WEBVTT - 10-17-25 Sloan with John Strawser and Amanda Smith 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.880 Don't want to be in a Mafican Friday morning. 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.960 Slowly back with you on seven hundred WLW savoring and 0:00:06.040 --> 0:00:08.600 the delicious tiredness of a who day win, which is 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:11.840 the opposite we've had in the past and Friday mornings. 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:13.920 I like to talk about a variety of different things 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:16.880 and not all newsy or I should say bad news. 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:19.200 He related some of this good news out there, believe 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:21.320 it or not, despite what we've been talking about, including 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:24.400 last night shooting, and that would be this. We're making 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:25.680 progress in a lot of areas. 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:25.880 You know. 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:28.360 We talked about the Duke Energy Convention Center going back 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:30.560 online and that's going to reopen, and the hotel is 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:33.879 about to be started as well, and then you talk about, hey, 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:36.360 maybe a new arena, and of course the Brent Spence 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:38.840 Bridge project is just about to be in full swing. 0:00:38.880 --> 0:00:40.920 It'll be orange barrel hell for a few years, but 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:43.640 the end result is worth it. No more traffic jams 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:46.720 in Mayhem over the Ohio River. But to do all 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:49.239 those things you did and you still need and in 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.159 the future will need bodies to do it. And of 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:54.160 course one of my causes here on the show is 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:57.200 construction traits. I'm a SICKA fan for it because I 0:00:57.280 --> 0:00:59.240 realized that not everyone should go to school. I was 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:02.880 one of those people, you know, but I got in 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:04.959 back in the day when nell you needed was a 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.080 check and a number two pencil. And today it's a 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:09.959 lot harder. The stakes are much higher, and we know 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:11.800 people are going to the debt and now they're looking 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.000 for the government and US taxpayer to bail them out 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:15.200 because the model is broken. 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:16.400 So what about the trades? 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:20.440 Don't we understand we're making some inroads here locally, but 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:22.959 at the same time, there's so much more to do. 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:25.959 And on that is John Strasser, my buddy John Strasser, 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:29.920 former CEO of Valley Interior Systems and Spirit of Construction 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:32.600 fellow board member for a long time. He's been doing 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:35.000 it since two thousand and three. And Amanda Smith is 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.760 the executive director of the Spirit of Construction Foundation. Welcome, guys, 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:38.160 How are you? 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:38.840 How is everybody? 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:39.760 Amanda? 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:44.000 Welcome in? Who day? Baby? Who Day? Got a man 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:48.640 as mic on day? Is that it is that? 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:48.920 It? 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:49.640 Hi? 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:50.160 Hi? 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:52.800 Yeah, I don't know. It's technology. We have no idea 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:54.640 what we're doing over here at LW. We have no idea. 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.640 We're really bad at it. We're in communications business. How 0:01:57.640 --> 0:01:58.040 are you doing? 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.120 We're not very good at it? You guys. How's everything, John? 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:02.240 I know you're at the game last night. 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.320 Yeah yeah, well worth the late evening. 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:09.720 Yeah, gotcha, And it was fun to watch on TV. 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:11.760 So I got to bed before you did. But anyway, 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:15.440 let's start with the need first of all. I know 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:18.520 that we've made progress, and I'll start with you in 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:20.600 this ghen real quick and then we may progress and 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:23.079 getting people in the trades are starting to but there's 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:24.280 still a lot more to be done. 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.119 Right, There's a lot to be done with the retirement 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:29.720 age coming down a little bit in the trades, and 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:33.560 the shorte of people getting interested in the trades. Last 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:36.160 check I saw was we're sure about a million trades 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:37.400 people across the United States. 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:40.200 Yeah yeah, and that number continues to grow despite younger 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:41.840 people going hey, I want to get into the trades 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:42.200 as well. 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:43.760 I brought that opportune in Cincinnati. 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:45.239 Is that you know, we hear about hey, there's no 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:47.679 job opportunity, there's no opportunity for and what do you 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:49.120 expect when kids are going to go in the street 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.040 and try to hustle make money. We see these shootings 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:53.959 until I'll relate the stupid beefs and they're not working 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.680 and they're getting off the bus. And we've got all 0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:58.440 these job we're building the bridge right now, about to 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:00.880 embark on this great You're gonna need thousands of jobs 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:03.040 out there. I mean, and I've said this before to 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:06.320 the influencer, decision makers and the shits stakeholders are going, well, 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:07.000 we just need. 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:08.360 More job their jobs right. 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:11.080 Literally, you guys will train people and put them to 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:12.359 work the same day, won't you. 