KALISPELL - He's someone you may receive a friendly wave from if you see him riding by on his motorcycle.
He’s the type of person who will stop off on the side of the road and help fix your vehicle if you’re having car trouble.
MTN’s Sean Wells introduces us to lifelong mechanic Mike Yardley of Kalispell — a proud family man and the definition of an unsung hero.
“The one piece of advice my dad gave me was to go out there and do things and find something that you enjoy, and you should be good at it, and you should make money, still waiting to make the money but I’m pretty good at it,” said Yardley.
Pretty good is an understatement, as Yardley has been a professional mechanic now for more than four decades, calling the Flathead Valley his home since the mid-’90s.
“Transmissions is my forte I guess you would say, that’s where the MYT came for, is Mike Yardley’s Transmissions.”
Mike runs MYT Automotive out of his shop in Evergreen. He loves fixing up old vehicles and giving them a new lease on life.
“People bringing me like their grandad’s truck or something like that, that hadn’t been running in 20 years, and I get a lot of joy in doing that.”
He also gets a lot of joy in helping a stranger who’s having car trouble on the side of the road.
“Anytime we would be driving, whether it would be a road trip or just anything if someone was broken down, he would pull over,” said Mike's daughter April Russell.
April said that’s just the type of guy he is — always helping others, expecting nothing in return.
“They say you know he’s the guy that would give you the shirt off his back, but like truly he would give you the shirt off his back, he would be there if you needed help you know.”
In 2010 one of Mike’s best friends passed away in a motorcycle accident leaving behind his six-year-old daughter.
Mike felt compelled to honor his friend and started Big Dave’s Memorial motorcycle run.
“You know we started out to make sure she had something when she turned 18.”
Mike and his friends raised thousands of dollars for Big Dave’s daughter.
They continue the tradition each year helping families impacted by motorcycle accidents.
“He would of have given her anything you know, she wanted a puppy, he got her the puppy you know, and so I wanted her to be able to just have something and tell her that it was because of the kind of person that her dad was, that’s why we did that.”
April said her dad’s giving heart is an inspiration to all who meet him.
“You know sometimes people don’t get recognition, I’m sure there’s a lot of other parents and people out there but I thought if I could give him a little recognition then maybe he would know how special he is.”
Big Dave's Memorial Run starts at Packers Roost in Coram at 12 p.m. on July 29, 2023.
