WEBVTT - Back in Action: An Injured Soldier’s Path Forward 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:03.600 He's been a great asset to the team, and it's 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:07.040 it's fun to have around, and he's he's just soaking 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:14.720 all this stuff up like a sponge. When Eric Schubert 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:18.079 hired Chris Brewer to join the Vancouver, Washington office of 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:22.159 Express Employment Professionals, he thought he had a winner, but 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.240 he didn't know the full extent of the journey Chris 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:29.120 had taken. After a year, both men are sure they've 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:32.400 made the right choice. On this edition of On the 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:36.400 Job from Express Employment Professionals, we meet a young man 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.960 whose life took a radical detour and who landed on 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:42.280 his feet in a job where he can help others 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:45.400 every day. If you want to find your next job, 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:48.320 or if you're a company hoping to grow your workforce, 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:53.280 Express Employment Professionals is for you. Find more information at 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:57.760 express pros dot com. Chris Brewer and I are driving 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:01.760 around his hometown, Vancouver, Washington. He tells me that he 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.640 dropped out of high school at age fifty, quick going, 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.720 and then I started working. Got my first job at 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:13.440 a golf course and worked there for about a year. 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:15.759 Then you started working odd jobs, then worked for les 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:20.600 Schwab Tires for about a year, then I quit that 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:23.840 job and join the army. What did you do with 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:26.840 the golf course? Worked on the driving rain show as 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:30.679 a moving target. That's how that. That's all that was. 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:34.440 I washed golf carts and did the driving range and 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:37.120 literally turned into a moving target whenever got in that 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:39.440 golf card to go get the range balls off the 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:44.440 driving range. There's a funny commercial you've probably seen with 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.960 that same theme. So you can probably picture Chris under 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:51.240 fire from golf balls. But it's all part of something 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:55.640 we'll learn about him and much more depth. He's unstoppable. 0:01:56.880 --> 0:02:02.360 What'd you learn from that job? Golf balls hurt um it, 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:04.800 But it taught me a lot of responsibility too, because 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:08.360 I was there by myself, so I had in that 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:10.640 part of the golf course. So I had to stay 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:15.520 on top of uh getting you know, golf balls for 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:19.799 the driving range and uh having enough golf carts ready 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.840 for um when people would show up for the twilight 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:28.280 golf at about two thirty in the afternoon. And but 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:30.800 just a lot of self responsibility because you had to 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:34.480 work by yourself and stay up on top of everything. 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:38.080 After the golf course, there were odd jobs then the 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:41.000 tire store for a while, but an event in two 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.440 thousand three inspired Chris to make what he thought was 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:47.560 a move into a lifetime career. And this one day 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:50.120 I just up and quit. Was like, I'm gonna join 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:53.840 the army because my friend came who um I went 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:55.760 to high school with, was killed in Iraq in two 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:58.960 thousand three, and he was the first person from Vancouver 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:01.480 to be killed in both con or in either of 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.520 the two conflicts. And I was like, well, I gotta 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:08.560 do it, finally do it. And so I did. And 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:13.040 my parents were not happy at all about me joining 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:15.640 the Army. I walked in because it disappeared for two 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:18.440 days and I was like I was walking. I was like, hey, 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:20.320 I joined the Army. I leave for basic training and 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:27.400 in a week and they're like, so that's how that went. 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:30.920 Chris didn't really know what to expect from basic training. 