Meet the Team

Steve Hicks

Steve is an ASE certified Master Technician with Advanced Engine Diagnostics certification and has been a team member at Bernhard Auto Works for 4 plus years. Steve has 16 years of experience in mechanical and technical fields such as Heavy-Duty Truck, Medium Duty Truck, Light Duty Truck, equipment and automotive.

Steve lives in Valmeyer with his wife Heather, children Dylan, Heide, and Aura. Steve and Heather have two Mini-Aussie Sheppard mix dogs named Ranger and Pixie, cat Jeffrey, Chewbacca the rabbit, Hey-Hey the hen, and Hatchet the mutt.

In Steve’s spare time, he likes camping, hunting, fishing, music, playing bass guitar and sharpening and polishing knives.

Steve mentions about his working at Bernhard Auto Works,” I love the staff and how we all get along and work together.”

Clint Cowger

Clinton Cowger is our Client Advocate and has been a member of the team for 10 years,
Clint is very flexible in explaining vehicle needs to the customer. Clint tries very hard to ensure every customer understands what is going on with their car.
Clint is always looking to get a smile on the customers face when they walk in and leave. He is also always looking to raise the bar when it comes to customer satisfaction. Clint likes to "make people wonder why no one else is like this".
Coming from small-town Olney IL, Clint, now a resident of Columbia, understands the value of keeping the community happy and is always looking out for the customer's best interest.
Weekends you can see Clint relaxing while working on his cars and ATV’s making them stand out from the crowd. Clint also enjoys showing the fruits of his labor at various car shows.
Clint is also passionate about paintballing to get the blood flowing and the mind straight. Clint says "its a rush like no other when you post behind a barrier with paintballs whizzing by @ 20 bps and up to 300 fps or faster, knowing you can't sit.. you must act and make a move".
Clint also enjoys ATV riding out in the country "getting away from the modern life and enjoying the simply fresh air \ woodlands with no cell phone service".
Clint is also daddy to a 4-year-old fluffy Mini-Aussie that frequently visits the shop. Zeus is here every day to greet the customers with a wiggly butt to try to brighten their day.

Ron Huch

Ron is our customer service specialist and has a been a team member at Bernhard Auto Works for almost two decades. Ron has a background in accounting with over 50 years of experience. Ron believes in good customer service and has enjoyed working with figures all his life.
In Ron’s spare time he has built an airplane, rebuild cars, and enjoys camping, boating and traveling with his wife and Shih Tzu dog.
One hobby Ron has had all his life is motorcycles. He is also a lover of all types of pets. Ron and his wife June have had a dog or car all of their years of marriage. Ron is also a lifelong resident of Columbia.

CJ Heeg

Christopher “CJ” Heeg Is an ASE Certified Master Technician and has been a team member at Bernhard Auto Works for 5 years. CJ attended Ranken Technical College and earned his associates degree in the High-Performance Engine and Tuning curriculum. CJ is a graduate of Columbia High School. CJ has been working on cars for as long has he can remember.
CJ lives in Columbia with his parents, Laura and Chris. CJ also lives with his pet Dobermans Tanna, as well as two cats Kalli and Clark.
CJ loves riding his motorcycle with friends and driving anything loud and fast. CJ also loves learning about aviation.
CJ states, “Waking up and going in is easy. The whole crew has full intentions of doing the job 100% and taking care of not only our customers, but other team members as well.”

Neal Bearden

Neal joined Bernhard Auto Works in June of 2020 and is an ASE Certified Master Technician with Advanced Engine Diagnostics certification. Neal is also certified in light diesel and as an undercar specialist. Neal brings over 20 years of experience to our company. Less than a year ago, Neal changed roles at our company and now works at the front counter as a Client Advocate. Neals knowledge as a ASE Master Tech really helps to enhance the customer experience and understanding of the services performed on their vehicle.
Neal has two children, Miles and Darby. Neal has special relationships with his girlfriend Olivia, and Suzanne, his mother-in-law.
Neal’s hobbies include old cars, football, and he plays the banjo and harmonica.
Neal states, “Co-workers make Bernhard Auto Works the best shop I’ve worked at in my 23 years in the business.”

Adam Langevin

Adam joined Bernhard Auto Works 3 years. Adam is a Ranken Technical College graduate with an associate’s degree in Automotive Maintenance Technology.
Adam lives with his mom Melissa and his step-dad Steve and brothers Josh and Zach. Adam also shares his house with two birds. Zach has one, Josh has one, and they are both equally loud.
In Adam’s spare time, he enjoys detailing cars and also loves driving cars. He also enjoys playing video games with his friends.
Adam says what he loves most about his job is that it doesn’t feel like a job because he really enjoys what he does.

Ken Fulton

Zeus Cowger

Zeus is a 5-year-old Australian Shepard (mix between full and miniature Aussie) and joined the team very soon after birth.
Zeus has no ASE Certifications at this time but will be first in line when ASE creates the “Shop Dog” certification. Zeus has five years of experience in greeting customers with a bark and a butt wag as well as barking at all tires that are rolled through the office area.
Zeus and Clint live in Columbia and you can many times see them walking to work or visiting any dog park they can find.
Zeus’ hobbies include walking Clint, visiting dog parks around the area, fetching balls and sticks, squirl and bird watching, as well as herding any people in his vicinity.
Zeus says about working at Bernhard Auto Works, “Bark bark woof woof bark, howl bark bark bark woof bark woof.”

Dave Bernhard

Dave is the majority partner in Bernhard Auto Works and spends most of his time at work getting in the way of production and being a general nuisance to all team members.
Dave has an engineering degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology and purchased Columbia Firestone in 2013. Dave moved to Columbia in 1995 and has been fairly active in the community. Dave is a former president and board member of the Columbia Khoury League, former president and board member of the Maple Grove Civic Association, former soccer coordinator and athletic director at Immaculate Conception School, former softball and soccer head coach, and was a founding member of the Columbia Athletic Association. Dave spent 11 years as a member of the City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Committee and Dave currently is the Housing Corporation Chairman for his fraternity at Missouri S&T. Dave recently joined the local chapter of Rotary Club and also is pursuing a Brewing Science Certificate from St. Louis University.
Dave has been married to his lovely wife Linda for 27 years and has two daughters, Ally and Lauren. Dave lives in Columbia with his wife Linda and daughter Lauren. Linda is owner of Landco Construction, a successful commercial interior finish general contractor. Lauren is a pre-school teacher at Ascension School in Chesterfield and is continuing her education at Maryville University pursuing her Masters in Early Childhood Development. Ally lives in St. Louis and is a Nurse in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Mercy Hospital and is continuing her education at Purdue University to become a Nurse Practitioner. Dave and Linda have one Goldendoodle, Maggie, and two Bernadoodles, Shelby and Riley. Shelby also frequents the shop and would love to say hi!

Tom Baxter

Tom joined the Bernhard team in June of 2022 and has 25 years’ experience as an automotive technician. Tom attended Waterloo High School a few years ago and lives here in Columbia. Tom loves working with what he calls his “great coworkers”.
Tom is married to his soulmate, Barbara. Tom and Barbara each have a daughter from previous marriages, Sierra and Ally. Both ladies are out on their own, so Tom and Barbara have the house to themselves.
When Tom isn’t working with our incredible team, he enjoys gardening, fishing and almost any other outdoor activity.