Scottie Pouncey and his wife, Kelly, are a Cornwell tool dealer team based in Spring, Texas, just north of Houston. Their son recently started driving his own Cornwell truck, and their daughter also helps out with the family business while attending college. This family really means it when they say they “bleed blue” for Cornwell.
In 2013, Scottie decided he’d had enough of being an automotive technician. He was having rotator cuff problems and wanted to do something a little less physically taxing. His choice for a new career came down to two options.
“I’m a private pilot, and I had a choice: either go to an airline or get a tool truck,” he says. “I actually chose the tool truck.”
His wife, Kelly, joined him “pretty much from day one,” Scottie says. They each play a role at every stop.
“I go in the shop and talk to the technicians and the shop owners, and get everybody out to the truck,” he says. “She is there [on the truck] to accept payments [and answer questions].”
While working together may sound like a recipe for disaster to some couples, this husband and wife of 29 years seem to genuinely enjoy it.
“He’s not off doing his job and I’m not off doing my thing – we get to do it together,” Kelly says. “Now we brought our son into it – now it’s a family business.”
“We’re dual-franchise owners with Cornwell, now,” Scottie explains. “This is a new program that Cornwell is kind of experimenting in.”
Just over a month in, the Pounceys’ son, Nathaniel, is doing well as a tool dealer.
“He’s knowledgeable on the mechanic side as well because he was an airplane mechanic in the Navy,” Kelly says of their son. “After he got out of the Navy, we wanted to secure a good future for him and his family, and we just have a fabulous time doing this. He was interested, so we did whatever it took to get him in the business and help him out.”
“On Facebook we call him ‘the Cornwell Kid’ because he’s only 26,” Scottie adds. “Next year our rally is at Disney World and it’s [Cornwell’s] 100th anniversary. I’m trying to get my son to work a little extra hard so [we] can be the first father-son team to walk the stage in the top 100 in the nation.”
The Pounceys also mention that their 23-year-old daughter, Emily, helps out with advertising, social media, running errands and shipping packages.
“I’m trying to get her to help with some of the business end of it,” Scottie says of their daughter. “She’s at the local university for business.”
As for their current business, the Pounceys say their route is a mix of rural and urban. It nearly reaches to downtown Houston, and includes a variety of stops from tire shops, to diesel shops, to custom restoration shops.
Though they put in a lot of hard-working hours, the Pounceys are happy with their decision to become a tool dealing duo.
“We have no regrets,” Scottie says. “This was one of the hardest decisions we ever made, but we love it. We have such fun. It’s a lot of work; there are days that you want to just run and hide under the bed, but it’s very rewarding.”
When asked about other family members involved in the family business, Scottie says “Just my grandbabies. I’m hoping I can get them started early and we’ll have a whole Cornwell family.”
