Meet Randy Rheinschild! Randy owns Rhino Computer Services where he offers a wide range of computer services for homes and businesses. He can handle anything from extracting data from an old machine to transferring it to a new one that he helps them purchase. He also specializes in setting up and extending WiFi, troubleshooting TV and stereo system issues, and working with iPads. He told us, “Essentially, anything related to the internet, I can handle. I like to think of myself as the go-to guy who comes to your house and fixes it.”
We would like to thank Randy for his time and willingness to interview!
Q: What inspired or led you to your current career?
A: “I was working in retail and management for a company called Dekor at the time. In 2001, I ventured into franchise work in the computer field. After a few years, I decided to shut down the franchise and operate independently under my own name. I’ve been doing that since 2005 under my own company name of Rhino Computer Services.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County? And what do you love there?
A: “I’m going to go with Luna’s, and I’ll have the peppered steak. Juan always treated everyone special who came into the restaurant when he owned it.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “I’ve been working here since 2001, and I’ve lived in the Wauka Mountain area since 1991 when we moved there.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met in Hall County and why?
A: “Back in the day, it was Coach Chuck Clauson. He was in real estate, but he had been a coach for Woody Hayes back in the old Ohio State days. He worked with Dick Vermeil and the Philadelphia Eagles, among other coaches, and was a very interesting man, hearing about the different eras in which football has existed. He was one of those guys who transcended the old age of playing football into today. Later, he worked with the Falcons, and visiting him as a client, was always an interesting experience for me. Unfortunately, he passed away many years ago.”
Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?
A: “My stepdad was in charge of all steam trains for Disney World. He knew Walt Disney in the fifties, and that’s how I ended up on the East Coast from LA in 1969. My stepdad was hired because as the contractor by Walt Disney to take six trains they found on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. They ran in the late 1800s and early 1900s hauling sugar cane. They were shipped to Tampa Shipyard, where my stepdad rebuilt those and other ride systems, and implementing them into the original theme park. The small boat launches and paddle wheelers were initially steam-powered but have since been transferred to Diesel, except for the steam trains. One day, when I was 13, my stepdad took me to work. His office was below the Haunted Mansion at that time. He had moved out of central shops and into other management for maintenance. When you’re sitting in the Haunted Mansion’s big ballroom watching the ghosts fly about, his office was underneath you. He let me go half an hour early before the park opened, and I remember running behind the castle on the way to Space Mountain, the new ride at the time. I could hear all the belt drives starting up on the ride systems, and my footsteps clapping behind the castle as I ran and there was nobody else in the park. So, that’s one of my favorite memories.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
A: “I would choose someplace warm simply because it’s warm. My favorite place is a little spot called Culebra, Puerto Rico. It’s a small four by seven-mile island just east of the mainland Puerto Rico. I’ve done 3 mission trips there with Highlands Global Methodist Church, and a sail charter there with my friends, running a 44-foot sailboat. That’s where I would love to be during winter every year.”
Q: What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “Well, it wasn’t the first one, but it was pretty much one of the first ones. My grandparents took me to see the opening week of ‘Star Wars’ in Studio City, Southern California when I was visiting them. So, it was around 1977 or thereabouts, but I don’t really remember seeing a movie before going out to see one prior to that, for whatever reason.”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “In this day and time, stay aware of your surroundings. Always!”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “To sail the Mediterranean, I would like to be able to rent a boat, preferably 40 feet. Bigger, if I had more friends involved. We could sail the Mediterranean and go all the way to places like Malta and beyond for a month or so.”
Q: What’s your favorite music or three bands you would like to see dead or alive?
A: “My favorite music is jazz. I play jazz at Luna’s on the first Saturday of the month, running a Jazz Jam there and I’ve been doing that for 16 years. If I could choose someone dead or alive to see perform, it would be Miles Davis and Chet Baker, both trumpet players who were amazing in their day. Additionally, I would love to go back and see Louis Armstrong play, just to witness the brilliance of that era. So those would be my top three choices.”
Q: Choosing anyone with whom would you love to have lunch? And where locally would y’all have this lunch?
A: “I think it’d be awesome to hang out with Jimmy Buffett in Key West.”
Q: What local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County and why?
A: “I’m trying to think of one, because most of my working environment is people’s homes. I’d have to say the Norton Agency because they’ve been here forever, and you pass the office all the time, on Green Street. I mean, it’s just a staple, right?”
Q: What’s your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “You can get everything you need here in Hall County. I have a 35-foot sailboat on Lake Lanier, a nice big lake. The town is a good size with friendly people, and it’s not far from Atlanta if you need to get on an airplane and go find a boat on the other side of the world. A lot of what I like about Hall County includes the great weather, even though we’re experiencing winter right now, which is not my favorite thing. I always said I would never live someplace Jimmy Buffet wouldn’t. However, it’s a great town with a lot to offer. There are many excellent businesses here that treat the people well. It’s just a nice place to live.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?
A: “I don’t see myself leaving the area. Maybe I’ll do a lot more cruises and spend more time on the water. Being on the water more often would be the main focus. Additionally, knocking out a couple of those bucket list items would be kind of sweet.”
Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “I think a lot of people don’t realize how close I was to the Walt Disney side of things in my youth. I was a trumpet player in the Army band for three years right out of high school. Worked on a movie when I got out of the Army Band, where I picked up Scott Baio (Chachi) and Henry Winkler(the Fonz) and was basically a “Go-for” for them for a couple of months. Those things come to mind”
Q: What three words mean home to you?
A: “”Well, that’s where the kids are—my kids live here. I haven’t really thought about what home means in a long while. Family is there, a good home-cooked meal, and just being around people I love and who love me.”
Q: If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?
A: “Robert Downey Jr. He’d be fun. He also did the Sherlock Holmes films besides the Iron Man character.”
Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose?
A: “I would probably go with a good chef.”
