Sue and Brian Totman run Totman Enterprises at 369 Augusta Road in Belmont. It’s a family venture as sons Ryan, 25, Matt, 23, and Joshua, 22, all work and help the family business.

Brian said he’s happy his family are all part of the business.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “Well, some days it’s awesome,” he winked and chuckled. “My boys are out there working. They’re trying to get ahead. And it’s not just the part about trying to carry on the business, but they’re productive. They’re trying to do better and grow their families.”

Totman Enterprises advertises that they are on call 23 and a half hours a day. Why 23 and a half hours?  

'In, say, Union and Appleton we get a lot of Saabs. There are a lot of them there.

Sue explained it gets peoples attention.

“People want to know what we do with that half hour,” said Sue. “They want to know which half hour you take off. I actually had someone get mad at me because I couldn’t tell them which half hour I took. It attracts attention and I’ve seen it pop up a couple of other places in advertising. I say if it works, good for them. It worked for us.”

Brian and Sue have been married 27 years. She’s from Maine and he is from Massachusetts.

“We met in Vermont,” said Sue. “We married and Brian was managing Midas outlets all over New Hampshire. We moved back to Maine in 1991 and opened here in 1994. We started with 13 cars and it was a one-man operation until 2008 when son Matt joined the business. Ryan joined in 2009.”

Totman’s has six tow trucks and can handle anything from a tractor trailer on down. They also have two service trucks and a full-service auto repair facility that can do both foreign and domestic. We asked Brian if it got old getting those call at 2 a.m. to go out in the cold and tow someone.

“It doesn’t get old,” said Brian. “It’s in your blood. Not everyone can do it, but no, it doesn’t get old. It’s just part of the job.”

Brian said 60 to 70 percent of the cars he tows in the winter are Subarus.

“People are over confident of the cars," he said. "It’s a good car for snow, don’t take this the wrong way, but we just have a lot of them up here. In, say, Union/Appleton we get a lot of Saabs. There are a lot of them there.”

Superb, expert, personalized service is not the only thing the Totmans’ are known for. Their level of commitment to their community has brought them a degree of notoriety and an immense amount of pride.

Totman Enterprises offer three or four scholarships a year to deserving high school graduates.

“Each of our kids won a small scholarship when they went to college,” said Sue. “And it helped. It covered things financial aid didn’t, so we decided to offer up scholarships to help kids the same way. We offer three to four a year.”

There is an application process students must go through when applying. It has to be made through either the Waldo County Technical Center, or through their high school guidance counselor.

“It has to be for the automotive field or law enforcement," she said. "That’s the only stipulation. The scholarships are for $250. We usually give two automotive and one law enforcement, but last year we gave two to each. We have some donations for the scholarships and it helps, but mostly we come up with the money ourselves.”

“We also do a yearly fundraiser. Last year it was for the Belmont Fire Department. We raised $1,000 for them to buy struts used to support vehicles that have overturned and rescue work is needed. We’ve donated cars to the Belmont and Winslow fire departments to practice on.”

For the past three years Totman’s has done a food drive at Christmas to benefit the local food pantry and then they match the items.

“Last year we got 300 items,” said Sue. “We went out and got 300 items to match it.”

“If more people participated in their community, there would be a lot fewer problems,” said Brian. “You have to have social responsibility. It’s something that doesn’t happen enough. There are not enough of us out there to see others who need help.”

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