Runde Auto Chat

Jeff Schmitt has been with us here at Runde's for several years. Having to deal with appointments and service, Jeff is always a busy guy. Today, however, we got to sneak in a couple of minutes to let everyone get to know Jeff a little better.

Thanks for chatting with me Jeff. To start out, what would you say is your position here?
Assistant Body Shop Manager would be my "main position" but I do several other things such as service writing, making appointments, etc.

How long have you been here?
Since August 2007, so a couple of years.

How do you like it at Runde's?
It's great. Everyone is really friendly.

Where are you from?
I was born in Dubuque, lived there for about a year. Then we moved to East Dubuque when my dad got a job at Fentress Lake Marina. So I've been living there pretty much all of my life.

I assume you went to the East Dubuque High school then?
Yep. I went to all of the East Dubuque Schools, I've seen Runde's grow throughout the years.

Do you have any pets?
Yea we have birds. One is a Quaker and one is a Sun Coiner.

I used to have birds as well... EVERY morning they'd wake you up bright and early around 5:30 or so.
Hahaha, yep. Exactly.

Favorite restaurant?
Olive Garden - I'd have to say their Alfredo dishes are my favorite.

What's the last movie you seen in theaters?
I saw Hot Tub Time Machine. It was a lot better than what everyone thought it would be. Pretty funny.

Are you planning on seeing Iron Man 2?
More than likely. I've seen the first one so I'd assume I'd watch the second one as well.

Do you do the whole Facebook thing? What do you think about those Social Networks?
Yea I do have a Facebook. I like the Social Networks - you can meet new people and chat with different people that share similar interests with you.

If you could take any one vehicle from our lot, what would you take?
I really like the new Camaro's. I'd LOVE to take the Corvette ZR1, but I don't think that would happen anytime soon.

Have any favorite sports teams?
If I'd have to pick I'd pick the Bears.

Do you have a role model?
I haven't really given that any thought before... if anything I'd have to say my high school principal, Greg Herbst, he was pretty inspirational. His talks and speeches really made sense.

Where would you go to have a good time around the area?
I like to go down to the river-walk and take walks there on nice days.

If Hollywood made a movie about you, what would the title of the movie be called?
The Stressful Life of Jeff Schmitt.

What' the biggest purchase you've ever made?
I just bought a car here, actually - an '06 Chevy Impala.

How has that been treating you?
It's been going great. I traded in a '96 Ford Mustang for the Impala which my girlfriend gives me a hard time about. She liked the Mustang but it was really bad with gas so I had to get something with better gas-mileage.

What do you do in your spare time?
I listen to music mostly, I used to be in choir. I also like to play video games , my dad and I play some multi-player games sometimes.

No longer in choir?
Well I think about doing it more often. I was actually the first one in East Dubuque to make All-State for singing in my senior year.

Who's your favorite vocal artist and genre?
It's a toss up between Michael Buble and Josh Groban. I mostly like classical.

What is the most important invention or innovation that happened during your lifetime?"
I think the Catscan was invented sometime during my lifetime.

How would you spend your ideal day?
I would wake up in the morning, get ready for the day and grab a nice healthy breakfast. I would do a little exercising and hang out with my girlfriend the rest of the day.

What is your favorite cartoon?
I like Family Guy.

What do you hope to accomplish in your near future?
 Just to live a happy and healthy life and keep my blood-pressure down. I joined The Gym in Dubuque to help out with the fitness in my life.

You ever scuba dive?
No...

Have you ever danced in the rain?
Uh... No...?

What's your highest score on guitar hero?
I think my girlfriend beats me at that one. I think eventually she won't even have to look at the T.V. and get a perfect score.

That'll be all the questions I got for you Jeff unless you wanted to add anything. Thanks for taking the time to let everyone get to know you better!
No problem.

Want a good indication that the future is here? How about the fact that the products currently in the works make the things that we could have only imagined "to be the future" look primitive and obsolete?

 The EN-V (Electric Networked-Vehicle) manufactured by G.M. plans to be hitting the streets as the new "Urban Mobility Vehicle" (think along the lines of a Segway, but not nearly as basic and lame). Tired? Drunk? Hurt or just lazy? The EN-V has you covered as it works autonomously, meaning that it can drive itself with the integrated GPS.

In addition to an array of safety features and smart programming for heavy traffic, sudden reaction sensing, and the like, the EN-V is an electric vehicle. It will plug into a conventional wall outlet and will give out around 40 kilometers of juice in one charge and is A-OK for the environment. There are three different EN-V's that are prototypes, the Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh). Each of the different models have the same features with a different look, accommodating personal preference. Someone tell the Jetson's to trade in that space junk for one of these.

A couple of weeks ago we featured a story of a local pack of Cub Scouts, led by their scout leader and Runde's own Sue Hanger, paint some mugs. With great anticipation and excitement many people have been waiting to see how the mugs turned out. The wait is over. Just the other day Jordan Degree from the Dubuque Art Center dropped off the mugs at Runde's. Unpacking the mugs, I must say that they look fantastic! Check out the pictures below for the completed mugs from Cub Scout Pack #775. Great job guys!

Who doesn't like puppies? I imagine that even Mr. E. Scrooge couldn't hold back the makings of a smile at the sight of a super cute quadra-ped furball. The joy and happiness that a new puppy brings us can only be matched by maybe the Surprised Kitty:

Here at Runde's today puppy love was in the air as Ashley Rigdon (daughter of Runde's own Lisa Rigdon) brought in her new loveable companion: Oliver. Oliver is a Yorkie Poo (mix between a Yorke and Poodle) and just turned 6 weeks today. I sort of wondered why they don't just call it a Yoodle -- considering a Schnauzer and Poodle mix is a Schnoodle. To me, "yorkie poo" sounds like what Ashley will probably be cleaning up in the Rigdon front yard next week. 

Anyway, it turns out that Oliver is the biggest of the bunch(the stud of the litter) as well as the only male amongst his 3 biological sibling puppies. Ashley, and two of her friends, got lucky enough to have a teacher whose pet dog just had this litter of puppies. She offered the puppies to any willing takers.

But acquiring Oliver was no easy task for Ashley. After the "Mom Let's Get YOU a Puppy for Mother's Day" card failed, it was up to Lisa to determine what Ashley had to do to prove her level of responsibility and thus earn the right to get a puppy. To make things legit, Lisa, drew up a contract which listed the responsibilities that would be expected of Ashley.

After signing this binding agreement, it was official - Ashley had a ball of cuteness that she could call her own. This being the first time that I've seen a Yorkie Poo, I must say they are tiny, cute little things. Oliver was getting excited and started exploring around the room and gave a Runde's Monkey a nice puppy kiss. CUTE! But, for the record, I still like the term: Yoodle.[/caption]