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:35.200 The Army takes raw recruits and tries to toughen them up. Well, 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:38.160 the hardest part for basic training, and like I told 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:40.720 the kids when I was a recruiter, it's like, if 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:42.880 you've ever went to a sports camp, basic training will 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:45.760 be up cake walk for you. But so Fort Knox, 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:49.920 Kentucky has these hills they don't notorious throughout the army 0:03:49.960 --> 0:03:53.120 called heartbreak, misery, and agony, and they are just so 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:56.720 insanely long and steep. Like one of them, it's so steep, 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:58.320 like when you're going up you can actually reach your 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:01.600 arm out and touch the asphalt. Is that Steve. So 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:03.280 that was the hardest part for me. It was those 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:06.840 three hills because I had despised them, so they were 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.240 not fun. Other than that, it was easy. Korea has 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:11.880 been in the news a lot lately, both the South, 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:14.400 where the Olympics were held, and the North, where the 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:18.880 political situation has us on guard. Chris served two tours 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:22.719 of duty in South Korea and that place is the 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.160 most beautiful country I've ever been to. The people are 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:29.240 super friendly, um, very welcoming and when they find out 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:34.680 that you're an American and um, yeah, recommend anybody goes 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:36.880 to Korea and a heartbeat and not be afraid of 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:41.400 the guy that's in North Korea. So yeah, when you're 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:45.000 deployed to Korea, what's your day to day like there? 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.159 In all honesty is the exact same as it would 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.159 be a state side for me, because my ji worked 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.960 with a Patriot missile system, so like we trained a lot, 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:57.920 but I still woke up and did PT at six 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:02.080 thirty in the morning. And PT stands for physical training, alright, 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:07.039 so exercise and so forth every more Monday through Friday exercise. 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:10.560 After that it was onto the motor pool for maintenance 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:13.440 of the vehicles, and the time was filled with plenty 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:17.800 of training on their specific job responsibilities, which Chris can't 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:21.680 go into in too much detail, but his overall impression 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:25.920 of the people of Korea and the country was overwhelmingly positive. 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:28.520 Now talking with Chris, you can hear how life in 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:32.640 the army goes in cycles. Korea, then back to ford Hood, Texas, 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:36.120 and Korea again. But Chris's life was about to undergo 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:40.320 another big change after a chance meeting sparked the conversation. 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:42.760 This was one of the first things Chris wanted to 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.159 tell me as we were having breakfast on the day 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:48.919 of our interview. Like most everything else, Chris says, he 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:53.120 sounds a bit nonchalant about this, but his eyes are sparkling. 0:05:53.880 --> 0:06:00.719 And then ten I got stationed and for Ulis, Texas, 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:03.719 which is an El Paso, so the middle of the desert, 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.200 and that's where I met my wife. Um. She worked 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.360 at a gas station or a convenience store, whichever he 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:11.920 preferred to call it. And I just happened to come 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:14.000 in one day and I had to talk and to her, 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.360 and I got ready to leave about thirty minutes later 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:18.880 because she looked really bored us. I was like, I 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:21.080 wanna started talking, because like, you look bored. What I 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:23.640 let off with, I mean, I SACA and I went 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:25.200 to a walk out. She's like, well, you're not gonna 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:26.760 ask me for my phone number? And I was like, 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:28.960 I was like, well, can I have your phone number? Then? 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:31.600 And here we are, all these years later, now we're married. 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:35.160 We've been married for February twenty six will be a year. 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:38.560 That happy event was still far in the future when 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.520 Chris was sent to the Middle East. Then two thousand 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:44.520 and eleven, I got deployed to bah Rain, which was 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.640 the most miserable year of my life. I don't know 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:49.760 if you've ever been there, but bah Rain's eleven miles 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:54.279 wide and thirty one miles long, so it's crazy small 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:55.960 and take you about an hour to drive around the 0:06:55.960 --> 0:07:00.520 whole entire country. UM. And I was on a little 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:06.720 eighty bitty air base which was refa air base. UM. 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:09.600 And our job was ballistic missile defense, you know, from 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:12.560 anything might become like out an Iran or anything like that. 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:16.120 To pass the time and stay fit, Chris lifted weights. 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.120 Now when I was preparing to meet him and learn 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:21.560 about his life, I did hear that he'd had an 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.400 accident when he was in the service, but I pictured 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:28.280 something service related. The incident that was to end his 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:31.920 dream of serving twenty years in the military happened in 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:35.920 the gym and was just an unfortunate and awful fluke. 