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JIM KELTNER

President

Born in Springfield, MO and growing up in the small town of Vandalia, MO, Jim never dreamed of owning a fire truck dealership. But after moving back to attend Missouri State University and then working in the forklift industry for 15+ years he purchased Jon’s Mid America Fire Apparatus in 2003. He is thrilled to be a part of the fire service industry. Taking over a fire truck company that was started in 1974, he took on the challenge of growing and updating the company’s business methods. This challenge involved hiring key people to handle the marketing functions and technical aspects that had not been developed yet. Building a new facility that was designed for servicing today’s apparatus was another one of the challenges facing him. He would tell you he has been blessed with a great staff to help achieve these goals.

Jim’s day-to-day duties include all the normal and challenging aspects of ownership along with continuing to make the company successful. The main priority is maintaining the company’s philosophy, “Do what’s best for the customer first and the rest will take care of itself.” He believes this is essential to the growth and continued success of the organization. Maintaining this focus with employees and vendor partners while interacting with customers has to be at the center of every transaction.

Along with the responsibilities of this job, Jim enjoys farming, hunting, and many other activities with his family. He loves visiting with customers in the fire service about ideas to improve their departments, their apparatus needs, and even tell and listen to a few hunting stories along the way. When asked what he loves about this business, he won’t hesitate to say “the customers.” Most of them are great people, public servants, with their heart in doing what is right and fair.