Runde Auto Chat

Troy and April Hutson drove a long way this past week to come and buy their new truck from Runde Chevrolet. In the time between signing paperwork and starting out for home, they were benevolent enough to give us a little extra time to ask them some questions about their lives and about their recent experience at Runde's.

What kind of vehicle did you buy?
We bought a new 2011 Silverado 2500 HD.

You’re from Sandwich, IL – how far is that from Runde’s?
It's about 180 miles and it took us almost three hours to get here.

Have you always lived in that area?
Troy: I have. I was born in Sandwich and pretty much lived there my whole life.
April: I wasn't born in Sandwich, but I've lived in that area most of my life. 

It's the biggest county fair in the state of Illinois -- we go to it every year. What do you do for a living there?
Troy: I work for a ... basically like a farm services place.
A co-op?
Right. It's an independant fertilizer dealership. April: I work for an insurance company.

Do you want to throw out any shouts about your companies to advertise them. April: No.(laughing) Troy: (also laughing)They're probably a little too far away to do any good.

Do you have kids?
Paxton is our daughter -- she's 11 and Garrett is our son -- he's 9.

Any pets?
We have a cat and a dog ... our dog is a boxer/pit mix.

Sounds like a very muscular dog.
Yep, his name is Ranger and he's actually a big baby ... a big lap dog.

Do you have a favorite hang-out spot in Sandwich or the surrounding area?
We don't really have a hang out spot. I'd have to say our house.

If you could own your dream vehicle, what would that be?
Troy: My dream vehicle actually would be a Chevy Suburban 3/4-ton four-wheel-drive.
April: I'd just say the most expensive BMW.[

What’s your favorite restaurant and how often do you eat there?
Bianchi's Pizza Place in Ottowa, IL. It's a little bit south of Sandwich and we try to get there when we can.

When you have supper at home, is it definitely “table time” or is it head-to-the-living-room-time and all is well as long as no one spills on the couch or carpet?
Table time.
 

If someone does spill something on the floor at your house, do you handle it calmly with a Martha Stewart type voice or do you fly off the handle like Sam Kinnison would? April: No comment (laughs).
Troy: I guess that could go either way. It depends on the situation and if they were horsing around or if it was a legitimate accident.

Favorite movie of all-time?
April: The Notebook.
Troy: Smokey and the Bandit I guess, but it's not quite the same when they edit it for TV.

What did you think of the Super Bowl?
We wanted Pittsburg to win - not the Packers. We're Bears fans and we're waiting for next season.

What did you think about Jay Cutler not playing the whole game in the NFC Championship game against the Packers?
game. I mean if he was really hurt bad, that's one thing. Looked like he was walking pretty good a couple days lated when the news showed him shopping out in California with his girlfriend. It didn't look like he was limping too bad. It ain't the end of the world, we're used to it. I guess it's kind of like rooting for the Cubs (laughs).

Have any special plans yet for Valentines Day?
No, not really.

Will you go out on an actual “date”?
Oh, we might.

Can you tell us how and when you met?
Troy: Technically the first time we met was at my house, but she had a boyfriend at that time. And the next time we met, believe or not, was in a bank parking lot.

Is there anything else you'd like to add about your experience here?
Well we found your trucks on AutoTrader and we called up. I was originally thinking about buying a used truck, but we ended up with a new truck. We got along with your salesman (Al Kloft) so well that we didn't mind driving the three hours to get here. We're glad we found Runde's and very happy with our new truck.

We recently interviewed Mike Haefman and got to know that he's smart, likes Pokemon and Mexican Rap. After achieving a perfect score on his ACT, Mike is now ready to take on college. Through working at Runde's Mike was eligible to apply for the Great River Bend Community Foundation scholarship. Needless to say, Mike won the top scholarship for his efforts academically and at work and will be presented his reward at the Iowa/Illinois Regional Autoshow.

