The year was 1983, and Dennis Simunovich was just another junior
at San Benito High School with no clue about what he wanted to do
in life.
The year was 1983, and Dennis Simunovich was just another junior at San Benito High School with no clue about what he wanted to do in life.
“I knew I really liked cars, and when the counselor told me about the class it sounded like fun,” he said. “If I didn’t have that class, I wouldn’t be doing what I am today.”
That year, Simunovich enrolled in the Regional Occupational Program (ROP) auto body shop course at SBHS and started his career that would eventually make him a successful business man. He had taken other auto repair classes, but said they were limited. Body shop allowed him to be more creative.
“There is a level of craftsmanship you get to develop when doing body work,” he said. “Plus it’s the last thing people see on a car.”
At just 18-years-old, Simunovich already started to see profit come in from his work.
“I would have a buddy who had a dent in their car and I would say ‘oh, I’ll fix it,’ and right there I made $100 in one day,” he said. “That’s a lot when your in high school.”
After graduation, Simunovich worked for a year-and-a-half for the city of Hollister, painting striping on buses and much more.
“I painted everything from a lawnmower to a garbage truck for them,” he said.
Since starting his own business in 1985, Simunovich has been helping customize and beautify cars in Hollister. He’s saddened to see the high school hasn’t brought the ROP body shop class back, since it closed four years ago.
“It’s so hard to find kids who want to get into this industry because there isn’t the classes for it anymore,” he said. “Everyone thinks you have to be a computer scientist to get a job, but we need people who can work with their hands.”
Simunovich feels their should be some kind of vocational training available to teens in Hollister, especially because of the career choices available in town.
“If you’re going to find a job in Hollister, you’re going to be doing pluming, carpentry or working on cars,” he said. “And that’s something someone right out of high school could get a job doing if they had the training for it.”
A lot of Simunovich’s high school buddies also have gone into trade work, but one of the things that makes his body shop successful are the four-legged friends who hang out and socialize.
“We get every abandoned and dropped-off animal there is out there,” he said. “It’s kind of nice because they’re sweet and the customers love them. They always come in, see them and then tell stories about their dog or cat at home.”
Christine Tognetti can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 330 or at [email protected].
