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Markel of Omaha officially welcomed the newest dealership to its Ultimate Automotive Campus on Friday, May 11th. New member MINI of Omaha is the only MINI Cooper dealer in the area.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony jump-started the grand opening festivities. Vice President of MINI USA Jim McDowell was on site to do the honors, along with Tim Markel, President of Markel Automotive. Other distinguished guests included Jim Peterson and Clint Weis, representatives from two regional MINI clubs: Cooper Owners of Rural Nebraska (CORN) and Cooper Owners of Omaha and Lincoln (COOL), respectively.
Cooper owners, potential customers and Markel staff accounted for the near 230 guests in attendance. Everyone was given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the new dealership, the staff and, of course – the cars!
As guests arrived, they began mixing and mingling, swapping MINI stories, admiring a 4-foot MINI ice sculpture and gnashing miniature hors d’oeuvres. After a brief greeting from General Manager Tony Caputo and the ribbon cutting, attendees of all ages were invited to try their luck at a MINI racetrack. The course was specially designed for mini MINIs, 1:12 scale remote-control models of a MINI Cooper Convertible. The top six lap times got to take home a mini MINI. Caputo also awarded the skilled racers a real MINI during the weekend of their choice! Two lucky recipients, a guy and gal, got to choose any item from the MINI of Omaha accessories shop.
At the end of the evening, it was clear that everyone left with an excitement for the newest driving experience in Omaha.
“I think MINI has tremendous opportunity here in Omaha. This is just the beginning. You’ll see, about a year from now we’ll be adding to the MINI family, and we’ll have a third journey. And, we have a lot of new things up our sleeves. So, about every year there’ll be something new at MINI.” –Jim McDowell, VP MINI USA