WEBVTT - 12-18-25 America's Truckin' Network 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:03.880 This is America's trucking network with Kevin Gordon. 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:11.200 Welcome aboard, thanks for tuning in. The Rush Enterprises twentieth 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:15.920 Anniversary Tech Skills Rodeo at the Gaylord Opperland Resort and 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:20.280 Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee is in the rearview mirror. 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:25.479 The cost of this competition was three million dollars to 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:30.400 put this on, paid for by four hundred and forty sponsors. 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:34.600 In addition to all of that, it was a trade show, 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:38.879 so all of these sponsors brought their equipment, brought their trucks. 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:44.120 Peterbilt had three of their tractors there to display the 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:48.440 different cabs and so on. International brought two of theirs. 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:53.680 There was Commons that brought their engines, a trailer that 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.240 had engines in it. Allison Transmissions had a big van 0:00:57.320 --> 0:01:00.280 there that had their different transmissions in there. It was 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:06.720 basically all of their wares, all these different boosts, displaying 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:11.039 all the merchandise that they had from Valvelene to Lucas. 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:13.959 Oil and so on. It was an amazing event. 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:18.240 Now as far as the war, talk about a whirlwind 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:19.000 of activity. 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:20.440 My goodness. 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:28.240 We arrived here in Nashville on Saturday, after escaping Snowmageddon 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:33.400 and Cincinnati. The event started on Sunday morning with out 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:37.280 of the Collision Center in Smyrna, Tennessee, at. 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:38.600 Their body shop out there. 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:44.200 That started at nine am, and then around noonish there, 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.480 about one o'clock or so, I had to rush over 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:51.760 onto the Convention Center and figure out a way of 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:55.200 getting in there in order to get the booth set 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:58.960 up so that we could broadcast from there on Monday. 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:03.320 So we got that taken care of, and then at 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:07.080 seven o'clock we all met and went on the General 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:11.200 Jackson boat, the river boat to tour the Tennessee River 0:02:11.320 --> 0:02:16.560 and see the Nashville skyline. Unfortunately, it was not the 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:21.400 warmest thing. I think it was. Might have set a 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:25.520 record in Nashville that it started off at eighteen degrees 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:28.480 and then by the time the cruise was over, the 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:33.600 temperature was down around five degrees with about negative numbers 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.400 as far as windshchill factor. That Monday morning started off 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:41.880 at eight am conducting interviews, show closed at three pm. 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:46.040 Seven pm, we had a media dinner with the people 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.760 from Rush and talking about the event and met some 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:52.480 of the folks that were part of the media crew. 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:56.680 That Tuesday morning, we started off at six thirty am, 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:01.200 back to the booth, show shut down at three pm, 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:05.120 got all packed up, got everything down, went to a 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:09.120 four o'clock press conference with Rusty Rush, the CEO of 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:11.680 Rush Truck Centers, and then at five forty five, and 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:15.239 he had some interesting comments and probably in a later 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:18.440 show we'll talk about some of his comments on the 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:22.160 state of the industry, how Rush Enterprises is doing. And 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:25.799 so on five forty five we had a cocktail hour 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:29.440 and a six thirty the dinner, an award ceremony which 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:34.720 didn't end until ten thirty. So it was basically every 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:38.800 day from Sunday morning until Tuesday morning. 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:40.080 Actually Tuesday night. 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:43.920 Everything started around from about six o'clock in the morning 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:48.720 till well after midnight. So it was a very interesting time. 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:49.560 Now at this. 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:56.240 Rodeo, over three thousand technicians tested to qualify the top 0:03:56.280 --> 0:04:00.200 performers made it to Nashville well over two hundred participants. 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:04.120 So Rush Enterprises brought all these people and their spouses 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:07.960 to this convention and the convention center at opry Land 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:12.360 Resort and Convention Center. Three days of competitions. The awards 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.640 ceremony was I got to tell you it was beyond expectations. 