Latest / Towing News Now / Roadmap to 1,000: The Journey of Towing Education

Transcript

Roadmap to 1,000: The Journey of Towing Education · Towing News Now

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: you're on the train to success with April and Wes Wilburn.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: I'm DJ Harrington, the co-host, better known as the Toe Doctor.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: We're all on our way to the town of proper towing and recovery, along with our producer, chuck Camp, in the studio.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Don't go to the town of woulda, coulda, shoulda.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: You coulda had done this.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: You should have done that.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Listen every week to thought-provoking wisdom from great guests iTunes, pandora, stitcher, iheartmedia or the number one podcast, or maybe Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Turn in on Wednesday and be turned on all week long.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: If you are a state association and want your announcements or upcoming state association news announcements or upcoming state association news, or maybe a co-show that's coming up, let us know.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Our podcast studio phone number is 706-409-5603.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: I'm proud to be part of a great team at the American Dorm Recovery Institute.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Let's make 2025 our best year ever.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: I will turn it to April and Miss.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Well, dj, as always.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: I appreciate your kind words.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: I also appreciate your interaction with the industry in general and me in particular.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: How are you doing today?
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm doing fine.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: We should tell our listeners I have Guillain-Barre for the ones who don't know and it's a nerve disease in your legs and Wes.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Seven weeks ago I qualified because I have lymphemia in my legs and my legs have swollen up.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: So the best example to tell our listeners my legs look like they belong to a pregnant woman who's about to give birth to twins.
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: It sounds like some swollen going on there.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Oh yes, swollen and I can't use.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: I used to use support stockings and my legs swell so much that Cigna Insurance I qualified for what they call wraps.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: So they're four pieces and they start at the ankle and go all the way up to the thigh and it has helped me tremendously.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: And I was so worried.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: The doctor said, oh no, he already looked it up that Cigna would pay for them.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Because I started thinking, oh boy, here's another thing I'm going to have to pay for and Cigna paid for them.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: They're like $400 and some dollars each.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: So I have one on the right leg and one on the left leg.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: But, folks, I want to tell you something God's been very good to me.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: He's been good with me in the industry and with friends, and so I walk a little slower Wes and April but I'm walking.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: And there's a lot of people with Guillain-Barre that are paralyzed, sitting in wheelchairs and with these wraps now I'm actually doing so much better.
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: That's great to hear.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: That is an improvement.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: Quality of life is a.
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: I know people say that a lot, but it's really, really important.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: You could be alive, but what is your quality?
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: And it sounds like your quality of life has improved.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Oh, yes, and for me.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: You know, I just told our producer, Chuck Camp, just before we got on the air, because he texts on me all the time.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: He said, OK, so what happened?
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: I said, well, now the vein doctor is saying he doesn't need to see me.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: You know, like for every six months He'll see me twice a year, but that's it.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: He said.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Now that I'm going to the neurologist, I got wraps on my legs and and your, your feet swell so much that I am now.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: I used to wear a 10 and a half shoe.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: I'm on a 12 shoe right now so because of my legs swell so much.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: It has to be uncomfortable.
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: If there's any pain related to that, I'm not sure, but it definitely has got to be uncomfortable.
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: If there's any pain related to that, I'm not sure but it definitely has got to be uncomfortable.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Oh yes, yeah, it's pain related.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: But I want to tell you something.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: I want all of you to know that when you process what we're doing here in the podcast, every time we help a fellow toer, it makes me feel so good that you sit back and you go okay, we're doing the right thing for the right person.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: So hopefully, you know, we have 20,000 listeners and we're still growing.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: So out of the people that listen, april and Wes if we can just touch 1%, 2% and let them get better instead of bitter, let them get better and that's why I'm proud to be part of the podcast.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: I am so proud of what you guys did as the Institute and now what you're doing with the Tony News Channel.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: I mean you guys are always improving what Tony Robbins called, can I?
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: You know, the constant and never-ending improvement.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: Well, you're right.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: When I heard Tony Robbins talk about can I?
