Thank you for reading our newsletter! Come visit us today!
ksrequipment.com
805 E. Howard St. Pontiac, IL 61764 Phone: 815-842-1149 Pontiac
29987 N 300 East Road Streator, IL 61364 815-673-4320 Streator
1501 5th St. Lacon, IL 61540 309-246-2645 Lacon
Love What You Do
and You’ll Never Work a Day in Your Life
I grew up on a family farm outside of Cornell, Illinois, with my parents and seven siblings. Along with farming corn and soybeans, we raised 30,000 pullet chickens from a day old to 18 weeks. As you can imagine, I learned about hard work at a very young age! That mindset has followed me throughout my life and has helped get me where I am today — that and a great opportunity from a man named Delbert Gardner. Delbert owned Gardner Sales and Service, a full-service John Deere Dealership he opened in 1947 in Pontiac. In 1978, he reached out to my dad, Clare, to see if any of his sons were interested in working at the dealership. My brother, John, and I started shortly after that and were soon given the opportunity to become partners in the business. After Delbert’s passing in 1986, John and I became full owners of Gardner’s with
have worked together for over 35 years now and are very proud of the business we’ve grown. My biggest challenge today is the speed in which our customers plant and harvest their crops. KSR parts and service departments are highly trained and equipped to meet that challenge. Our parts departments have invested in one of the largest inventories in the area to supply the parts our customers need. Our service technicians are highly trained and equipped with mobile service trucks to keep our customers up and running in the field. We also heavily promote off-season machine inspections to help prevent in-season breakdowns. I’m one of the lucky ones who love what I do. How can I not when I get to work alongside my lovely wife, Mary, every day? My son, Ryan, and son-in- law, Kyle, joined the business a couple years ago, as well, and I’ve been enjoying passing along my wisdom (and a few responsibilities) to them! Outside of work, I enjoy golfing, deer hunting, watching the Green Bay Packers, and keeping up with my first grandchild, Harper. We are also die-hard Chicago Cubs fans! While I work with half of my immediate family, the other half — my two daughters, Amanda and Morgan, along with my daughter-in-law, Katie — are all in the medical field. Mary and I are very proud of our children and their spouses. Family has always been very important to us and we love to see that virtue continue on through our legacy. KSR Equipment is proud to be a family business with strong customer relationships, all the while providing cutting-edge products and services. We appreciate your business and thank you for your continued trust in us!
hopes to continue the strong values he worked so hard for. With my background in diesel mechanics, I took on the parts and service side of the business. Meanwhile, John headed up the sales and administrative departments. We
- Tim Kelly ksrequipment.com | P1
Sept - Oct 2017
Fall Fixes for Your Home and Garden
You might think that home improvement projects are reserved exclusively for the warmer spring and summer months. After all, you hear all about spring cleaning and summer blowouts, but what about the other half of the year? If you’re looking to spruce up your indoor and outdoor living space for the fall, here are some good places to start. Go for the Gutter: You may not know it, but your gutter drainage system diverts thousands of gallons away from your home annually. Make sure that system is running smoothly by inspecting your gutters for leaves and other obstructions. Mind the Gaps: Don’t let all the warm air get out! Seal gaps and cracks around windows with weatherstripping and caulk to stay warm and toasty. Raise the Roof: If you’re in an area that gets heavy snow or rainfall, have your roof professionally inspected to be sure nothing comes through curled shingles or leaky vents. Dust the Filters: Don’t let last year’s dirt become this year’s problem. Clogged filters can prevent warm air from circulating properly throughout the house, so grab a dust rag and clean them out.
Chim chim-er-ey: If you have a traditional fireplace, have it professionally inspected before you burn those logs. Taking precautions now will ensure you have safely flickering flames for the whole season. Adjust the Outdoors: If your flower boxes have some flower remnants remaining, dig them out and replace them with heartier, winter-ready greener This will help add color and natural flare. Also, if you have a fire pit in the yard, give it a good cleaning. Then fill it with well-seasoned hardwood for those impromptu marshmallow roasts. Humidify Your Space: The bone-chilling winter air isn’t just bad for your health it’s bad for your house. Dry, cold air makes fine wood more prone to cracking, so keep up a central humidifier running to balance things out. Clean Up: Most of all, you want your home to feel fresh, and you can’t do that if you’ve got the May issue of Better Homes and Gardens hanging around. Take an inventory and throw out all your outdated magazines and newspapers. Furthermore, go through your cleaning products and throw o expired chemicals. Keep your heaters, furnaces, and other heating produc clear of clutter.
