John and Mary Ann are the owners of Sonrise Automotive. John is the chief cook and bottle washer here at Sonrise. He has a positive attitude and professional manner. His intuitive diagnostic skills, overall business integrity and customer service insight have collectively made Sonrise Automotive a reputable and thriving auto repair facility in the Islip area. John has 46 years of experience in the automotive industry which aids him in simplifying and explaining the operation of complicated systems, making it easier for our customers to understand the problems they are having with their vehicle.

John and Mary Ann have been married 17 years. In the early days of the business, Mary Ann’s life was full, supporting John at home, raising children and working part time as a Speech Pathologist. As our children grew and the season changed, Mary Ann began working at Sonrise more regularly, coming alongside John, Gabrielle and the guys at the shop, taking over the bill paying and enjoying our customers. Mary Ann has been to all of the Automotive Training Institute training courses with John and Gabrielle. She has a real gift for administration and organization and keeps things ship shape around her. Everyone loves her gracious, caring manner and excellent customer service skills. We are so glad God has opened up her schedule so she can spend more time here at Sonrise.

Gabrielle, our daughter, joined our team in March of 2010. Although working initially one day 
a week just helping in the office, she has since gone to specialized automotive management and 
service advisor training. She has excelled in all areas of the training and is now working almost full time in these capacities. Gabrielle greets all of our customers and coworkers with a smile and a sincere greeting and has a jovial manner that is very contagious. We are very grateful to have her levity, optimism and encouragement throughout the day. She finds working here personally rewarding and intends on developing her skills to pursue a career as a Service Advisor.

Rich began working with us as gas attendant while in high school when we were still Main Street Texaco. At that time, he was familiar with the automotive world but sought an education in Information Technology. Out of high school, Rich graduated from Island Drafting and Technical Institute with a certificate in PC/Network repair and CompTia A+ certification. Deciding to take his education further, he attended Dowling College and received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems.

During the time spent after classes and between semesters, Rich held down three jobs. He was a manager at the Sayville movie theatre, worked as a Field Technician/Network administrator, and worked for us here at Sonrise. When he graduated, he found that his new interest and aptitude was in the automotive field and decided to come on as a full time technician, for which we are very grateful! He brings the electrical expertise from his IT experience and proven methodology and applies it to every job he encounters. He is an invaluable asset to our team, with exceptional customer service a top priority for him. Since coming on board full time, he has attended many trade clinics on advance diagnosis and has achieved ASE certification on the A1, A4, A5 and A8 exams. Although he only has 4 more exams to achieve Master Technician status, he plans on taking the L1 Advanced Engine Performance Specialist exam, hoping to help bolster his diagnostic capabilities.

Rich just married Elise this past July in a beautiful ceremony in West Sayville. We pray God blesses their marriage with many wonderful, happy years.

Mark is the newest member of the Sonrise Team and we are so glad he’s expressed a desire to be on the team for a long time to come! He loves the automotive industry and is very adept and teachable. Mark came highly recommended by our David, Mark’s teacher at Suffolk BOCES. Mark is our general service technician, performing many basic services and repairs and is being mentored by our lead technician, Rich. His real passion is to be an ASE Certified Master Technician in a few short years and is presently taking online classes which will prepare him to pass all the right tests to attain that goal. Mark is somewhat quiet but he is thoughtful and particular about completing every service and repair to the best of his ability. We are grateful to have him working with us because he has an excellent work ethic and a steady desire to please his supervisors and our customers.

David began working with us as a gas attendant way back in 1997 while still in high school. He soon came into the shop to do oil changes and minor repairs. He took to the repair aspect of the business like a duck to water. After a little hiatus from Sonrise, when he opened his own specialty repair facility restoring Ford Mustangs, he began teaching High School Automotive Mechanics at BOCES. We were thrilled when he was able to come back to Sonrise as a part timer! He currently works some afternoons and every Saturday.

We are grateful David is back with us for several reasons. He has a contagious smile and has always had a calm demeanor along with a good sense of humor. It helps to keep things a little lighter on those busy Saturdays when it can get a little hectic around here! He also has a great service ethic which fits right in at Sonrise. He keeps himself up to date with current technology so he brings a wealth of knowledge to the team whenever he is here. Feel free to stop by and say hello to David and any of our other mechanics/technicians. You will be pleasantly surprised by their congeniality and overall understanding of your automobile.

Mike began working with us part time in 2003 and came on full time in January of 2004. We were sad to see him and his family move to Tennessee in the spring of 2005. They recently moved back to NY. Mike currently works full time at a Ford dealership and we were delighted to bring him back on Saturdays. Mike began his automotive career at Wilson Tech. He then moved on to Denver Diesel and is now GM trained and certified, Ford trained and certified and an ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) trained Master Technician. Mike plans on getting fully Ford certified on advanced diesel diagnosis and repair which will make him an even greater asset to us and our customers.

Not only are we happy to have Mike as part of the Sonrise Team because of his specialty training and diesel knowledge, but because of his joyful attitude and contagious work ethic. He is a great motivator and always seems to have a story or joke to share with the team. He and his wife, Gabby have been married for eight years and have two beautiful boys. We enjoy getting to see them occasionally at our company picnics/get togethers.