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:22.200 The food was great. Over eight hundred people attended, the spouses, executives, participants, 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:27.960 Over nearly three hundred thousand dollars in checks were awarded, 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:32.200 and just mind boggling as far as that they were 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:37.040 issuing prizes in different divisions the parts leasing, Rising Star, 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:42.240 body Shop, Medium Duty, heavy duty truck sales, and then 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.520 they had the Reserve Champion, the Grand Champion, and then 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.200 they awarded the All Around Grand Rodeo Champion. I'll get 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:53.400 to him in a moment, but the sheer size of 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:56.120 the number of people that participated in this, and the 0:04:56.160 --> 0:05:00.359 actual checks that were issued, and the awards ceremony, naming 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:02.719 every one of the people, having them come up on stage, 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:05.880 getting their picture taken, and so on. The All Round 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:10.320 Grand Champion Rodeo Champion Dom McConnell of Rush Truck Centers 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:14.960 in Orlando, South took away the top prize eighteen thousand 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:19.240 and five hundred dollars. Now, talk about an interesting story. 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:24.200 This was his third attempt at the rodeo. In the 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:27.880 two previous he had not even made the finals, and 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:31.039 this time around, not only did he win, but he 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:36.680 became the Grand champion last year at the convention and 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:40.479 the awards ceremony, it was down in San Antonio, so 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.920 along the river walk down there. He and his fiance 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:48.280 or and his girlfriend got engaged down there. And so 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:53.320 at the last Truck Rodeo Awards ceremony or that period, 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:58.440 he got engaged. And he's as of well, the awards ceremony, 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:01.200 about seventeen days from now, he and his wife and 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.320 his fiance are going to get married. So talk about 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:07.800 a whirlwind for him. And it was interesting talking to 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:11.200 him after the ceremony. We had an opportunity to interview 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:14.480 him directly a couple of people from the media, and 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.840 it was interesting to listen to him talk about how 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:21.080 his approach to the show was or to the competition. 0:06:21.640 --> 0:06:24.480 He said in the past he tried to like go 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:28.400 buy the book. But when you're a technician and you 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.200 know what you're doing and you have the experience, you 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:32.840 generally have an idea. 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:34.600 It's not like you know, a. 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.240 Cookbook where you have to start off at step one, 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:39.880 step two, and you know, just follow those right down 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:42.600 the line. A lot of the initial things are in 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:45.560 your head and you just go and do it. And 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:50.599 then based on a little bit of intuition and because 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:54.000 you've studied and he talks about he talked about how 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:58.600 he actually takes the stuff home with him, studies the manuals, 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:02.039 reads about him over the week, weekend, does stuff in 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:07.320 terms of basically continuing education in his spare time. So 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:12.040 this kid, twenty six years old, third competition, this has 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:16.440 won the overall championship. But here is this guy at 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:20.840 twenty six years old, a student of what he's his craft, 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:24.280 and he's just so dedicated to that. And it was 0:07:24.320 --> 0:07:27.200 great to see him win that award and to talk 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:32.400 to him afterwards. But it was an amazing situation, and 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:36.360 we had a great conversation with him, and the fact 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:39.360 that I can't emphasize enough here he is twenty six 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:43.480 years old, competed three previously, this was his third competition, 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:47.760 had never placed into the finals, and comes up the 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:51.320 grand champion. And as he talked about it, was he 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:54.760 kind of I asked him about it because he said 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.840 the way he put it was I just kind of 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:01.640 let my instincts take over and based on what my 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:05.760 knowledge was, I just went into that. And along the way, 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:10.680 as the judges were coming along, he was explaining to 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:14.040 them what he was doing, which I asked him if 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:16.480 that was kind of a new technique. He said, I 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:19.680 don't know. He said, I've heard other people may have 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:22.920 done that, but he said, I made an effort to 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.400 make sure that they knew what steps I was doing, 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:29.680 because part of the competition is they look at how 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:33.440 your approach to that is as opposed to not only 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:37.120 diagnosing the problem and so on. So explaining everything that 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:40.000 he was doing all along the way probably was the 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:42.480 thing that got him the highest score. And then of 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:46.760 course winning or eighteen thousand, five hundred dollars. 