By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Herbert Sides was like so many young dads—wanting to provide well for his family through having a steady job, and then the day came when he knew he was finished with missing out on his family life by working second shift. He came home from 3M and told his wife, Becky, that he had quit and was going to launch a body repair shop. He and his brother Doug had been involved in body work for a while on a casual basis, and Herbert also did some homebuilding. On the day he quit his job, Herbert told Becky, “I know how to do this, and I know we can make it.” For a while, the shop was out back at the Sides’s home and Herbert would drive up to Nashville to get cars to repair. Eventually the business moved into Athens. Sides Auto Body opened in 1987, the Athens West site opened in 1991 and Sides Auto Body (East) opened in 2020, right when COVID turned our lives upside down. Herbert worked at the West site from 1991 to 1999, and then his son Darren took over the shop.
Recently, I sat down with several members of the Sides family, and enjoyed hearing stories and memories of Herbert, who passed in 2018. He was rarely out of his Liberty overalls, and he loved to cook. Herbert and Becky’s daughter, Dana Pressnell, said, “He absolutely loved cars.” Herbert actually took a 1964 Mustang and painted it in Athens High School colors — black and gold — with the exterior painted a perfect black, and the interior was decked out in plush gold velvet. Dana chuckled as she told of all the cars that they drove as teens as well as what it was like to have her Daddy take her to school in the company wrecker. “You never knew which car was going to be what you drove—it could be covered in Bondo, have a window missing, or be something nice. We drove them all,” she said.
Darren started working for his dad washing cars when he was in high school. Sides Auto Body Repair became Darren’s career, and he has stayed at West and learned every aspect of the trade. He especially loves customer service and has deep convictions regarding the need to be an excellent provider of service and not be a part of a big-box retail chain. These days it takes the wisdom of Solomon to stay in good standing with the insurance companies as well as the customers, and Darren made it clear that he works first for the customer, not the insurance companies. “Papa always fought for the little guy and he never forgot his roots,” they said.
Keith Sides is Doug Side’s son, and Doug has passed as well. Like Darren, Keith started working at West when he was in high school, and has made it his career for the last 22 years. He is in customer service and loves everything about the repair process as well as caring for customers. He knows that Sides Auto Body Repair is a legacy business, and he is glad to be a part of it and the family. They all emphasized that there were loyal staff members who stayed at the shop for decades, and everyone agreed they were like family. They include Brian Murray, with 38 years of service; Randy Dean, who worked for 30 years before he retired; and Allen Moore, with 19 years, and who is still working at West.
In 2000, Sides Auto Body (East) opened on January 1, and then COVID hit. For years the family had been told that people on the East side really wanted the kind of care that customers at West had experienced for decades, but didn’t want to drive that whole distance. Property miraculously became available, the new facility was built, and then….
A few months and lots and lots of prayer later, East was humming along and has continued to do so. It is managed by Jonathan Johnson, who is married to Alexa, Herbert’s granddaughter. Jonathan went to Alabama and worked for Lockheed, and though he is a member of the Sides family by marriage, he shares their passion to serve. One of the things that they did to care for customers during COVID was to sanitize their cars, and the insurance companies paid them to do so. They would also go and pick up customers to get them to their cars in the safest manner possible. Jonathan knows that repairing every aspect of electric cars is the next step, and that certification takes time to attain. Also, if there are other locations added eventually, he wants to keep the same hometown feel that has always set Sides apart. I asked this crew why I should choose Sides Auto Body Repair, either location, for my auto repairs. Their response did not surprise me. They said, “We are local people, and you become part of our family. We will do quality repairs at a fair price, and we will do everything we can to make you comfortable. It has worked for the last 40 years,” and I would add, it will work for the next 40. We celebrate with you, Sides Tribe, and thank you for your hard and loving work.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
