How PHCC of PA Uses Impactful & Unique Marketing, Communication and Hiring Campaigns
Watch Episode 10 of PHCC Rocks Podcast
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Speaker 0
00:00:04 - 00:00:50
Hello ph C C. Welcome to season one, Episode 10 of PHC See rocks a podcast highlighting some of the great things happening all over America related to the national plumbing heating cooling contractors association. I'm your host, Joel long and we're coming to you from gastonia north Carolina, which as always is today's World wide headquarters of PH C C. We're really excited today to have some wonderful men with us from the state of pennsylvania. The great state of pennsylvania. Right, mike baby. Uh, so we're, we're fortunate today and blessed to have Mike McGraw and larry shoemaker with us uh, from pennsylvania and Mike's the executive director of PHC. See pennsylvania and Larry is serving as the president of the P H C. C. Of pennsylvania, is that correct? Larry?
Speaker 1
00:00:51 - 00:00:52
They got
Speaker 0
00:00:52 - 00:00:54
you on for like a six year term and they're not,
Speaker 1
00:00:56 - 00:00:56
don't do
Speaker 0
00:00:56 - 00:01:28
too good a job Larry. Okay. Don't, don't make sure you don't do too good a job, but hey guys, listen, it's, it's really a treat to have you with us today and looking forward to it. Uh, Mike and I go back a long time and uh, we were both better looking and younger when we met and uh, which is not saying a lot, but you know, one of the things I've loved about doing this podcast is uh, the first thing off the bat every time is learning how guys like y'all, how you got involved with the HCC and just give us some of your background and how you know how you ended up there who want, who wants to go first,
Speaker 2
00:01:30 - 00:01:31
Nobody might
Speaker 0
00:01:31 - 00:01:32
go first.
Speaker 2
00:01:32 - 00:01:39
All right, well first off I didn't wear my jacket because I knew you weren't gonna wear a jacket today. I knew I Told,
Speaker 0
00:01:39 - 00:01:50
I told somebody today that I wonder how long before the the over under was 30 seconds before you would bring up the jacket. So go ahead and tell them to go ahead and tell them go ahead and tell them now you gotta tell them.
Speaker 2
00:01:50 - 00:02:26
Yeah. So we were, I don't remember which one it was but it was 89 years ago when I met joe had a connect and we were just getting introduced for the board and stuff like that. And we were like, should we wear a jacket or tie? We're like, I don't know. I don't think I was gonna wear one joe was like, yeah, I'm not and I show up, I don't have my jacket on, joe comes in. He's got a jacket and tie on and everything. I'm like that. Thanks a lot buddy. Thanks a lot. That's been a joke. Every time we see each other at connect. I
Speaker 0
00:02:26 - 00:02:38
felt so bad. Larry. I felt so bad. Any that light later that I don't remember who Hunter or somebody says Hunter buddy says, but you got to wear a jacket you gotta wear And then I am sorry. I was so I didn't even think about it man. And as soon as soon as mike walked in, he goes,
Speaker 2
00:02:39 - 00:02:39
what are you
Speaker 0
00:02:39 - 00:02:52
doing to me man? But anyway, terrible. Alright so this podcast has gone in the tank immediately. But anyway. Perfect. Alright. Larry now that mike just go ahead. And
Speaker 2
00:02:53 - 00:03:57
so uh my first choice when I was in high school was to go to auto mechanics and um I started my first year of Vo tech was what it was called back then and I started doing work with my cousin on the weekends, he was working for a master plumber and he was doing some side work and needed a hand. So I started helping him and I started liking really liking what I was doing there. So I switched my uh major biotech from auto mechanics to cloning. We went through the technical schooling and then through the apprenticeship program and really really was liking doing plumbing. So graduated worked for several different companies. So I started actually working in the trade when I was 16, so 45 years ago when I started into the trade. Yes I am old. So so but I loved it.
Speaker 2
00:03:58 - 00:04:25
I went into my own business for a period of time with my brother in law. He was on the HD a seaside. I I didn't do much h ier ci did combing and hydroponic keep and that was really good for a while. But um we decided it was better that we were gonna um part ways from the business and at that point I went uh started a plumbing division in the general contracting company.
Speaker 0
00:04:26 - 00:04:26
Yeah and
Speaker 2
00:04:26 - 00:05:31
I did that for probably well I don't know probably eight years. And the general contractor was moving to florida. So I think that was in 2009 he was going to move to Florida. So I spoke to my wife we were deciding whether I was gonna go back out solely on my own and yeah uh still running another business at that time pennsylvania. So I served on every board for my local association and my state association as a contract. I was president of my local philadelphia, Suburban president of the pennsylvania ph C. C. And dealing with an administrator and executive director through that whole time. From 19 I got on the state board as a director in 1993. So from 93 to 2009 I was on that board in some sort of capacity and executive.
Speaker 2
00:05:32 - 00:06:18
And so as an executive committee um we were in search of a new director. Um We were going to start that search and whatnot. So that was the same time that um the guy that owned the contracting company was moving to florida. I spent a lot of time doing P. H. C. C. Stuff throughout my career. Probably more than I should have when I was in business. Okay. But I love the ph C. C. And I put a lot of time into it. So I came up with a proposal to our executive committee And in 2010, they made the decision to bring me on as executive director. So I started uh January of 2011, Believable. So
Speaker 0
00:06:18 - 00:06:20
12, 11 years now.
