Walker Tire has proudly served the Lincoln area since 1951. Not only do they have the expertise to take care of your tire needs, but their ASE certified mechanics can take care of all your service needs on any vehicle make or model. Walker Tire also offers oil changes for the life your tires at their Quick Nick’s service centers. In addition to their retail and Quick Nick’s service centers, they also operate commercial truck tire service centers and a retreading facility. Nick Vuko, Sr. is the President of Walker Tire.
How did you get started in the business? – I got snowed in and met Vern Walker, who was the owner of Walker Tire at the time. He was looking for a person to develop a retread plant. The rest is history!
What has been your most important achievement professionally? – My first and very important profession achievement was to finally figure out a system to produce truck tire retreads. At that time no one had a total understanding of preparing and curing the tires.
Tell me a little about your family. – My family consists of my wife, Donna, our three daughters Andrea, Jeanne and Nicole and son Nick, Jr. I also have seven grandchildren, one dog, one horse, and three ponies.
What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life? – My senior year at Wyoming I was graduating in business, but I decided to continue on and get a civil engineering degree. That was the biggest and best decision I have ever made.
What is your favorite thing to do on a day off? – Work! But if I am not at Walker Tire or doing Walker Tire business, I am building or caring for our acreage, working on my cars, or occasionally playing a round of golf.
What is the most unique or interesting thing about you that most people probably don’t know? – I love to draw and paint.
What are you the most proud of? – My family!
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – If you work hard you will succeed.
If you could choose only one descriptive word to be remembered as, what would it be? – Fair
What is your greatest talent that you don’t utilize in your daily work life? – It sure isn’t golf! I love architectural design and landscaping projects.
If you could choose any other profession to be successful in, what would it be? – Designing race cars. I went into structural engineering after seeing Jimmy Clark in the Lotus Ford. Colin Chapman, a civil engineer, designed it.
What is your favorite book or the last good book you read? – Usually I don’t have much free time to read books, as I mostly read tech manuals or information in our industry. However, the last good book I took the time to read was written by Bill Smith of Speedway Motors. I grew up in Gary, Indiana around a lot of racers, and Bill is the only person I have met here that knew so much about so many people that I knew.
What is your favorite movie? – I definitely love movies. The Great Escape still ranks up there as one of the best. The Godfather series are also favorites of mine.
What is your favorite local restaurant? – My house when my wife cooks!
If you could have dinner with one famous person from the past or present, who would it be? – My dad.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – By email at nvuko@walkertire.com or visit our website at www.walkertire.com.