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: And that's how the Japanese came back after World War II and created a very fierce economy.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: I adopted the strategy of constant, never-ending improvement.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: And Vince.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: Lombardi said it the best what you should aim for is perfection in anything that you do.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: While perfection is unachievable, what you will achieve is excellence.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: Well, that's given in our constitutions a more perfect union.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: It will never be perfect, but as long as we're striving for that, then we'll always do better.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's why, when you go to the Japanese plants and car manufacturing and you'll hear them yell Kaizen, and that means the same as constant and never-ending improvement.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: It's a Japanese word for it and they say Kaizen.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: So it's a philosophy that you've embraced, wes, and you think about the people and the generations.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: When you had three and four generations, you trained the grandfather, then you had trained the son and now you're training the son of the grandfather.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: I mean it's just perfect for generations and, wes, you'll never know until you go to heaven and see how many people you've assisted and helped, who kissed their wives goodbye in the morning and was able to kiss their wife good evening when they came home from work, because you helped them with the whole philosophy of towing and recovery.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: So that's why I'm proud to be part of the podcast.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: You and April do a great job.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: You bring april in and you know it's.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: It's all part of.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: You know kazan, you know it's, it's all part of the constant, never-ending improvement, what they call can I and it's uh, I'm just proud to be part of it, buddy, and I'm proud to see what you have done with the Institute.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: I'm proud to see how you've extended it and you think about all the families that you've embraced to become better human beings and better moms and better dads because they had good training by Wilburn.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: Well, DJ, you're very kind with your words and talking about people that have touched me.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: Well, you touch way more than I have.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: Very humbling.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: Well, my friend, if I could do something like that.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: And when someone comes back and says, well, what do you do?
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: And just like a Bible school teacher, they'll never know how many people they influence until they go to heaven.
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: And then God will say okay, look at all these people that you've helped you know, and that's that's the whole philosophy of life have we made it a better world to live in by how we dealt with it ourselves?
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: You know, did we leave the world a better place because of what we've done?
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: And that's, you know, doing these podcasts that's no light job, you know.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: You have to get the guests on, you have to do this, and you've influenced a lot of people West and April, and you think about it.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: You think about the toe shows that you put on in Myrtle Beach and how much I learned from you sitting in the audience, how much I I learned from Moore, your buddy.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's just you surrounded yourself with good people and that you know you've never worried about some guy outdoing you.
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: If he's a good guy, bring him in.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: I want him in front of our people so that our people can grow.
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you for noticing those things.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: Something that's always been important to me is when people talk about superiority and inferiority there are two sides of a counterfeit coin.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: We all as human, as human beings, our own unique gifts and abilities that we can share, so there is no superior or inferiority or inferiority.
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: I think just going to build off of what Wes said.
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: You could and you too, DJ.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: An example is Ron Moore, who is an excellent cross-training instructor.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: Excellent individual.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: Excellent individual and his strength is fire.
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: That's what he's done for his whole entire life, and Wes's strength is towing.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: So what they did was complement each other in as far as what?
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: Their trades of profession are different.
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: There are some similarities, but they're different and they brought those two things together and that's not inferior or superior.
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: That's one strength complementing another strength and bringing it together at the same table their strength and bringing it together at the same table.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Well, april, I'm going to tell you, one time we were at a show, wes and I, you and I think it was Chattanooga two or three years ago, and somebody asked me and we were Chuck Camp, the producer and I were eating a hot dog and we were with bill georges and some guy came by and asked about wes wilburn and and here.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: You were not at the table west, and it was just the three of us talking.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: And I said to the guy who asked the question I said Wes Wilburn reminds me of the guy who works on you so you develop from within, so you never go without.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: And Wes Wilburn has that touch where he helps you develop from within and you'll never go without.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: And then you get a chance to see your son, wesley, and I have watched him grow from a young kid to an adult to a teacher and he picked up so much from you, wes.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: You've helped him develop from within and Wesley, your son, will never, ever go without because you have helped him grow.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: And then you start thinking about all the people that you have stopped in the middle of a convention.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: And here we are trying to go eat dinner and Wes out there, and April you know what happened at all, all the time rushes out there in the middle of the hallway I'll be right with you, I'll be right with you and he's helping a guy go through a family situation and he says try this next time, then let me know how it works and let's keep in touch.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: And Wes always says that let's keep in touch and go.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: Just like the time April, you were not there, but he was going to a conference.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: We met in Atlanta.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: He was talking to the towers of Georgia and we met at an okay cafe in downtown, right near the governor's mansion.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: That's where we ate lunch.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: It's a fantastic restaurant and here's Wes sitting talking to this guy and I'm thinking to myself, good lord.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: And Wes says to me, as we're eating our great food at OK Cafe, he says DJ, I only get a chance to see that guy maybe twice, three times a year.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: So when I get a chance to see him I want to plant a seed.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: So down the road he'll think about doing this.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: So Wes is.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: You know Wes wants to develop people so they never go without.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: So that's that's why I like hanging out with them, and you know I enjoy him paying for the meals too.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: That helps.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: Try to do my part.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: DJ.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Well, you did pay that date at OK Cafe.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: I appreciate all the kind words I do.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: It's very humbling.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: I don't focus on a lot of that stuff.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: I just focus on one thing the education in the towing industry.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: And for many towers that's.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: All they get is one shot at formal education.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: So they're going to take their money and their time and then we get off to be in class.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: I've always tried to make that class the most informative I can, and one of the things I learned very on.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: My job in that classroom is not to tell people what to think.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: My job is to give people things to think about they don't take open apply in their own world so cases yeah now you said that April and I could ask your question but let's do that after the break, dj
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: yes can we have I?
