Tia A. Suiter There are so many reasons why Tia loves calling Clarksville home, but her favorite is the community. “Clarksville is a wonderful town filled with wonderful people.” Starting with her education in grade school then moving on to APSU, they all played an important part throughout her life in helping her become the person she is today. Tia had started businesses as a child from a young age of writing newspapers to sell to her neighbors, mowing yards, washing motorcycles after school, then on to buying and selling cars. At the age of 15, she had purchased her first car from Batie Mazda with the money she had made. It was a 69 Camaro that she had to have even though she couldn’t drive it just yet. She rode a 125 Yamaha Exciter back and forth to school, which was legal at the age of 14. Tia then sold the car for double the price she had paid for it, and shortly after her parents received a letter from the car dealership informing them that she had a job offer waiting for her in their sales department. The money she had received from the sale was then used to start a tanning bed business at her mother’s beauty shop located beside her grandfather’s dealership. He had the John Deere dealership along with Husqvarna, Yamaha and Triumph. Tia was constantly coming up with new ideas on businesses; fortunately, she was blessed with good parents that entertained them all. She went from buying and selling cars to flipping houses and then on to commercial properties.
28 • JULY 2021 | VIP CLARKSVILLE MAGAZINE
When asked what her greatest accomplishment is, she states “I managed throughout life to remain focused on God. He blessed me with wonderful children, a great husband, loving family along with lots of great friends. My husband, Danny and I started Ironhorse Realty company that has commercial properties in Clarksville and tourism properties in Gatlinburg. I am a TN licensed contractor. We have Suiter Construction, we build custom cabins in Gatlinburg; we love the mountains and enjoy our work there. “ Now, Tia is the third generation owner of Appleton Harley-Davidson where she holds her staff to the highest standard of education and integrity. “It’s vitally important to know every aspect of your business. Appleton Harley-Davidson sets records on many levels. Mary Rose and I implemented a huge game changer for our dealership back in 2007; we introduced our Riding Academy. We have licensing power from the State of TN. My husband and I went to the Police Academy in Nashville to become MSF Instructors for our training course. The Motor Company ranked our Riding Academy #4 in the nation.”Appleton Harley-Davidson holds numerous Bar & Shield Awards such as Silver, Bronze and even Gold. The most important part is they do not have combined numbers! Only one dealership and they attend award trips all over the world with people who have multiple (some up to 15 dealerships) and other fortune five hundred companies.” Our dealership has been in business over 70 years!!” Tia and her staff work hard at being the best from analytical reports in marketing, maintaining up to date certifications with training and giving customer service unlike any other. “A business is only as good as the people and I truly believe we have the best! No one should ever take from their business; they should give a 100 percent to it. It’s that simple. Don’t dishonor but honor. Give a tribute to what was a family legacy and make your own mark by taking it to another level.”
