Read the interview below, INSIDE EVINRUDE interviews our friend Mary Kay Schmale!
EMPLOYEE PROFILE:
MARY KAY SCHMALE – Government Sales
IE: How many years have you been with Evinrude?
MKS: Including my time with OMC, 19 years.
IE: Your current position is coordinator for Government Sales;
have you always been in Government Sales?
MKS: No; in 1991, I started as a part-time employee in Beloit, OMC
Parts & Accessories, assisting in the OEM and Government Depart-
ment which was one department at the time. In 1993, I was hired
full time as a credit analyst and the Parts & Accessories administra-
tion offices moved to our Waukegan, Illinois facility. I began the
commute from Beloit to Waukegan, working as a Customer Service
Representative in the Government Sales Department handling only
parts and accessories. When BRP took over after the bankruptcy,
I was moved into the Government Sales Coordinator position, re-
sponsible for both engines and parts.
IE: Do you have family?
MKS: Yes, I have two wonderful children, Carrie, married to Jus-
tin, and Christopher, married to Jenny. They have given me six
beautiful grandchildren – 2 boys and 4 girls in all! I’ve been with
my fiancé Jim Kutz for fifteen years and my mother, Rita, is still liv-
ing and keeping me in line at 89 years old. I also have two yellow
Labrador Retrievers who are “my boys” – Cooper who weighs in
at 135 pounds (rescued from the Iowa Humane Society five years
ago) and Luke who weighs a mere 98 pounds (who we’ve had since
he was six weeks old and is now seven years old). I have to say
both Cooper and Luke sometimes come first and get more atten-
tion than Jim!
IE: You live in Beloit, Wisconsin. Are you originally from here?
Where else have you lived?
MKS: I am a native of Beloit and have lived there my whole life.
IE: What are your hobbies outside of work?
MKS: I love gardening, boating, reading and taking long walks with
my dogs, just thinking my own thoughts. However, my favorite past
time is being a grandmother. I love being with my grandchildren,
supporting them in any way that I can and spending special time
with them since they all live out of town.
IE: What is your favorite food?
MKS: I would have to say baked chicken parmigiana with a side
dish of pasta and homemade spaghetti sauce. Being Italian, I was
raised on pasta and homemade sauce!
IE:Which do you enjoy more…cooking a good meal, or eating
a good meal?
MKS: That’s a toss up. I really love to cook when I have the time
(commuting to work doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for experi-
menting in the kitchen except on weekends). It’s a treat to go out
for dinner, being served and enjoying the company of whomever
I’m with. We don’t eat out a lot, but when we do, I really enjoy it.
IE:Which season of the year do you enjoy the most and why?
MKS: I have always loved the change of seasons; I would have to
say my favorite time of the year is fall. I absolutely love the change
of colors, enjoying the warm days and cool nights. Having camp-
fires in our fire pit or in the chimney on the patio are always relaxing
and takes me away from the hectic pace of life.
IE:What is the most challenging part of your job?
MKS: Actually, submitting bids to each state and getting on state
contracts can be quite challenging. Every state is different. Each
state usually requires the same type of information but always in
a different format and different documentation. Sometimes, there
isn’t always a lot of time to prepare. Completing documentation
in a timely manner can be quite time consuming and challenging.
IE:What do you enjoy most about your job?
MKS: I absolutely love talking to my customers and doing all that
I can for them! If for some reason the day just isn’t going quite
right, one phone call can just pick me up and make the day a whole
lot better! Love it! I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of my
customers who have become very good loyal customers over the
years as well as very good friends. There are so many of my cus-
tomers that I have never met but I feel like we have been friends for
years and years just by talking on the phone.
IE:If you could offer dealers a tip about how to get their local
government business, what would it be?
MKS: I would tell the dealer to bid on whatever bid comes their
way. When government agencies are seeking a bid, they most al-
ways need to get three bids. The most important tip I could give
a dealer would be to keep the lines of communication open be-
cause you never know what may come your way. It’s all about the
relationship and if you build that relationship with a government
agency, they will keep coming back to you because of the way
you treated them and the service you gave them. The government
customers are very loyal.
IE: You recently received an award?
MKS: It was totally unexpected and I was taken by surprise. I re-
ceived an award from Naval Special Warfare Group One, Logistical
Support Unit known as LogSu-1 Engineering located in San Diego.
We have been doing business with NSWG LogSu-1 for many years.
This past year, Chief Kinney initiated a sizeable contract to pur-
chase parts and accessories to ensure boat and engine availability
to SEAL teams throughout their area of operations. While two of
his mechanics were in school at the Waukegan Training Center in
September, they made a trip to Sturtevant to present the plaque to
me. It was LogSu-1 taking the time and effort to thank me for just
doing my job and assisting whenever they needed help.
IE: What is your dream vacation?
MKS: I have always wanted to visit Europe, especially London and
Switzerland.
IE: If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
MKS: I would love having my own business raising Yellow Labs
which would allow me to spend more time with my family, espe-
cially my grandchildren.
Thanks, Mary Kay, for sharing some insights on you, your job and
your many years with Evinrude.
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