Saphura Long, a member of Long Automotive of Chattanooga has acquired the previously known Don Ledford AutoPark of Athens. Saphura is an entrepreneur who has for many years owned technology companies which have served the automotive industry. For that matter her present company Gratis Technologies, serves many dealerships across the nation in the realm of customer management. Saphura believes that all successful companies have one thing primarily in common, and that is to value customers most of all and to assure their experience at the dealership exceeds their expectations. Saphura, the wife of Nelson Long of Long Automotive of Chattanooga is an engineer by education and has a masters in Nuclear Physics. And, upon moving to Chattanooga her first position was that of a research engineer at Combustion Engineering.

Saphura believes that being active in one's community is a matter of paying one's "community dues". In doing so she has served on numerous boards. Some of those positions are past chairman of the Advocacy Public Affairs of Junior League of Chattanooga, where she and her team successfully advocated for instating the seat belt law in the state of Tennessee.

Long Chevrolet Buick GMC of Athens, would like to be a place where both co-workers and customers feel like they belong. We realize that there are many long-term dealership customers who would like to work with us and we are honored for that and will do all that we can to earn and retain their trust.

We are a new company, yes, we have retained some of the great "old employees" that fit our philosophy of proper and fair treatment of customers. But most of us are new and we have a new attitude and a new agenda and that is to earn the trust of this community and to serve them in their automotive needs second to none. Please come see us, have a cup of coffee with us and let us introduce ourselves.