New owners seeks to continue tradition of customer service

Life is a journey that sometimes takes you back to where you started from.

For the new owners of Ackeret Appliance, the opportunity to come back to Medford was too good to pass up.

Business partners and brothers-in-law Andy Leischer and Bob Stolp formally took over ownership of Ackeret Appliance located on State St. in downtown Medford from Jerry and Peggy Imbach.

Leischer and Stolp have been working with the Imbachs since last summer, learning the business and helping to ensure a smooth transition for customers. Their goal is to continue the emphasis on customer service which sets the store apart from its big box competitors.

“We can take care of the customers,” Stolp said, noting they plan to continue the tradition of providing high quality customer service.

Stolp has wanted to be a small business owner his entire life. Growing up in Eau Claire, his dad owned a small business, which left an imprint on Stolp from a young age.

“I knew I wanted to get into business ownership,” he said.

Stolp’s journey included a 10-year career in law enforcement before transitioning to sales and making a move to Appleton. Over time, Stolp was growing dissatisfi ed with living in Appleton and the Fox Valley area which has grown tremendously in recent years. He knew he wanted to return to a smaller community.

Stolp said the idea of coming to Medford was from his wife, Joni (Poyda) who grew up here. “Ever since we were married she wanted to move back here,” He said.

The couple have three boys ages three to 10, Caleb, Owen and Joey.

Andy Leischer never expected to come back to Medford.

When Leischer graduated from Medford Area Senior High School in 1999, he went off to college and never expected to come home to stay. It took a personal tragedy to make him reevaluate his life and nudge him into coming back to Medford. “I left this town as fast as I could get out of here,” he said.

“My mom passed last year at this time,” Leischer said. The loss had Leischer reorganizing his priorities and putting his family’s needs first. “As you get older you realize what is important and the priorities shift, that brings you home,” he said.

After graduating from Medford, Leischer had earned a degree in park and recreation management and worked in the parks department in Appleton for 11 years. “I got to a certain point and couldn’t go anymore,” he said. A friend asked him if he wanted to start selling roofs. For two years he was sales manager at Security Roofing in Appleton.

He said his wife, Tabby (Poyda), has wanted to come home to Medford. The challenge for Leischer was finding something to do here that would be viable and help him serve the community.

In making decisions, Leischer said he is the kind of person who makes lists of positives and negatives before jumping in. “The pros outweigh the cons for Medford especially when trying to raise kids,” he said. Leischer and his wife have four children, Isabella, Drew, Sadie and Lucy.

Leischer said it was his father-in-law Jim Poyda who connected them with the Imbachs who had been looking to retire mentioning to them that he had two sons-inlaw who were looking to bring their families back to the area. Stolp and Leischer met with the Imbachs in early summer and they quickly realized they shared a similar view on the value of customer service.

Since the middle of July they have worked at the store. “Basically we were delivery boys,” Leischer said. They took over ownership on November 1 and look forward to serving the Medford area for many years to come.