About LCT's The Great Limo Race

LCT will be comparing how five operators with less than two years in the industry build their success, including the challenges, failures, and achievements. Read more

Players

Deborah Talbott

Debbie is a former purchasing director who after 20 years found herself unemployed in a recession. She immediately launched her new business from home starting with a single 120-inch stretch limousine and has since added a Lincoln Town Car Executive L to the fleet. Read more

Ricardo Garza

Ric, as he is known to friends, is 45 years old, married, and a proud parent of two boys and one girl. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and spent many years working in the Houston Mayor’s Office as a certified conflict mediator and business developer. Read more

Becky Laramee

Along with her brother, John, Becky bought All Points Limousine in 2008. Their mother had spent time in the motorcoach and travel industry and had retired, but wasn’t quite ready for retirement. Needless to say, mother Bonnie is the office manager. Read more

Brad Gregory

Brad bought a 25-year-old limousine service in 2009 from a retiring owner. The company is located between Nashville, Tenn. and Bowling Green, Ky. He had no previous experience in the industry, working for the past decade for an automotive company. Read more

Georgia Berg

In July 2007, at the age of 44, Georgia became a long-distance business partner with her longtime Australian friend, Peter Smith. They met by chance while vacationing in Hawaii in 1993. During a 2003 visit to the U.S., Smith saw a Ford Excursion limousine and vowed to bring the first one to Australia. Read more

Race Referee

Jim Luff

LCT Contributing Editor Jim Luff is an operator from Bakersfield, Calif. After working as a chauffeur in the early 1990s, he joined The Limousine Scene in 1993 as general manager and later became a partner in the business. Read more

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RIC Rides Off With Lifelong Connections

Hello Limo Racers,

Well, the race is officially over and it's been an awesome ride. I would like to start my "farewell" message by thanking everyone that made it possible for me to participate in the NLA/LCT scholarship and the Great American Limo Race.
 
First and foremost, I want to thank the Limousine Association of Houston for providing me with the application and recommending me for the NLA/LCT scholarship.
 
Also, I want to thank Darcie Benard who gave me the great news that I was awarded the scholarship by the National Limousine Association (NLA) and LCT Magazine. It enabled me to attend the 2010 International LCT Show where I met my fellow Limo Racers and Jim Luff.
 
Additionally, I want to thank Jim Luff and LCT Magazine for inviting us to participate in the "Great American Limo Race." As a recipient of the NLA scholarship, it gave us the opportunity to participate on a story in the LCT Magazine about new operators in the limo industry. We shared information through the 18 months of the race about sales, marketing, successes and failures. This was an excellent way to promote our company to the industry.
 
I started R&R Limousine Service, LLC from the ground-up. We started with a Lincoln Town Car Limousine (180) and a Chevrolet Suburban that we bought in February 2008. We bought our first Lincoln Town Car sedan in December 2008. We purchased our Hummer H2 Limo in January 2009 and our Executive Lincoln Town Car limousine (120) in March 2010. The latest addition to our fleet is a F550 Ford limo party bus that we bought in March 2011.
 
We are exhibiting our limo party bus at the Houston Wedding Showcase tomorrow.
 
When I started the Great Limo Race, I was working out of my home, but we soon moved our headquarters to a 3,600 square-foot office/warehouse. We instantly cut costs by doing the detailing and maintenance of the limos in-house. 

The diversity of our fleet covers a huge spectrum of the limo industry. Our year-to-year annual percentage growth has held steady around 50%.
 
I also would like to thank the readers that kept up with the race and provided feedback.
It's been a great experience and I've made relationships that will last a lifetime. I hope to see everyone at the 2012 ILCT Show in Las Vegas.

Ric Garza
R&R Limousine Service, LLC
Houston, Texas
Print | posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 1:59 PM
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