Kirstin Callahan Austin has recently returned to her family’s automotive business, the Helms Auto Group, consisting of Helms Bros. Mercedes- \Benz, Bayside Volkswagen and Volvo Cars of Queens. Prior to residing in Jupiter, Florida where she moved with her family 20 years ago, she worked in every department of the dealership. Kirstin graduated from the National Automobile Dealer’s Association Successorship Program in 2000’. She attended Roanoke College where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History. Kirstin is thrilled to rejoin her family at Helms and welcomes the opportunity to ensure that the Helms Auto Group stays enthusiastically engaged in the local community.
How long have you been a BBA member?
Only a short time but my father, Douglas Callahan is a founding member and has been actively involved with BBA for over 25 years..
Tell us about your business and some features/events/services our members should be aware of.
Helms Auto Group has three dealership franchises that include Helms Bros. Mercedes-Benz, Bayside Volkswagen and Volvo Cars of Queens.
They all reside on Northern Blvd in Bayside. Our service center for Helms Bros. is located within a short distance in Flushing and in Great Neck for Volvo and Volkswagen. Our Showrooms are open 7 days a week and 6 days for service. Helms has been serving Bayside and the surrounding areas automotive needs for over 45 years. We employee over 200 employees that reside locally and have been apart of the Helms Family for 10, 20, 30 and yes even 40 years!
How have you benefited from being a member?
Yes! Within a short time I feel much more connected and engaged in the local community. I’m looking forward to building and maintaining business relationships so we may all be able to thrive while enriching our community.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be? Why?
I would like to collaborate with local business leaders and politicians to identify the challenges of doing business in Bayside and share best practices. How to meet today’s challenges, trends and get insight into the future and prepare for it!
Any tips or advice for new members?
Just dive in and make connections. Everyone is friendly and enthusiastic to help.
Please feel free to share any other information with us that you think is important for our members to know.
Whether it’s switching from gas to electric cooking or gas cars to electric vehicles we need to be prepared by asking questions and voicing our concerns in a constructive and respectful manner. I believe that through BBA we will be able to work together and get our questions answered and our concerns heard.