There was a total of $25,000 in scholarship funds to be divided between six college bound students. Mike earned the maximum amount of $5,000 and the scholarship is considered the show's finest achievement. We are proud of Mike and wish him well in his future. Check out the video below to hear from mike about his experience and plans: Congratulations Mike!

Nan Connolly is originally from Dubuque. She recently built and moved into a house just outside of East Dubuque, IL. She came into Runde's looking for a new Chevy to replace her vehicle. While she was here, she sat down and shared her experience with us.

What brought you into Runde's today?
Probably advertising and I knew I wanted a Chevy when I was shopping. I was looking around and Runde's seemed to have the best deal.

What vehicle did you end up going with?
The 2010 Chevy Impala, I like it. My other car kind of gave up so I said "it's time." I have grand-kids and I like this car because of the fact that it's very safe.

Is the car for you?
Yes. My husband is more of a truck guy, but we needed a car.

How long have you been married?
40 years.

Great! What did you think of your salesman, Al Kloft?
He's REALLY good! He came right up to us when we got here and made us feel comfortable, as if we were at home. He isn't pushy, he's nice and he really knows what he's talking about. He listens, too. I told him what I was driving and that I wanted something similar and he pieced all the puzzle pieces together and got us a great match.

On a scale of 1-10 what would you rank your experience at Runde's?
10. No question. 10 all the way around.

How are you liking Winter?
It's... ok... it hasn't been TOO bad. I hate winter though and wanted to make sure that I had a reliable vehicle for it.

Do you have any pets?
I have two dogs - one's a Shih Tzu mix and the other is a Blue Heeler, one's a small dog one's a bit bigger.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
We get out a lot. We like to get with friends. I like to curl up next to the fireplace and read. I also crochet and go fishing with my husband.

What kind of movies do you like?
Mostly comedies.

What's your favorite movie?
Pirates of the Caribbean. The first one is the best, it was the funniest I think.

They are actually making a new one... I thought it was supposed to be a trilogy but I guess they figured they can milk more money out of it.
Yeah, I'm going to go see that... now I have to add more to my collection!

If you were to win the lottery what would you do with the money?
I'd probably share the wealth with my family then make a lot of charitable contributions. I'd save a lot of little starving animals!

Would you go anywhere if you had money remaining?
Yes. Ireland and Alaska. I just want to see them, learn the country and soak it all up. If I went I'd go for a while, it wouldn't be any short trip.

That's all the questions I had for you Nan, thank you so much for sharing a bit of your life with us.
We were both really pleased with our experience at Runde's, thank you!

In the short amount of time I spent with David and Jan Rafoth from Dubuque, I could tell that they have led interesting lives. And what constitutes an "interesting life" you may ask? For starters, how about stepping on a bomb and living to tell the story? Not enough for you? ... Well add-on finding out where you are going to live based on a nice random car ride. Read on, hopefully you are as entertained by their stories as I was listening to them.

How did you hear about Runde's?
Well we were looking to trade our car and we had previous experience with Runde's and Al Kloft and we were treated right the last time we were here. After we saw the Cadillac in the paper we called Al up and he said "we'll have it washed up for you to come and see it". You guys were very fair and we ended up buying the car.

On a ranking of 1-10 what would you give Runde's?
We'll give you a 1... Is that the "good" side of things?...

Well ... Good would be about an "8" and a "10" would mean everything was Great! It's like the gymnastics scores in the Olympics.
Oh, we'll give you a 10 then, geesh - whatEVER. Everything was perfect.

How do you know Al?
I kind of knew him through a friend but mainly we know him from buying a truck from him. I think he sold us the truck within an hour. There was no hassle, I was very happy with everything.

What do you use the truck for?
We think of ourselves as we're half-farmers... even through we're retired. We live out in the county and have to trim trees and all that kind of stuff so we always have to do something around the area.

Where are you guys from?
We live in Dubuque. But now we live here "half-time" where we live here for the holidays and big gatherings. But for about four or five months we live in North Carolina.

