active in the Vadnais Heights Economic
Development Corporation (VHEDC).
Bank President Kevin Whelan is a
Past President of the organization
and continues to serve on its Board
of Directors. He, along with bank
Vice President Megan Willcoxen, are
the co-chairs of VHEDC’s annual golf
outing, the Keith Warner Memorial
Golf Tournament. In addition, the
bank continues to invest in employees
through The Northeast Metro Young
Professionals Group, having put three
members of the staff through the
program. and keep good employees, so thank
you to our team at Buerkle Honda and
Buerkle Hyundai for all that you do
each and every day.. and thank you to
VHEDC.”
VHEDC Business Back in 1969, Buerkle Automotive
Company had a Buick dealership
in Vadnais Heights. Today, the City
is home to Buerkle Honda, Buerkle
Hyundai and the attached body shop.
Altogether, the three businesses
employ about 250 people, and their
commitment to both community and
service is strong.
Mary Buerkle, Buerkle Automotive Company.
Achievement Award
The VHEDC Business Achievement
Award pays special tribute to
outstanding companies that continue
to thrive and support the local
economy. The 2019
winner was Buerkle
Automotive
Company.
“I’m very
honored to
receive the
Business of the
Year Award,”
said Mary
Buerkle, company
owner and COO
as she accepted the
award. “It’s a challenging
time for businesses today.
We’re asking more and more of our
employees because it’s difficult to find
42
Northeast Metro Business
Founded in 1957 in Downtown St. Paul,
the company moved to Vadnais Heights
in 1969, where it remains headquartered
today. Mary Buerkle says the move
more than 50 years ago just made
sense to her father, Bill Buerkle. “There
was a small group of car dealerships
on Highway 61 at the time and it was a
growing area. People like to shop for
cars traditionally where there are other
makes and models to look at,” she said.
John Wayne Barker, Merrick, Inc.
University of Minnesota Masonic
Children’s Hospital and the Mayo Clinic
Hospital in Rochester.
VHEDC Community
Partnership Award
The VHEDC Community Partnership
Buerkle Automotive Company is an
award recognizes collaborative partners
eight time recipient of the Honda
that help the VHEDC to advance its
President’s Award, which is awarded
mission of ensuring a prosperous local
based on a culmination of
business economy
customer satisfaction
in Vadnais Heights
surveys and sales
and the surrounding
It affirms that
figures. The company
areas. The 2019
something
has also been
winner, Merrick Inc.,
that has
recognized by Honda
provides meaningful
been done
as being a leading
work and quality
is worthy of recognition by
environmental Green
life enrichment
peers you respect, which
Dealer; and Xcel
opportunities for
are the people
Energy has recognized
375 adults with
in this room.”
the dealership for
intellectual or
having the largest
John Wayne Barker
developmental
energy saving for a
Merrick Inc. - Executive Director
disabilities in the
mid-sized business.
northeastern Twin
Buerkle Automotive
Group participates
in the Gen Z automotive program for
White Bear Lake Area Schools students
granting them participation in a real-life,
automotive career pathway. In addition,
as part of a partnership with Hyundai,
the Buerkle Automotive Company
donates a portion of the earnings from
every new car sold to pediatric cancer
research. “Twenty dollars per car is
donated to various children’s hospitals
in our region,” said Buerkle. Among
the institutions receiving donations:
Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of
Minnesota, located in both St. Paul and
Minneapolis, the M Health Fairview
Cities.
“I want to thank VHEDC
for this award recognizing Merrick’s
involvement in the Vadnais Heights
community. It affirms that something
that has been done is worthy of
recognition by peers you respect, which
are the people in this room. So, thank
you for that feeling. Second, it reminds
us that something done at the right
time for the right reason is valued by
our community,” said Merrick Inc.’s
Executive Director, John Wayne Barker
(JWB).
By working with more than 300
businesses, such as Kowalski’s Markets,