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Roy schmidt inspires others to 'be better'

Story and photos by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

Any day of the week, Roy Schmidt can be found in his office with more than one set of car keys on his desk. He owns Ford Square and King City Chrysler Center  in Mt. Vernon.

“It’s like steering a big ship,” Roy said of his business, which includes 60 employees and selling pre-owned cars and trucks.

When a customer buys a pre-owned car, Roy believes “if they have a problem with it — if it’s not right — we’ll make it right.”

Roy made it more than “right” for a family member who needed a new van. The woman needed a van with a wheelchair lift because of an auto accident years earlier. At this particular time, she couldn’t afford that kind of van, so Roy made an even trade for the van with a chair lift.

Changes in the car business arise every day, and Roy said it is challenging to keep up with those changes, like the use of the internet, gasoline prices and adjusting to changes in the world. “You have to change every day” to keep up, he said.

Most rewarding in his business, Roy said, was “finding vehicles for people and making them happy.”
Both he and his wife, Nancy, came to Mt. Vernon from Teutopolis, Ill., where he worked for Keebler. His uncle, a Ford dealer in Salem, opened the Mt. Vernon dealership in 1985 and Roy began working for him in 1986.
He eventually bought the business and in 1994 opened King City Chrysler Center.

Nancy describes Roy as “hard-working and concerned about the employees and their families.”
At home, Roy and Nancy are raising their six children, two of whom were adopted from Russia.
The children attend St. Mary’s School, and he plays a key role in fund-raising at the school, inaugurating and running the annual raffle to raise money. The raffle, now in its ninth year, is the main fund raiser for the school, Roy said.

“Roy and Nancy don’t flaunt their material possessions,” St. Mary’s pastor, Father Daniel Jurek, said. “He takes his faith and applies it to his work. He’s not a ‘typical’ business owner but tries to give a good deal to his customers and is generous to his church.”

Roy looks to his parents as role models for his work ethic. They “taught us how to work,” he said.
They also “taught me that faith is an important part of life,” he added.

Roy describes his wife, Nancy, as a “partner” who “works hard with the family and plays a big part in my life.”
Father Jurek has also tapped into Roy’s business acumen as a member of the parish council and chairman of the building committee as the parish looks forward to building a new church.
“It’s challenging to keep up with everything,” Roy said.

With his family, his work at the church and his business, Roy continues to enjoy “coming to work every day.”
A determined, faith-filled business man, Roy believes  “we need to treat people the way we want to be treated.”
Friend and businessman, also a member of St. Mary’s Parish, Mark Kabat nominated Roy to be recognized  in this issue of The Messenger.

Mark described Roy as “one heck of a good guy. He challenges me to be a better person.”

The Messenger congratulates Roy Schmidt for taking his faith into the marketplace.