Randy Nottestad is JP Cullen’s Lead Mechanic and has been with us for 12 years! We sat down with him for a Q&A to learn more about him.
- What caused you to get into your profession?
I grew up on a farm by Cambridge, Wisconsin. My dad passed away when I was 2 years old. My mother is 94 and still lives there. I have two other brothers and one sister. Growing up, I knew I wanted to be a mechanic as long as I can remember. We would work on getting things running from tractors to cars and trucks. When we did then we would beat them around the farm till it quit and then get another.
- What is your proudest achievement?
My proudest achievement is I got married when I was 19, had two kids, and bought a house by the age of 21. I am still married to my great wife, Linda, for 41 years. I have two great kids, Dale and Kim, who are both married. We have 7 grandchildren.
- Who has been most inspirational to you in your career?
The person that has helped me the most would be my high school football coach, Robert Nodolf. Not having a father around, he took me under his wing and kept me on the right path. I have a lot of other people that have given me a chance to succeed. I started working full time at 18 as a mechanic for Dick Fieser at a Ford dealer for 15 years. Then I worked at Intercon Construction for Mark Oostdyk for 15 years. And now, I have been at JP Cullen for 12 years. I am thankful that Richard Cullen and Brian Siefert gave me a chance to work here. I would also like to thank Brad Zipsey and Samay Bin who make my job a lot easier. Without these people giving me a chance, I am not sure where I would be.
- What is 1 thing no one knows about you?
One thing that no one knows about me is that I can sleep for days at a time.
- What is the funniest moment in your career?
The funniest moment in my career was when I was working at the Ford dealer taking out a transfer case with the other mechanic. On the hoist, we took the bolts out and weren’t holding on to the transfer case and it fell to the ground. Well, there was a full pan of fluid on the ground and it hit the edge of the pan and the oil completely covered the owner of the pickup that was standing there watching us. At the time it wasn’t funny, but a while after it was pretty funny…
