11/02/2026
The fourth chapter of Hitt’s began sooner, and under harder circumstances, than anyone expected.
After Tim passed away in 2020, the responsibility of carrying the family business forward fell to his daughter, Cortney Hitt Harris. For a time, she balanced ownership of Hitt’s with her career as an auditor for the DOJ. In 2022, she made the difficult decision to leave that career and devote herself fully to the shop.
Cortney became the fourth generation of the Hitt family, and the first woman, to lead the business.
Taking over was never about changing what Hitt’s stood for. It was about protecting the reputation built by the three generations before her while preparing the business for the future.
Alongside her husband, David, and the entire Hitt’s team, Cortney has focused on modernizing operations, strengthening insurance relationships, and investing in the people who make the work possible.
In 2026, that commitment led to a major milestone: Hitt’s achieved I-CAR Gold Class recognition.
General Manager Rob Winning spearheaded the effort, guiding the team through the process, while every technician committed to the testing required to reach this goal. It was truly a team accomplishment and an important step forward for the fourth generation of Hitt’s.
There is no instruction manual for stepping into an 80-year-old family business, especially while grieving the person who led it before you. There have been difficult decisions, hard lessons, and plenty of moments spent wondering what Tim would have done.
But the goal has remained the same: take care of people, stand behind the work, and leave Hitt’s stronger for the generation that may come next.
Red started it. Jim expanded it. Tim carried it into a new era. Now, the responsibility of protecting everything they built belongs to the fourth generation.
4 generations. One promise.