Speaker 2
00:06:20 - 00:07:02
Yeah. 11 years. And it's funny because the executive director before me, he was telling us that a c you know, was just a good club and people didn't do anything and whatnot. We paid for him to be a member, but he never participated. And I said that to my board, I'd like to go. And the first one I missed the very first year forward, I think it was in new york with Dorothy ready at that time, I missed that one. Mhm. And I think my first one was in Chicago and I came back and I said this, you know, this thing is great. And then I could tell it was a networking group just as ph C c is for contract,
Speaker 0
00:07:02 - 00:07:05
it's a path to the promised land for for Exactly,
Speaker 2
00:07:05 - 00:07:18
yeah. So um still in the industry, still in the trade. I love it. Mhm. And I'll tell you, there's never a day that I wake up and get out of bed and say, oh man, I gotta go to work today, because I just love what I do. Yeah, there's
Speaker 0
00:07:18 - 00:07:54
something new every day, that's for sure, something, you know, and before larry, you know, mike, as long as I can remember, you know, there's probably six or seven just top execs that, you know, when you're in some kind of meeting and getting started and your name always comes up when, and I hope Larry, I hope you guys in pennsylvania understand that. And I'm sure you do that, that if something is needed or there's a question or how something is supposed to be done in a great way. Your name is always one that comes up and uh, and then I tried talking to somebody else, but still, you know, your name comes up. But uh, you know, and I hope you all realize that I mean in pennsylvania, no, in north Carolina. Um,
Speaker 0
00:07:54 - 00:08:00
the executive directors we have has just made all the difference. And so it's amazing innit? Larry? It is.
Speaker 1
00:08:00 - 00:08:25
I mean mike, mike takes this, it's not a job to him. It's, he runs it like it's his own business. You know, he takes it to heart. He shows up the hours he puts in is incredible. I can't tell you how many meetings he goes to at night works all day. He's down at the school, he's out at the state at, in Harrisonburg. He sits on, I don't know how many boards. I mean he's, it's obvious
Speaker 0
00:08:25 - 00:08:39
okay. We're not saying anything else good about him. Larry, come on. His head won't fit on the screen talking. Okay Larry, but this man, it is all true. Mike, I hope and people all over the country know that mike and I appreciate it man. So what you got larry?
Speaker 1
00:08:40 - 00:09:03
Um, I want to go tech. My father was a plumber. I graduated out of school. I didn't want to be a plumber. So I want to go to be a forester. You know, I went to forestry school for a year, found out it was super expensive. Came back for a year. I was gonna earn some money and then I never went back. I put myself through the apprenticeship school.
Speaker 0
00:09:03 - 00:09:04
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1
00:09:04 - 00:09:42
And from there I got asked to teach, I bought the business in 2003 and that's when I joined the p. The local p. h. d. c. Tight. Um, served on a couple of places on, on that board did vice president president and then I got asked to sit and do the secretary secretary position for the state. And from there I got asked to run for vice president and that that takes you right to the president spot. Right? So right. And once you get
Speaker 0
00:09:42 - 00:09:43
started, you can't get out of it.
Speaker 1
00:09:43 - 00:09:45
I
Speaker 0
00:09:45 - 00:10:12
know all about it. It's just, it's just, it's just a temporary thing. It's no big deal Larry. That's great. You know, how many a ton of people that we talked to as we've done these across the country with the business guys started, it's interesting how many of them started in one place, but ended up in the apprenticeship program and ended up in plumbing. You know, they didn't almost nobody starts off you know that they're going to do this and then they end up just loving it And so that's that's a really good piece to hear. Uh
Speaker 2
00:10:12 - 00:10:13
So
Speaker 0
00:10:13 - 00:10:40
one of the things too I like to touch on is you know with being a part of the oldest trade association in the country is really uh I think a powerful statement for our success with that. We have to change all the time and we have to adapt all the time. The association is old but that only means that we keep changing. Think about how much has changed since we got started and then yeah I'd like to hear from you know mike you guys give us a snapshot of pennsylvania ph C c and you know kind of where you stand today picking up members all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2
00:10:41 - 00:11:08
Yeah so um Pennsylvania P. H. C. C. Well it started out in 1894 it was known as pennsylvania Association of Master plumbers And I think it was 1953 they changed to the Pennsylvania Association of Plumbing contractors. Yeah don't mind that. The president does that all the time.
Speaker 2
00:11:10 - 00:12:21
Yes he is a busy man. So yeah in 1953 they amended their corporation to be the Pennsylvania Association of Plumbing contractors. And in 1976 they amended it began to become the Pennsylvania Association plumbing heating cooling contractors and Yep not sure so that's that's where it is now. Um, so yeah, 1894, um, they used to have a building in Harrisburg's pennsylvania, that was their home office, but with the way technology is today and everything now it is worked out of an office um, out of Harrisburg's cause we don't go up there too much except unless when we're doing legislative stuff. So, uh, currently today, when in 2011, when I became executive director, We read 149 members And I remember when we were probably at 300 over 300 when I was on the board today, we're at 205 right now.
Speaker 2
00:12:21 - 00:12:27
So yeah, we're doing, we're doing good on getting some new members and younger guys and right now, so,
Speaker 0
00:12:27 - 00:12:30
so some stability has helped a little bit with the Exactly,
Speaker 2
00:12:30 - 00:12:34
yep. Exactly, Yes, sir. Alright.