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:49.040 That's going to be a nice present. 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:53.360 Now at the banquet, they always every year Rusty Rush 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:58.200 and Rush Enterprises has a surprise guest. This year it 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:02.320 was Clint Boyer, who was car driver and commentator for 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:07.320 Fox and Nascar on Fox, and he got up and 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:09.880 had a few words to say, and it was very interesting. 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:13.560 And then he's standing up there talked with Rusty and 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:15.400 all of a sudden he says, and oh, by the way, 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:18.880 there's somebody else here you might know, and he introduces 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:22.360 Jeff Gordon, a stock car racing legend and chairman and 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:27.960 vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. Everybody was like what they 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.199 were all of a sudden all that you can see 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:32.079 all the people at the banquet tables all of a 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.600 sudden turning their heads to where Jeff Gordon was sitting. 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:38.320 And then of course after the bank, once it was over, 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.520 everybody was just flocking to him. Fortunately they were at 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:43.480 the table right in front of us. So I went 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:46.200 over and finally got to meet my younger brother Jeff. 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:48.479 So it was interesting. 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:50.520 I mentioned to him, how many people are asking me, 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:53.319 are you related to Jeff Gordon. So anyway, it was 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:57.000 a lot of fun. The Gaylord opery Land Hotel and 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:00.960 Resort is just if you've never been been there, you've 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:04.960 got to go. It is just the a trims, the walkways, 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:09.640 the sheer volume of what is there and everything. 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:12.120 I've talked about that over the last couple of days. 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:13.760 And by the way, if you missed any of that 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.240 stuff that we talked about over the last few days, 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:20.640 check out a podcast brought to you by Rush Truck Centers. Well, folks, 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:24.559 well I'll tell you it was just absolutely a fantastic day. 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:29.920 I'm Kevin Gordon, America's truck in Network seven hundred WLW. 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.920 I need this is the briefing report on America's Trucking 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:36.000 Network on seven hundred WLW. 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:38.520 One of the aspects of the lawsuit between twenty three 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:42.199 eleven in Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR and their trial 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:46.280 was NASCAR was concerned about the racing series SRX over 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:49.600 the last few years. Daylernhard Junior and his sister Kelly 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:53.640 on Dirty Moe Radio podcast says NASCAR's concerns were out 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:54.679 of this world. 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:59.440 To hear that they were even remostly the least bitten 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:05.040 threatened is so wow, surprising to me because they're this 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:09.160 giant that's NASCAR and SRX is just this little thing. 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:12.600 You know, It's take years to recreate what NASCAR is. 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:15.080 Yeah, and they were like, there's twelve cars, right, they're 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:18.920 just barely getting by financially. They're tearing up so much. 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:20.079 They had no idea. 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.160 It's gonna tear up all that. Yeah, and you know, 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.840 in the end, they couldn't make the money work. SRX 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:29.080 went away because it's expensive to operate and the money 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:33.240 that you know, the network, the viewership numbers didn't justify 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:37.720 the TV contract and the KIV contract couldn't afford the series, 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:43.320 and so it just financially didn't really work. You know, 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:45.600 I am surprised by some of the comments that I 0:11:45.640 --> 0:11:48.440 read from Phelps, I mean sorry, from O'Donnell and a 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:50.439 couple of other people about man, we gotta go, we 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:52.080 got to put an end to this, or we gotta 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:54.280 you know, we gotta go take a look at this. 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:58.920 And again to me, yeah, why are we worried? 