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.720 It happened when I was in Ba Rain. What happened 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.360 that day, I was actually I was just working out 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:44.360 at the gym. I mean, yeah, really, he was just 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:46.480 trying to because I had I had a good amount 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:48.720 of downtime, so I'd work out two times a day. 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:51.280 And so I tried to go for a new record 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:53.880 for Wait for Me, and my back didn't like it. 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.680 He heard of pop and his drop the weights. That 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.680 wasn't quite the end of Chris's military career. He was 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:02.480 a and to work in Northern Virginia for a while 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:07.800 and then became a fantastically successful recruiter, but Army doctors 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:11.920 caught up with him found his extensive injuries and realized 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:14.480 that he shouldn't stay in the service. So I got 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:18.400 medically retired because of my back. I would have did 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:20.119 the folks morning if I would have had the chance. 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:22.680 So how did they tell you? Do they send a letter? 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:24.840 Do they call you into the office? How do you 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:26.720 get this news that that your whole life is about 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:29.480 to change? Um? So what you do is it's called 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:34.480 a medical board. So your case gets presented to army 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:37.280 doctors and you go through the med board process, which 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.760 takes about seven or eight months. And at the end 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.719 of that process is and when you find out yea 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:44.720 or nay that you can either stay in or you 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:48.680 gotta go. So and I I knew that I wasn't 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.520 going to be staying in, so I started preparing, started 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:53.600 getting everything all packed up and ready to go. And 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:57.959 then I got the letter in the mail said you 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:02.160 I took all my in these five days of vacation 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.320 that I had saved up, and I came home to Washington. 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:10.280 All right, you're here, You're now you have to take 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:12.000 sort of a left turn. And this was wasn't what 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.760 you planned. You had a different plan. So what what 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:18.600 are the kinds of things you start doing once you're 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:22.920 back home. Um So there for about a month or so, 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:26.280 I went into a pretty dark space and I was 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.839 just in a downward spiral. And I thankfully I had 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:32.160 my friends Jason and Sherman and Richard who won the brewery. 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.199 They're like, hey, Chris, like you want to come help 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:37.320 us build the brewery? And I was like sure. So 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:41.200 I did that for the first six months that or 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:44.040 after that initial like depression face because this is a 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:46.720 lifestyle that you get so used to, you know, do 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.040 it for ten years and then they tell you can't 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:50.719 do it anymore, and you don't. I didn't know what 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:54.040 to do with myself. So that then I helped them 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:57.439 and I got to get really really they weren't my 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:00.839 friends per se. Then they were acquainted, is that I knew. 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:04.040 But then over the six months of us building that place, 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:08.520 we became really really good friends, and it altered my life, 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.080 Like they were great and it made me feel like 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:13.800 I had a purpose again. As you're starting to get 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:17.120 to know Chris Brewer, you can probably tell that having 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:19.960 a purpose is key to his sense of well being, 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:23.880 whether it was working on Patriot missile systems or switching 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:27.280 to recruiting before he was, as he says, med boarded 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:30.800 out of the Army. After the break, we'll learn more 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:35.280 about how he helped his friends build their microbrewery in Vancouver, Washington, 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:39.119 and once that volunteer gig was done, how he pursued 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:42.880 and earned a job at the Express Employment Professionals office 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:47.280 in Vancouver as a staffing consultant. You're listening to On 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:52.160 the Job, the podcast from Express Employment Professionals. One company 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:54.160 is on a mission to put a million people to 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:57.120 work each year. It sounds like a big number, doesn't 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:00.960 it not to Express Employment Professionals taking a skilled labor 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:05.080 position or administrative work, and maybe you're an executive looking 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:08.360 for a career that fits. We take pride in connecting 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:12.240 the right people with the right company. Express Employment Professionals 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:14.360 is on a mission to put a million people to 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:17.320 work each year. Let us help will open geors for 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:19.600 you to go to Express pros dot com to find 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.800 a location near you. Welcome back to On the Job 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:26.360 and the story of Chris Brewer, who found meaning helping 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:30.480 others find jobs after his own career reached a turning point. 