Bauman Farming Lane Johnson Employee Highlight Client Testimonial
“For 40 years, we’ve built our family farming business with John Deere. We’ve purchased and upgraded all of our equipment exclusively from Gardner’s and now KSR. Every employee from the sales,
Lane Johnson is the newest member of the KSR sales staff at our Lacon location. Lane was born in Benson, Illinois, and grew up on his family’s farm. He graduated from ICC this past spring with a degree in agricultural business. In his free time, Lane enjoys snowmobiling, boating, and working on antique farm equipment. He has one of the first self- propelled combines that Deere made, a 1951
service, and parts department has always treated us with the utmost respect and taken care of our needs and wants in a timely manner. We would recommend KSR to anyone who would expect the same things. We love family-owned and -operated businesses, because that’s what we are. Thanks to everyone at KSR for your outstanding work and dedication to taking care of farmers every day!”
No. 55. The combine was in very good original condition, and the previous owner had the original paperwork from when it was purchased new in 1952. He bought the combine to harvest six acres his grandpa gave him for his FFA project, and he still uses it to harvest five to 10 acres of beans a year. Lane did his college internship in Lacon earlier this spring, and we saw firsthand the asset that he is to the KSR group! We were very excited when h accepted our offer to become a full-time salesperson.
–Rick and Karen Bauman (Bauman Farming)
Welcome, Lane, to the KSR family. We enjoy working with you!
P2 | ksrequipment.com
It’s Equipment TLC Season!
Get a checkup before winter hits!
Most of us wouldn’t possibly think of skipping a six-month dental checkup. After all, we use our teeth every day, right? We want our teeth healthy and clean, and we want any issues identified early. When you use equipment all season and then neglect maintenance, it’s like skipping your dental checkup. That time of year is fast approaching when we think about putting equipment away for the winter. It can be REALLY tempting to simply park that mower, tractor, planter, or combine in the corner and let it hibernate until next year. But did you know that this is the most critical time for machine maintenance? Many issues in the spring start with improper or neglected postseason maintenance. Nagging issues or problems you identify all season while using your equipment are still fresh in your memory, so now is the time to get scheduled for an inspection or get those repairs done before you put it away for the winter. Your equipment performs day in and day out all season long, so it’s time to make sure that it continues to do that for many seasons to come. Another reason to handle it now is to avoid the springtime peak in the service departments. Getting your machine ready now before next season can help avoid any delays because our shops are swamped. KSR has a number of winter service specials for all types of equipment, from a D Series lawn tractor all the way up to an S Series combine. Contact us today and find out what’s available for you and get your appointment scheduled!
t s
Have a Cow!
With cool fall weather comes the desire for hot, comforting meals. Take advantage of fall’s abundance of apples to make this savory dish. Apple Cider Chicken
INGREDIENTS
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced into ¼-inch wedges • 3 cloves garlic, minced • 2 teaspoons dried thyme • 2 bay leaves • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 1½ cups apple cider until apple begins to get color and onions soften, about 6 minutes. Add flour and stir for 2–3 minutes. 4. Nestle chicken back into pan, add
• 2 tablespoons olive oil • 2 tablespoons butter • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds) • Salt and freshly ground black pepper • ½ Vidalia onion, chopped 1. Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. 2. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, add to pan and sear until golden, about 4 minutes each side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. 3. Add remaining butter, onion, apple, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Sauté DIRECTIONS
cider, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes.
( Recipe courtesy of foodnetwork.com .)
ksrequipment.com | P3
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
805 E. Howard St. Pontiac, IL 61764
Inside This Issue Love What You Do and You’ll Never Work a Day in Your Life
PAGE 1
Fall Fixes for Your Home and Garden
PAGE 2
Testimonial and Employee Spotlight
PAGE 2
It’s Equipment TLC Season!
PAGE 3
Apple Cider Chicken
PAGE 3
Try These School Lunch Hacks
PAGE 4
When you’re a parent dedicated to the health of your child, packing their lunch can be a hassle, especially if you’re trying to choose food your children actually want to eat. Here are a few hacks to make bag lunch better for your kids, just in time for the back-to-school season. Utilize jars. You want to pack your kid a salad, but you keep losing the itty-bitty container for the dressing. Try using a jar, but put the dressing in first, followed by items that won’t get soggy, like corn or cherry tomatoes. Put the lettuce on top. You can also use jars for dippable foods like celery sticks and peanut butter. Thermoses aren’t just for your morning coffee. Kids with a cold lunch from home might look over at Tommy’s unpleasant school lunch and think, “Hey, at least the mystery mush is a hot meal.” Use thermoses to keep chicken nuggets and other warm foods at their ideal temperature. Give the power to the kids. Nothing tastes better than the power of choice. Homemade fruit cups, hard-boiled eggs, and other healthy foods have a refrigerator life of more than a week. That gives you time on the weekend to make up a snack bar for your child to pick from every morning. Make fruit cool again. Colorful melons look more delicious if you use a small cookie cutter to cut them into interesting shapes. Also, pen ink looks great on an unpeeled banana, so try inscribing a funny joke or an embarrassing message, like “I love you,” on the outside. School Lunch Hacks
Get by When School Lunch Isn’t Cutting It
P4 | ksrequipment.com
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook Online document