Runde Auto Chat

**Update: Check out our footage of the Air Show planes HERE.

Many families in the Tri-State area have made a tradition of gathering together to watch the 3rd of July air show and fireworks display. There is a lot of time, effort and hard work put into the event.

Perry Mason, the General Sales Manager at Radio Dubuque, is one of the important people behind the scenes who helps organize the July 3rd event every year and is here to explain the show and what it takes to make the spectacular performance happen. Perry knows a thing or two about throwing a good show and has been involved with the air show through its entirety of 25 years. Perry explains, "This is the 25th anniversary of the air Show. We have one of the biggest shows in the nation. Going to the show not only provides a great bonding and get-together time with family and friends, but it is also an awesome show that simply can't be missed."

How did this whole show get started?

We started off with a $5,000 fireworks display with the Jaycee's back in 1985 up by Wahlert High School. We then moved it down to the river and had it synced with our radio station to accommodate the rising number of spectators. Since then it has gotten bigger and bigger… we added the air show and added more fireworks and now it is one of the biggest shows in the nation. Our budget used to be $5,000 now it's close to $100,000. This show is ranked as one of the top 15 shows in the country. It has been in air show magazines and travel magazines as well as other media. We have four national press groups coming to the show so far this year.

How do you get all the different air show acts together?

There is a conference that is held every year where air show enthusiasts can get together. I've been a part of it for the last 15 years or so. This is where I meet and ask the the people in charge of these planes to participate in the show. We get together and have a great time, it's all relationship building. If you have satisfied customers and a good show, you can offer them what they want and they will come to you!

How many people attend the Tri-State Show?

The Air Force estimates that there's well over a 150,000 people who attend the show. The neat thing about this show is that you can watch it from all three states and listen to our radio stations to listen to the play-by-play of what's happening so you can "be there" without actually being there.

Do you know if any people outside the Tri-State area come to the show?

Yes, people come from all over. People are coming all the way from Turkey to see the show this year. The furthest anyone has ever come to see the show was from Madras, India – and they came specifically to see this show!

How many fireworks are we looking at for this year’s show?

I don't have the exact numbers but it's in the thousands. The biggest shell we have is a 7" shell. We limit it to a 7" shell for safety reasons.

Exactly how much work is involved in putting together the show? ***Half a chuckle and a big "you-have-NO-idea" expression crosses Perry's face...***

I start preparing for next year’s show directly after this show is over. The very next business day I start making contacts. There's a lot of paperwork that goes into closing the river. I work with three different states, the Coastguard out of St. Louis, the Pentagon, Fire and Police protection... I actually hurt a muscle in my arm from holding the phone too much, that's why they gave me the headset.

Is it difficult to work with the Pentagon and/or Air Force?

No... the hardest part is the regulations that we have to follow, but it's all fun. It's all worth it and it's an honor to support the men and women of the armed forces that give us the freedom that we enjoy today.

Any big surprises this year?

Let’s just say it will be a show you don't want to miss. We have the Golden Knights Parachute team dropping in, the A-10 East Demonstration Team that has been here for 14 of the last 15 years, the F-18 Superhornet which is a first for the show, and the B1 Bomber. We will also have a special dogfight tribute to World War II vets with a P-51 Mustang and the actual Japanese Zero that was in the movies "Tora Tora Tora" and "Pearl Harbor" as well as other various shows.

I'm assuming you're a big fan of these aircrafts?

It is living history and pretty awesome. My dad was a P-38 pilot in World War II and I like the fact that they are on our side.

Everything pretty much ready to go for the show?

Yes, everything is going as scheduled. Runde’s, and I mean this very sincerely, has been a great aid. Part of my work with the military is to make sure everything works like clockwork. For me, working with Runde’s for the last couple of years has been fabulous, absolutely fabulous. Runde’s always makes sure that I have the best of the best vehicles and that they are all ready to go. I can't even tell ya... it's just super. It's nice to be able to go and pick up the people coming in for the show all at once. These people are traveling all the time. They bring their service team and everything with them. It's important that everything goes smoothly for them. Runde’s sure makes my life a whole lot easier. It’s one less thing in our minds that we don't have to worry about. Everyone enjoys the vehicles Runde's provides and thinks they are great.

