September 2015

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER
September 2015
Volume 23
Number 12
Anniversaries & New Employees
We have two multiple-of-five work anniversaries this month. Duane
Bieber of Sidney celebrated 10 years on September 2, and Mark Anderson
of BENCO-Bismarck celebrates 25 years on SeptemMark Anderson is one of three meber 26. See Mark’s story at
chanics contracted through BENCO to
right.
maintain the fleet for MDU. Originally,
We have two new emalong with maintaining the fleet, the shop
ployees and two rehires.
staff was tasked with converting some of
Please welcome and rethe vehicles from gasoline-powered to
welcome them.
natural gas. Over time such conversions
JOHN GALLAGHER – John is
have become less cost effective, and
new at the counter at our
most of their work now is conventional reCarrington store. From
pairs and upkeep. Mark works at the MDU
Pingree, ND, he is married
shop in Bismarck, with Evan Larson and
with one daughter. John enDan Voegele. When asked about changjoys reading and working
es in vehicle technology, Mark
crossword puzzles. He also
acknowledge greater use of electronics
values community service,
and computerization. When asked whethincluding AWANA and server that made things easier or tougher,
ing as a Sunday school
Mark gave a philosophical answer: “Some
teacher.
things are tougher and some things are
DOUGLAS DEVOY – Doug is
easier.” But his response was consistent
new at the counter in our
with his outlook on life: “I go to work every
Glendive store. From Glenday, and go home every night. In bedive, Doug enjoys radiotween I try to do a good job.” There’s no
controlled airplanes, car resdoubt, it’s a formula for success.
toration, and riding mounDick Hedahl will be presenting Mark
tain bikes.
with his 25-year pin later this month.
Back with us is Breck
Thanks, Mark, and congratulations on 25
Heintz at the Bismarck Store
years of good work.
counter, and Cyle Schatz at
the Linton store as manager.
Retirements
Gene Wolfer of our Linton store retired on August 27, after working 27
years for Hedahls. The store threw him a party. Among the special guests
were Gene’s wife Tonita and his daughter Tracey Pruess.
Jim Marquart of our Milbank store retired on September 3, after working at the store for 35 years. The store threw him a party, attended by lots
of his friends and customers, wishing him well in his retirement.
Above left: Gene Wolfer and his daughter Tracey Pruess and his wife Tonita. Above right: Jim
Marquart with store manager Kevin Schuelke at his right.
Star of the Show
By Dick Hedahl
The series of articles and pictures we have run
in the Newsletter have been an eclectic assortment of classic cars, motorcycles and other interesting vehicles that the folks at Hedahls have created and recreated for their enjoyment. The feature this month has a significance that ties it back
to Hedahls in a unique way.
This month we feature the 1924 Star 2-door
coupe owned by the family of Aberdeen Hedahls
employee, Talese Nelson. In 1924 Talese’s greatgrandfather bought a brand new 1924 Star. Her
family—her great-grandfather then her grandfather and now her father—has owned this car since
it was new. Talese’s father, Keith Hansen, showed
the car at the recent Redfield Hedahls Car Show—
and he drove it to the show!
For Hedahls, this car has special significance
because when my grandfather Ed Hedahl moved
his family and his company to Bismarck in 1928, he
opened a Durant Motor Company dealership. Star
was a model of the Durant Motor Company. Ed
was a Star and Durant car dealer until Durant
closed in 1931. Left with Durant car parts but no
new cars, Ed decided to go into the auto parts
business. The rest is history.
This Star is the only one I have ever seen. It is
beautifully preserved, having been completely rebuilt about 40 years ago. One extra story about this
car. When Larry Kumpf from Bud and Owens Body
shop in Aberdeen saw the car at the Hedahls Redfield Car Show, Kumpf said, “I remember this car! I
rebuilt it for the Hansens – 40 years ago.”
Left: 1924 Star, owned by the same family for nearly 90 years. Right: two shots of the interior, restored in the 1970s. More photo on p. 3.
2
Story and more photos on p. 2. Top: Talese Nelson behind the
wheel of her great grandfather’s 1924 Star. Above left: detail of the
engine that still runs. Right: Detail of the hood ornament.
3
28th Annual Hedahls Golf Tourney
The Hedahls Golf Tournament was held on August 31 at Apple Creek Golf Course in Bismarck. We
had 13 teams with 51 golfers, including Hedahls customers, suppliers, and employees. Hedahls employees who played were Buzz Benedict, Harold Larson,
Larry Lysengen, Rich Eback, Mike Laib, Eric Bonogofsky, and Arnie Zahn.