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:13.160 We will. 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.800 And we're actually starting in the fifth grade to starting 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:18.760 your kids through the trades, through some of the curriculum 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.480 we're dealing with, and we're getting exposed to educated towards 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:25.320 and trained to have a job, a job ready come 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:26.000 senior year. 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.000 Yeah, And there's no outline either. It's like we hook 0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:30.520 you up with the tools, we get to the training, 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.480 we own the job. You're making money. My nephew who 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:36.800 moved here from Oregon is is going to ic to 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.200 be an electrician, and so he works during the day 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:41.240 and then a night or two a week they send 0:03:41.280 --> 0:03:43.120 him to school to learn how to become an electrician. 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.080 He doesn't pay for anything. He's making money along the way, 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:48.520 and there's so many those opportunities out there. Heating, ventilating, 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:50.440 air conditioning. Work with my guys in the grimmy group, 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:53.040 same thing. They do classes there to teach people with 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:56.480 daycon how to do AC and within eight weeks they're 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.200 on the job, they're making money. Plenty of opportunities like 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:01.200 that in Cincinnati, and I'm so tired of hearing about 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:02.040 there's no opportunity. 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:06.280 Yeah, the opportunities are you name the trade, plumbers, electricians, 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:10.360 mechanical painters, finishers. I mean, everybody needs workers right now. 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:15.400 And the push to get the kids exposed is making 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:16.240 making a big difference. 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:16.520 Yeah. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.240 Really, let's turn to the Spirit of Construction Foundation, Amanda, 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:21.839 and were you come in where we came into to 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:24.279 try and bridge that app with scholarships and learning and 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:25.440 getting programs and schools. 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:26.080 Let's start with that. 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:29.760 I know when I was a board member with John, 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:31.320 I know the big thing was, hey, we got in 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:32.000 a woodward, you know. 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:34.320 We got shopped through the class back. But that's grown 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:35.960 beyond that, right absolutely. 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:36.560 So. 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:39.520 The Spirit of Construction was started back in nineteen ninety 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.880 six as a way to recognize and celebrate the construction industry, 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:46.200 and that was initially done through our annual gala. And 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:49.800 John here actually is one of our Lifetime Achievement Award 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.320 winners this year. So every year at the annual Gala, 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:56.240 we give out a Lifetime Achievement Award. What makes John's 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:59.320 award so special this year is that his dad also 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:02.360 won the Life Time Achievement war back in nineteen ninety nine, 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.920 so he's actually a second generation Lifetime honorees. So we're 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:09.400 very excited to celebrate John at our gala this year. 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:11.200 So what you're saying is John's old. 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:14.440 I'm saying John's a big deal, is what I'm saying. 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:18.560 John's amazing in his ego. He knows what we know, 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.400 what he's done. But it just means you're It's just 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.200 a nice way of saying, damn, you're old or a 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:24.320 buffaloed a lot of people. 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:28.279 Now, no one's more deserving because because honestly working alongside 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:30.480 you for a few years and just watching you the machine, 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:32.960 that's the chance. I mean, he really, John's the guy 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:34.920 who really drove this whole thing, and that's it's really 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:36.279 cool to see and it's a well deserved. 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:38.040 So congratulations, So we're. 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:41.720 Excited so what started out as having an annual gala 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:45.640 has grown into what it is today. And so beyond 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:50.040 the Gala, which is our major fundraiser, all net proceeds 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:52.720 from that gala go to three buckets of work that 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:57.240 we invest in, scholarships, workforce development, and we give out 0:05:57.320 --> 0:06:00.960 mini grants to nonprofits focused on workforce development within the 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:02.520 construction industry right. 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:05.680 And those grants are nice because you look at the 0:06:05.720 --> 0:06:09.479 organizations and that benefit from that is, you know, it's 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:11.640 girls Scouts. So you go through the list here of 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:14.520 organizations that get that and go, hey, we're putting these 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:17.440 programs in. We're doing summer school, like a class where 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:19.839 kids can do hands on building stuff and you know, 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:22.760 use power tools from Milwaukee and you know, drill holes 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:25.040 and boards and see how buildings are put together. And 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:26.800 when you have the house of hands on kid right 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.520 as the more tactile than than just sitting there and 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:32.160 wrote memorization. Had you done that for me, I think 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:33.719 I would be I would have been in the trades. 