09/10/2026
This week, we're highlighting '20 grads Maxwell Baldwin and Ian Cormier, who were recently named Best of Dayton winners in Best Auto Detailing for Gem Autofinish!
🦅 Gem Autofinish was a project started in study hall during our junior year. Our team works within walking distance of CJ's campus and specializes in interior/exterior details, paint correction, and ceramic coatings. To think that we started out as a couple of high school students looking for a way to save for college, to now being recognized as one of Dayton's best, feels incredibly rewarding. CJ was certainly critical in establishing the work ethic it’s taken to get the business this far.
🦅 This success didn’t come without its challenges. Despite the business doing well, I was still insistent on finishing my mechanical engineering degree at the University of Dayton. Juggling the business with being a full-time student wasn’t exactly easy. It took working late nights and a reliable team to pull that off, but it was certainly worth it. CJ instilled in me a love for learning, and getting to finish school while growing Gem Autofinish was worth the struggle
🦅 All our teachers and coaches have always been great and super supportive of Ian and me. We love seeing the faculty and alumni who come in for car washes and continue to trust us with their cars, trucks, boats, and more.
🦅 To any aspiring business owner, the best advice I can give is to just do it. There’s never going to be an easier time than now to try things out and find work that calls you. Set achievable goals and have plans to meet them. Never stop networking and never stop learning.
Congratulations, Max and Ian! We're proud to call you Eagles!
