Woodlands community icon Dick Milstead celebrates 80 years

THE WOODLANDS, TX – One of the patriarchs of Woodlands-area business, Dick Milstead, is celebrating his 80th birthday, and the community is invited to join in the festivities. Today, Monday, July 10, Milstead Automotive is hosting a giant outdoor celebration at its location at 29707 W Hawthorne Drive in Spring until 2 p.m.

Milstead Automotive was founded in 1971 by Dick, who was born in 1943, after a long passion with cars. “:I’ve been in cars all my life. Originally I worked for the telephone company for nearly twenty years. One Friday, we got ‘crossways,’ and I left, and by that next Monday I had a shop open and ready for business,” he told Woodlands Online in an exclusive interview. “The first year was really great. I had to learn fast and scratched my head a lot, but I was able to hire some great people – I hired my first mechanic on my second day open for business.”

Milstead has enjoyed significant growth along with The Woodlands over the decades. “I started off as a business of one, and now I have about a hundred employees. The Woodlands has been great to me. We’ve done a lot of things together. We stay plugged in to everything; we’ve been a strong chamber of commerce member for years, and it’s important for us to remain active in the community.”

One sterling example of Milstead’s community commitment was a recent art show for Ford Elementary, where the students brought in their art to the collision center and we displayed it and allowed the public to purchase. The business also recently enjoyed participating in two July 4 parades; the one in The Woodlands, and the Oak Ridge parade, where their float won second place.

“As much as I love business, family is most important,” said Milstead.

His daughter, Amy Milstead, agrees, both as his child and as president of Milstead Automotive for the past 15 years. “I have six other brothers and throughout the years the cards fell where they lay. Things started happening and this is where I’m destined to be, and it’s pretty cool how it all worked out,” she said.

Amy has fond memories of the early days. “I remember our little bitty shop where he’d work on cars after his day job, and how it grew and he was able to hire people,” she told Woodlands Online. “I’ve been charged with carrying on his legacy, and we plan to do that with the carrying on of the growth and all kinds of potential. The sky’s the limit. The Woodlands and Spring communities are very important to us.”

The concept of family extends beyond Milstead’s own flesh and blood; his employees themselves consider themselves children to father-figure Dick. Larery Sarchett, Milstead’s custodial agent who handles safety issues and the impound lot, amongst other things, has known Milstead for decades.

“Throughout our early days, Dick would get right out there and do it with everyone else. I first knew Dick in 1993 when I was working at another business and Dick worked maintenance and repairs on that fleet of more than thirty vehicles,” Sarchett told Woodlands Online. “In ‘05, I came to work here full time. He’s like a dad to just about everybody who works for him, and he cares for each one. I’m glad that he’s enjoying life and not feeling he has to be as hands-on as in the past. He would get right out there with you and help you, even though we told him to go inside and relax. He’s a casual guy who doesn’t put on airs.”

Gregg Bruce, assistant service manager wholeheartedly agrees. “I originally started in 1994 as a technician, until 2002 when my father passed away. I came back in 2012 to work in the service department, and they welcomed me back with open arms. Amy and Dick are like family to me. I’ve known Amy since she was in high school, so when I got brought in in 1994, that’s when the family dynamic started. I call him ‘Dad’ half the time and Amy’s like a sister,” he said

Cathy Bruce, Gregg’s wife and also the sales and marketing manager for Milstead Automotive, summed up what it’s like to be considered part of Dick Milstead’s family.

“It’s been such a fun ride; I started in the towing department then moved into the administration office. Every day shows his giving heart and how he wants to take care of the community.”

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