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The small-town values Curt McAllister picked up on his way through a Metamora elementary school that's now the Lions Club there; Murphy Elementary School outside Hadley; junior high at what's now known as the E.T. White Building; and on to a fairly successful athletic career at Lapeer East have served him well.

The '84 Lapeer East graduate is now product news manager for Midwest Corporate Communications, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. That makes him responsible for dealing with more than 500 automotive journalists in a 14-state region that stretches from the Great Lakes south to Tennessee and west to the Dakotas. He's also responsible for Toyota's presence at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the Chicago Auto Show as well as new product roll-outs for the company.

McAllister, 42, who grew up outside Metamora, recalls Lapeer as "a small town, but in a positive way." He said it was a place where everyone knew everyone and cared about each other. He said it was a place where even the cross-town sports rivalry was a good natured one.

McAllister said playing sports at East, where he was starting wide receiver and All-County track his senior year, "taught me to play well with others."

He did a little less well academically. "I ranked 141 out of 300," he recalled. "I spent entirely too much time concentrating on sports. I had a C - C+ average, but I still got into Ferris" (State University). At Ferris, McAllister decided it was "time to buckle down and see what I was made off."

His father, an engineer at General Motors, had hoped he'd follow in his footsteps and get a degree from Flint's General Motors Institute (now Kettering University). In high school, however, McAllister discovered he had a flair for words, and had even done some freelance sports writing at The County Press, so he decided to major in journalism.

"I thought the automotive industry was the most boring thing around," he recalled. "I can remember telling my father at dinner one night, 'you're not going to see me within a whisper of an auto plant.'"

For the past dozen years he's rubbed elbows with most of the industry's top executives, first at Troy's John Bailey & Associates, Inc. and since November at Toyota.

At Bailey, where he eventually became a vice president, McAllister helped make the firm one of the top five automotive public relations firms in metro Detroit, which boasts clients including Hyundai Motor America and later Volkswagen of America. He's become well known and respected among automotive and business journalists alike.

"It's the most exciting, invigorating industry around," he now says.

Still, despite ultimately getting a degree in public relations from Ferris, he didn't set out to be a pitchman. When McAllister graduated from Lapeer East in 1984, the journalism program at Ferris was only a two-year program. After another step through the door at The County Press his freshman year as a summer intern, and a tour as the university's student newspaper editor, he opted to enter Ferris' fledgling public relations program rather than transfer to another school.

While at Ferris, he met Tammra Kenney. They, and their three sons, Keith, Luke and Shane, will celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary in September. Tammra is now a pharmacist at Royal Oak's William Beaumont Hospital. McAllister is quick to point out that out of 10,000 students she was named sophomore of the year at Ferris.

After graduating from Ferris in 1989 McAllister started as a reporter at the Flint Journal before moving on to be editor of a series of weekly newspapers, including the Clarkston News before joining Bailey & Associates in 1997. At Bailey, he said, "I wanted to build an automotive practice" and less in than a decade the firm's automotive client list had grown to 50 firms.

He said representing firms like Hyundai and Toyota hasn't always been easy is what is "the last bastion of Big Three loyalty," but the sometimes friction hasn't extended to his family. McAllister noted that while his father "will buy GM till the day he dies...he's happy for me."

McAllister said the shifting realities of the North American auto industry have lead to record sales for Toyota in metro Detroit this year.

He said leaving Bailey for Toyota last fall was a hard decision. "I still consider John one of my two best mentors," he said.

Making the announcement last fall, John McCandless, national manager, TMS Midwest Corporate Communications said, "We're delighted to have Curt McAllister join our team. He's a seasoned professional and will greatly expand our ability to communicate product information to key audiences."

Part of what clinched the deal, said McAllister is the understanding that is Toyota's number two man in the Midwest, he's McCandless' heir apparent. Although Toyota's North American operations are headquartered in Torrence, CA., McAllister doesn't see himself headed to the West Coast. "I love California, but Michigan is my home."

Although McAllister and his family now call Lake Orion, where Tammra grew up, home he said he misses Lapeer and still has a lot of friend here. Four years ago he organized the Class of '84s 20th reunion and it looks like he'll be involved in putting on the 25th next year. "Apparently nobody told the class officers that was part of their job forever," he laughed.

He said he has fond memories of hanging out with friends at the Holloway Reservoir and cruising what was then fast food row on M-24 south of town. "It was a great proving ground for me."

Still, he said, at 17 he never imagined he'd be standing in an office looking out over the Detroit River at Windsor. His grandparents were dairy farmers in the Brown City area and he keeps a bottle stamped McAllister Home Dairy on his desk at work. He said it's a reminder that "people work hard out there."

One thing McAllister is known for in the auto industry is showing off his Scottish heritage by arriving at black tie affairs in full regalia. A few years ago while at a Charity Preview for the North American International Auto Show, he recalled, "Someone tugged at my elbow and I heard a deep brougue say, 'Nice kilt.' I turned and it was Jackie Stewart -- 'Sir Jackie," the Formula One god of the 1960s. "How cool is that?"

Phil Foley may be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8148 or pfoley@lapeergroup.com.