Bald Hill Kia hosts Chamber event; Hagan, Petrarca outline rich history of dealerships

Pete Fontaine
Posted 2/19/15

The six dozen or so business and professional people who attended the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce’s (CRIC) Business After Hours (BAH) last Wednesday at Bald Hill Kia in Warwick …

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Bald Hill Kia hosts Chamber event; Hagan, Petrarca outline rich history of dealerships

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The six dozen or so business and professional people who attended the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce’s (CRIC) Business After Hours (BAH) last Wednesday at Bald Hill Kia in Warwick received much more than a lesson in first class hospitality.

Amid a backdrop of what CRIC CEO/President Lauren Slocum called “interesting entertainment” and that always-special scent of shiny new automobiles, BAH-goers got quite the lesson in history about the two auto dealerships that have for years anchored the ever-bustling intersection of Bald Hill and Toll Gate Roads.

Two dealerships?

While the BAH was held in Bald Hill Kia’s facility, Bald Hill Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep that has been the firms’ signature store for decades, co-hosted what Slocum and others said “was a great night of networking where people made connections to help them grow their business.”

As equally impressive, people like Marcus P. Alves, a sales representative with Liberty Mutual Insurance who is actually an ambassador with the North Central Chamber of Commerce, emphasized, “This was a great investment for the dealerships and in the community.”

CRIC member Pamfilio’s Italian Deli, Ristorante and Catering provided the food.

The Bald Hill-based dealership, people learned, is a family-run and family-owned business that spans three generations and keeps getting bigger and better with each passing year.

Jim Hagan and Bob Petrarca, who head all operations at the two dealerships, welcomed Chamber members and their guests and told an attentive audience of how they’ve followed in the footsteps of their fathers – and grandfathers – in a business that began with mobile homes and was once only a used car operation.

“We’re excited to have everyone here,” said Hagan, of Bald Hill Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep that, among other historic happenings, acquired Lamb Chrysler-Plymouth dealership based in West Warwick for 87 years. “We thank you for coming and are looking forward to doing more of these events with the Chamber.”

Petrarca also issued a “thank you.” He explained how Bald Hill has had a Kia dealership since 2006 and how the two families have two of the busiest automobile businesses in Rhode Island.

“The Hagan and Petrarca families have always been good partners in business,” Slocum said, prior to the announcement-drawing session. “Tonight is a perfect example; on behalf of the CRIC, we thank Jim and Bob for their generous and gracious hospitality. This was quite the creative delivery to highlight all they have to offer here at the Bald Hill dealerships.”

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