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:35.200 And I've been doing this, which a lot of people 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:37.000 listening and say, well, I really wish we could do 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:39.919 that in a tough way back machine. But some of 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:42.920 us learn just by looking at it. And we're finally 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:44.760 doing that. We're finally learning how to teach and reach 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.120 these kids. And you wonder, John, how many kids over 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:49.760 the years may have dropped out of school or said I, I, I, 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:52.400 this isn't for me because we're just sitting there and 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:54.520 it's the same way we all learned is here's a teacher, 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:56.479 here's a white boarder blackboard. Here, you're gonna have to 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:58.520 memorize this. Look in the book, it's all theory. You 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:01.640 put the practical thing in. This is why you need 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:04.600 shop math, for example, which you helped get into schools. 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:07.159 It's reaching so many kids would fall into the cracks before. 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:07.800 It's incredible. 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:10.400 Yeah, we're teaching kids how to take a tape measure 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:12.280 and say half inch plus three quarters is one and 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.600 a quarter. You and I understand that because we use 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:16.720 a tape measure almost every day in the jobs and 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:18.680 the trades, were the work we're doing around our homes. 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.880 And by getting the kids exposed to this, we think 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:23.680 that it's close to fifty percent of every student in 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:26.600 the classroom as a visual learner, yeah, not a book learner. 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:30.520 And the school system does not teach or focus on 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:32.840 these kind of kids. And now that we're doing it, 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:35.040 we're gaining the opportunity putting a tape measure in their hand. 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:37.480 Their eyes are opening up, they're understanding, they're looking up 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:40.480 into the sky at this and understanding that, Hey, science 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:42.360 ties in with math, and now a sudden, their grades 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:45.560 are accelerating their attending class and it's making a difference. 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:47.960 Yeah, like algebra, I don't know numbers and letters, why 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:49.840 do they need to go together? But you know, you 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:53.120 start doing calculations, you start doing like your roof, slopes 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.040 and stairs, and it's like, oh, I get it. Now 0:07:56.080 --> 0:07:58.520 this is where it's applicable in the real world. And 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:00.600 I there was never that connection we're going to school, 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:01.600 and now there is. 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:04.240 Yeah, and it's making a big difference. In the end, 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:06.920 we're seeing kids come into the trades now with a 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:07.600 direct impact. 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:08.240 Now, it takes time. 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:10.640 I mean when you start teaching in fifth grade, you 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:12.560 know you've got a seven year process to get them 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.840 through where they become the correct nation to being hired. 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.760 But we're now, after the years of work we put in, 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.320 we're starting to have kids now make that jump to 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:23.760 the trades. 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:24.560 Yeah. 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:26.480 Again, it's a man a Smith, the executive director of 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.320 Spiritual Construction Foundation, and John Strass are the former CEO 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:31.360 of Valley Interiors here in Cincinnati, but they're all over 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:34.080 the state. A board member there since two thousand and three, 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:35.440 and he's going to be an honoree this year at 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:37.079 the gala, which is coming up on the twenty. 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:40.280 Fifth, right, that's right next Saturday, full house, full house, 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:43.240 record number thirteen hundred folks done at the Northern Kentucky 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:47.880 Convention Center. Next year is our thirtieth annual gala, so we're. 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:48.560 Excited about that. 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:53.319 But all proceeds from the gala actually are reinvested as 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:56.960 a foundation. We are a funder and we reinvest those 0:08:56.960 --> 0:09:00.000 dollars back into workforce development within the trades and construction. 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:01.880 So part of that a scholarships you have went into 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:04.559 like like seven hundred thousand dollars of years in scholarships, 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:05.199 that's right. 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:07.840 So we've been doing scholarships since two thousand and four. 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:11.080 We started by giving out scholarships at University of Cincinnati. 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:14.760 This year alone, we gave out twenty five scholarships seventy 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:18.640 eight thousand dollars, and those scholarships are first students at 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:23.240 NKU and UC that are looking at construction management Cincinnati 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:26.120 State as well. And then we also give scholarships to 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:30.400 military veterans that are looking at getting into construction. And 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:32.560 for the first time ever this year we gave out 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:37.960 skilled trade scholarships, so that's anyone that's interested in getting 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:41.160 enrolled or as an incentive to keep them enrolled in 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.960 skilled trades. So we're really proud of our scholarship program. 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:48.120 Since two thousand and four, we've given out two hundred 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:49.760 and seventy eight scholarships. 