• Allison Miles •
• Originally published May 28, 2009 at 8:15 a.m., updated May 27, 2009 at 10:57 p.m.

• Want to write to Cooper?

  Mail letters to P.O. Box 529

  1015 W. Gonzales St.

  Yoakum, TX 77995

YOAKUM - This week wasn't quite what Brandon Cooper had expected.

On Wednesday, the Yoakum resident planned to leave for Disney World with his family, where they would celebrate their daughter, Sarah's 9th birthday.

But a letter from General Motors put a wrench in things.

On May 15, Cooper - who owns Cooper Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac in Yoakum - was notified General Motors would not renew his franchise past October 2010. Cooper's letter was one of about 1,100 General Motors distributed nationwide.

"It was like a rug had been yanked out from under us," said Cooper, a Corpus Christi native.

That letter doesn't mean the end for the local business, however. Cooper is prepared to fight.

He submitted an appeal to General Motors that included, among other things, a new business plan. That didn't make much sense, Cooper said, since his business was already profitable, but it was one of the requirements.

"If I don't win the ability to keep the franchise open, I will stay open as a service center," he said, explaining it costs a lot to be a General Motors dealer.

Cooper purchased the company in 2003 from his uncle, Cleo Cooper. Cleo Cooper had owned the business since 1984, he said and, before that, the company was known as Aruba Chevrolet.

"The General Motors brand has been here a long time," Cooper said.

It's a shame that Cooper is up against this hurdle, said Jim Wagner, who does maintenance work for Yoakum's post office.

"They're good people," he said as he cleared weeds from a flower bed.

The nationwide closures can't do anything but hurt small towns, he said, explaining that local businesses give back to their communities.

"We need all the business we can get," he said.

General Motors' actions were a surprise, said Dave Talbert, who chairs the Yoakum Chamber of Commerce's board.

"It's hard to believe a company of this tenure, that's been an American icon for so many years, would do something like this," Talbert said.

Cooper Chevrolet contributes to the area tax base, employs locals and purchases products locally, he said. Losing them would mean losing a large part of the community.

The Yoakum Chamber of Commerce will do anything in its power to help, chamber President Bill Lopez said.

"We need Cooper Chevrolet here," he said. "They have been great community partners."

The chamber drafted a sample letter and distributed it to members across town, so supporters can sign on the space provided and submit the letter to Cooper. Cooper sends it on to General Motors.

Cooper has gathered more than 560 letters supporting his business. One was from Pastor Mike Seay of Yoakum's Austin Street Baptist Church.

Cooper Chevrolet has integrity, Seay said.

"They're straight up and honest with you," he said. "You're not going to get into something you can't get out of. It's the Christian way to do things."

It won't be the same for Yoakum residents if they have to go to a larger city to do business, Seay said.

"In any small town, you've got that family atmosphere," said Seay, who has been Cooper's pastor for about eight months. "If you're related or not, you're still all family," he said.

Another letter came from his 10-year-old daughter, Emma. She described her father's work ethic, the kind of guy he is and, as most children would, pointed out to General Motors that her Disney World trip got canceled.

"All of the letters mean a lot," Cooper said, glancing at a growing stack by his desk. "But that one was really special."

And who knows? The company has 17 months until the impending deadline and Cooper said General Motors could reverse its decision.

"The world will be a very different place 17 months from now," he said. "We'll see."

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