How were your holidays?
They were good, BIG gatherings.

Do you have any pets?
We have one cat named Sammy. He's a Tabby cat. He rides down to North Carolina with us whenever we go. He sits back there in his little box and never makes a peep, he's a great cat.

Now he can have a nice ride in the Cadillac.
Yeah, we've had eight Caddies so far, we just like them.

What do you like to do around the area?
We like to ride motorcycles, we both have Harleys. We spend a lot of time on the river and we just sold our boat, but we have a lot of friends that still have boats which is even better. We also do a lot of entertaining like dinner parties and stuff like that. Otherwise we have a house in the country that requires a lot of maintenance and care.

What kind of food do you guys like?
She makes some great Italian food. Sausage, Sauce, Pasta, Beef and Pork Tenderloin...the works.

You are looking pretty hungry there David.
Yeah, I haven't had lunch yet so food sounds pretty good right now.

How long have you two been together?
17 years. Married 17, hanging out for another 5.

Do you remember your first date together?
I think we went to Timmerman's. We knew each other through other people and we both belonged to the chamber and had our own businesses. We had a lot in common and just kind of hit it off.

Al tells me that you had some pretty close encounters when you were in the army?
Yeah, it was during my two years in the Vietnam War. My squad was hot on the trail of some of the enemy and we were observing them as they went through their same trail for several nights. So when we finally pursued after them, we went through their trail and they must have caught on that we were watching them and might go after them because there should not have been a trip wire on their own trail. It was pitch black when my foot sank down into the ground to the point where my knee was level with the ground and I thought at that point that it might be a trap. So my Sargent came up and checked it out and felt down around in the hole and said "you're stepping on a trip-wire".

 That must be ranked up there as one of the worst feelings ever... So what could you guys do at that point?
Not much. None of us were sure what would happen if I were to step up, whether it would go off or not. So the Sargent got everybody back and took all my stuff with the men at a distance and told me to build my nerve up and spring up out of the hole and try to run as fast as I could to avoid getting killed. So I did, and nothing happened. So we marked the spot and we came back the next day and dug out the trap... it ended up being an artillery shell, that would have got all of us. We had our demo guy put on some C4 and blow it... it actually blew a hole about three feet deep.

Wow, I'm glad you lived to tell the story.
I kept the trip wire and still have it to this day. Since then I have had the mentality that nothing can ever scare me again.

You said that you live in North Carolina?
Yeah, we live in Asheville. We love it there because it's really accepting... there really isn't "racism" or anything like that, everyone just kind of fits in. They really promote themselves too. They are all about local restaurants and produce and they do a great job of keeping commercial. After we retired we were just looking for a place to get away from the extreme snow that we have here in Dubuque. We just happened to drive around for a spot and found Asheville.

So, you just kind of drove around for a place to live?
Yep. Oh, and if you haven't heard of the Biltmore House there, you should Google it. It's absolutely beautiful.

What is the most important invention created?
Technology in general. It seems like something new comes out pretty much every week that seems pretty important.

If you were to win the lottery what would you do with the money?
I think we'd give a lot of it away. We'd give to our church and to those who need it. Maybe we'd come back here and buy a couple more Cadillacs. We never really dreamed much of winning the lottery. We've had a great life together and we only need so much stuff... we have too much stuff already.

That's all the questions I've had for you, if there's anything you'd like to add you are more than welcome.
It's a really nice experience here. A lot of people, including ourselves, think "Oh geez, I have to go in to buy a vehicle." Sometimes we don't even want to bother. But we don't feel that way here. We always enjoy ourselves and I appreciate the experience you guys offer. And tell Al "thanks again" for the deer sausage he gave us!

All families go through tough times, whether it be economic, emotional, physical… How these times effect individual family members varies, but when it comes to economic challenges, it can leave some children not being able to experience the holidays to the fullest. Think of the surroundings you grew up in. Were there so many toys every holiday that you couldn’t possibly play with them all within a day's time?

