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Cerni Motors celebrates 50th anniversary
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Neighbors | Eartha Terrell.Katy Cerni (left) was excited to celebrate Cerni Motors 50th anniversary with her cousins, Joe (center) and Marica Aug. 16.
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Cerni Motors Employees, Dana Greene (left) and Karen Chikosky said they were proud to work for a company that supports the community.
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Greg DeAngelo (left) and his wife, Maribeth, enjoyed themselves as they ate and listened to music during Cerni Motors 50th Anniversary celebration Aug. 16 in Austintown.
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Cerni Motors Owner, John Cerni, posed with his wife, Carol, as they celebrated the company’s 50th anniversary with friends, family, vendors and community members Aug. 16.
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Neighbors | Eartha Terrell.John Cerni (left), smiled with his mother, Margaret, during the 50th anniversary celebration of Cerni Motors in Austintown Aug. 16.
By EARTHA TERRELL
Cerni Motors celebrated its 50th anniversary with friends, family and community members Aug. 16 at the Cerni Motors dealership in Austintown.
The family-owned business was giving back to the community that has continued to support them throughout the course of several decades.
“In celebration of our 50 years, we invited our friends, family, customers and vendors to celebrate. A company is nothing without its community and vendors. This is a family business and we care about our community,” said John Cerni, owner of the dealership.
The event included music, food and a chance to bring the Cerni Motors family together to celebrate its longevity. Karen Chikosky, who has worked for the company for six years, was excited to be part of a business that is dedicated to servicing the community and staying in Austintown. “With the economy the way that it’s been, I think it’s a wonderful thing that this business has lasted so many years and it’s been owned by the Cernis the whole time and they’ve never sold out. There’s a lot of pride with the fact that he [John Cerni] supports a lot of things around the community. John is a very hands-on boss. He’s involved in everything that goes on here,” Chikosky said.
The founding fathers of Cerni Motors were brothers John and Charlie Cerni. Their first dealership opened some 50 years ago as a GMC truck franchise on Parkman Road in Warren. The operation soon outgrew that location and by the mid-1960s, the Cernies had built a new building at a new location on U.S. Route 422 in Niles.
Around that time, they became affiliated with International Æ Trucks and continue as an International Æ dealership to this day.
John’s son, John II, became the principal owner of the business in 1992 and built and opened the current Cerni location in Austintown in 1997. John II’s son, Vincent, is now a major part of the business and is the heir apparent to a third generation of Cerni ownership.