Meet your new neighbors

At the end of last year, Lara and Chris Martin moved to Tehachapi from Palmdale where they lived for the last five years.They dreamed of raising their children in the natural surroundings of our mountain community. They had actually been visiting Tehachapi off-and-on for the last two years before they finally decided to make the move with their two children. Active Lily is a three year old fairy princess, loves tea parties and being older sister to six-month-old Quin.

Chris originally came from Charlotte, North Carolina. His two older sisters still live there. He spent his military years in Florida and then came to work in aerospace at Edwards AFB. In his free time, he loves to hike. He certainly is in the right community.

Lara was raised in Georgetown, California, in the gold country east of Sacramento. She has a sister living in Auburn, not too far from Georgetown. Before moving from Palmdale, she was an instructor at 24 Hour Fitness in Lancaster and Victorville. She now puts all of her efforts into meeting other mommies. She is a member of Tehachapi Active Moms & Tots. Her group can be found through the website http://www.meetup.com. On Facebook she is active with the non-profit MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). She is really anxious to meet other Tehachapi moms.

“Welcome to Tehachapi”, Lara, Chris, Lily and Quin.

A new resident of Tehachapi and one of the two new owners of the Bear Valley Springs Garage is Peter Balian. Peter says that he has been a mechanic all his life. His father and uncles were also mechanics. When the Woodland Hills, Ca., building containing his business was sold, it was time to try a new location. A longtime friend and now his business partner, Hilda Jimenez, suggested they buy the BVS Garage. He said that at first he thought she was nuts but as soon as he visited the area, he knew she was right.

Pater was raised in Sherman Oaks, Ca., in the San Fernando Valley. He began his career as a mechanic at Westwood Porsche and over the years has specialized in Mercedes and other high end automobiles. He had a business in Acton and worked there until 2009 when he moved back to “the valley”. He loves playing with anything with a motor and works on everything from the most exotic car to the back yard lawnmower. He has a son, Nikolas, who is studying law at UC Santa Barbara.

When Peter is not working on vehicles, he is driving them. He loves driving on and off road, rides motorcycles and plays with his other “toys”. His companions are Akia, a huge Caucasian Mountain Dog and Pazz, a sweet Blue Nose Pit who sometimes visits the shop.

Welcome, Peter. We’re glad you chose Tehachapi.

Peter’s business partner, Hilda Jimenez, is also new to Tehachapi. She loved the hometown feeling and naturalness of the area and convinced Peter that this was a great place to have a business.

Hilda was raised in the San Gabriel Valley of California. Her parents were adamant about education so instead of spending her summers playing with friends, she continued her education in Mexico. She attended the University of Mexico City at the age of 15, studying mathematics. It was after her mother lost money on real estate that Hilda decided that she needed to learn it. Thus began her 20 year career in commercial and residential real estate.

For five years she was the property manager of a 45,000 square foot cold storage facility in the flower/fashion district of downtown Los Angeles. She plans to continue in real estate in Tehachapi as well.

Hilda, like her business partner, has had a lifelong love of machines. Her godfather was a mechanic and her experience over the years has included parts and assembly work and building experimental aircraft in Bolivia. She has worked on VWs and tinkered with motorcycles. She told me that at one time she bought and maintained a 1966 Volvo because she loved the TV show Colombo. She also enjoys riding off road.

Hilda is mom to two sons and two daughters. She proudly told me both of her sons are in the Navy. Carlos is stationed in Virginia. Mark is in Bethesda, Maryland, and the father of Hilda’s only grandson. Her daughters are in school in Los Angeles. At home she has the company of her two rescue cats, Monkey and Cougar.

Hilda has always been an active community volunteer and firmly believes in “paying it forward”. I am sure we will be seeing a lot of her in Tehachapi. Welcome, Hilda.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call 661-822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.