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:51.960 Yeah, and it's cool now because you get people fighting 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:53.520 for the scholarship and saying, hey, we're doing this this 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:55.680 and it's not a bating war, but you know, you 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:57.720 want to see worthy best bank for the bucket's going 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:00.280 to be. But it makes all those entities be sharp 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:02.560 at what they're doing. Their focus, of course, is getting 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:04.560 young people in the construction strads and I'm so happy 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:06.959 to see that we are getting fifth graders now interested 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.520 in there. It used to be a tough sell to 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.720 school public schools in Cincinnati John where they're like, yeah, 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:14.640 you know we were find the way, where no, you're not. 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:16.920 You're missing all these kids and it's so sad to 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:18.400 me to think over the years, how many kids were 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:20.679 lost that they may have turned to a life. I mean, 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:22.319 so let's face it, you know, you fall through the cracks, 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:23.960 you drop out a school, life is it's not going 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:25.760 to work out for you, and chances are going to 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:28.440 depend on the system or in one way or the other. 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:30.520 And we know what the outcome is. I mean, look 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:33.040 at the violence happening in Cincinnati, and you wonder how 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.200 many of those young lives could have been reached years 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:36.920 before if we would have done this. But the good 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:39.839 news is we're making progress. So let's talk about the 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.080 expansion into public schools and the life because I mentioned 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.400 Woodward and the light bulb went off for I think 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:46.400 a lot of people and they heard and this is 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.400 years ago, and you'd be able to articulate this better 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:51.360 than I can. But I recall going, hey, these are 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:53.679 kids who are like on the margins, probably not doing well. 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.720 All of a sudden, we're teaching the trades, shop class, shop, 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:58.840 math and stuff like that, and they went from literally 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:02.080 on the board line of dropping out to being among 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:03.280 the best performers in the. 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:05.559 School in the school itself, as far as academics go. 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:08.360 In twenty seventeen is when we started the program at 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:11.640 Woodward and the first eleven students that were put into 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:16.440 the program were very high risk. Two of the eleven 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:20.000 dropped out of school fairly quick. The other nine continue 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:24.319 through the program and graduated four years later. Seven went 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:27.400 into the trades, two actually went into nursing, and one 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:29.599 of the nine end up top five of the class academically. 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:31.680 And it was all because of the math program. 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:34.280 Yeah, because they could see it now and I think 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:36.199 that that literally goes. I know it kept getting back 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:38.520 to that, but that's a big thing. I think to 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:40.480 get those mind, the hearts and mind change. 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:40.920 And then when you. 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:44.000 See the educators go wow, Okay, well maybe we're missing 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:45.960 something here. Now it's spread like wildfire. 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:49.880 Yeah, we started it Woodward and teachers were talking to 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:54.840 other teachers at other school systems, and maybe eight years 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.480 later we're in thirty one school systems. That's unreal throughout 0:11:57.480 --> 0:11:58.920 the Ohio and Northy. 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:00.439 Could So it's making a comeback, but we still have 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:02.319 a long way to go, right, Amanda. That's the thing 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:04.240 is with the scholarship and the attention, the spirit of 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:07.360 Construction Foundation, there's just so much more work so this 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:09.120 is just just the start of things. I mean, thirty 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:11.360 one schools from one is a lot in just a 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:13.840 few short years, less than a decade. But you want 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:15.679 to see that number in one hundreds, nowolute, how do 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:16.080 you do that? 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:16.640 Well? 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:20.239 One of the ways is that we are making investments 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:26.119 in workforce development programs. Specifically, as we've mentioned, we're targeting 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.920 kids that are in middle school in Northern Kentucky. We 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:33.480 supported a program called Trades Northern Kentucky. It started out 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.559 in Campbell County schools reaching about two hundred and seventy 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:41.080 middle schoolers. With our support and matching dollars from BNKY, 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:44.679 they're now in Kenton County schools and in Homes Middle 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:48.760 School they're reaching over six hundred kids. And that's again 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:52.200 providing exposure to the students about what is skilled trades, 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:55.600 what does a career path look like? And then for 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:58.440 the very first time, Trades in Northern Kentucky is having 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:02.520 a Skilled Trades Career Fair in April of twenty six. 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:05.920 And again, we just want to continue to provide exposure 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.800 to students that you know, as you guys have talked 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:13.120 about our visual learners, maybe not you know, planning on 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:15.560 going to college. But we want to tell the kids, 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:18.920 but not only the kids, their parents, that skilled trades 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:21.640 is a viable career path where you can make great 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:24.840 money and have a really great future and great career 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:25.600 if you pick it. 