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:34.600 Chris didn't go directly from the Army to express prose. 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:39.280 He did what many people recommend when thinking about life transitions. 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:43.520 He dove into an all consuming volunteer job to acquaint 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.920 himself with civilian life and get his mind focused on 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:52.040 positive energy. In an industrial area of Vancouver, Washington, a 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:56.600 micro brewery is becoming a destination for beer lovers. Brothers 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:00.480 Cascadia is open every afternoon and evening with food trucks 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:05.079 out front for those who love fine beer. Jason, the brewmaster, 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:09.079 is showing me around. So in the fermaters, this is 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:13.480 where we're gonna add yeast and let fermentation happen. The 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:15.960 beer will sitting there for roughly two to three weeks 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.960 while it's finishing. We may add more secondary greediance to 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.520 that or not, depending on the beer. And then uh, 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:24.400 this is also where we'll carbonate the beer and then 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:28.120 package it as well. So where did Chris fit in here? Well, 0:12:28.280 --> 0:12:31.480 once he had reconciled himself to leaving the army and 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.440 spent a month or so with his head down, he 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:38.800 offered his services completely as a volunteer to help build 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:43.439 this brewery. Yeah, my name is Sherman Gore and uh, 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:48.439 one of the owners of Brothers Cascadia brewing here in Vancouver, Washington. 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:52.160 Sherman Gore has poured himself a glass of cast Scadia's 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:55.480 best beer and sits down to talk with me about 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:59.600 his friend. How how I met Chris was basically about 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:02.400 how I met everybody that is a part of this 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:07.000 family here at Brother's Cascadia. Uh. The three owners, Jason 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:11.000 Richards and myself, we were all bartenders and servers and 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:14.480 brewers that in a place called north Wood up in Battleground, Washington, 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:17.200 and we were able to get a bunch of people 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:20.640 behind us for the brewery and Chris happened to be 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.800 one of our regulars there and we've got to know him. 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:29.880 And through circumstances, Uh, since Chris didn't have a job 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:32.520 at the time, he started volunteering down at the at 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:37.040 the brewery and became one of the family members down here, 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.160 and he was here at least five days a week 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:44.720 helping us out. It was it was, it was incredible, incredible. 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.160 It wasn't just someone that showed up every day. Actually 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:50.640 he brought something every day, you know, So it was 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:53.680 it was fun to be around. But he was also 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:57.679 he was willing to learn from some of the electricians 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:02.199 and contractors, and also he was willing to do research 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:06.200 and all sorts of stuff. So he became when we 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.720 asked him, you know after after a little while, was hey, Chris, 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:11.920 would you like to help with this? You know, this 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:16.240 has become became kind of a thing that that Chris 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:20.200 really made himself invaluable just do hard work. Even with 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.240 if he didn't even have any skills in a certain area, 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:28.440 he made himself valuable in that area and became just like, well, 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:30.320 Chris is going to help us with this, and we're 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:33.520 gonna help us with that. And I mean he really is. 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:35.680 He's kind of a one of those old old school 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.440 stories to where he really got involved in and he 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:41.560 made himself to it that we couldn't imagine it without him. Now, 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:46.440 so then it's a yeah, I mean he's just part 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:48.960 of the family now. It's that's just how it is. 