Speaker 0
00:12:34 - 00:13:05
Uh, one of the other things that I've really enjoyed is, you know, every state um, has has best practices, you know, you can, it's interesting as you talk state by state, every state's different association and their focus is a little bit different. And one of your main, it's got to be that I've heard for years and years and years. You talked about it and when you and I talked about the other day a little bit more. Is that how you approach legislative affairs and how you focused on it for so long and so direct, So talk talk, both of you talk about that a little bit if you can about why that has become so important
Speaker 2
00:13:09 - 00:13:11
your music, you're muted
Speaker 0
00:13:11 - 00:13:12
larry.
Speaker 2
00:13:13 - 00:13:13
Mm hmm
Speaker 0
00:13:15 - 00:13:17
man this is gonna be the best
Speaker 2
00:13:18 - 00:13:19
the
Speaker 0
00:13:19 - 00:13:19
best
Speaker 2
00:13:23 - 00:13:24
in the association.
Speaker 0
00:13:27 - 00:13:45
Listen Rocco Rocco fan out of Ohio and I love Rocco but when we were doing his like three times and he slammed his fist like you know like his feet and he and he muted himself every time And he would be right in the middle when he was really excited and he would go, I mean you know this is high
Speaker 2
00:13:45 - 00:13:46
and we
Speaker 0
00:13:46 - 00:13:50
had the best time anyway so tell us about you know this legislative focus man.
Speaker 1
00:13:51 - 00:14:44
So mike mike's has a big lead in uh mike and walt have a big lead in trying to get that license pushed through. Mike sits on the P. A. One call um board for the state. We also do the with the big push is that is that public sewer lateral inspections. And we're finding a lot of the townships and municipalities are going after that. So there's a big push in a drive where the state has put together this program that a township or municipality can adopt this program to to inspect these lines without making up all these crazy rules because we don't have a state license which really every township, every municipality, You know at the end of the year we have 4050 licenses sitting on our desk that we're paying for
Speaker 1
00:14:45 - 00:14:56
and everybody wants these different rules, especially for this public sewer lateral thing that the E. P. A. Is just saying you have to have but they give no guidelines to, right. So
Speaker 0
00:14:56 - 00:15:10
That's one state state association that standardizing the licensing requirements, you'll have 40 or 50 different townships and they all have tweaks. Is that one of them? They have little little discrepancies or differences or whatever.
Speaker 1
00:15:10 - 00:15:11
They do
Speaker 2
00:15:11 - 00:15:21
different costs. There's 2600 municipalities in Pennsylvania different counties.
Speaker 0
00:15:22 - 00:15:29
So your real major than legislative focus consistently and for years. Right mike.
Speaker 2
00:15:30 - 00:15:34
Yeah. So um when I when I became executive director,
Speaker 0
00:15:35 - 00:15:35
I also
Speaker 2
00:15:35 - 00:16:39
then became a lobbyist for ph C. C. Um um the lobby for a statewide license and we've been so close so many times walt present asking who's our treasurer and he's a U. A. C. Guy, he's a lobbyist for them as well. He and I would go and lobby together for the statewide licensure bill. And that was shocking enough to the legislators who went to their office and sat down in front of me represent open shop and won't represent the union, lobbying for the same thing. And you know what pennsylvania is exactly like Washington right now, it's basically put on party lines regardless of whether they think something is right or wrong. I mean I hate to say it but that's that's just the way it is right now every time the last session, pennsylvania runs two year sessions through legislative sessions,
Speaker 2
00:16:39 - 00:17:35
but they have a lot of breaks in between, so they're not on all the time, but they have a lot of breaks in those two years. So last year we didn't bring it in the last session because of Covid and all that. It's very hard to lobby, you know, without being in face to face whether you're in the local office or in capital Harrisburg's. So um, the year before that session before that, we were very close, we had to fight a real fight in the House and it was the first time we ever got a pass in the house and then the Senate, he got shot down in the Senate. So um, this year we have a freshman senator who's a master plumber who used to be the business manager for the philadelphia plumbers local 69 he introduced the legislation for us. Um, Yeah,
Speaker 2
00:17:36 - 00:18:10
back in july got introduced, but we're nearing the end now on election year, it's in the Senate were trying to get it out of committee. We probably will get it out of committee, but by the time the end of the year comes, you know, staff, we're gonna have to reintroduce it. But you know, the one thing about us and people will say, oh, you know, my dad told me years ago and you know, we were going to get a license, you're not gonna get it. And I said, well we may or we may not get it. But if we don't do anything, you're never gonna get opportunity at
Speaker 0
00:18:10 - 00:18:18
the failure is not trying. And the failure. Exactly. Some things when, you know something is the right thing to do that, you just quit. And so yeah, that's, that's,
Speaker 2
00:18:18 - 00:18:33
you know, and the relationships that we've created just by Lobling for one bill, we have legislators now that call us and ask us opinions on things that are coming through. Uh, the Harrisburg's,
Speaker 0
00:18:34 - 00:19:13
so that, that long term issues just helped you build relationships and we'll talk about that all the time at the national level to make sure that at home you're building relationships with the Washington contingent. So when you go to Washington, it's personal. Instead of just some guy showing up. Okay. Well, I guess you have to be, if, if you're spending all this time trying to actually, I mean licensing is a huge deal for your success of your business is, I mean, if we, I can't imagine in north Carolina if we had different bodies in every city, it would, it would be complete chaos. And so yeah, I guess you've gotten used to it in some ways.
