Jordan Degree of the Dubuque Art Center, made a visit to Sue Hanger and Cub Scout Pack 775 to let the Scouts paint some mugs. Pack 775, based out of Cuba City, is led by Cub Scout Master Sue Hanger — who is also one of Runde’s superstar accountants. While Jordan was at Runde’s talking about the Art Center he mentioned that he offers a “paint your own pottery” session. After Sue got wind of this offer she jumped on the opportunity to treat the scouts to a great night of creativity and fun. And boy, was it a HIT. There are 23 Scouts in Pack 775 ranging from 1st to 5th graders.  The event took around an hour and Jordan supplied the kids with everything they needed – including the glazes and the mugs. After the kids were done glazing the mugs the way they wanted, Jordan took everything back to the Art Center where he [...]

Happy Holidays  Note: No one at Runde Auto Group was harmed during the making of this video.  Hopefully your ears won’t be harmed by our “not-so-harmonious” voices as you view it. Our intention is merely to wish you a happy holidays in hopes that this holiday season will be your best one yet!

There comes a time in everyone’s life where they have to let go of something. A child lets go of their “blankie”, A teenager lets go of their first crush, the 21 year-old slips away from the realm of a carefree life… On Friday here at Runde Auto Group, we had to let go of Mary Jane Baxter as she left us for what has commonly been referred to as “retirement”. Laughing, munching, and enjoying herself, Mary Jane stopped by for the last time (as an employee) to the Runde Chevrolet building to partake in her retirement taco salad party. Excitement filled the air as we ate good food and chatted with Mary before she left.  Before she got out [...]

If you haven’t said “Happy Birthday Greg Runde” yet today, well there’s still time. There were two important events that happened in 1969.  Obviously the most important of those was the birth of our owner, Greg Runde.  And then there was also Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon, which you may or may not remember.  Anyway, enough about the first moon landing —  let’s get back to Greg Runde’s birthday … To commemorate Greg’s 40th birthday, we made a little video to express our sentiments.  Please try not to tear up too much. Happy Birthday Greg Runde!

Today I sat down for a chat with Casey Fluhr of Runde Chevrolet.  Casey is another one of those smiling faces I always see while walking around the dealership ready to help customers at a moment’s notice.  I must say he’s thrown a lot of warm-hearted  “good morning’s” and “how-ya-doin’s” my way over the past few years, so I’m now sharing him with the world through this short interview. We might as well get right down to it — What do you do here? Service consultant … when you bring a vehicle in for service, we will check you in and ask you what’s wrong with your vehicle.  I write repair orders and talk to mechanics about the vehicle problems. How long have you worked here? I’ve been here almost 16 years.   I started out washing cars here as a high school job and then worked my way up to where I am now. Are [...]

This week I had the opportunity to join the clinking, clanking, and loud noises going on in the service garage as I interviewed Dawson Rollinger, service mechanic, here at Runde’s. (Loud thuds and noises in the background) HEY DAWSON, I THOUGHT I’D TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW YOU BETT… (Loud noises stop and the only thing loud in the room is my voice) You don’t have to yell… Oh, my bad – so Dawson, is that your first name? Yeah it is, I get that all the time, whenever I go to car shows or similar events and I tell them my name is Dawson Rollinger they always reply “well what’s your first name” What do you do here at Rundes’? I’m a mechanic. I started working at Runde’s [...]

Pat Timmerman – one of the longest lasting and friendliest faces at Runde Chevrolet. This week we got a chance to pull him away for a little bit to get to know him better. What do you do here at Runde’s? I’m the nut in the squirrel farm! I am the service manager aka “fixed operations” for the four stores. I make sure that customers are taken care of and always have staff in place to accommodate to the customer for their convenience. How long have you been doing this gig? Oh I’m not even sure… lets see… since ’96? yea, since 96 – so about 13 years. One of the originals, huh? You’ve been here so long, have you always been from the area? Yeah, [...]

Becky Kuhl who works in the upstairs office of Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque was kind enough to give us a little of her time and a little insight into what makes her tick.  It’s been said here at Runde’s that Becky is “so very Mary Tyler Moore”.   You can be the judge as you checkout what she had to say:   What do you do here at Runde’s?   I am the Incentive Administrator for Runde Chevrolet. Basically, I report to GM the new Chevrolet units that are sold and then I apply for the correct incentives for each model. For some customer rebates, certain documents are required. I’m the one who ensures that customers present us with the proper documentation at the time of the sale.  [...]

Chris Anderson can usually be found at the Hazel Green used car near Dubuque. I sat down with him for a few minutes this morning, so you all can get to know him better! Runde Auto Chat: How long have you worked for Runde’s? Chris Anderson: Just over a year RAC: What does your job entail? CA: I do a lot of the buying, and I also manage some of the deals the salesmen have going. RAC: What are your favorite parts of your job? CA: I like the people I work with, being a part of a successful business, and the company offers a lot of opportunities. RAC: What kind of vehicle do you currently drive? CA: Right now I drive a Suzuki SX4 hatchback because of the good gas mileage.  I drive about 35 [...]

