Dan Kelly… Thought He Only Won $5, Prize Was Actually a New Truck!

Dan Kelly pulled off what few can and won a new truck in the process.  Dan sank a hole-in-one the other day… on a particularly important hole.  You see, this particular hole-in-one landed him a FREE Chevy Silverado valued over $36,000! You might have seen the story on the front page of the Telegraph Herald?

Well, as it turns out, Dan is actually a customer of Runde Chevrolet and had recently purchased a Tahoe from Runde’s!  So he was far from a stranger when he came in to fill out the paperwork to obtain his new, beautiful, free Silverado.  During this visit to Runde’s, I chatted with him and his wife Carrie about his hole-in-one experience and about their overall experience with Runde’s!

You just bought a Tahoe from Runde’s last month.  What led you to buy it from us?
It was the vehicle I was looking for at the time. My father bought a pickup truck from Runde’s about a year ago and he was very satisfied and recommended it. So I decided to come here and take a look. I fell in love with it and that was it.

So this was the first vehicle that you bought from Runde’s?
Actually, I bought a used truck before. Made the deal the same day I went to see it.

How was your salesman, Dave Frazier?
He made it a great experience. He’s very knowledgeable and helpful. He bends over backwards for us.

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Trostle

What have you been using the Tahoe for?
That is my personal vehicle that I drive back and forth to work. Carrie drives an Equinox.

How long have you two been married?
17 years.

Any Kids?
Dan: I have a 21-year-old daughter.

Pets?
Carrie: I have a dog named blue. We think he’s part Collie and part Australian shepherd. He actually has one blue eye.
Dan: He’s definitely Carrie’s dog. Wherever mom goes, she’ll follow.

Are you from the Tri-State area?
Yes. We are from Dubuque.

What do you like to do around the area?
I like to golf… otherwise we are just open-minded people. If someone calls and wants to do something we’ll go. Otherwise, work and home, really. We have a great neighborhood, so we all hang out together. One night we’ll hang out at our house and another night we’ll go to different neighbors. It really saves a lot of money hanging out with great people that live right next to you.

What kind of hobbies are you into?
Dan: I like to hunt and golf… fishing… just outdoor things.
Carrie: I just like the outside.

Do you guys travel a lot?
We have friends in North Carolina so we travel down there. We drive down there at least once a year.

Pretty big trip?
It’s not too bad, really. We’ll put in about 14 hours then get a room and then we only have like 4 hours of travel the next day. We were hoping to do this trip come August but now we might wait because of this truck we just won.

Getting into the Hole-in-One Outing… Was this a business trip for your company?
Not my company, but the Dubuque Home Builders & Associates has sponsored this golf outing every year for the last 30 years or so. My uncle and his oldest son have a couple of businesses so they always ask if we would like to get in it. So usually my dad, my brother, myself and one of my dad’s buddies get in.

How long have you been going to these outings?
This is probably my 8th year.

Have you ever won anything else through any event?
No, I don’t even gamble. Carrie does, but I’ll just go sit at the bar.

So this is one of the biggest things either of you have won?
Oh yeah. I don’t know if it has really set in yet.

Do you have plans for the truck?
We’re still discussing it right now. If we didn’t just buy the Tahoe it’d be an easier decision. But now we’re not sure which vehicle to keep.

Well, it’s not a bad situation, but it seems kind of mind boggling.
Exactly!

What was your reaction when you saw your story in the front page of the Telegraph Herald?
I wasn’t even expecting anything like that. Maybe in the sports section if even that. But to see it on the front page and continued on page two!? That was unreal. When I got back to work after seeing the front page of the paper with my story in it… that’s when it kind of set in. My co-workers and everyone else came up and congratulated me.  I was kind of like a celebrity.

Carrie: It’s kind of funny because at my work there’s a gentleman who got a hole-in-one on the same hole the previous day!

When you went to the hole to tee off, were you thinking about winning the truck?
No, not at all. There was no possible way that if you aimed for the hole, you were going to make it in. The first two members of the group that I was with were trying for the hole they hit it a little too hard and it went into the water. So I sent it out more toward the hill to the left and it did a nice kick right and went down the hill into the hole.

Were you thinking “Oh my gosh, I just won a truck!”
Nope, the truck slipped my mind! On that hole you can bet $5, $10, or $20. If you were to make the green and your ball stayed on the green you could double your money. So before teeing off I bet in $5 and all I was thinking was “I just doubled my $5!” So I went up to the lady that took the bets and asked if I could have my $10 and she said “Yeah! But you know you won a truck, too!?” and I’m like… “OH YEAH, Oh boy I won a truck!”

So what did you think once you realized you won the truck?
I was thinking: “Dang, I just bought a Tahoe! What am I going to do with a truck!?”  It was a great day. The weather was perfect… and the really neat thing, I was telling my wife, is that I got to experience this all with my brother and father. The truck is an added bonus but the hole-in-one was really the highlight.

What was your reaction when you heard he won the truck, Carrie?
I honestly did not believe it. I actually got a message from his brother who made up a story about him going to the hospital. So I called him back right away and he said that your husband just hit a hole-in-one and won a truck and I said “I don’t care, what hospital are we going to!?” Then he explained that he made up the hospital story. When I got over to Lacoma Golf Course … that’s when it set in and I was just thinking “WOW”.

Do you consider yourself a pretty good golfer?
Eh, a hacker. I used to play league for many years with Carrie’s father before he passed. I can hold my own. It’s the luck of the Irish! Actually I think her father was looking down on me that day. He was the guy that I always went golfing with. I just knew he was looking out for me on that hole.

On behalf of Runde Auto Group, Congratulations on your fantastic hole-in-one and winning the beautiful new truck!