Diligence - Founders, with a strong work ethic

Bruce Ellingson, President
Bruce was the middle child of five born into a family that had a very hard working and honest father. Eugene Ellingson, the oldest of 8 siblings with an absentee father, worked on cars as early as he could pick up a wrench, drove gravel trucks around his home town of Crookston and joined the army and repaired military vehicles. Eugene married his childhood sweet heart - Clarice - at the age of 23. He worked at various forklift mechanic shops and then in 1968 partnered with Les Nielson to form Herc-U-Lift which grew to 130 employees by the time he partially retired. Bruce started working there when he was 6 and did everything from sweeping and painting to mechanic work till he was 18. During this time he realized that he enjoyed creating things more than fixing them. At Herc-U-Lift there was a big monster of a lathe for turning various metal parts for forklift repair. This lathe must have been from the early 20s, it still had the wide leather belt that ran from a pulley. This is where Bruce got the first taste of making something out of metal. His first major project was making a 10” high baseball player out of metal for his brother’s birthday. After all the parts were machined they were silver soldered together. His love for metal working had begun! Bruce also has a love for fast cars. As a teenager Bruce and his father built a bright orange big block powered 1955 Chevy with 450 HP which he still owns. In 1993 his dad opened the Ellingson Car Museum for car buffs like himself. Bruce got to make all the description stands for the vehicles. When asked The most important thing he got from his father, his reply is “Honesty…..it is the best policy.

Patty Ellingson, Vice President
As the company has grown, marketing and office administration has been added to improve our process. Patty joined the company following a wedding ring and a proposal….hence the identical last name. Her background is in administration, banking, bookkeeping and general office work. We are very glad to have her on board. She has the same goals and creativity as the owner and looks forward, with great expectations, to the future of Diligence. A straight shooter with gumption to back up the truth, Patty believes we can do anything we set are minds to. When asked what makes her try so hard she replied…… “I owe my honesty and work ethic to my mother Rosemary Dixon.” As a wife of an over-the-road truck driver, she ran “solo” raising her 5 children. She worked various jobs to make ends meet, and would never be called a quitter. Graduating from the University of Minnesota at the age of 20, she was a nurse for 27 years, drove a school bus for over 35 years and has had her paper route for 30 years that she still does at the age of 68. This woman knows the value of honest, hard work. She definitely isn’t sitting around waiting for something to happen, she has always made things happen. Patty is the same way, and is the driving force for the sales at Diligence, Inc.