In 1987, Ron Sr. & Mike Baggett (father and son) opened their first shop in Belleville, IL as Economy Exhaust specializing in under car repairs and custom exhaust. The location closed upon the lease not being renewed and they both ventured into other careers. The automotive industry continued to call to Mike and he asked his dad to think about opening a business in Wood River, IL. In 1990 Pro Exhaust was opened in the old Bunny Bread store (now Fiona’s Restaurant) on the corner of 6th St. and Edwardsville Rd. As fate would have it, the owner of the property decided at the end of the lease he was going to try his hand in the restaurant business. In the fall of 1994, Mike started looking for a new building and found a new location that had been a video store, offices, and a dance studio. Mike and his wife, Jennifer, decided to purchase the building and business together and in 1995 they re-opened the business once again under the name of Pro Exhaust while Jennifer stayed home to raise their children. In 2003, the opportunity to co-brand with NAPA was presented to Mike and Jennifer. The program was very appealing to extend Pro Exhaust’s brand and services to handle all customers’ vehicle needs. To reflect this, Pro Exhaust became Pro Automotive Services. In 2010, Jennifer actively joined the business as the Operations Manager. In 2015 Mike and Jennifer decided that a bigger location was needed, so they purchased the lot behind the existing property to add over 5,850 square feet. The additional operating space allowed for bigger vehicles such as RVs, school buses and boom trucks. Pro Automotive Services now employs 7 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees. They continue to grow their business through training and purchasing the most up to date equipment and auto-tech to provide the best service for their customers. Their mission statement says it all, “Pro Automotive Services is dedicated to making our clients’ vehicles economically safe and reliable.”