News

Nate Zolman has pledged $25,000 to help with construction of locker rooms in Southwestern Michigan College’s wrestling facility.

The new 11,195 square-foot wing of the Zollar Building will quadruple the space available to SMC’s men’s and women’s wrestling teams. It will double the mat capacity for practice sessions and provide additional competition space for hosting conference and regional meets. The space will also include a dedicated fitness and warm-up area, coaches’ offices, locker rooms and additional restrooms. On-site work has already begun.

Zolman built the family tire business into a regional force with eight Zolman’s Best One Tire and Auto Care retail locations in South Bend, Mishawaka, Granger, Niles, Kalamazoo and Portage, plus five Best One Fleet Service locations in South Bend, Mishawaka, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo and Jackson. A ninth retail outlet is scheduled to open July 1 in northwest South Bend.

Zolman’s was voted #1 in auto repair 20 years in a row. “From 2010-2020 we doubled,” he said, “and from 2020-2024 we doubled. I see nothing but opportunities on the horizon. We are truly blessed.”

He never wrestled — he was a swimmer at Ball State University while earning a 1992 business degree — but he does know Olympic gold-medal wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt, and SMC’s Room to Grow campaign appealed to him.

“Sarah's coach Brad Harper is a friend of mine. I know her brothers. Her parents are regular customers. When she came home to Penn High School in Mishawaka, they threw a huge parade down Bittersweet and McKinley which ended up at my headquarters. She was very kind and gracious, took pictures with me and insisted on putting her gold medal around my neck. I sent (Interim President) Brent Brewer some pictures, we went to lunch a couple of weeks later and he let me know of this project.

“Anything that’s going to improve SMC’s visibility — it’s a hidden gem — and have year-round wrestling for both men and women, which is kind of a maverick move, made sense to my heart and my wallet to support,” Zolman said. “SMC is a great-value higher learning institution.” Zolman has served on SMC’s automotive advisory board for the past decade and regularly speaks to automotive students at “Green Flag Days.”

Growing up, “My father (Vernon ‘Bud’ Zolman) was beyond dirt-poor. His own father died when he was just 14. Dad had a .22 rifle and rode a junky bicycle to school. Anything that moved became breakfast, lunch or dinner for his family. He worked at a salvage yard, with permission to use anything he could scrounge. That’s where the bike and a push lawn mower he could make money with came from.

“My parents dug themselves out of holes many times, refinancing their house to keep the family business afloat. They never complained, but told me, ‘There’s always someone worse off than you.’ My Dad Bud gave people tires they needed but could not afford. It left an impact on me. We try to be good stewards of the community and to do more than our fair share.”

Nate sits at his desk beneath a large portrait of his dad, who founded Zolman Tire in Mishawaka in 1978 and died in 2015. “He’s always looking over my shoulder, making sure I do right. This year we are giving ten $1,000 scholarships in six counties — two in Indiana and four in Michigan — where we have locations. My wife (Tabitha, a retired Edwardsburg kindergarten teacher) and I and three other people read 370 applications. Anything related to kids, that’s where our company culture is” as Zolman nears 200 employees.

Zolman, who kept busy during the 70-percent COVID-19 business downturn to earn his 2022 MBA from the University of Notre Dame, has lived in the Edwardsburg area for six years after 17 years in Granger. “My wife donates at least two days a week to meals on wheels for REAL Services, delivering lunch to elderly people,” he said. “(In 2016) I did Men in Kilts for South Bend Ronald McDonald House and raised $47,000 for second place. She’s there about once a week, too, cooking, cleaning, organizing to help families of sick children who require long-term care. We’re blessed with five kids who never had medical issues. Every other week, she snuggles babies at church while moms get a break and do Bible study. She’s a fulltime volunteer.”