When Robert Jensen was driving north on I-15 last July on his way to Logan to pick up a trailer, he saw some recreation vehicle enthusiasts on the other side of the highway who seemed to be in trouble.
Jensen, co-owner of Blaine Jensen Recreation Vehicle Centers, which has showrooms and parts and accessories outlets in Murray, Layton and Ogden, found the nearest off-ramp and got on the other side of the highway to assist.What he found was an elderly couple from Noxon, Mont., whose 32-foot trailer had lost an axle and wheel and the friction had started a fire. He retrieved the axle and wheel from a field, towed the trailer to a nearby campground and called a wrecker to retrieve their tow-ing vehicle.
For his action, Jensen has been named the 1990 rec-eation vehicle dealer of the year by Trailer Life Magazine a publication seen by 80,000 RVers in Utah. This is the first time anyone in the West (other than California) has received the award.
So far, Jensen's story has been published in 12 RV publications. He received a large portrait of himself and a plaque during the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association convention in Las Vegas.
Jensen was nominated by Mr. and Mrs. Vern Warner and because Jensen was selected they received $500.
In his nomination letter, Warner said, "As busy as I am sure Mr. Jensen was, he still found time to call and check to be sure that my tow vehicle was taken care of and that I had a way to get back to my trailer and wife. He again went out of his way to stop and tell my wife that all was taken care of."
Jensen, an unassuming person who believes that any employee of his company would have done the same thing, said he was concerned for Warner's health since he has a respiratory problem that might cause other problems because of the accident and exertion in getting the fire out.
Jensen has helped other recreation vehicle owners in trouble and takes the matter in stride. He attributes his attitude to his father.
Although Blaine Jensen retired three years ago and left the company in the hands of sons Robert, Craig, Scott and Steve and son-in-law John Parker, who are partners, he still manages to call his family around him to enjoy dinners cooked in dutch ovens.
Craig, who serves as company president because he is the majority stockholder, runs the Murray location; Scott runs the Ogden portion; Robert runs the Layton operation; and Steven recently took over the RV parts operation.
Robert doesn't deny that all this publicity over his being named RV dealer of the year has helped his business. But that isn't the only motivation. The Jensens were brought up to be kind to others.
"I would be stupid to say that our policy of helping RVers in trouble isn't good for the business because it becomes increasingly well-known that we care about RVers. We are in the RV business and we feel responsible to all the people who have chosen this lifestyle or vacation style," Robert said.