Meet Our Team

Sam Acheson

• My parents started this business in 1947 and over the years I've tried to manage 'their company' in a way that would make them proud. My Dad always told me; "Do what you say you're going to do". "If you make a mistake, own it". "Handle problems quickly, humbly and gratefully". "Make sure your charges are honest and fair". "Say please and thank you". After 48 years I can only say that I am thankful for my Team and grateful to work alongside them. I thoroughly enjoy each day with you. And, I am blessed to have had the trust and confidence from our customers for all of these years. Thank you, sincerely, to all.

Larry *WIZ* Wisdom

• WIZ is the Fixed Operations Manager at Acheson Auto Works. He has been a loyal employee for over 30 years. Not only is he our large client liaison but, within our organization he's able shift to wherever he's needed to cover for other employees who are on vacation; Service Center Manager, Body Shop Manager, Parts Procurement, Shuttle Driver, Accomplished Service Technician, Roof repair, lawn maintenance and whatever else needs handling. If you need to know where something is, how it works, why it doesn't work or where to get it fixed then... WIZ IS YOUR MAN! A very special THANK YOU to WIZ for all he does for Acheson Auto Works throughout the years and our Clients. Without question, we could not do what we do, WITHOUT YOU!

Jordan DeGroot

• Jordan started in the auto repair industry as a hobby at 20 years old and 2025 marks his 15th year in the business. Early on he learned that not only did he enjoy this type of work but was very good at body and collision repair with a special focus, fondness and TALENT for refinishing. In our industry, correctly matching the paint on today's vehicles is a monumental task which is very complex and extremely difficult. You had better have thick skin and broad shoulders if you're an automotive painter. Plus, the color match and brilliance is the first thing our clients will notice and which ee Jordan is our Senior Refinishing Technician who makes this nearly impossible task look easy because in addition to being talented, he is very caring, prideful and gains a great deal of personal satisfaction of seeing the beauty in his final product and just how pleased his customers are. Jordan is deadline driven so no big deal if he must work late or come in on the weekend to finish a project. Great to have Jordan with us.

Cam Jones

• Cam started working in a body shop at 15 years old with 3 of his total 5 and 1/2 years as a "combo tech". In other words, not only can he repair the body/collision damage, he's also an accomplished automotive painter! With an eye for perfection, he loves to take a damaged vehicle and "make it look like new again" with seamless repairs. And, he LOVES the diversity in his profession because no 2 cars are ever the same - always something different and always a new challenge. I would say this industry is a great fit for Cam because he treats his profession like a hobby and, in addition to doing high-production insurance work, he really loves modifying and customizing motorcycles and show cars. A very talented man right here and we're fortunate to have Cam on our Team.

Bradyn Johnson

• Bradyn has been a collision repair technician for 3 years now and with us for about 1 year. He is such a nice young man and is really coming along nicely and says that he "enjoys the challenge of problem solving, figuring out how things work, disassembling and reassembling vehicles. Even though Bradyn is young he really has a fondness for some of the older, classic vehicles and of course, HOT RODS! Happy you're here, Bradyn!

Mike Herring

• "Mr. Nice Guy" - "The Diplomat" - "The Patient Man". These are a few of phrases his fellow teammates might use to describe him. Mike has been with AAW for 6 years now as our Manager of the Collision Repair Center. Mike could very well have one of the most difficult positions in our organizations primarily because there are so many moving parts. He is responsible for updating our Clients multiple times, visiting with insurance adjustors, writing damage appraisals, ordering parts, delegating work to technicians, ensuring correct repairs are being done, writing insurance supplements, updating rental agencies, performing the quality control inspection, prepping cars for delivery and ... presenting our finished vehicles back to the owners. Whew! And, he's doing all of this while remaining cool, calm and collected and he's just such a darn nice guy to have around! Thanks to Mike for all he does for AAW, our employees and our customers too!

Leah Clayton

• It's been said that "dynamite comes in small packages" so... if you need proof of this, you are invited to stop by Acheson Auto Works to meet Miss Leah! ALWAYS happy, FOREVER in a good mood, NEVER misses A THING ", "READY for a laugh", Leah is our "cohesive agent" that keeps our AAW team in sync and moving in the right direction. In 2023 Leah joined AAW as our Office Manager but, I endearingly call her our, "Drill Sargent"; Here are a few phrases which have earned her this title; "Sam, have you finished this? "When will this be done?" "Why haven't we handled this yet?" "Did you remember to do this?" "I think you've had plenty of time to do this", etc. In addition to handling many administrative duties, Leah is also our accountant. It's most comforting for me to have Leah here at AAW and I'm grateful for all she does. Every successful organization must have "A Leah" and I'm certain all members of our organization would say, "Wow, I'm so happy she's here with us". Thank you very much for ALL you do, Leah and yes... I'm working on that.

Timothy James Todd

• The man with 3 first names and also the "Cutest" member of our organization. (Just ask his Mom). In 2014 Tim started his career at Acheson Auto Works as an automotive repair technician but quickly moved up to become the Manager of our Service Center. When this position came open, Tim was the unanimous choice from all employees that it should be him. Tim has been in the auto repair industry for decades and while his brain is loaded with technical, complex, electronic schematic, diagnostic information he also has a very patient and sincere demeanor with our Clients. They have come to learn that Tim is honest to a fault, will NEVER suggest we do something that doesn't need to be done, will NEVER over-diagnose, will NEVER over sale and will NEVER over charge. Tim is also extremely generous with his time and literally has spent hours on the phone with his customers carefully explaining the nature of the repairs he's recommending. I've heard Tim say, "we must address SAFETY issues first to make certain our clients' vehicles are roadworthy, secondly, our Clients' must be confident their vehicles are DEPENDABLE and finally, MAINTENANCE. A vehicle which is regularly MAINTAINED will be safe and dependable. While Acheson Auto Works is fortunate to have Tim here, our customers are fortunate too that they have Tim as their personal automotive confidant. Thanks T!

Micah *Mickey* Foster

• Mickey is the newest member of our management team and diligently working to take command of our front office and all that it entails. Nearly every job coming into and leaving Acheson Auto Works will funnel through his chair so, to say this is a dynamic position, is an understatement. Mickey is very customer oriented, highly communicative and very friendly. Stop in to say "HI" to Mick and let him schedule your vehicle for servicing or into our body shop to repair that dent in your fender. Welcome Mick!

Chris *Topher* Harney

• With a wicked, dry sense of humor, Chris has been with AAW a total of 10 years as a senior automotive diagnostic technician! Not only is Chris just a great guy he is also a highly accomplished, very talented and enormously capable young man who is also quite reliable. Frankly, I would rate Chris as one of the top diagnosticians in Des Moines and I don't believe there's an automotive problem that he could not solve. Chris has a wide range of knowledge on many topics so it's kind of like we have our own walking and talking google guy here at AAW. Chris, you're just a blast to have here and we thank you for keeping things lively!

Mark Mager

• Mr. Mark is our resident "savant" and we mean this in the most complimentary way possible. WUT? He built his own 3-D printing machine? Who does that? Well, our Mark Mager does that. Mark is a soft-spoken, quiet, reserved guy that has a plethora of knowledge logged into his brain. Thankfully, Mark has chosen to lend his enormous talent and abilities to Acheson Auto Works and especially to our Clients. When someone, like Mark, has the wherewithal to apply the knowledge he's acquired to diagnose the client's problem then the cost for the client goes down because less time is taken to accurately repair. This is off topic I know but I think Mark also looks like Post Malone. Do you agree? Mark... you rock (no not back and forth) Thanks, Sir.