Speaker 1
00:19:13 - 00:19:15
Yeah.
Speaker 0
00:19:16 - 00:19:20
But you know that, that, you know that the state license would fix a lot of that for customers to.
Speaker 2
00:19:21 - 00:19:22
Oh, absolutely. And
Speaker 0
00:19:22 - 00:19:29
it's most of it's about customers because at the end of the day, it'll make it easier for customers to get, get consistency right?
Speaker 1
00:19:30 - 00:19:30
Yeah.
Speaker 2
00:19:30 - 00:19:50
And the other big issue within his reciprocity. So, um, contractors coming into pennsylvania out of state contractors that are more or borders and come in, every municipality will accept their license because it's a state license. Oh yeah, no, they come in and
Speaker 0
00:19:52 - 00:19:54
advantage because you're inside pennsylvania.
Speaker 2
00:19:54 - 00:20:13
Yeah. And it's, it's even if you have a license in the municipality, even if it's in the city of philadelphia or the city of Pittsburgh, which are the two largest cities you cross into Ohio, you cross into New Jersey. You can't, you can't work, you can't bid on it because they won't accept that license.
Speaker 0
00:20:13 - 00:20:26
So what, what would you do, you know, all across the country, we're seeing things like this, go on. What, what would you recommend as a board and you know, and, and an exact to help with that focus on legislative.
Speaker 2
00:20:27 - 00:20:51
So we, we've done days at the hill and we've had representatives from national come up. Um, this is really, it's not too far from, from, you know, Falls Church to Harrisburg's and then we've had letters and the Grassroot letter writing campaigns is a big, big help because all we gotta do is call up, we'll get the wink and send it out, it's done
Speaker 0
00:20:51 - 00:20:54
Valentini is a rock star in pennsylvania.
Speaker 2
00:20:55 - 00:21:05
Yeah. So, um, well, we haven't had in too much of his last session last two years, you know, which was two years, we didn't really do any campaigning for it, but it's coming.
Speaker 0
00:21:05 - 00:21:08
Okay, well, we'll make sure he's on board. So listen, let's,
Speaker 2
00:21:08 - 00:21:12
he's always asking me about very, very into So nationals
Speaker 0
00:21:12 - 00:21:25
helped you tremendously over the years with fighting that battle that I like. The letter writing is a massive thing and it's helped us in north Carolina a lot and all across the country. Okay. You got anything to add to that larry or
Speaker 1
00:21:25 - 00:21:40
it's that and money. It's trying to get that pac fund built up. That's gonna be our next thing that we're really working on because everybody else that we're fighting against and that's a
Speaker 0
00:21:40 - 00:22:00
really good point to not wait till the last minute to try to raise that money either be consistent in that I see that, you know, we'll have what we think something's coming all of a sudden and we're going to raise a bunch of money instead of being consistent on that across the board. Yeah. Okay. So I want to switch gears. Give us uh, give us something that nobody knows about you guys that they would want to know.
Speaker 2
00:22:01 - 00:22:02
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2
00:22:04 - 00:22:07
You really want. Want us to say something like God on this thing.
Speaker 0
00:22:07 - 00:22:11
All right, help me out amy, I'm gonna get I need to get my picture up here. Go ahead. What?
Speaker 2
00:22:12 - 00:22:22
So a lot of my, my friends know me, but I don't know about my PhD see friends, but I am a lifetime and Hallmark channel junky
Speaker 0
00:22:22 - 00:22:24
Hallmark channel junkie.
Speaker 2
00:22:24 - 00:22:29
Oh yeah, the movies, especially christmas time I watched him over and over
Speaker 1
00:22:29 - 00:22:30
my,
Speaker 2
00:22:30 - 00:22:35
my wife and kids are like, tell me I'm insane. Oh my
Speaker 0
00:22:35 - 00:22:36
gosh, You're kidding.
Speaker 2
00:22:36 - 00:22:37
No,
Speaker 0
00:22:37 - 00:22:38
I wouldn't have shared. I would not have shared that.
Speaker 2
00:22:44 - 00:22:47
Alright. I'm pretty
Speaker 1
00:22:47 - 00:22:57
much, I'm pretty much an open book, you know, there's not really much new people. I hunt, I fish, I go off, I'm a horrible golfer, but I'm a little bit of a
Speaker 0
00:22:59 - 00:23:00
yeah, it
Speaker 1
00:23:00 - 00:23:02
worked. Yeah, but you know,
Speaker 0
00:23:03 - 00:23:03
a little bit of a property
Speaker 1
00:23:03 - 00:23:12
and I got, I got some storage stuff if anything would happen, you know? But yeah, just so
Speaker 0
00:23:12 - 00:23:15
how much of a prepper? I mean, I want to know
Speaker 1
00:23:17 - 00:23:28
a couple of months of food, you know guys. Yeah. You know that the house is pretty much sustainable. I'm about battery short of being totally being able to cut off from whatever.
Speaker 0
00:23:29 - 00:23:42
Okay. So, I mean, I'm, I'm, we have a couple of months of food too. But that's probably a lot more food for me than it is you. So I did that. Maybe I maybe more of a prepper than you are. So can you see this screen that I've got up? Can you see my screen?
