What, where, and when was your first Land Rover experience?
That is a tough one. The hoop set on my dad’s 109 was my first jungle gym. Throughout my childhood my parents exclusively drove Land Rovers so I have no conscious beginning to my Land Rover interest. Actually, my mom had a Triumph for a few summers, but at least we kept it British. One of my earliest Land Rover memories was watching my older brother help my dad restore his Series IIA 109. I was too young to really help. I was so excited when my dad let me use the pneumatic rivet gun. That was my job; if there was riveting to be done, I was the man.
Where did you grow up and what brought you to Vermont?
I grew up in Westford, Vermont, here at Rovers North! My parents built the Rovers North facility in our back yard. My childhood was spent tunneling in the piles of boxes in the warehouse. (…)

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Bangor, Maine, where I lived until the 6th grade, then I moved to Williston, Vermont, through high school, and then Burlington, Vermont.
What positions have you held at Rovers North? When did you begin working here full time?

I started working at Rovers North full time in November of 1987, picking and packing parts in the warehouse for 7 or 8 years. I was then promoted to “Shipping Manager” for a couple of years and before long I moved into phone sales and tech support for 9 + years. Subsequently, I moved to Texas for two years and worked for Zach Carter in the Land Rover Dallas Parts Department but missed friends and family so we decided to move back to the unforgiving cold of Vermont to be with them. Mark and Andrea were gracious enough to re-hire me back here at Rovers North.
How would you describe what you do at Rovers North today? (…)

By Mike Koch
When a Land Rover enthusiast dedicates over twenty years of his life to working at Rovers North, it’s only proper to explore his first Land Rover experience and move forward from there.
After growing up outside of Philadelphia, Dirk moved to southern Vermont to learn how to work with draft horses. Following that, he moved to the Adirondacks of New York to log with horses. But before long, it was back to Vermont for Dirk when his previous employers moved north to Fairfax, where they bought a sugar bush that Dirk logged for them. Fairfax is the next town north of Westford. To this day, neither town possesses a single traffic light; they’re on the rural side. His employers in Fairfax drove a 109” station wagon, which they bought from Mark Letorney. Dirk admired the Rover and said to himself: “That’s a great vehicle that’s meant to be worked on. (…)

It took a couple of decades and a trip across the Atlantic for Erik Brennan to become a Sales Technician at Rovers North but he’s thrilled to be there. Erik was born in Fredricksta, Norway and came to the US as a youngster in 1972. He was raised in Vermont and now lives in Westford, 3 miles away from Rovers North.
Erik brings a wealth of automobile parts experience and Land Rover enthusiasm to his position at Rovers North. Since he started working full time in 1978, he’s been in the auto parts business. “I’ve worked for large automobile dealerships and multiline parts companies. I took auto mechanics in school back in the ‘70’s just as electronic ignitions were becoming more common. Our instructor used to give us an old points distributor that he had doctored up as a test. He’d hand it to us and say “Make it run.” We developed a good understanding for the points-based systems as well as the newer electronic ignitions. (…)

When you call Rovers North for parts or service assistance, you’ll likely speak with Rob Smith. If your question involves service, repairs, or offroading in a Series Land Rover or Defender, he’ll be advising you from experience.
He’s a native Vermonter who seemed destined to wind up at Rovers North. Born in Burlington, Rob grew up in the town next door, Essex Junction, and still lives there. And Westford is but one town northeast of Essex Junction.
Rob grew up back when Land Rover only sent the Range Rover to the US market. By the time he finished his business studies at Champlain College, Land Rover was still considering what to do with the Defender for the US market. He became interested in Rovers North because “I loved cars. I knew nothing about Land Rovers when I took the job; I knew Jeeps, that was it. (…)

In 1999, Arthur Patsouris had sold his family restaurant in Connecticut and wondered what the future held for his family: Deanna, his wife, and his two children, Dino and Alexa. A trip to Vermont had sold them on the state as a new home, but a new career would also have to accompany the move.
Arthur has been a serial British car enthusiast – who else would drive and MGB and a used Jaguar XJ-6? Since 1988, he’d also owned and enjoyed a ’69 Series IIA Bugeye and a Series II-A 109” pickup. Rovers North had kept him supplied and informed all those years, so it was no surprise that in 2000 Deanna would visit the website and note an employment opportunity. He’s been with Rovers North now for 7 years.
Long time Rovers North customers remember Arthur as a knowledgeable, friendly voice on the telephone, dispensing invaluable advice while securing orders for customers. Now, he’s become the Sales Manager, with a whole new set of responsibilities. (…)