018 and has been with Audi Victoria since February 6 2019. He actually started with Audi, just over eight years ago in Kingston, Ontario, so it’s pretty safe to say that he knows the brand pretty well inside and out! Adam definitely has an appreciation for cars but his favorite part of his work is meeting people and making genuine personal connections! On Adams time off he enjoys growing and maintaining his garden with his family and passing down the knowledge he was taught as a child from his own parents! Adam and his wife have 3 girls, the oldest Michaela, 6, Josephine, 4, and Eloise, who only just arrived May 4th of this year! Growing up with only brothers, this is a first living in a household full of females! Adam describes his first feeling of fatherhood as a “download of love” as it is truly the most intense and amazing feeling a human can feel! His main goal when it comes to raising his girls is to not just do the minimum, but to give them all the necessary skills to become responsible adults. He intends to teach them to see beyond themselves, learn empathy, how to be intentional and take the opportunity to search inside and know that whatever you thoughts or actions you portray as a parent, will be passed on to your children! His advice “Lace up your shoes and put on your track suit and get ready for a work out, because being a parent is the most beautiful relationship that ever exists and if you do well, it will be the most important thing you ever do!” – Adam Davies
Chris Silveira
General Manager at Three Point Motors
Chris Silveira has worked in the automotive industry for over 22 years, but just moved from Ontario to Victoria about three months ago. He definitely considers himself a car guy moreover any other hobby! Chris and his wife have two children, a 5 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. His son and daughter both love cars too, and they love to go fast in loud cars. After struggling for 5 years with infertility and IVF treatments, they found out his wife was expecting on their last attempt, and their son was a surprise pregnancy one year later which was very exciting! When asked, how would you describe being a father, he explains it to be one of the most challenging and fulfilling things he feels he can do with his life. “There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing the smiles on their faces after teaching them something new, from walking to riding a bike and everything in between”. His favorite moment at the end of the day is hearing “Daddy’s home” when his children run to give him a big hug! He explains how much life changes when having children. You have to become very selfless and do what’s best for them! His piece of advice is “It’s incredible how fast kids grow up. Everyone says it but you really see it when you have kids of your own. So, be present, not just physically but emotionally and enjoy every moment” – Chris Silveira
Oliver Booth
Senior Financial Officer for GAIN
Oliver Booth is the Senior Financial Officer for GAIN. He started with the GAIN Group nearly 4 years ago before transitioning to Three Point Motors. Oliver truly believes in work/life balance and has always felt supported by his team! He loves to ride his bike and definitely considers himself a car guy, as well as his kids, his daughters dream car is a rainbow colored Mercedes Benz S-class! His first car was a 1968 Pontiac Beaumont that he fixed up with his father many years ago and still owns and drives today! Oliver is a father of a nine-year-old son and a daughter who turns seven on June 18th, which is two days after Father’s Day and three days before his birthday! Oliver says, “the most interesting thing is seeing how completely different some aspects of his children are from each other, despite growing up together in the same environment but the most rewarding thing is watching them grow and learn”. He is happy to express that his children are at an exciting age now where he can start to enjoy his hobbies with them, like riding bikes to go get ice cream, which is a treat for everyone! His thoughts are “I think some people say they want to wait until they are ready to have kids, but I’m not sure you ever really feel truly ready for it and the sooner you have kids, the more time you’ll have with them, being a dad is fun and ever changing. Enjoy it and say yes, when they want to spend time with you” – Oliver Booth
Happy Fathers Day!