Or maybe your family could barely afford to get you one toy... Wouldn’t you want every child to experience the holidays the way they were meant to be celebrated -with a great meal, gifts, and a sense of happiness? That is the goal of the Salvation Army with their Toy Collection Campaign.

Salvation Army officers Major Tom and Major Kay Mason spearhead the Army’s Toy Collection Campaign. Major Tom came into Runde the other day to pick up the Runde Community Support Truck that will help them out immensely with the event. Major Kay was with him and was gracious enough to sit down for a few minutes with me to explain the toy collection campaign.

Hello Major Kay, can you give me an overview of what the Toy Collection Program is and what it all involves? We usually start the whole thing during the 3rd week of November. This is when families come in and sign-up to receive toys and/or food. The families must meet the guidelines set up by the Department of Human Services (DHS) for the program. After they've signed up, we provide anywhere from 525-530 families with food and/or toys for the holiday. We like to limit the number of families to around that range so that we can stay within our budget.

Is this a Salvation Army event or are other agencies involved? It’s the Salvation Army’s event and we are partnered with "Toys for Tots". We call them “The Calvary” because what we do is purchase toys with the budget we have and then we depend on people to drop off and donate the rest of the toys. Toys for Tots fills that need greatly. We also have an Angel tree at Borders Book Store for donations the public can help with.

Can you give me a little more detail about the program… how many toys do you expect to be giving out this year? Dubuque has supported us very well. This year we are able to give out anywhere from 1,800-2,000 toys. We give the parents or guardians of the child a letter telling them to come at a certain time when we are giving out the food and gifts. When they arrive, at their predetermined time, the parent or guardian picks out the toys for the children located in our basement. Each child gets 1-2 new big toys 1-2 medium toys and 1-2 small toys. Then we have little “give-aways” like coloring books, crayons, etc. and fill their bags with those things.

You said the gifts have to be new?
We believe that the children getting these gifts deserve to have new and unopened items. We don’t want to give them used goods when they should get something new for the holidays.

What else is the Salvation Army planning this Holiday?
We provide food vouchers for the families so they can go out and buy Christmas dinner. We also do “Adopt-a-Family” where certain families decide that they really don’t need anything new for Christmas, so they use the money they could have spent on themselves and make arrangements to provide for a less fortunate family.

How far does the program cover, geographically?
We are in the Tri-States, there are set boundaries - I think Epworth, Elkader, Dyersville, Farley, Freeport are all within our boundaries… sometimes we go into Illinois and Wisconsin but not very far because there are different Salvation Army’s there that have their own programs.

Where should people bring the toys if they want to donate?
They can bring the toys to the Salvation Army at 1099 Iowa Street. We are there Monday through Friday from 9a.m. to 4p.m. We only take new toys that are still in the original packaging. Right now we are kind of short on the 9-12 age range for toys. There are no requirements as far as the toys go ... just that they have to be new and unopened. There is no price-minimum or limit or anything like that.

How is the Runde Community Support Truck helping you this year?
Runde’s is letting us use the Community Support Truck which is very helpful. Since we are so small we don’t have a big truck. We have a van that can’t really handle everything we need to transport. The truck is really nice because we don’t have to make so many trips back and forth to pick up toys now. (And they loved the hydraulic lift!) Perry Mason recommended The Runde’s Community Support Truck because he had experience using it over the summer and said it was great. We really appreciated the help Runde’s gave us.

Where and what are you going to be transporting?
We are transporting toys from the "Toys for Tots" Warehouse over to our basement at 1099 Iowa Street where our Toy Shop is and where the families will come to pick up the toys.

It really is a great program that you guys are putting together and we are happy to help in any way we can.
Thank you. Runde’s has been a great help and we will always keep you in mind looking towards the future.

If you have any donations you would like to make to this event you can drop off your new toy to: The Salvation Army 1099 Iowa Street Dubuque, IA Let’s put some smiles on kids' faces this holiday season!