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:03.840 JR Motorsports also revealed a mouth watering new sponsor on Tuesday, 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:08.319 Dale Earnhardt Junior announced a multi year, multifaceted partnership between 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:12.680 JR Motorsports and restaurant Arby's. The fast food chain will 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:16.400 be the primary sponsor for eight NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:19.280 Series events in twenty twenty six, and will also hold 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:22.240 a personal service agreement with Earnhardt Junior. 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:27.080 This is the reasing report on America's drugging network on 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:30.559 seven hundred WLW SAG Dennison. 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:32.920 For a t N. 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:38.239 Kids, they are just different than us, They have no inhibitions. 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.600 Will also hold a personal service agreement with Earnhardt Junior. 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.480 This is the wreathing report on America's trucking network on 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:53.320 seven hundred WLW SAG Dennison for a t N. 0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:58.680 Kids. They are just different than us. They have no inhibitions, 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:03.320 consider silverware optional, and can find fun anywhere. When kids 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.680 get really sick, they're different than us too. That's why 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:09.880 the Leukemia and Nomphoma Society is introducing the Deer to 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:13.160 Dream Project, with the largest global clinical trial for kids 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:13.840 with plumbings. 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:17.040 He is vice president of Servicing for Rush Truck Centers 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:21.400 and one of the very important components of this is 0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:24.600 the tech skills and the servicing end of that. So 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:26.559 kind of give us a little description of that. 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:32.240 Well, we we start the whole process with online testing, 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:36.000 so that we we test each technician for their their 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:39.199 technical skills, you know, via an online test, and the 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:45.160 top qualifiers come to this event and compete for you know, 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:46.600 cash and prizes if you will. 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.439 So there is a qualifying event just even guest here 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:51.240 in the first place. 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:57.040 We start the testing process July August, you know, months 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.559 ahead of time. It's quite an under taking if you 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:03.000 think about it. We have close to three thousand technicians. 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:07.560 Most of them do enroll or enlist for the uh 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:11.120 for the testing, and it's it's quite. 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:13.160 An effort to get through all of that uh huh. 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:18.199 So do you, I guess you guys, encourage them to compete. 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:22.120 Absolutely absolutely, and and you know, we'll hold calls and 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.560 we'll send out e blast communication and we'll work through 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:26.720 the managers as well. 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:28.359 There are you know, a number. 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.400 Of individuals in any given year, especially some of the 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:34.760 new hires that are apprehensive, nervous. One fear is or 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:37.560 concern is that if they don't don't do well on 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.160 the test, it'll be posted for everybody to see. 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:43.480 Test results are anonymous. We do not post that. 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.240 We just post basically who are the top qualifiers in 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:51.600 order of scoring in the testing. But we we don't 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:55.360 do anything to shame or embarrass anybody. And so it 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.960 takes a little coaching to talk through that. And I 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:03.080 will say that U past competitors that talk with the 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.400 tax at the shop or what have you, they are 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:09.320 no doubt they're the most are they They're the biggest 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:17.480 contributor to eliciting excitement around the rodeo and participation. 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:22.200 Rodeo ambassadors, so to speak. Yeah, get everybody interested. And 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:25.240 I guess and I guess you know, in any environment 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:29.600 there's always a certain competition within the group itself. And 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:35.320 so to encourage that and and to promote that is amazing. 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:38.640 It is amazing, it really is. And you'll find the 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:43.960 competitors here are all very you know, they're they're celebrating 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.760 for their peers that win, you know, they're most of 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.000 the folks that come are very humble and and they're 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:51.280 happy for their their peers when they win. 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:54.440 And it's it's just an exciting event all the way around. 