Update: Perry and crew picked up the vehicles from Runde's! Check out what the process is like to get the vehicles here!

What is your favorite part of the show?

Looking at all of the people with their facial expressions saying, "WOW, this is cool".

How do you determine what songs to use during the show?

We generate the music at the radio station and have a committee that selects which songs to play. From there we tweak them and send them to the fireworks company where they computerize everything to be synced with the fireworks as they are timed with the show.

How long is the air show?

We start the air show at 6:00pm and it lasts 'til 8:30pm, then we have a special tribute at 9:00pm 'til around 9:20pm. This is where we dedicate the fireworks and air show to the veterans for all they have done for us. We will be reading the names of those killed in recent conflicts to our listening area. The Golden Knights will be performing a pyro jump at night. They actually used a photo out of Dubuque in their 2009-2011 Calendar when they did their pyro jump at last years event.

How many planes are going to be in the show this year?

Probably about 10.

Does anything ever not go according to plan when organizing all of these different things?

One year, two kids had climbed some trees on an island within the radius that is supposed to be clear of people on the day of the show. We had to delay the show and make sure the kids were out of there. If that would have been the moment when the B1 bomber were to fly in, he would have had to leave without a showing because he has to be at Mt. Rushmore roughly 15 minutes after he flies here.

I noticed two patches on your wall, they have the names; Borman, Lovell and Anders on them. What do they represent?

Well, Frank Borman is from Apollo VIII, which was the first flight to go around the moon. Frank Borman was here at our air show a number of years ago and had a drink with all of us. It is interesting to have had a piece of history sit down with us. I don't know if you've ever seen the movie "Apollo Thirteen" but Jim Lovell is one of the astronauts portrayed in that movie and Bill Anders, of Apollo VIII took the famous “Earth Rise” photo showing the earth rising on the moon.

Very cool! Anything else you'd like to add?

All of these people are heroes. Each one of them deserves a grand entrance and I just wanted to show my thanks to all of them. This is just a small thing I can do to say "thank you" to all of our troops and vets.

Thank you Perry! It's been very interesting to hear things explained from one of the people behind the show. We look forward to being there and we are glad that you’ve chosen Runde's to supply all the cars, vans, SUV’s and our Community Support truck year after year to help with this great show.

It's about that time of year again. Decorated eggs, fun family games and the 2nd largest quantity of candy kids will ever get in one day. And while there are many parents out there who go all out and spare no expense on Easter baskets for their children during the holiday weekend, there are also kids locally who don't exactly have equally warm-hearted Easter experiences. That's where Chuck 'N' Jo's comes in to save the [holi]day!

Last year, Chuck 'N' Jo's donated over 800 baskets to Children’s Hospitals and local non-for-profit groups that help children, like the Maria House and St. Marks. This year marks their 4th year of the Easter Baskets of Love and it is bigger and better than ever before! They will have over 1200 Easter baskets that will be delivered to kids and senior citizens this Easter. And they're distributing the baskets to a greater number of charitable places compared to last year!

We stopped by Chuck 'N' Jo's today to visit Connie Jo (one of the founders of this noble event) to see the baskets and talk with Connie about the event a little more. Looking at a collection of the baskets felt like looking into the future a bit. There were so many of them and I began to get a mental glimpse of the happiness that they were going to bring local kids and seniors in just a week's time.

So Connie, there sure are a LOT of baskets here, how do you go about collecting all of the goods that go into the baskets?
All year long people are bringing in these baskets to help out. They bring in stuffed animals, toys... no candy, though, until it's getting near Easter time so it won’t spoil.

I hear that you are donating to more retirement homes this year?
We had a lot of requests last year from retirement homes so we decided to reach out a bit more this year. Last year we donated to Stonehill Care Center. This year we are donating to Stone Hill, Luther Manor, Dubuque Nursing and Rehab and Sunnycrest Manor.We are taking 267 of our specialized baskets to the retirement homes. They have lotions, soaps, crackers, little scrubbies and things like that in them.

How many Volunteers do you have this year?
We have 20 this year. Three up from last year.

How far out do you donate?
We cover three county Head Start programs in Iowa and we are doing the East Dubuque Head Start program as well.