Tressa Miller works in the office of our PreDriven dealership in Hazel Green, Wisconsin. She handles titles, processes deals, and answers the phones. I sat and talked with her for a few minutes today, and here is what she had to say!   Runde Auto Chat: How long have you worked at Runde’s? Tressa Miller: 6 years Runde Auto Chat: What do you like best about your job? Tressa Miller: I don’t know…I like everything about it. There isn’t really a part I don’t like. RAC: Who is your favorite NASCAR driver? TM: Gordon (As I notice the Gordon jacket hanging on the back of her chair) RAC: How many races have you been to? TM: 8, most of them were at Chicago Speedway RAC: Who will you cheer for when Gordon retires? TM: Whoever is racing for Hendrick Motorsports…just that whole team. RAC: What do you want for Christmas this year? TM: I haven’t really [...]

Francie Fortman is one of our main car runners from Manchester. He travels to pick up vehicles traded between Runde’s and other dealers.  He also shuttles vehicles from the Manchester Ford location to East Dubuque and Hazel Green, and stops in to pleasantly harass all of us with his contagious smile before he leaves again.  Runde Auto Chat: What is the farthest trip you have taken for a dealer trade? Francie Fortman: Working for Runde’s, I once went 1,100 miles roundtrip to Fargo, North Dakota to trade a Trailblazer for another Trailblazer. I also had to go to Detroit on a couple occasions. RAC: What is the most interesting thing you’ve seen on your trips? FF: The traffic on 494 in Minneapolis at 5:00 pm. (For some of us, it’s the reason we live here instead of the big city!) RAC: What is the best place you’ve eaten while on the road? FF: I try [...]

This week’s sales staff introduction is of the Runde Cuba City Buick store. They may be small in numbers, but these guys carry an abundance of information and ready and eager to answer any questions you may have!!   Cuba City Sales Professionals     Al has worked for Runde Auto Group for about 6 years, but prior to that he worked with his father at Dellabella Motors for about 30 years. His wife, Deb, also works for us, running parts and vehicles from store to store. They have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Al enjoys gardening and music. He plays the harmonica, cjello, and acoustic guitar. He’s a Packers fan…go figure. If you’re ever in the Cuba City area, you’ll probably see him driving around in his Chevrolet S-10 pickup.             John has also worked for Runde’s for about [...]

As summer winds down and baseball teams begin eliminating each other from the playoffs, we gear up for another exciting season of college football. Opening weekend did not bring as many upsets as last year, but there were some great games and a lot of eager fans this past Saturday. Tailgaters were in rare form at the University of Iowa’s opener against Maine. Everyone was excited to be back with their ‘fall family’ at Kinnick. Since football tends to take up a lot of our weekends, I thought I would find out what the Runde staff thinks about their favorite teams’ chances this year. It took quite a while to find someone in the office who wasn’t a Hawkeye fan, and that was the first time in my life I was complaining about that.    John Leibfried, a Sales Professional at our Buick Cuba City location, predicts that the Badgers will be [...]

Lenny was a little hesitant to let me interview him, so I promised to be nice. He works in our reconditioning department at Runde Chevrolet, and he didn’t have a lot to say but he gave us SOME input.   Runde Auto Chat: Everyone knows you as Lenny, but what is your REAL name? Lenny: Jeff Kueter   RAC: How long have you worked here? L: A little over a year   RAC: A lot of people think that you’re the hardest worker here. Is there any truth to that? L: Maybe a little bit.   RAC: Do you follow baseball? L: Yes   RAC: Who’s your favorite team? L: Cubs   RAC: Will you be watching the All Star Game? L: No, I have prior commitments.   RAC: Wife? Kids? L: Yes, and 1   [...]

The Mark of Excellence is the original name of the logo for the GM Corporation. It was first used by GM in 1966 and the logo originally included the phrase “Mark of Excellence” at the bottom. It was initially installed on the door jambs of GM vehicles. Some of us older folks might recall that the logo also was also stamped on the release buttons of seat belt buckles in GM vehicles until the mid-1990s. The “Mark of Excellence” is also an award. Runde Chevrolet was presented with this award just last week for their sales and customer satisfaction results again. Runde Chevrolet has won this award numerous times, however GM keeps raising the bar and winning the award thus becomes more of a challenge with the passing of each year. GM representatives were on hand [...]

Valentines Day at Runde’s is a Festive Floral Occasion     Sue Hanger was clearly celebrating Valentines Day at Runde’s today.  Sue is one of the Accountants for Runde Chevrolet. Her husband Kevin had this lovely floral display shipped in from Paris … well maybe not quite that far. It’s clear that Sue is still Kevin’s #1 Valentine and vice versa.     This is Lori Schoenberger who manages the Runde PreDriven Service Department. She is shown here proudly displaying the arrangement of flowers that was given to her by her sweetheart for Valentines.