From vacationing occasionally in Boundary County to moving his family and business here, Rick Meyer has had a busy couple of years.

Meyer's Service is a full-service small engine repair shop located at 650 Blume Hill Road. Rick repairs and will do regular maintenance on anything with a small engine such as chain saws, snow mobiles, lawn mowers, snow blowers, ATV's, motor bikes and personal watercraft. Rick said that he has had an extensive career repairing anything with a small engine. He began fixing engines for friends and for himself and now works at his business full time.

"This is what I like to do and was born to do," he said. "I can fix and work on almost anything and I try to give people a good, honest deal."

Hailing from Michigan, Rick said that he has held a variety of jobs. He worked at a Polaris shop in his teen years and ran his own retail business from 1985 to 1996. He also sold John Deere machinery and worked in sales and as a mechanic in his brother's Yamaha shop. In 2001, his brother became one of only 16 Yamaha golf cart distributors in the country, so Rick helped with that transition as his brother's business got very big and very busy. He and his family had vacationed several times in Bonner County because Rick has a cousin who lives in Sandpoint. He used to come to Boundary County to snowmobile and ride motorcycles. When he and his wife, Jen, took a vacation to Bonners Ferry without their four boys, they looked around the county and decided to move their family here in 2006. Rick worked for a time at Interstate Asphalt and Concrete until he was able to open Meyer's Service.

Rick had always heard that Bonners Ferry was the friendliest town in Idaho.

"It's a nice, quiet little town and that's why we moved here," he said. "Our kids have done really well in school here."

"My business philosophy is to make friends, to give everybody a good deal and to have fun," he said. "I'm acquiring more parts daily. I'm learning as I go. I like to work. I like making friends. When I get a customer, they always stick with me for a long time and we end up having a good business/ customer relationship."

One unique service Rick offers is pick-up and delivery. He said that this is especially helpful for older people or others who may not be able to get their snow blowers or ATVs in their cars to bring them to him. He will also change the oil and oil filter on small engine units and do other routine maintenance as needed.

"I'm all about customer convenience," said Rick. "I like my business to be laid back and relaxed."

He will also order and mount tires for ATVs, golf carts and motor bikes, and is an after-market parts and accessories dealer for ATVs, motor bikes and snowmobiles. He can also order wheel kits, winches, track kits, skis, chain saws and snow blowers.

"The sky is the limit on what I can get after-market on ATVs," he said. "A track kit can convert your ATV into a four-season vehicle. It can really make a difference in how much you can use your four-wheeler." Rick is excited about the future of his business in Boundary County. He plans to expand his current shop and add to his parts inventory. He would like to create a strong, loyal customer base and expand into ATV accessories.

"I've made a lot of friends. There are a lot of good people up here," he said. "My neighbors have been terrific. Bonners Ferry is a really comfortable place to live."

Meyer's Service can be reached at 267-0873 or 946-1892.