Commitment to Education, Hard Work Motivates Ann Bueler

Everyone has a story to tell, but few have one quite like Ann Bueler.

At first glance, one would see the upbringing of a native South County resident who graduated high school in the mid-1970s as a typical story. She was a good student with good grades, some secondary education and a willingness to listen, learn and grow.

Today, Bueler, 53, is president of Midwest Equipment Co., based in Fenton. The company is a distributor of food service equipment throughout the Midwest and employs 50 people.  So what’s the big deal?

Plenty.

Bueler, to a lesser degree, is self educated. She grew up in a household in Affton. Her mother was a graduate of Fontbonne College and her father, age 84 today, was a self-employed painter and paper hanger.

The children in the Valenti family (her maiden name) learned all kinds of values in a close knit environment. She recalls strict instructions from her parents.

“When the phone rang, we were taught to be very polite and courteous," Bueler said. "You just never knew if the caller on the other end of the phone was my dad’s next customer. We were always careful to take down names and numbers correctly."

The Valentis believed staunchly in catholic school education. Members of Seven Holy Founders Church in Affton, the Valenti’s daughter earned her high school diploma at nearby Cor Jesu Academy. There, the nuns who taught the classes instilled core values of hard work and the importance of leadership and community service. Those values stuck with Bueler.

Recently, she was named as one of four new board members for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Metro St. Louis.

Bueler volunteered for Ronald McDonald House Charities for nearly 10 years before earning board status. She brought knowledge, energy and fresh new ideas that brings new vigor to the board.

She originated the Speaking for Charity Project. Through the program, volunteers provide speaking engagements. In return, the fees charged to companies and organizations for the speaking engagements are donated to the house. Just the other day, she spoke to 200 mesmerized children at St. Mark’s Elementary School in South County about the value of supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Bueler got her first introduction to the Ronald McDonald House in 1993. Her sister-in-law surprised everyone by going into very early labor while vacationing at the Lake of the Ozarks. She was air evacuated to Columbia, MO. and family members spent weeks staying at the Ronald McDonald House near the University of Missouri Medical Center.

Life’s lessons linger.

Bueler has been married to her husband Fred for 33 years, and they have three grown children and two gorgeous grandchildren. Fred is owner of Bueler, Inc., a residential design/build remodeling firm in Des Peres. The children all graduated from Parkway South High School, and the Buelers moved into a 1960s home in Frontenac, which they completely gutted and rebuilt six years ago.

“The kids all grew up around the business. We taught them about hard work and the value of earning their own money," Bueler said.

Today, their daughter Jennifer is an intellectual properties attorney with Thompson Coburn LLP; Lynn is an interior designer with Aphrodite Granite and Marble Co.; and Freddie is a project engineer with Chasse Building Team in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Everyone in the family has a college degree save Ann. She completed a commercial arts’ associates degree at St. Louis Community College at Meramec, supported Fred while he was finishing an engineering degree at the University of Missouri, Rolla and had three children by age 24.

Bueler’s commitment to education goes well beyond the traditional walls of learning. She has learned a great deal through self-education, taking part in many seminars and professional development training programs. She worked her way through the working world once the children were in school full time. She ran a motivational training firm by herself. Then she moved up through the ranks at the Digital Equipment Co., became a co-president at Woodard Cleaning & Restoration in Brentwood; co-president of the Matthews Book Co., a national distributor of health science books, and finally joined Midwest Equipment Co. last October.

“Their owner (Jim Sramek) is very innovative and can think outside the box. He wanted fresh eyes and new talent for his company," Bueler said. "He asked me to join his board of volunteer directors. Then he asked me to come and be president of the company. My job is to break down all the barriers for our 50 employees so they can go out there and sell and do their job and provide for their families just the way we want them to do."

Bueler has a healthy outlook on the whole success formula.

“As long as you do more than what is expected of you people will respect you, and you will have wonderful opportunities,” she said.

Bueler never forgot where she came from and where she planted those roots. She instills those values in her children today.

“We have customers to serve. They have expectations. We never take them for granted. Not having a college degree is never an excuse for not doing the job right,” she said. 

She lives by credos of personal responsibility, self discipline and plain old hard work.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities is happy to have her on the team.

“Ann is an awesome person. She is sharp and she is dynamic. She brings a very high level of business skills to us and she’s such a motivator,” said Dan Harbaugh, Ronald McDonald House Charities president.