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:51.640 He became such a part of the family that he 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.680 had his wedding here. Part of the family maybe. But 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:58.760 remember two things. Chris was a full time volunteer in 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.360 the effort building the Brewer re, so he didn't have 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.800 a salary during that time, and there was never any 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.320 promise made about the future. There it's a micro staff 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:11.560 as well as a micro brewery. So once the hard 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:15.080 work of constructing the place was over, Chris was once 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:18.560 more forced to confront the future. Where could he go 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:22.120 from here? On the hunt for paid work. Now, Chris 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:25.680 attends a job fair. Eric Schubert, who with his wife Julie, 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:30.160 runs the Express Employment Professional's office in Vancouver, Washington, had 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:33.720 sent someone from that office to the fair, And the 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:37.320 story behind it was before I met Chris, was that 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:41.440 Chris was at this job fair. He was coming out 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:45.200 of the military, um, looking for his first civilian job, 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:50.920 and um, he met Michelle, and um, the first thing 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:54.560 that Michelle noticed was now this was after the fact, 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:57.000 of course we found this out, but noticed that his 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:01.000 hair was long and and he he he was nice 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:04.720 and and and really looking forward to starting a new job. 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:09.400 But he came in the next day completely high and 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:13.640 tight haircut, ready for an interview with his suit and 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:16.320 tie and all this kind of stuff. And Michelle didn't 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:19.440 even recognize him when he walked in the door. But 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.200 he took it. He obviously took it serious. I mean, 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:25.440 he was ready and uh, and that's that's when he 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.520 ended up meeting with me all right now. You have 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:30.080 a lot of meetings I've seen, I've been in the 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:31.640 office for a while, a lot of people come in 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:33.920 and out of there. When you had that first meeting 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:39.680 with him, what what stood out to you? Mm hmm. Well, 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:45.240 to me, I could instantly instantly tell he was polished, um, 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:47.720 which which was kind of funny in the beginning, because 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:50.320 that's Michelle was like, I don't remember him looking all 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:52.240 polished when I saw him at the interview, but it 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.760 was fun and it was a big joke for a while. 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:56.880 But but um, but that was my thing, is he 0:16:56.960 --> 0:17:00.320 came in looking all polished, and he um, he did. 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.080 He just had a good attitude about about life in 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:05.840 general and just just wanted to help people. And he 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.640 spent the you know, the first few minutes of our 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:11.879 of our meeting, talking about his recruiting experience for the 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:15.760 military and um, and that's I mean, that's helping people 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:19.520 get into the military, and we're also helping people find jobs. 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:22.560 So it seemed like that was a good match. And 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:24.600 I just said, what do you think about working in 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.040 here for us? And that's where it's kind of started 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.160 and and I and I said, well can you, I mean, 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:35.199 can you start tomorrow because we were in need of 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:37.560 some help at the front desk. I said, because I 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:41.800 think you'd be awesome at it, and he says, actually, Eric, 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:43.400 I'm I appreciate it, but I'm gonna have to turn 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:47.720 you down. And of all things, when Eric offered me 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:50.320 the job, He's like, so, can you start tomorrow? And 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:53.240 I was like no, and he gave me this funny 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:56.280 look because like, I just offered you a job and 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:58.400 you're telling me no. And I was like, and I 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.320 was a little thrown off by that. So I'm like, 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:02.520 what do you mean, like you're gonna be great? Like 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:04.440 why are you gonna turn me down? While he was 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.360 getting married the next day, like, well, in my defense, 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:10.960 I'm getting married on Sunday, and well she my fiancee. 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:15.000 They have my wife now, And I was like, she's 0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:17.280 flying in in a couple of hours and where everything's 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:20.879 already paid for it, we're doing everything. So so he 0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:22.840 ended up having and I said, oh, well why don't 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:24.600 you say so. I'm like, you made me think that 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:26.919 I was like offering you a bad position or something. 