Rural Missouri - March 2022 - 38

RM | OUTDOORS
Birding
Business
Above: A white-breasted nuthatch sorts through the offerings held in one of Songbird Station's hanging bird feeders. Bottom: This past summer,
Mel Toellner, center, handed the reins of his homegrown business, Gold Crest Distributing Inc., over to daughter, Becky, and son, Grant.
Second generation continues family hobby, ventures
by Zach Smith | zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
I
f there is such a thing as reverse empty-nest syndrome,
then Mel Toellner - or Bird Man Mel as he's known
to friends, family and viewers of his YouTube channel
- probably has it. Since
last summer he's stepped back
from his companies' day-to-day
operations; his son, Grant, and
daughter, Becky, have taken the
reins of different sides of the businesses
he built from a few seeds.
He's neither sad to walk away nor
concerned for the transition for
a few reasons. His business was
built on a passion for birding, and
that passion was shared with the
family. Mel's kids were born into
it, the same way he was.
Mel fl edged his family business
sense by helping his father with
his company, Toellner Tire Co., in
his native Bunceton. Later, he'd
fi nd his wings as a manager of
sales, development and distribution
for Ralston Purina. But like
so many of the birds he loves to
watch and educate others about,
38 RURAL MISSOURI | MARCH 2022
there was something instinctive calling the young entrepreneur.
Tiny seeds planted by Boy Scout merit badge
work, watching the geese in Rochester, Minnesota during
trips to the Mayo Clinic with his father and a birding
summer camp scholarship given to him by a member of
the Columbia Audubon Society
all germinated in Mel's garage in
Mexico. There, the idea for a birding
store that would one day grow
into a company supplying most
of the same kind of businesses in
North America, was hatched.
" We started doing the little
things that make a difference
in attracting birds, " Mel says of
Songbird Station's beginnings
in Columbia in 1995. The little
things, hummingbird feeder cleaning
brushes, ant moats and thistle
sacks, are Missouri-sourced products
that still have shelf space in
the store near Forum Boulevard
and Chapel Hill Road.
Chances are if you've ever
bought a bird-related product at
one of nearly 6,000 storefronts -
ranging from mom-and-pop birding
shops to farm supply chains

Rural Missouri - March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - March 2022

Contents
Rural Missouri - March 2022 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - March 2022 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - March 2022 - Contents
Rural Missouri - March 2022 - 4
Rural Missouri - March 2022 - 5
Rural Missouri - March 2022 - 6
Rural Missouri - March 2022 - 7
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Rural Missouri - March 2022 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - March 2022 - Cover4
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