Eugene A. Bertani
Elected: April 13, 1996
Inducted: August 16, 1996
Born: July 19, 1929 – Detroit, Michigan
Married: Yvonne Hunt – February 1956
Children: Gene and Yvonne have four sons. Ronald is the first born. He works for Ford Motor Co. Then along came David, Angelo and Andrew, all of which work in the family business.
History: Growing up, Gene worked on farms during his summer vacations starting at the age of twelve. He raced bicycles during his teen years and won Michigan State Championship in 1946. After graduating from high school, Gene went to a mechanical trade school. He worked at a repair shop in the eastern market of Detroit until he was drafted into the Army in 1951. There he served as a sergeant in Germany until his discharge in 1953. Upon his return from the Army, he worked in a frame shop for about a year. He opened his own Mobile gas station in 1954 selling gasoline and doing repairs.
Like most towing company beginnings, he started towing for himself, then for other repair shops. Because of the difficulty of obtaining operating authority, in 1969 another towing company with operating authority was purchased. He joined the Michigan Towing Association in 1969 and has served as V.P., Secretary, and is currently Treasurer. He helped organize Michigan’s first rodeo and has been active in every one since. His three sons are active in running the business and he is waiting for the nine grandchildren to take over. Besides still working every day, any spare time is spent working on his model train display at home or on his 1929 and 1930 Model A’s. As a teenager he drove his father’s Model T in the 50th Anniversary parade of the automobile and recently drove his 1929 Model A in the 100th Anniversary parade. Next……the 150th ……