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:59.560 It is now describe because this is this is a 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:03.560 great opportunity or great thing about as far as Russia 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:07.880 is concerned about employee retention, the fact that you guys 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:13.560 reward people for competing, the amount of prizes involved, and 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:17.880 the fact that you care about the employees and their success. 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:21.840 Yeah, we absolutely do and this this event is a 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:26.640 testament to our commitment to our employees. And I don't 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:30.080 know how how and depth you've discussed us with others. 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:34.400 I mean, this started as an event for technicians and 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:38.640 there were approximately forty competitors twenty years ago, and the 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:42.040 whole event has evolved to go well beyond that to 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:46.680 include our revenue generators within the dealership group. So that's 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:50.440 that's parts people, it's after market sales, truck sales, et cetera. 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:53.560 So there's a lot of energy, a lot of discussion 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:58.240 in almost every level of the corporation. Yes, which is 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:01.120 great because now you've got the rev new generation side, 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:04.439 the parts people, the start of saying, the collision people, 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:07.400 all those involved in terms of the competition, so every 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:10.119 level of the company people are competing. 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:11.760 For these various prizes. We're speaking with. 0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:16.239 Victor Cummings, vice president Operations for Rush Truck Centers, and 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:19.920 I am blown away by this. This is the first 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.600 time I've been here, and I've read about it. I've 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:25.119 read about it in the trade magazines and thought what 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:28.840 a great program this is, but to actually see it 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:31.160 live is beyond words. 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:34.320 Yeah, I'm honestly, I'm blown away too. 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:38.160 I'm humbled to work with such a very high caliber 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:42.199 how excuse me, high caliber level of people and you know, 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:46.879 just humble folks that really care genuinely for our employees, 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:49.840 and the the amount of effort and collaboration it takes 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:53.080 to put this together is really something else. When we 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:56.280 back up at the end of this event and head home, 0:17:57.000 --> 0:18:01.520 our first rodeo meeting is the first week of every month. 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.400 We start very next month planning for the following year. 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.119 So this is a year round project. It's quite a 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:10.800 wind up coming out here to Nashville. This is our 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:13.880 twenty year anniversary. That's why we're here. This is where 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.679 it started. And we were actually quite nervous about it, 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:21.320 just just the logistics and the number of people, what 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:24.600 it takes to put this together. And the venue is 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:28.040 a place we've never been for the rodeo. Right, So 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:31.040 I'll tell you it's been the smoothest so far, and 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:35.199 it's exciting. And the competitors I've talked to, the suppliers 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:37.919 I've talked to, are thrilled about the venue, just the 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:41.080 energy behind it, and you know, the scope of the 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:41.960 event itself. 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:44.280 It corrects me proud. 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:46.720 And what's interesting too is the fact that because of 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:48.760 the logistics, you got to make sure that you bring 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:52.200 everything with you. It's not like, Okay, we're in San Antonio. 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:54.919 It's close to home and if I forget something, I 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:58.000 just go, yeah, call somebody and say, hey, can you 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:00.560 bring this over? I mean everything is that whole checklist 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:04.080 and everything along those lines is very important. Now, we 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:07.439 had talked about talked briefly off air about how you 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:12.120 came into this and how this works in terms of 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:16.399 bringing people up through the ranks and the programs that 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.560 you have. I mean, not only are you dealing with 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:21.879 people that are that are been in the business for 0:19:22.000 --> 0:19:24.880 years in terms of technicians and hiring them, because are 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:28.760 also in the process or during the process of developing 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:31.000 people to come into the trade. 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:32.199 That is correct. 