January 3, 2025 – St. Michaels, WI – New owners Mike and Gail Umbaugh have officially taken over Goeden’s Auto Body on Highway 28 in St. Michaels, stepping into a shop that carries decades of trust built by Willie and Dave Goeden. For the Farmington couple, the transition is both an honor and a challenge they are eager to embrace.
Mike brings 37 years of experience in the collision repair industry, a career that began when he was 17 years old.
“I’ve been in this field for 37 years,” Mike said. “I actually started working for Jay at Jay’s Auto Body when I was younger, and most recently I had been managing that shop for the past two-and-a-half years before we came here.”
Though Mike spent nearly 30 years in Idaho building and managing body shops for others, returning to Washington County felt like coming full circle.
“We just love the area up here,” said Mike. “It’s a whole different mindset. People take pride in what they have, and they see things differently.”
That sense of pride is closely tied to the reputation of the shop itself. Goeden’s Auto Body has served the community for about 50 years. Mike said preserving that legacy was essential.
“With them being in business for so long, they’ve built an excellent business,” he said. “So many people come here no matter what. Carrying on that reputation was huge for us. We wanted the name and all the intangibles because of everything they’ve built along the way.”
Mike credits Dave Goeden’s approach to customer service as a standard he intends to uphold.
“People appreciate the approach Dave has taken over the years, making sure customers are taken care of with the highest quality work,” he said. “He doesn’t bend to the insurance companies. First and foremost, the customer gets taken care of.”
Change, the couple insist, will be minimal. Hours will remain the same, and familiar faces will still be at work.
Dave Goeden is staying on as a body technician, a role Mike believes suits him well. “I think he’s a little excited about being able to get his hands on cars without having to deal with everything up front,” Mike said. “That’s a hard chore, trying to balance both.”
The shop’s team will also include painter Pete Kaehny, who has worked with Mike for years. “With Pete as an excellent painter and Dave on as a body man, there’s nowhere to go but up,” Mike said.
Gail, who grew up in the area and spent years maintaining ties to the community even while Mike worked out of state, said being locally rooted matters. Together, the couple plans to stay involved beyond the shop doors.
Click HERE for Part I: Sale of Goeden’s Auto Body
“You have to stay involved in the community,” Mike said. “That goes such a long way.”
Looking ahead, Mike and Gail hope to grow the business carefully while giving back. Mike pointed to community projects he supported in Idaho, including charitable donations tied to seasonal deer collisions. “Things like that are huge,” he said. “It goes a long ways, especially for the people that need it.”
The deal to purchase the shop was finalized just recently, and the couple wasted no time getting started. “We wrapped it up yesterday at noon,” Mike said. “Now we’re just about past the anxiety point and ready to hit the ground running.”
For a shop that has long been a fixture on Highway 28, the sign out front may be the same, but a new chapter is underway. As Mike put it, “It finally worked out where it’s time for us to do it for ourselves, and to do it right for this community.”