How do you deliver these baskets?
We pack them up in a van and take them to the Community Center where they will be distributed.

We could lend you the Runde Community Support Van for this in the future. Its purpose is to help out non-profit organizations and charitable causes, just like this one!
I didn't know about that! That would be a great!

Everything is donated?
Yes, everything is donated and/or sponsored. Some of our donations are stuffed animals, toys, candy, etc. for the baskets. Other sponsors will give us money then we will go out on shopping missions to get items needed for the baskets as we see fit.

[Connie shared with us a list of over 20 companies and individuals that helped sponsor and donate to Easter Baskets of Love]

When do you start delivering the baskets?
Monday the 29th is our big day. We will be delivering everything then. And one of our helpers, Jenny, will be going to Iowa City give Baskets to the Iowa Children's Hospital.

How many are going to the children's hospital?
At least 150 for sure.

How many baskets do you have so far?
Right now we have 1,047 baskets made and on Saturday afternoon we will be making 200 more making it close to 1,250 baskets for the year.

That’s great! Over 400 more from last year!
Yes it is really great, it’s getting bigger every year!

Runde's would like to thank Chuck 'N' Jo's for their great contribution to the community, it is very exciting and encouraging to have people in the community that are this selfless. They are doing a great deed for these kids and I hope that it will keep growing. From the looks of things, people are starting to become more aware of the program. If you would like to donate to Easter Baskets of Love, you can stop by their location at 890 Iowa St. in Dubuque, IA and ask for Connie.

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To be donated to the East Dubuque Community Blood Drive April 16th at the East Dubuque High School cafeteria. If you're in the Tri-State area, why not take an hour out of your day help potentially save a life? Hope to see you there!

The Chevy Camaro is arguably the most popular vehicle of the year, and Runde Auto Group has a great selection for everyone to choose from. Our stock of Camaros has attracted many eyes, including the prestigious former Cincinnati wide receiver, Mardy Gilyard. Mr. Gilyard recently purchased his brand new Chevrolet Camaro at Runde's in East Dubuque with the assistance of Runde Chevrolet's very own Mark "Flop" Fleege.

Marshawn "Mardy" Gilyard, age 23, was born in Palm Coast, FL and started his football career early in high school. He was a first-team class 5A all-state selection and had over 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns, which lead to him being chosen as MVP in the Florida Coast All-Star game. From there, Mardy left for college with a scholarship to University of Cincinnati, where he played his freshman year as a cornerback.

 Unfortunately during his sophomore year of college, Mardy was red-shirted for grades, and eventually lost his scholarship and his apartment. Then, being the dedicated person he is, Mardy lived out of his car and worked three jobs to save the money to get back into school. Eventually he went back to school full-time on his own funds and his determination paid off when he got back on the team in 2007 and got his scholarship back. He finished his season for the Bearcats with 36 receptions totaling 536 yards, and 3 touchdowns. From there, the sky was the limit. In 2008 he had 81 receptions with 1,276 yards and 11 touchdowns. To add to his receiving yardage, Gilyard also had over 1000 yards in returns. In 2009 he again massed over 1000 receiving and 1000 return yards with a total of 15 touchdowns. Mardy and the Bearcats went undefeated during the regular season in 2009 and eventually lost to Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day. Mardy is now expected to be in the first round of draft picks in the 2010 NFL draft.

Mardy had a rough start in college, but he's now famous for his exceptional talent and speed. He learned from his mistakes and his diligence and perseverance finally paid off for him. He enjoys giving back to the community and very frequently participates in several youth programs for underprivileged children in Cincinnati. Mardy can now reward himself for all his hard work by driving comfortably in his new Camaro.

Check out this bird eye view of Mardy's 99 yard kickoff return against Pittsburg on 12-5-09. Cincinnati was trailing Pitt 31-10 at the time, but the kickoff sparked the team and they wound up beating the Panthers 45-44. And for you Chicago Bears fans out there ... yes that is Dave Wannstedt at the beginning of the video (your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.) Wannstedt now coaches for the University of Pittsburg.

In a tie for "coolest car at the auto-show" I give you the Ford Mustang GT500.