Speaker 0
00:23:44 - 00:23:49
So mike? I, this is, I want to, I want you to explain this. This is the kind of stuff we need to know,
Speaker 2
00:23:50 - 00:24:46
But that both, uh, 18 scoops of chocolate ice cream there. So I was always up for challenges. First off, I'm a chocoholic. Everybody, everybody knows that about me. So my chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, chocolate candy, I love it. But chocolate ice cream is my favorite. So my brother went to this restaurant with his wife one day and they had this thing on the menu and it was for dessert, it was for four people and it was called the Kitchen Sink. And he came home and he told me about it. He's like, I don't think he'd be able to do this. And I said, well I think I could. Thanks. So we, we scheduled at night, we went back down, my wife and I with my brother and his wife, we ate dinner, Jack the booth and
Speaker 2
00:24:47 - 00:25:24
dessert came and the girl came out and says, you know, you guys want anything for dessert. And I said, yeah, I said I'm gonna try that kitchen sink. She's like for you. I said, yeah, for me, she said for the table, you mean I said no. I said I'm gonna get it. I said I'd like to just have it all chocolate if I could because it was various ice cream and different scoops and she's like, okay. And they brought it out And it took me it was probably one of the toughest things I had to eat. But I did it 30 minutes. I'm telling you, my wife was not happy with
Speaker 0
00:25:26 - 00:25:28
your wife was not happy. So
Speaker 2
00:25:28 - 00:25:32
it was very good and I ate the whole thing
Speaker 0
00:25:32 - 00:25:42
so. So that's the best thing we're gonna do today, I promise you. So uh yeah, I don't know, brothers say it was your brother?
Speaker 2
00:25:43 - 00:25:43
Yeah, that's my brother.
Speaker 0
00:25:43 - 00:25:59
Brothers will get you in trouble man, My younger brother get me in trouble with stuff like that, so. Oh god, I'm sorry. Well when you sent me that picture that I had, I had to show that that's the best thing ever. Uh Alright. Larry anything besides the prepping, anything else
Speaker 1
00:25:59 - 00:25:59
we
Speaker 0
00:25:59 - 00:26:00
don't eat ice cream, Like
Speaker 1
00:26:00 - 00:26:03
I work a lot, you know that's that's about it.
Speaker 0
00:26:04 - 00:26:06
I under I understand. So
Speaker 1
00:26:08 - 00:26:08
yeah,
Speaker 0
00:26:08 - 00:26:44
mike when we talked about um some of the successes you guys have going on, you know, something really jumped out at me and and I've heard it all across the country, this whole thing about figuring out how to market ph c c and figure out how to help our contractors. You know, a lot of a lot of different pieces about how to recruit people, how to, you know, how to change the not change, but how to improve the narrative. You know, we have this narrative that coming into the trades and kids going to college instead of going to college. And you got some, so can you talk about, you know, your your videos for a minute and then I want to play one of them.
Speaker 2
00:26:44 - 00:26:44
Mhm.
Speaker 0
00:26:46 - 00:26:46
So that was
Speaker 2
00:26:46 - 00:27:15
um that was really larry's um idea on trying to come up with a different way to market. Um Different groups of people. Some of the videos are pretty similar. We have four of them, but they target young adults, they target career changers, parents and contractors. But Larry can probably speak onto them because that was really his baking. Really,
Speaker 0
00:27:15 - 00:27:21
really good idea. We knew it wasn't yours, mike. So Larry, it had to be somebody else's great. So talk, talk about it. I mean, Larry,
Speaker 1
00:27:22 - 00:27:30
we just need a way to get more students to the school, get that word out. I'm on a lot of oa seaboards,
Speaker 0
00:27:30 - 00:27:32
what's
Speaker 1
00:27:33 - 00:28:21
um advisory boards, advisory boards for the Vortex, we have a lot of biotech schools here that I found out that isn't norm across the country, right? I'm big in recruiting, we have a lot of apprentices that would come in here. We train, I don't have a people problem, We train in house and I recruit from all the schools, so I need that constant influx and people going to the apprenticeship schools and this is a way if we can get them to the P. A. C. C. And we can grow, it helps the local association because that school grows, there's money coming in there, that's a profit center to do other things and once they're in there and those students are there that they know about the ph D. C. They're there, they know the whole story.
Speaker 1
00:28:22 - 00:28:36
You can get the contractors in that. It's easier to get contractors if you don't have that school. It's really hard to show that value of that ph. D. C. Right there in front you know and it's all about that value. We see
Speaker 0
00:28:36 - 00:29:03
that once a lot of kids today too we see uh they really haven't done much hands on. It's a different than when we grew up. You know we were always messing with our cars or we were or maybe you know it's probably our fault as parents that we were trying to do too much for them. You know your dad said yeah okay whatever you need to figure it out you know and I think now we try to help them too much sometimes. But we see these kids once they get their hands on something a lot of times
Speaker 0
00:29:03 - 00:29:24
and they see that they can make something or improve something or do or make something work. They they just they it's amazing how quick they take to it. So we when you're there so I can let's play that video let's let's play that. I just I quit trying. Amy's gonna just do it because if I mess with let's play this video that you guys sent and look look at that. Might look at that. Look at that.
Speaker 2
00:29:24 - 00:29:26
Look at that names
Speaker 3
00:29:31 - 00:30:00
looking for a career that combines technology and hands on mechanical knowledge went great pay and work in a field where nearly one million jobs are expected by 2029 graduates of the P. A. P. H. C. C. Registered plumbing and H. Vac apprentice programs earned their journeyman's license and that leads to more opportunities and higher pay and that's not even the best part you earn while you learn no debt, more pay, job placement and attractive career opportunities await visit P A P H C C dot org to learn more and enroll today
Speaker 0
00:30:01 - 00:30:04
wow, you gotta like that, don't you?
