The Interview

to various industrial users. I live nearby and would be included in the meetings. Sometimes we were in agreement and sometimes not so much. We reconnected when Brett Eisele from KCAB talked Rock into hosting a travel TV show. Rock taught himself how to edit and did very well!

On December 23rd, 2009, when things were winding down at the TV station, Rock, Brett and their significant others were out with Rick and me looking at Christmas lights. I needed to find a new job soon; due to the recession the station could no longer afford to pay my salary.

Rock told me I needed to get my real estate license and come work for him. I asked, “Ummm, really? Doesn’t the real estate market suck right now??” Rock told me it won’t always be bad. I thought about it for 15 seconds and decided to get my real estate license. I got my license in February of 2010 and have been with Rock since then. Linda Pixler was the broker at ROX Real Estate then; I always appreciated her attention to detail, and I thank her for training me to be the broker I am today.

I met Elaine when Rock hired her to be a part-time accountant at ROX. A few months later in 2013 they got married. Rock calls us Thelma and Louise. I’m never sure who is who. I think it changes according to the day and situation.

Grande LIVING: How many hats have you worn at ROX Group over the years?

Bea Lueck: It is never a dull moment. Let’s see … real estate agent and now designated broker, advertising account manager, general manager of (pick a company), associate publisher, insurance agent (I had my license but never actually sold a single policy), construction project manager, operations manager and currently vice president of operations.

You can throw in a few odd jobs along the way like the day Rock and I were elbow deep in fixing the leak in the men’s bathroom urinal. Clean water was spraying everywhere and we're in there with our wrenches replacing the valve. Good times!

As VP of operations I have my hands in the real estate businesses, plural, and we’ve got some exciting things coming up as we work to grow that side of the business. And of course there are the magazines, and I’m very heavily involved in the Rent A Can business. I’m handling all of the routing and oversee different elements of things. I'm very thankful for the various company teams who make my job so much easier.

I love working here for so many reasons, but the diversity and dayto-day challenges, opportunities, the oddness of what you’re doing from day to day, it’s a constant beehive of activity. You never know what’s going to transpire that day, but it’s never boring.

It’s crazy from one day to the next. “Well, what are you working on today?” “Well, I’m planning on doing this,” and then you walk in and, “OK, I’m not even thinking of doing that today. That’ll be another day.”

Grande LIVING: What do you like to do in your spare time?

Bea Lueck: I love spending time with my two grandchildren. I still have the paint on the garage floor from when we were painting pictures. My current hobby revolves around my garden. I tend to go a bit overboard on everything and gardening is no different.

I just finished the shell on my greenhouse. The inner building is just over 750 square feet with the beginnings of an orchard outside. The roof and some plumbing will be done this fall or winter when it isn’t blazing hot outside.

I started gardening on a smallscale, and then it grew and grew and grew, and just a wide variety of things. I’ve been keeping everything alive despite rabbits and rodents and birds eating things and the heat attempting to kill what wasn't eaten. I have a plethora of zucchini to harvest each day. Maybe next year I will plant a few less. The watermelon vines are taking over and spreading beyond their bed to adjacent beds.

Someone joked that, “Oh, everything you grow just looks so healthy.” It’s like, “No. No, not really. There are dead things out there. I just don’t post photos of the dead things regularly.”

Then I have an ongoing hate, hate relationship with ants and getting bit. One will crawl up my leg and I inevitably get bit in places that require me to drop my pants in the front yard. It's a good thing I live in a rural area with minimal traffic going past!

We have no pets right now, our last dog died earlier this year, but I’m ready for another one. Still trying to convince my husband that he’s ready. We do have five chickens in the yard, but they’re not exactly pets. I use large feeders, so you only have to feed them every couple days. It’s just, “Yeah. You got water, you’re good,” as I gather the eggs.

Grande LIVING: You have traveled to a few interesting places. Where have you gone?

Bea Lueck: Elaine and Rock love to travel, and Elaine wanted to take her sons to see London. Rock has been several times and didn’t want to visit the same museums and places again, so Elaine invited me to go. So far, we’ve visited the UK, Australia and Spain. We had a trip planned to China in 2020 but COVID derailed that.

We’ve got some plans in the coming year or two that may include another trip across the Pacific. We’ve also talked about Germany. So far, on each trip, it’s very easy to take a thousand photographs. Just very, very interesting to see the different cultures and history. I love the history part of it. Going into the museums and art galleries and even the street vendors. So unique to each country. It isn't 100% set yet where the next trip is planned but everyone will enjoy the 1,000-odd photos we post on Facebook!

Grande LIVING: OK, so what’s in your future? What about retirement, is that anywhere on your horizon?

Bea Lueck: No, not for a few years. I just turned 60 this year, so I’ve still got a few years to put in before I think of retiring. There will be a big announcement around the end of the year that I'm very excited to share. There are a few more regulatory elements to complete. More to come!

I’m not sure retirement is in my blood. I enjoy the craziness I call work.