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:29.360 And so then he um. He ended up going off 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:31.720 and get got married, and then then he started shortly 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:33.720 after that said, I've been here ever something almost a 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.000 year now and it's been a great experience so far. 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:38.480 And I love waking up and doing what I do 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.040 and helping the people that we get to help because 0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:44.000 Eric and Julie took me in and helped me out 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:46.800 when I was in a in a bad, bad situation, 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:49.639 and I just love the end of the day, I 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:53.760 feel like I truly accomplished something by helping people find 0:18:53.800 --> 0:18:56.479 their find jobs. I'm getting them working so they can 0:18:56.480 --> 0:18:58.920 still take care of their family, and that's a really, 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:03.160 really good feeling to me. Chris is a busy bee. 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:08.600 That's Tunisia Williams, a fellow staff and consultant at Express Pros. 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:11.680 That's what I call him because bees are very important 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:15.640 population insect for this world to go around, so um 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:17.639 I call him a busy bee because he does whatever 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:21.159 he can to help the team, to help himself, to 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:24.600 help everyone around him. So being a busy bee, he's 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:27.000 always moving and doing whatever you can to make sure 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:29.679 that everyone is successful, not just hisself. As when he 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:31.679 was talking about his resume, he was real proud that 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:34.080 he was one of the best recruiters in the country 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:38.320 from a from a statistic standpoint, and um, and that 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:41.640 that appealed to me as well, because I'm like, he's 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:44.280 obviously got the drive. And my own dad was a 0:19:44.320 --> 0:19:47.000 recruiter for the army in the past, so I know 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:48.919 how much it takes to to go to all the 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:51.280 high schools and to go to all the career centers 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:54.879 and and and I mean there's a lot to be 0:19:55.200 --> 0:19:56.919 considered one of the best in the country as a 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:00.720 recruiter standpoint. UM. And so I knew I knew he 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:04.760 would be successful here, like just just knowing that driving itself, 0:20:05.240 --> 0:20:08.080 I knew I knew he could do it. So that 0:20:08.160 --> 0:20:10.360 was one of the big decision making factors for hiring him. 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:13.320 To UM, I would say, someone who is definitely um 0:20:13.480 --> 0:20:15.960 having a heart of helping people. I think that's the 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:20.080 most important thing. The actual staffing consultant position can be taught, 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:22.160 but you have to have a heart for people. That's 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:25.720 the only way you'll be successful. And tell me about 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:28.720 some examples in the last six months of how you've 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:31.840 seen that in Chris, that that he's just not doing 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:34.160 the job, but has that, as you say, a heart 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:38.280 for people, UM, Well, Chris, his willingness to help people. 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:40.479 Is not just in associates, is also in his clients 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:42.919 as well as even us as co workers. He's always 0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:45.840 there in the mornings. Um, he's there kind of waiting 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:48.080 for us, ready to go, kind of preparing us on 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:50.679 everything we need to do that we may have missed. UM. 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:53.440 So he's very verbal and he's you know, he cares 0:20:53.440 --> 0:20:56.200 about us a lot, even on a professional and personal level. 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:00.520 Chris's path at Express Employment Professionals as born out everyone's 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:04.600 confidence in him. He started as a front office coordinator, 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:07.800 really the heart of the operation in some ways, helping 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:10.320 people who come in the door find their way through 0:21:10.359 --> 0:21:14.040 the system. Two jobs. After six months, a position opened 0:21:14.119 --> 0:21:16.600 up as a staff and consultant and that's what he 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:19.679 does now. So he's also interfacing with clients as well 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:23.000 as associates. There's a great example of how Chris has 0:21:23.040 --> 0:21:27.680 gone above and beyond to help everyone. And it really 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:32.000 just depends on um. Like, we really try to take 0:21:32.000 --> 0:21:34.760 care of our associates. So we have, like I said, 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:39.720 the Gummy Bear vitamin factory. UM, so the production is 0:21:39.760 --> 0:21:42.720 done here in Vancouver, right down the road. It's about 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:45.040 two and a half mile three miles from here. UM. 0:21:45.080 --> 0:21:48.000 The packaging and sorting and all that for the Gummy 0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:51.120 Bear vitamins has done up in Ridgefield, which is just 0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:53.880 up the highway I think eight exits from here, nine 0:21:53.880 --> 0:21:57.159 exits um. But I was talking to our local public 0:21:57.160 --> 0:22:00.520 transportation and they have a bus that runs out there 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:03.280