Speaker 2
00:30:04 - 00:30:08
No, we love it. They turned out great. Yeah, we're super happy
Speaker 1
00:30:08 - 00:30:09
on how they turned out.
Speaker 0
00:30:09 - 00:30:15
So you're showing that where how are you getting that out? Social media,
Speaker 1
00:30:15 - 00:30:28
social media. It's on all the digital platforms. It is we were showing on Comcast which is one of the cable companies up here for our local and
Speaker 0
00:30:28 - 00:30:29
bucks is
Speaker 1
00:30:29 - 00:30:36
gonna show it Philly suburban. So the three schools in pennsylvania put the funds together to put this together.
Speaker 0
00:30:37 - 00:30:41
So you got sponsors basically that all the three your three schools.
Speaker 2
00:30:42 - 00:30:43
So we
Speaker 1
00:30:43 - 00:30:47
have three brick and mortar schools in pennsylvania and then we have the online school.
Speaker 0
00:30:47 - 00:31:14
So the the outcome for this is you guys would highly recommend the other associations across the country to figure out how to do something similar to this to to get the professional view and I don't know we we've got some videos at PCC nationals with but use those kind of videos to project such an image. I I loved the those kids on the stage throwing their stuff around and smiling and you know, and then our professional, the kid looked with the suit on. I mean it's just a really great image.
Speaker 2
00:31:14 - 00:31:41
We make that kind of a requirement at the and each school has their own graduation so they don't all graduate the same spot. But all three schools are having their graduates and we make it be a big deal for them and they can't show up in jeans and a shirt, you know, because their parents are there and all that and, and, and in the end, you see, you know, celebrating it's just like they, you know, they graduated college
Speaker 0
00:31:42 - 00:31:42
and
Speaker 2
00:31:42 - 00:31:45
they don't have the debt. Mhm. Jump,
Speaker 0
00:31:46 - 00:31:56
Yeah, that's a that's your parents love that's what we're seeing. Parents just absolutely love that they're being able to, they start their career, they get moving to get out of the house and they don't have debt and that and that a great format.
Speaker 1
00:31:56 - 00:31:58
It's it's incredible. I mean,
Speaker 0
00:31:58 - 00:32:00
they, they hug you more than the kids do, don't they
Speaker 1
00:32:01 - 00:32:14
get in that mindset change the years and the years and the years of, you know, that everybody went that went down in the trades is like, you know, the dummy kind of thing, you know, so it's getting that mindset out. It's it's getting out there. It's starting to change.
Speaker 0
00:32:14 - 00:32:23
Yeah, we're seeing it too. It's a great stuff on that. The other videos and they're similar, but they, any any different twist on those that are important.
Speaker 2
00:32:24 - 00:32:42
They just, just in the beginning, like, and I can send you so you can just view them anyway when you want. Um, the one for contractors just starts out, you know, you're looking for, you know, trainable apprentices or whatever it's geared towards the company. And then the other one goes to the parents
Speaker 1
00:32:43 - 00:32:44
and
Speaker 2
00:32:44 - 00:32:48
So by the way, will be on the homework Channel two in my area.
Speaker 1
00:32:48 - 00:32:49
Of course,
Speaker 0
00:32:49 - 00:33:14
of course, you will uh, wear a coat. Uh, the at the time, the, I guess the other thing I was gonna mention, talk about you, you told me that, y'all, and I've heard this across the country, people try to come um, our association is trying to do it and you've developed an app, uh, for pennsylvania, correct. Talk about the purpose of that and what you're trying to do with it.
Speaker 1
00:33:15 - 00:34:06
So again, it was all about the value and communication across the board. Previously, nobody knew what any other local was doing any other events. It was all that email chain and that was about it to get to get that value for these younger members and try to, we weren't, we weren't collecting those younger young business owners, right, That was a hard market to grab this kind of, gets them involved. They know exactly what's going on all over the place, they can share their stories on there. They can ask for advice. They can, if we have events, they can pay for it. They're they're not worried about bringing a check, They know what it is, they can see who's showing up. We can post all that on their uh, oh our vendors can post things on there,
Speaker 1
00:34:07 - 00:34:55
we can have trainings that can be shown right on that app and that it's just utilized just for a communication tool all the way through. And there's a thing, even our company, there's a group setting on there that we use on a daily basis. What trains are happening each day, if there's a snow delay, if there's, if somebody gets a review, they get that boy or somebody has something really good, something happens. You know, we use that as a communication tool goes out. You can post on there and only our company's on that one part and that can be shared throughout the ph C C. So we can divvy this up that each state can have their own division. They can either look at everything going on throughout the uh, the United States or has taken
Speaker 1
00:34:55 - 00:35:40
have it that they just see the state stuff and every state can have their own locals on there. And the communication can be right across the board for, for every state and this, this has been going on. So I had on the phone, we had the first um, test run when Albuquerque was around when we were at the Albuquerque connection to Hunter biden down there and it was, it was brand new. We just had it and we just, this is, it's been going on for that long, you know, and it took about a year and a half before that. Yeah, about a year. And happy for Albuquerque is when we started this.
Speaker 0
00:35:40 - 00:35:42
Okay, so
Speaker 2
00:35:42 - 00:35:43
mike, what
Speaker 0
00:35:43 - 00:35:48
what do you think the outcome for you with that app?
