JV Brotherton, Part 3: My Family
By far the biggest satisfaction for Paula and I is that all of our family; 3 children, son in-law and daughter-in-law, all work in our business. In the early days of BRODIX, I was doing everything there was to do to make things happen. I eventually became overwhelmed. Paula had her registered nursing degree and had a good job as a nurse. She very unselfishly gave up her profession and took over the major chores which I could not do in the office. BRODIX would not be here today without her. I worked the back, and she watched the front and gave birth to two boys and a girl while we still raced dirt track cars on the weekends. I don’t quite understand how we made it all work. When I was racing on the little dirt tracks around Arkansas, Paula and the kids always went with me. She would take a play pen and sit in the stands. The kids grew up around racing. Jeff raced circle track cars for a couple of years, but Greg liked drag racing so Jeff became a drag racer with him. Our daughter, Jennifer, raced mountain bikes, and her husband, Cody, races a Volvo drifter car with a big small block engine.
The third generation of “Brotherton Racing” is now beginning as our oldest grandson races a junior dragster. Our living was made with racing, and I guess it was only natural that our children became racers.
Our oldest son, Jeff, tried college, but left school to work with me after a couple of years. Greg, our other son, stayed in college and got his degree. Jennifer also got her degree. Eventually they all came back home to work at BRODIX. Jeff is in sales, Greg is in manufacturing, and Jennifer is in the office. Lori (Jeff’s wife) and Cody are in advertising. Paula and I could not be prouder; the business has been taken to a new level. They have progressed and diversified the operation with additional products, modernized equipment, and improved quality, but they must also share a large amount of credit with our great crew. Some of our employees have been with us for over 35 years. Our average employment is approximately 14 years. We make a very sophisticated, complicated product from start to finish at our facility in Mena, Arkansas, and we do it well thanks to them. These days, Paula and I have 9 grandchildren who keep us very busy. We attend sporting events to watch everything from basketball to martial arts, soccer to junior dragsters, and fast pitch softball. We look forward to the future and are just hanging on for the ride.
I have seen the racing industry go from almost no speed parts to the multi-billion dollar industry it is now. Today, with enough money, you can buy myriads of speed parts which the average person can use to go fast. Complete race cars with engines ready to race are available. For several years, there were only a few aftermarket head manufacturers, but now there are many. Over the years we have endured poverty, good times, tornadoes, and intense competition (both domestic and foreign), and we are proud to still be a successful company in this difficult economy. BRODIX has stayed true to our goal of using the best materials available and staying flexible to meet the changing market conditions. Quality and customer service have always and will continue to be our top priority.