Ray “The Menards Guy” Szmanda, the voice and face of Menards TV and radio ads for 22 years, died Sunday, May 6, at his home in Antigo, WI.
Even though he retired in 1998, Ray was still part of Menards’ marketing until this day. A cartoon rendering of his famous face still adorns print ads. And, recently, our forum’s Menards liaison Mark the Menards Train Guy verified that the company’s 1:48 diecast concrete pumper truck was marked as Ray’s Ready Mix in honor of Szmanda.
I’m personally saddened by Ray’s death, as I’m sure are a lot of the folks who saw the numerous Menards ads on TV from 1976 to 1998. His enormous smile and enthusiastic delivery of his lines were truly infectious.
Anyone who has seen the commercials remembers Menards. Unlike some of the Super Bowl commercials where you can't recall the product or the brand, just the gag...