Speaker 2
00:35:48 - 00:36:18
So we are, we finally, it took us a while to get people too sign up, you know, download the app, get on it. Um, so I also run a plumbing school in one of the locals and that is our only ways of communication now and made all the students had to download the app when schools closed or structure needs to change something or question everything goes through that
Speaker 0
00:36:19 - 00:36:22
groups. You're using that groups piece on that, is that right?
Speaker 2
00:36:22 - 00:36:49
Yeah. Using the groups. And so the apprentices have their own group where they can talk with each other and we can say it larry and I as administrators, but the apprentices can't see anything that we're talking about or any anything that's private. So they have their own thing. So somebody's, you know, doing something that, you know, isn't really good for the app or it should be broadcast across there. We can shut it down
Speaker 1
00:36:49 - 00:37:02
as an admin. So if if let's say you're the your company would have that, that app. You you get a sign that admin, sure we won't see it at all. Then you you're the only one that
Speaker 0
00:37:02 - 00:37:25
each company can have its own admin. So, okay, so you're, it's really turned into a massive communication platform for your members later, you said to show value. So the association is taking something and run with it that now other companies in your association can use and a lot of different levels beyond just the association.
Speaker 2
00:37:26 - 00:37:47
So we have, we have our annual trade shows coming up in May and it's in person this year and the way to sign up is on the app, the vendors have been signing up on their everything, you know, Larry puts most of the stuff up there. Once we have the forms done, they just go on and purchase the, the, the boost right there. It's a really streamlined
Speaker 0
00:37:47 - 00:37:55
instead of you doing stuff online. It's streamlined like on a one on your website, it's really streamlined the communication and all that,
Speaker 2
00:37:55 - 00:37:57
yep. And before,
Speaker 1
00:37:57 - 00:38:30
when we had just a local meeting, so the, the Treasurer or the Secretary of the Treasury would be getting texts, emails, whatever somebody would call him up. Hey, I'm going to show up. I'm not gonna show up and it was this huge process. Right? So now everybody just goes on that we got everybody, almost everybody right, go on that they pay for it, we know who it is, it's there, Everybody can see who signed up. Everybody can see his name. It's it's there. And the payments. Do your
Speaker 0
00:38:30 - 00:38:47
locals sorry to interrupt. I don't mean the but the locals have their own chat. Is that how it works to you? You've got so many layers that really streamlines their communication. But then it's all coming through the State association. In reality by it's provided by the state. Is that?
Speaker 1
00:38:49 - 00:38:56
And there is a total timeline on there that you can post the everything or you can just post to where your local is. Do you
Speaker 0
00:38:56 - 00:39:07
mind if you if you do just tell me, I know mike mike's not bashful but you know, give us some kind of budget for like a state association that wanted to do something like this. What would be a ballpark to get started? You know
Speaker 1
00:39:08 - 00:39:10
if you wanted to start your own or if you
Speaker 0
00:39:10 - 00:39:11
wanted to be.
Speaker 1
00:39:12 - 00:39:28
So we have about $50,000 in tars. Yeah. Yeah. But we're letting we will set this up to run your state Right with this for 199 a month. So you
Speaker 0
00:39:28 - 00:39:33
so you've got a path for all the state associations to to use this
Speaker 1
00:39:34 - 00:39:36
four years.
Speaker 0
00:39:37 - 00:39:43
All kind of headaches. Okay, well that is great. So great advice and help on that. And uh
Speaker 1
00:39:43 - 00:39:54
okay, one more thing in there. Right, so they can actually make uh they can put vendors in there as advertisements to actually make that $199 back.
Speaker 0
00:39:54 - 00:39:58
Okay. So it becomes
Speaker 2
00:39:58 - 00:40:03
that that state users would have paid for it.
Speaker 0
00:40:03 - 00:40:15
That's a great outcome of this, of this podcast. Good grief. So any other advice on that marketing, those two kind of marketing things for other associations? If they say, okay, I want to do something like this. How to get started? Just call you. Is that the best thing?
Speaker 1
00:40:16 - 00:40:21
Yeah. Call me, email me me or mike. Okay.
Speaker 0
00:40:21 - 00:40:34
Alright. And so look up in the directory and uh and look up larry and mike and the Ph D. C. Director, which is a great magazine and well, and they'll help you. That's awesome. Okay. Um So guys, I was going to say anything else on that.
Speaker 1
00:40:35 - 00:40:44
Not that I don't think it's it's a growing process. There's a lot more moving parts coming with it. Um So we're just yeah, it's still growing
Speaker 0
00:40:44 - 00:41:09
well guys, we're about 45 minutes in and I've been told that if we go much longer than that, uh we we get a little nuts around here. So we we try to do that. But I do you know, we do every just about every time. Talk about most of the leaders in PHC. See that I see read uh or some of them just look at pictures. But do you guys any any I asked about, you know any reading or anything. Do you you got any anything you've been reading?
Speaker 1
00:41:11 - 00:41:14
Um The last thing I read was one minute manager
Speaker 0
00:41:14 - 00:41:15
a couple of
Speaker 1
00:41:15 - 00:41:23
minutes a couple months ago. That's a good book. It's like the third time I read it. You know those those little things I besides that
Speaker 0
00:41:24 - 00:41:34
angry Larry, you know what I mean? Because they're so simple and accurate, you know what I mean? You read them and you go, yeah, I'm not, I could do so much better. You know what you know what I mean?
