Meet the NATM Dealer Committee Members: A Conversation with Denise Scholle

NATM Dealer Committee – Interview with Denise Scholle 

In July 2024, NATM staff members Andrea Boetticher and Izabella Chesney began a new series of interviews to learn more about the members of the 2024-2025 NATM Dealer Committee. We are excited to be continuing this exciting series of giving you an inside view of who represents our Dealer Affiliates. We got the opportunity to speak with Denise Scholle who is the co-owner of The Trailer Guy, LLC, a trailer service business specializing in trailer repair and parts for horse, boat, campers, and landscape trailers. Denise serves on the 2024-2025 NATM Dealer Committee and she is an integral voice for creating education and resources for service technicians in the industry.  

Tell us a little bit about your story.  

My connection to the trailer industry began when I met my now husband, Brandon. We were both young, in our twenties, and like most young couples, we wanted to spend all our time together. Brandon had started working on trailers about ten years before that when he was about 18. He had a dream to one day own his own trailer business.  

So, we’d spend our time together; he’d be working on a trailer, and I would sit and talk with him. However, sitting with him turned into handing him a tool, then assisting him with a brake, and on and on until eventually, I unknowingly took in a huge amount of knowledge and expertise. Never once did it occur to me that his dream of wanting to own our own business meant that we’d literally spend all our time together working as husband and wife, but here we are, almost 20 years later.    

It’s only been in the last few years that we transitioned from running the business part-time to really focusing on operating full-time. We were both still working corporate jobs up until Covid hit and we decided to take the plunge. I am so happy we did because we love what we do. Many people don’t get the opportunity in their career to really enjoy what they do, and I feel very blessed for that.  

What is it like to work with your spouse full-time? 

It has its benefits, spending so much time together and we get to travel together when we go places for work. But it has challenges when you work together, and you’re both fighting for something that you really believe in. Then, you go home and have dinner together and continue to talk about work. We are both strong willed, stubborn people. No is not a word we like to hear. So. day to day there is some compromise and give-and-take in it. But we are a great team, and we’ve learned how to work well together because we trust each other. We always have each other’s backs, and we balance each other out well.  

Connection to NATM 

I have seen, over decades now, how things have changed, how new manufacturers have come in and out of the industry, and the ones that are still at it for decades. There is no one go-to source for trailer service technicians. We have had to really rely on our decades of experience. I am hopeful that the work we are doing on the NATM Dealer Committee related to service technician resources and education will help create a network in the industry to combine all our expertise to help others that either want to start their own business or are adapting and need to grow their business or dealership.  

What is most rewarding about your job?  

The most rewarding thing is working with and helping families. As a service focused company, there have been situations where a family comes in and they’ve broken down, or they’re calling stranded on the side of the road. It makes me feel good, people are genuinely happy that we’re able to fix whatever scenario.  

We work with people from all walks of life. And whether they’re bringing in the inexpensive trailer or the really expensive trailer – I mean they could be bringing in the little $5,000 boat or the $500,000 boat, but I want to help them no matter what. I want you to be safe from point A to point B. I don’t need a lot in life. I figure if I can do little things to make people happy every day, that’s enough for me.  

What inspired you to join the Dealer Committee? 

The one thing in the trailer industry is there’s so much knowledge out there but there’s no one platform for it. I want to help educate people. I want to teach people in a way that makes sense to them, whether that be hands on, or by a book, or whatever it may be, I don’t want it to be one narrative. So, the opportunity to make something better, to make a change and leave an imprint, at least on one person that they can hold on to when they’re in their sixties and they’re telling stories to their grandkids, that’s it.  

I just want the opportunity to make it the best we can and inform people. So many people come to us and aren’t sure, or have been given false information about something, and I want them to have the right information so that they stay safe. It’s a much different world, and I want them to have the right information instead of the wrong information. I believe NATM can do that. 

We are excited to see all the great things Denise Scholle will be doing on the committee! We are also looking forward to sharing more insights with our members and dealer affiliates on who is representing our dealer affiliates and assisting in growing the Dealer Affiliate Benefit Program. Keep an eye out for our next conversation with one of our Dealer Committee Members!