When Kendall Warnock first moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, he was scared to death of traffic lights and stop signs. Having grown up on the Omaha Indian Reservation in a village of 90 people two hours north of the city, he had no experience with such things. His father ran an automotive repair shop and served as a volunteer firefighter on the reservation.
“We were either at the rural fire station at night, or we were at the shop,” Warnock said. His father’s example was what led him to his passionate careers: automotive repair and firefighting.
Joining the fire service
Warnock went to trade school to learn automotive repair. When he first arrived in Lincoln, Warnock worked at a General Motors dealership before returning to school to complete his bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska. He opened his own automotive business in 2005, “more as a hobby,” at first, before joining the fire service.
Warnock was drawn to the fire service through a sense of wanting to give back to others in the community, what he calls servant leadership. That sense of purpose took him through his career, first with a rural fire department in Nebraska, and then with Lincoln Fire & Rescue, up to the rank of division chief. He also earned his Executive Fire Officer certification through the National Fire Academy, describing the leadership course as “the most rewarding stretch of my fire service career.”
But three years ago, Warnock was forced to make a difficult decision. He was working more than two full-time jobs with his expanding automobile service business and his fire department responsibilities. His wife and three children needed him at home more; something had to give. At that point, Warnock made the choice to commit himself fully to his business, leaving his fire service career behind.
New ways of serving the community
The decision to leave the fire department did not end his commitment to public service but instead allowed it to take a different form. Through his company, A1 Automotive, he developed several initiatives that serve those within the community, such as a restored limousine that is available free of charge for those who want to use it for business or special events.
“Anyone who wants it, come get it,” Warnock said. “Take your kids to dinner. Take your kids to a birthday party. Make memories in it.”
His newest shop on the south side of the city recently opened a large meeting room, complete with refreshments, that is available free of charge on weekends and evenings to anyone in the community. Since opening six months ago, the community space has already been used at least a dozen times.
“People love it,” Warnock said. During his time as a chief officer for Lincoln Fire, he worked to create similar spaces within new fire stations built in the city.
Making a difference
However, for Warnock, his most ambitious and gratifying initiative is the Warnock Family Car Ministry – a 501(c)3 nonprofit he created with his wife, Desiree, to gift refurbished vehicles at no charge to someone in the community in need of reliable transportation. Cars are either donated or purchased by Warnock, who makes the necessary repairs in his shop.
The nonprofit works with local partners, like Catholic Social Services and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, to find and vet candidates for receiving cars. In 2025, the nonprofit donated six cars to community members. Warnock recalled a young, single mother whose family had rejected her.
“She was 18, pregnant, no job and couldn’t get anywhere because she didn’t have a car,” he said. “The father was not in the picture. Talk about the deck being stacked against you. We gave her a 2013 Chevy Equinox and she thought it was a 2025 Rolls Royce.”
In 2026, Warnock hopes to provide up to 20 free cars to community members in the coming year: “Doing this makes me feel like a million dollars.”
It’s not much different from his time in the fire service.
“Servant leadership and caring for others — that’s what life is all about,” he said. “I felt like I did that on the fire department — building good teams and fire stations — and now I get to do it in a different space that I feel compelled to be in.”
His community agrees, having recently selected A1 Automotive, as Lincoln’s Small Business of the Year for 2025.