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:28.600 Do you feel like because of these students don't let 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.960 the student debt and the long crisis and a host 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:34.079 of other factors, that parents are starting to maybe wake 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:36.440 up that way because on that long ago where and 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.240 a lot of parents, some parents still do this. They 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:41.599 look at their success as a parent by where the 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:43.480 kid goes to college and not as that that's right. 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:45.040 I mean, there's still that stigma out there like, oh, 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:46.720 my kid doesn't go to college and here or she 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:50.000 it's shame and somehow it's shameful, and it's all that's marketing, 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:52.800 is all that is. Are we starting to win that 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:54.840 war of attrition or starting to win that war that 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:59.240 the trades are noble and also a very enriching area. 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:01.120 To go Absolutely, and I think it's all about dollars 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:03.959 and cents too. If we can show them that your 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:08.440 child can earn to learn through an apprenticeship program, so 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:12.160 right out of high school they're making money. They're not encouraging, 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:15.520 they're not incurring college debt, and they're making a really 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:18.200 great wage. I think that's the story that we have 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:23.960 to get to parents that it's it's an exciting, honorable 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:27.640 career that a lot of people, you know, find great 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.280 joy in and it's okay to not go to college. 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:35.120 And so not only are we trying to tell the 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:37.240 kids that, but we also need to tell their parents 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:37.720 that as well. 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:40.320 Yeah, and hopefully that model is changing that the value 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.240 of parenthood is not like where my kid went to school, 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:44.240 or where I'm going to school, or you know, where 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:44.960 the degree is from. 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:47.239 It's rather the fact is like are you being productive? 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:49.840 You know, can you afford a middle class or offera 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:52.640 Pesson lifestyle? And a lot of folks who are in 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:54.520 the trades right it's like, hey, you know the light 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:57.560 bull goes off, Like my nephew's in electrical now, And 0:14:57.600 --> 0:14:59.160 I said, you know, when you're my age, though, you 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.000 want to be the guy who owns the place that 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.840 is hiring other electricians Like John, you're a family business 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:05.440 at Valianteer, you know what I'm saying. But how many 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:09.480 guys do that? And women now that are learning and 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:11.320 becoming masters of what they do, but then branching off 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:12.880 and doing their own thing. That's American dream. 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:13.280 Yeah. 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:15.560 The stories are numerous, and we at the gala next 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:18.320 weekend over thirty years of a Lifetime Achievement Award winners. 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:21.280 The stories were all about I had a pickup truck, 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:23.360 I went to the banker and got a ten thousand 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.600 dollars loan and created a you know, a company that 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:27.600 hires five hundred people. 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:29.720 Yeah, So the stories are endless. 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:33.680 It's just you know, most contractors are very humble and 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.000 don't toot their horn, and most people don't understand the 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:38.800 opportunities that exist within the construction industry. 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:42.200 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think Jostin for example, and you 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:43.600 know the Smithman family. 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:43.960 Same thing. 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:45.720 It's like, hey, we started this thing and they're growing 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:47.720 and growing in company. It happens all the time, like 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:49.720 these these people will leave, you know, folks will leave 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:52.120 a company, or they'll get some experience in trades and 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.520 wind up doing their own thing and grow, which turns 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:56.800 out to be the future. Companies will be board members 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.000 and have seats at the table the future spiritual construct 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:01.920 and so it's an awesome thing to see. So, you know, 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:04.360 if you have the wherewith all the knowledge a little 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:06.040 bit of luck on your side too, you can achieve 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:08.320 these great things. And there's so many people. That always 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:11.040 strikes me that when we do the event and again 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.120 it's a twenty fifth and how many people are like, yeah, 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:15.480 high school, you don't you know, you don't need a 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.040 doctorate in construction. I mean, it's nice that you have 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:20.480 that stuff, right architectural to grow, kay, But a lot 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:22.960 of those folks are like, yeah, I was swinging a hammer, 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:24.720 or I was you know, I was using a shovel, 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:27.480 or I was doing heavy equipment and just kind of 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:29.320 grew into this thing. And here we are today and 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:31.200 now when playing hundreds of people, it's great. 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:32.400 And a lot of people, you know, it's it's a 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:34.720 very generous group of people. 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:35.000