In Flight A, first place went to the Capital RV
team of Garret Arntz, Jim Doll, Bryce Doll, and Ryan
Jundt. Second place went to the team made up of
Tim Murphy and Bo Selleck of Wilmar, Pat Wingenbach of Butler Machinery, and Eric Bonogofsky playing for Hedahls Auto Plus. Third place went to Mel
Uhrich of Super Valu, and Jim Ekart, Brett Ehli, and
Cheryl Nelson of Cedric Theel. In Flight B, first place
went to Don Granklin and Boy Flath of Farmers Union
-Garrison, Brandon Kramer of FM Forklift, and RicMeuwissen of IPS. Second place went to Greg
Nevins of Nevins Sales, Jim VanErem of Hastings Filters, and Larry Lysengen and Harold Larson of
Hedahls Auto Plus. Third place went to Craig Geffre
of Country Auto, Joe Koverik and Scott Bittner of ProTune Plus, and Arnie Zahn of Hedahls Auto Plus.
A special thanks for the following for working the
tourney: Bernie Buck Elk, Arnie Zahn, Malissa
Pulkrabek, and Mike Laib. Thanks too to Hastings Filters, Cardone Remanufactured Auto Parts, Continental Belts and Hoses, Nevins Sales, Tri-Star Engines,
Wilmar Tools, and AutoPlus, who all donated prizes
for the tournament.
Above left: Charlie Persson (husband of Dee Persson of HQ). Above right: Cheryl Nelson (Cedric Theel). Below left: Buzz Benedict (Hedahl
Auto Plus). Below right: a squirrel who looks ready to deliver a scolding. More photos on p. 5.
4
Story and more photos on p. 4. Above: a beautiful day for golf. Below left: Tom Bricker (Continental Belts), Chris Daniele (Wallwork Truck),
Darin Morman (Cross Country), and Mike Laib (Hedahls). Below right: Buzz Benedict (Hedahls), Jim Friedman (Pico), and Kevin Wolf (Titan
Machinery Kintyre). Bottom left: Larry Lysengen looks on while Harold Larson chips. Bottom right: Harold Larson (Hedahls), Larry Lysengen
(Hedahls), and Greg Nevins (Nevins Sales).
5
Health Fairs
Returning
This Fall
IDEAS FOR BETTER SELLING:
Cyber Threat on
the Road
We have all heard the Internet claims that a cell phone can
be used to open your car door. Or that your cell phone can be
used to open your garage door. These stories make good coffee
chatter, but are mostly bunk – unless you get an app for that.
Now we get a story that some group has hacked a Jeep’s
on-board computer to hijack its systems remotely. The news reports as detailed in the www.SourceAutoParts.com article of August this year discusses how a group of people were able to take
control of a 2014 Jeep remotely through a hack. Uconnect infotainment system was accessed to gain control of the Jeep. Fiat
Jeep has issued a recall on the affected vehicles to patch the
vulnerability. The original article was in Wired magazine.
How dangerous is this? At this time, it is only a set-up test that
was able to do it. But future vehicle designers must keep these
possibilities in mind as they design new systems like self-driving
cars and cars that can communicate with each other. Our industry is changing more rapidly than most, and since we all rely very
heavily on our vehicles, it is an issue we must be
aware of.
Legislation has been proposed to address the
issue. It is called the Security and Privacy in Your
Car (SPY Car) Act. (Yes, it really is called SPY Car.)
But will it do any good? Industry experts doubt it.
Governments and laws address issues currently
seen by the government and bureaucrats. The industry needs to be the lead in devising systems
that both give us the functionality we want and
the security we need.
The current state of on-board computers is still
somewhat limited, but the industry is rapidly moving towards highly sophisticated interconnected
computer networks in our cars. As these networked
vehicles become more commonplace, our vulnerability will increase as well. So the hackers who
gave Jeep such a headache probably did us all a
favor by calling it out early. Thanks, Dale.
6
We will be having health fairs
again this fall beginning in October. It’s your chance to get some
of your health screenings done
for the plan year, get a flu shot,
and maybe win a Microsoft Surface Tablet. Everyone who participates in a health fair will be
entered into a drawing for a new
Surface.
The schedule for the health
fairs will be included in the October newsletter. Remember this is
an opportunity to get three of the
four health screening tests (blood
pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol) completed to qualify for
bonuses. Remember, as a company, we left $19,925 in health
screening test bonuses unclaimed last plan year.
The company covers the test
fees. Watch for details about how
to prepare for the tests.
Once again this year, for
stores without an on-site health
fair, employees can still participate through your local health
provider and the company will
reimburse you for the cost of a flu
shot
and
tests for
blood
sugar,
blood
pressure,
and
cholesterol.