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:34.760 You know, we have one group that competes and they're 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:39.119 called the Rising Star. Uh those are level one, level 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:43.160 two techs that are new with Rush, and we want 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:45.560 to be all inclusive. We want the new hires and 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:49.360 the lower level techs to have that rodeo experience as well, 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:52.320 and we want it to be fair in terms of competition. 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:56.880 So it is a separate course or competition if you will, 0:19:56.920 --> 0:19:59.679 from you know, the rest of the technicians and they 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:02.560 can only compete and Rising Star once. So once you've 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:04.600 done that, then you have to step up to the 0:20:04.600 --> 0:20:05.160 big leagues. 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:10.639 So you get through the Triple A ball team and 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:13.399 now you're into the big lit up to the show, 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:17.800 so to speak. Well, that's cool, that's that's very interesting. Again, 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:20.720 we're speaking with Victor Cummings. He is vice president of 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:24.240 Servicing for Rush Truck Centers and one of the things 0:20:24.240 --> 0:20:29.080 we talked about too, was how in developing people even 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:33.080 at the at this trade school level. And you had 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:35.320 a very interesting story that we were talking about as 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.000 far as what your experience was coming out of that 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:41.720 and the environment into the actual dealership. 0:20:41.920 --> 0:20:44.440 Yes, sometimes I have to hit the pause button, kind 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:47.840 of rewind and think back to what I experienced, what 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:50.639 I felt when I came out of trade school hired 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:54.280 on with a cat dealership. The first especially the first 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:57.400 couple of weeks on the job was very stressful, is intimidating. 0:20:57.800 --> 0:20:59.920 You know, I really had no idea what I was stept 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:02.280 and into. I know I wanted to pursue the trade, 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:05.920 but was just a beginner, a rookie if you will. 0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:11.080 And so we've developed a internship program to work with 0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:14.159 the trade schools to give them that opportunity to get exposure, 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:16.840 to get their foot in the door prior to actually 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:20.800 coming on you know, on board. Full time internship program 0:21:20.880 --> 0:21:23.280 is really something like being a part time Level one 0:21:23.400 --> 0:21:26.720 tech and uh, if you like, I can kind of 0:21:26.720 --> 0:21:28.840 give you a quick overview of how it's structured and 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:31.360 or what you know, why we do what we do. 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:35.440 So we we partner with a sc accredited trade schools 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:40.640 and we have a set like fundamentals training if you will. 0:21:40.920 --> 0:21:44.679 And and OIES have given us permission to allow the 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:49.960 trade school students to take the online training. So we 0:21:50.080 --> 0:21:53.359 define here are here basically the fundamentals to kind of 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:56.320 get your head around, you know, just the basics of 0:21:56.359 --> 0:21:59.600 what we do at our dealership and the product, et cetera. 0:22:00.600 --> 0:22:02.320 They need to do that on their own time. 0:22:02.400 --> 0:22:06.360 It's part of their curriculum, and then once they complete 0:22:06.359 --> 0:22:10.639 that training, we bring them into the dealership for approximately 0:22:10.680 --> 0:22:12.000 twenty hours of shadowing. 0:22:12.119 --> 0:22:13.080 So we really want. 0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:17.480 Them to experience and see from cradle to grave the 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:21.000 whole repair process, meaning from when the truck pulls into 0:22:21.119 --> 0:22:23.760 the gate to when the truck leaves the gate. So 0:22:23.840 --> 0:22:29.200 there's the write up process, there's the dispatch to the technician, 0:22:29.800 --> 0:22:32.600 the parts ordering process, working with the back counter, pulling 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:35.960 the parts out of the warehouse, and anything involved in 0:22:36.040 --> 0:22:38.680 supporting the tech to get that truck back on the road. 0:22:39.240 --> 0:22:41.480 And we find that that really does a lot to 0:22:41.560 --> 0:22:44.280 kind of give them a perspective and a better understanding, 0:22:44.400 --> 0:22:45.920 and it empowers. 0:22:45.359 --> 0:22:48.399 Them to speak up when something doesn't make sense. 0:22:49.119 --> 0:22:52.520 We allow anywhere from six months to a year to 0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:54.960 complete the program. So they do this while they're going 0:22:55.000 --> 0:22:57.919 to school, and we're very flexible around the hours that 0:22:57.960 --> 0:22:58.400 they work. 0:22:58.440 --> 0:23:00.640 If it's a couple hours of night Monday. 0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:04.440 Through Friday, all day Saturday, whatever works best or accommodates 0:23:04.480 --> 0:23:06.920 their schedule is what we do to work with them 0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:10.800 to allow them, you know, the flexibility to complete the program. 0:23:10.920 --> 0:23:11.400 Very good. 0:23:11.760 --> 0:23:15.160 Now, are you finding the younger people that it's it's 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:21.919 the recruiting process itself easier or is it even more difficult. 0:23:22.040 --> 0:23:24.240 It's far more challenging than it's been. 0:23:24.560 --> 0:23:26.280 Tell you what, let's take a quick break and we 0:23:26.320 --> 0:23:28.520 can pick this up on the other start. All right, thanks, 0:23:28.560 --> 0:23:33.760 I'm Kevin Gordon, america'struck A Network seven hundred WLW. 0:23:34.000 --> 0:23:40.960 News Traffic and Weather. News Radio seven hundred WLW Cincinnati. 0:23:41.920 --> 0:23:45.080 A primetime speech from the White House, and President Trump 0:23:45.119 --> 0:23:47.720 is making his case to the country with the twelve 0:23:47.840 --> 0:23:51.639 thirty report. I'm Bretdy Hopkins. Breaking Now. Trump highlighted in 0:23:51.720 --> 0:23:54.320