Speaker 1
00:41:34 - 00:41:36
Yeah.
Speaker 0
00:41:36 - 00:41:38
And what else do you read? A lot of you said you
Speaker 1
00:41:38 - 00:41:55
just I put a lot of power points together. I do most of the trainings in the house. So I'm reading a lot of just getting the training skater putting power points. That's where all my reading time is going. I don't, you know, besides I don't usually read books or novels or things like that.
Speaker 0
00:41:55 - 00:42:08
The tech the strategy just just the pieces and components of technical stuff. You read a lot of. Okay, alright. I can't I fall asleep man. All right mike. What about you? You got picture books, don't you?
Speaker 2
00:42:08 - 00:42:10
What's that? What kind you got
Speaker 0
00:42:10 - 00:42:11
picture books, don't you?
Speaker 2
00:42:11 - 00:42:49
Yeah, well pretty much that's what it is. So first off if I do start to read a book, I fall asleep. So just like you just said it's hard for me to do that. I've never really been a book reader except that when I had to but you know more recently now I am breathing just you know books with pictures like I think the last book I read with my grandson Connor was paul control. It's pretty neat. A lot of pictures in there. You know, I'm I'm learning a lot from my grandson, but I really am not a reader unless he comes and gets on my lap and wants to read the book.
Speaker 0
00:42:49 - 00:42:50
That's that's a pretty
Speaker 2
00:42:50 - 00:42:52
that's a
Speaker 0
00:42:52 - 00:43:33
pretty good deal. I remember those days. That's a pretty good deal. Okay. Uh I do have one. I was gonna recommend uh Good. It's a book called Good Strategy, Bad Strategy. Uh The difference and why it matters is is by a guy Richard Romel and I've read about half of it. But uh last week there's a chapter in there talking about chain length systems, chains and how, you know, all of our teams and everything are only as good as the weakest link. And it just struck a chord with me because you know, we spend all this time building all these teams and all this stuff and trying to get better and get better and get better in our businesses and our associations. But then there's one weak link
Speaker 0
00:43:33 - 00:44:01
and a lot of times we ignore that weak link because it may be that maybe it's a difficult conversation or you know, there's a little bit of, well maybe we don't know how to handle it. You know, Larry, I think in your training, you know, you so you end up trying to make the other the parts that are already working well, you keep working on them and you've got this weak link over here that's killing you. And it comes apart and I just that really struck a curve with a nerve with me. So just if you get a chance to read that book, it's uh, and I'm not through it all the way yet. But the parts I've read are pretty,
Speaker 0
00:44:02 - 00:44:16
I don't know, pretty, pretty impressive on the, on how to visualize things and I need visualization, I need pictures mike. I need a lot of pictures. So guys, listen, I've enjoyed anything else. Uh, anything else you want to add in in closing?
Speaker 2
00:44:17 - 00:44:25
I think, um, you know, all your podcasts, I enjoy listening to him and I think you're doing a great job as our president,
Speaker 1
00:44:25 - 00:44:27
definitely. You're doing an awesome job
Speaker 0
00:44:27 - 00:44:34
mike. I'll tell you. Thanks both of you. I, you know, it's been pretty humbling. Getting to know people better.
Speaker 1
00:44:35 - 00:44:35
You know,
Speaker 0
00:44:35 - 00:45:00
we in today's world with Covid and everything. I it's been a blessing for me to get to listen to your stories, everybody's stories and just take some time. But you know, I think Covid's actually helped us some because we didn't do this kind of stuff before. We wouldn't have had these kind of opportunities to talk like we do in this kind of format and have other people see it. So I've been, I've been blessed and I will, I have to give credit to my brother. He is doing local podcast here and that's where I got the idea. Don't tell him I said that, but
Speaker 2
00:45:00 - 00:45:02
but He
Speaker 0
00:45:02 - 00:45:35
he's done 42 this year in our community talking about the great things going on in our county and he is, he is, he's 10 times better at it than I am. But I, so I I was very fortunate. It's kind of fell into place because of that. So yeah, it's been great. So, thank you so much. I do have to tell you the guys, y'all, what you shared today is very and I hope you understand that's very impactful for other associations to see a path to go get things done. Like you're doing the videos and the, you know, a lot of times it's simple things you do a video and that's not simple necessarily
Speaker 0
00:45:36 - 00:46:10
to implement. But the idea of doing a video that resonates that you can reuse and reuse is a great idea. And then this app mike, how long have you heard about apps? So we gotta do it again, but not knowing how to do it. So I'm sure you're going to get some feedback and and direction from other people. So listen guys, I just want to thank you. It's been a, it's been a real blessing today to uh spend some time with you and we have really enjoyed it. So, all of you out there, thanks for taking time to listen to our podcast today. And I do have to say that uh, mike and Larry are from the great state of pennsylvania and it's only second to north Carolina. And uh,
Speaker 0
00:46:10 - 00:46:37
and well, I'm sorry and and Tennessee and Georgia, I've been told that if I don't say that in a minute gig anyway, you know that deal much. But uh, guys, listen, thank you so much. And uh, if you get a chance, look up our other podcast and make sure you go to uh, track this one down on Spotify and other platforms and instagram and other platforms. And guys hope you have a great week and a great month and look forward to it. And thanks for all the time. We'll see you soon.
Speaker 2
00:46:37 - 00:46:44
Thank you. Yeah.