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: have.
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: I have lots of questions too, so I'm just for the bridge.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: let me ask them one question and then we'll take a break.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: Here's the one question.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: And I'm so sincere, wes, I saw you get involved with the museum in Chattanooga and you put your heart and soul in it and you wanted people to see, you know, the first Holmes truck and you wanted them to see you know the post-war boom that they have on display and stuff like that, so that people coming to the museum could actually see what we started with and how they initially started towing vehicles to right where they are today.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: And so, before we take the break, can you just tell our audience what caused you to get involved so deeply into the museum?
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: I have several things in interest for history.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: George Connolly and Jerry Bullock welcomed me welcoming me and others in my age range trying to get us involved.
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: Most of the when we got involved at the turn of the century, Most of the board of directors of the museum was in their 60s or older.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: So there was four of us that were in our 40s somewhere around there, so that was part of what got us involved.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: Um so I?
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: I guess that's my simple answer to your question yeah both very bullet to do it finally and writing and making me feel so welcome, and um so the whole thing about getting a huge limit on that, but I think that's also and I'm going to elaborate on this when we come back to the break but that's also an example of what you said.
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: You don't know the impact you have on people.
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: I don't know if they, if they try to get other people involved in the museum, or if it was just West and who else was with us could put us a little rest up, but they chose Smith they took the ball and they advanced the.
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: They advanced the history and got more stuff in there because they had that passion for it and wasn't very humble, so he's not going to go into all doubt, but that's what it took is I'm sure they asked 100 people, but only two or three people stepped up and um made those sacrifices with their time and and money.
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: Because even if you're not putting money into what you're saying, you're eating, you're, you're paying hotel, hotel bills.
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: So that's an example of what you said.
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: As far as you don't know what impact you have on people and George Connelly and Jerry Riggs, I'm sorry, jared Bullock should be remembered.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I, jerry, bullock and Jerry.
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: Rich, if you remember?
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean they were.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: But Jerry Bullock and George were the two.
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: And Jerry Bullock.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: The reason that we have the museum.
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: Yes, where we're at today.
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: Yes, the base of what that was.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: Now let's go to break.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: You got it.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: We'll take a break and be right back folks.
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: When that next call comes in, will you be ready?
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: At the American Towing and Recovery Institute, we make sure the answer is yes, With state-of-the-art training that prepares you for anything the road throws your way.
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: Our instructors, JT Reaser and Wes Wilburn, bring over 60 years of combined towing and recovery experience.
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: They've seen it all, and now they're passing that real-world knowledge on to you.
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: From light duty to heavy duty, roadside service to rotator recovery, every class is packed with techniques, safety practices and certifications that give you an edge, Because in this business, staying trained isn't just smart.
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: It's the difference between a risky guess and a confident solution.
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: Don't settle for good enough.
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: Take your career, your crew and your company to the next level.
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: See the upcoming schedule and register today at amtosignuporg.
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: That's A-M-T-O-W-S-I-G-N-U-P dot O-R-G, the American Towing and Recovery Institute, small enough to know you and big enough to serve you.
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: Don't forget that's amtowsignuporg.
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: Or feel free to give us a call at 636-800-ATRI.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: Welcome back listeners.
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: Of course you know you're listening to the number one podcast in the towing and recovery industry and this is a real important one.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: The American Towing and Recovery Institute started the podcast and then this year we turned it into the T Cohen News Channel, which has really embraced the industry.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: But I can't thank you guys enough.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: Remember that every week we do our best to bring you exciting episodes like this one here, and I want you to know we're available on Spotify, itunes, pandora Stitcher, iart Media, itunes, pandora Stitcher, iheartmedia, amazon or wherever you catch your podcasts, and I can't thank you enough for helping us build such a wide audience.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: It's because you tell your friends about us.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: So, without further ado, we have Wes and April Wilburn.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: So, april, I'm going to turn it over to you and maybe you can ask your sweet husband the next question.
