When we say family-owned business, we mean it. Margie James founded Rebel Services, and her first hire was her husband Tommy. Tommy James now heads up the Sales and Service Departments. Like Margie, he’s a hands-on leader for the company. Today we’re giving you a glimpse behind the curtain with a bit of the origin story of Rebel Services.
Tommy and Margie met in high school rolling yards after her sister introduced them. He defended her when another guy was picking on her, by saying “Hey – she’s with me!” and the rest is history. “Sweathearts” for life as Tommy said in a letter to Margie. He likes to say with a laugh it’s the best thing that ever happened to Margie. Margie would argue that point. They have four children--Sarah, Cody, Dalton, and Waylon Trace--all of whom work with Rebel Services in some capacity, although their youngest Trace likes to think he’s the one in charge. Tommy and Margie also have five grandchildren--eldest grandsons, Branson and Ky and their newest grandbabies, sweet and busy twins Livi and Carter, and precious Mila Rose! They also have three pets: Snuggles, Bear, and Annie.
As Tommy remembers it, he got his start with Rebel Services because a potential customer told Margie that she had to figure out how to fix a problem with a truck for them to buy fuel from her, back when she was a Sales Rep. She recruited Tommy and gave up a weekend and fixed the problem. He also traveled with her to change out motherboards on self-serves and at one of the locations in Tennessee – he noticed some additional wires out-of-place, so he fixed them while onsite. The next day Margie got a phone call from the airport, and she just knew the two of them had broken something but come to find out they were calling to say thank you because their unit had not worked in months and whatever they did – fixed it!
The funny thing is – Tommy flew for the first time in his mid-twenties with Margie and was petrified. He did NOT want to sit in the window seat but once on the plane and up in the air – Margie was forced to change seats with Tommy because he literally was like a kid and had her pinned back just to look out the window. When they got to Charlotte, Tommy wore a big red mark on his forehead for a good hour or so from pressing his forehead against the window so he could see everything! His love for aviation literally took off from that moment!
Tommy’s work in the welding and mechanic fields has benefited Rebel Services and its customers many times over. He currently holds a welding certification and is an ASE certified technician. His favorite part of working with #TeamRebel is meeting new customers and troubleshooting problems. He’s passionate about aviation and enjoys teaching customers about fueling systems and trucks. Many of their customers work on a shoestring budget. Solving their small problems pays off in the long run when they have larger needs later. The thing about Tommy though, is he doesn’t make customers – he makes lifelong friends. He loves the stories and history surrounding every problem and he listens, well, to everyone except maybe Margie! And he loves to talk so good stories are always rolling off his tongue!
The days start early at Rebel Services’ home office in Ripley. Tommy gets a jump start with a dip then a cup of coffee. He claims Royce makes it best. While his job duties include a little bit of everything, he spends most of his time solving problems and trouble shooting. He tries his best to help people over the phone. He got in the habit when he himself was always on the road traveling. Troubleshooting on the phone while driving passed the time and helped the customer.
Work requires a lot of travel. In fact, the funniest story he tells happened on the road. We’ll let him tell it in his own words.
“I was working at an airport that had a US Airways connection flight. I was working on a fuel pump on the fuel farm trying to get a screw junction box open that was siezed up with a pipe wrench. My pipe wrench slipped, and I flipped over into the pumping skid and got stuck. I was mad, but when I finally got up and out, I looked over at the US Airways flight. Every passenger on that side of the plane was laughing hysterically at me. Then they left. It made me laugh at myself,” said Tommy. He has another great story about the damage a dirt dobber can do – just ask him about it.
Recreational travel tops Tommy’s list of preferred activities outside of work--especially if it involves something that gets his adrenaline pumping like riding motorcycles. Around north Mississippi where he and Margie live, he enjoys spending time outside on the lake either on a pontoon boat or ski boat or spending time around the fire pit with his family and friends. And while he doesn’t enjoy reading, he does have a love of studying electrical diagrams and vehicle manuals. Margie has some great stories about how he can easily and enthusiastically build fueling systems but when it comes to the “honey do” lists – yeah, not so much! Tommy also has a magical recliner – it literally zaps him and he is asleep in 2.2 seconds and therefore is unable to perform the honey dos!
Overall, working in the family business has its pluses and minuses. On one hand, Tommy says tongue in cheek, he gets what he wants, on the other hand, his boss (and wife) always says no before he even asks the question! He’s still hoping one day she’ll sign off on him getting a pilot’s license and buying a plane.