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: I'm going to ask him what was the fuel that led him into training?
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: And education into the industry.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: I think that's the big thing, yep.
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: I'm sorry, do me the question again what motivates you to be a trainer or an instructor?
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: I was looking for something to stay involved with the industry but not be involved in operations 24-7.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: And also I wanted to travel a little bit.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: I knew I wanted to get out of the Washington DC area, which is where I was living at the time, so I guess the combination of this was new and different was the hotel industry.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: It was helping the hotel industry become more professional.
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: It was helping the industry become more professional.
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: It made a lot of sense.
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: It made better sense to me for a way to achieve continuing education in the telling industry.
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: So I, I, yeah, I guess I would it sounded like you still wouldn't be involved in the towing industry.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: Yes, definitely but I didn't.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I wanted to be involved in the towing industry.
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: I wanted to do something that has the meaning of life as well a purpose in life yeah which is what we all want, you know, and one way or the other we we search for that, and if we could find it and and strive for that, then that's just an added bonus yeah, um, and I've been very blessed.
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: I've gotten to travel.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: I've met some great people, shared good information, helped people.
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: I've been truly blessed.
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: And I'm going to say that there are great people in the industry.
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: Because I worked at a tow company, that's how I met Wes, and when I worked there, the guys I worked with were very good operators.
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: They were always trying to learn more things or do their job better.
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: They were always trying to achieve that.
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: They were top-notch, first-class tow truck operators.
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: Wes was doing a class.
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: I don't think I'd met him at that point, but I was like why are they going to a class?
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: What do they need to learn?
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: I didn't even understand the importance of it even at that time.
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: But when they came back from that class they were, I mean, just amongst themselves talking about this happened and I learned that.
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: And then this little, other little tweak and sometimes this simple little tweak is something that they already know and it's a build on um educational experience for them and that opened my eyes to a certain extent.
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: And then meeting the great west wilburn, you know, a year or two later, but just seeing their, just seeing the impact it made on them, not ever meeting west at that point was an eye-opener for me.
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: And they came back with with a little fire in their belly and they, they actually went out back to, they actually went out back to practice some of the stuff that west had given them, um, and that was an eye-opener for me.
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: I mean that that just showed me something then and it made me more relatable with them because they were trying to do their job better.
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: That made me want to do my job better, so, and I was just a dispatcher.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: Now how about if I ask him a question and I'm doing it because of all our listeners?
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: Wes, the first time I listened to you train, I sat off on the side and I thought to myself okay, here I used to think of myself as a pretty good trainer.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: And then I saw you and then I watched how you wanted to make sure the person got classroom training.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: He got hands-on training so that he actually picked up the chain, and you were explaining to the class about blocking and how important this is.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: And all of a sudden I look back and here you are in a mini class teaching them that the safety of the truck is progressing.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: So back when they were towing wagons.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: And then you go from towing a wagon clearing the streets and the safety and one of the very first podcasts we ever did together you're the one that was saying okay here's how you instruct the passenger of the truck car, say, sir, you don't come out on the traffic side.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: Do me a favor, just go across your seat and come out the traffic side.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Do me a favor, just go across your seat and come out the passenger side of your car or truck and I'll meet you over there and I'll explain what we're going to do.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: But we're going to do in the safety zone and Wes.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Those are the things that impressed me the most about you, because you wanted to make sure the people were safe.
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: When they come out with a new light or a new cone or something to protect the industry, the driver, you're the first one explaining it to somebody.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: And that's the reason why I have been impressed with you since the day I met you and sat there.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: You know watching you train You're a very gifted guy time just in the trucks of how they've improved little by little to make it a better and safer environment for what we do as a very dangerous job.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: Oh, there have been many things.
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: I guess a few of them would be computers on the booms on these trucks, like the folks that I would kind of wait they're actually dealing with yes um the use of better steel, a better technology to make the towing equipment in the region easier to handle.
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: Stronger designs specifically for what they're doing.
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: Look at it as close as you can get.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: Those would be a few of the things that come to mind.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: Tj yeah.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: Do you think the strapping today is better than the strapping from before?
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: Yes, definitely there's more fibers being used, different configurations.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: Definitely what we were doing in the 90s with twin-path planes, which were a type of round slide and grabbing wheels we we use we spent a lot of money damaging straps doing that.
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: The technology of the strap construction itself, with built-in protection, has come a long way.
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: So, yes, the strapping technology is way better because the movement of the booms and whatnot, we don't need as big and as long as I say as big as the longest straps anymore.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: We use a lot shorter straps.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: That makes them easier to handle.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: So I know that in April it was kind of funny because I had a call West one time and I said can you believe that at St Vincent's Hospital in Tampa, florida, they're only allowing so many EVs per floor?
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: Because the EV vehicle was so heavy in weight?
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: Because the EV vehicle was so heavy in weight and when they built those garages at St Vincent's Hospital in Tampa they only had to wait for a regular car.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: So now they have to tell these doctors there's only eight EV vehicles allowed on each floor and once eight are filled on the top floor, you have to park the EV on another floor and they keep track of them and they have EV spaces and when those EV spaces are filled you have to physically take your vehicle and park it on another level, because the weight of all those EVs in one floor would actually collapse the floor.
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: And that was amazing.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: So I had to call you know Wes on the phone and I said Wes, can you believe this is happening?
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: He said oh yeah, dj, the weight of an EV battery is so heavy.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: Then the towing of it is different and there's no blocks.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: You don't have the skid blocks and all this.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: There's going to be actually a piece of equipment that's going to pick up that EV and bring it out.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: So I mean I learned so much from Wes with this new technology.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, we're learning stuff all the time, and one of the challenges with electric vehicles is there's so much different information for them, and, of course, we developed the EV Clever app.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: That's exactly right.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: It's funny you can look at these different reports on here from the app what people are actually going to look at, and on several different time periods.
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: Just as a random thing I'm just stumbling through looking at stuff.
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: The wait is, you know, going to the wait, clicking the wait button.
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: You know, because we have the fast button that takes you right to whatever.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: It's one of the most quick buttons.
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: Sometimes is what I'm trying to say to you, right?
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: So yeah, the wait is quite a bit different.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's one of the most click buttons, sometimes to what I'm trying to say to you right, so, and yeah they, the way that they're quite a bit different.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so, uh, that's what they want to do is, and the uv clever app is to put that kind of information at, uh, the students fingertips, and that's something that's changed.
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: We used to um, share information with the student in a limited workbook format.
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: I'm talking about with the industry.
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: And then when I started on my own, I started to change that somewhat.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: I tried to give them more information than just what we covered in the course.
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: So they have reference information and whatnot covering the course.
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: So they have reference information or what not.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: Nowadays that reference information, we have very little workbook information.
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: When you come to class, we're not trying to make you memorize bunch of numbers.
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: We do talk about those numbers, we talk about how they involved in what you do, but we don't focus on all the charts and the graphs and we make that information available to them on our website after the class.
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: So that's one of the many ways, over this road of 1,000 classes, that things have changed tremendously.
• 33:27
  Speaker 3: And we are on the road to 1,000 right now.
• 33:29
  Speaker 3: Right now.
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: This weekend we'll be at 9 970, so we have 30 to go and I'm going to tell you now that that is a great achievement, because I do this for a living.
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: As far as like helping get the classes put together, there's a lot to get in your class.
• 33:46
  Speaker 3: There's not just not just what's going up on the spot and teaching the seminar.
• 33:52
  Speaker 3: He has to do a lot of research and keep his material up here in a fresh still.
• 33:55
  Speaker 3: As you said, dj, the trucks are newer, the vehicles that they're towing are newer, the roads are a little bit different.
• 34:05
  Speaker 3: There's all these different dynamics and things that goes into it.
• 34:08
  Speaker 3: Plus, teaching a class in Las Vegas can be different than teaching a class at Ohio, as far as your terrain goes.
• 34:14
  Speaker 3: That has to be taken into consideration.
• 34:16
  Speaker 3: That's our life, that's what we do.
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: Wes continuously develops information.
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: Well, it's not just me.
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: There's several people involved in that part, and there are, there are, and that's one of the past to a thousand that we're doing um because what's also innovated and known, that we are getting bigger and we're growing, we, we need to actually get bigger.
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: We've um partnered with cardinal, cardinal legacy group and that ngat research is um a fantastic instructor that's working with west right now.
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: Fantastic instructor that's working with Wes right now.
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: That's part of the developing and the growing that we're doing.
• 34:59
  Speaker 2: If you sit and still you're pulling behind.
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: There's nothing else to sit, and still, that's very, very true, april.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: Well, how about?
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: If we do this, we take a break and I want to tell all our listeners this is a special edition of Towing News Now, and this is a great one, because we got a chance to ask the guy, the man behind the wall, who knows it all, and he's been really gifted.
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: This is one guy that you can actually say he's forgotten more than a lot of people know.
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: So we'll be right back, folks, hang tight.
• 35:45
  Speaker 4: Special edition of Towing News Now T-R-A-A.
• 35:51
  Speaker 4: The Injured Drivers Fund and legislation that makes all of us safer are what makes this industry special.
• 35:53
  Speaker 4: Ina Towing supports all of this and more.
• 35:57
  Speaker 4: When there is a need, gay Rochester is always one of the first to come forward and ask how can I help?
• 36:03
  Speaker 4: The American Towing and Recovery Institute is honored to have the support of the INA Towing Network.
• 36:09
  Speaker 4: Together, we all make a difference.
• 36:12
  Speaker 4: Ina Towing Network Simpl all make a difference.
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: Ina Towing Network simplified solutions, superior service.
• 36:20
  Speaker 3: For electric and other alternative fuel vehicles.
• 36:22
  Speaker 3: We have developed an app that gives you all the manufacturers 411 for when that 911 happens.
• 36:28
  Speaker 3: Whether you are a fire tow or police, we got you covered.
• 36:32
  Speaker 3: To find the EV Clever app, go to your Apple or Google Play store for a 30-day free trial.
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: We also offer the National Tow Operator Certification, an independently sourced virtual testing program covering light duty, heavy duty, electric and alternative fuel vehicles.
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: Thank you guys.
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: And of course you know you're listening to the new Towing News Now channel and we have Wes and April Wilburn on.
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: And.
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: I'm asking periodic questions.
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: I can't thank you enough.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: We have over 20,000 listeners.
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: Remember to like, review and share everywhere and if you want an industry expert on the podcast, let Wes and April Wilburn know.
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: We have a hotline number here in the podcast center 706-409-5603.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: And we'd love to hear anything.
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: If your association is having an event and you want to get the word out, give us a hotline number 706-409-5603.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: And Wes and April Wilburn will do their very best to have it on the next podcast and get the exposure your association has.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: And we always believe that if you belong to your state association, it's one of the best investments you could ever make for your industry.
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: So, without further ado, I'll pass it over to April Wilburn.
• 38:08
  Speaker 3: Thank you, dj.
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: And we're talking about Wes getting to his 1th class Now.
• 38:13
  Speaker 3: I came in with Wes at the end of 2011.
• 38:16
  Speaker 3: He had been doing it for a few years and has been doing it for a few years since then.
• 38:22
  Speaker 3: But I have a question to ask Wes when he started doing this and he had his first class, did he?
• 38:29
  Speaker 3: Once that first class happened, did you think you'd do a second class?
• 38:34
  Speaker 3: Did you foresee yourself being this far down the road?
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah.
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: I was determined to make it happen.
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I saw a second class Rackmasters were just getting going, so that was kind of part of the magic of all that.
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: I rode on some of their energy.
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: I created a little for them as well.
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: But uh, yeah, I mean, by no means did we.
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: You know, was there some vision that you know, in this year I'll do this many in this year?
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: It just kind of happened.
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: But things were going well enough with the rec master that I.
• 39:13
  Speaker 2: I don't think there's much question for that second class.
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: Well, there would be a second class, I guess.
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: On one level I was concerned that.
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: I'd be a part of it.
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: One of the things I said to myself was I want to make myself so valuable in this team that they wouldn't want to go to an event without me being there.
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: And I had to control some of that energy because I can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but that's what I said to myself.
• 39:40
  Speaker 2: That was my goal.
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: I said how they do this so much.
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: This is what I want to be a part of.
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: This is the bigger piece of the towing industry had a chance to go to work for homes selling the add-on wheel for a few years earlier.
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: I didn't want to do it, so I want to drive a truck every day, see myself being involved in something like that, and several people did very, very well with that situation.
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: That made me think I shouldn't let something like that get past me again.
• 40:11
  Speaker 2: So you know, connected to what I like, but just not exactly the same.
• 40:15
  Speaker 3: So so did that?
• 40:18
  Speaker 3: Did that help you?
• 40:19
  Speaker 3: Did you feel like maybe you missed that opportunity?
• 40:22
  Speaker 3: Did that help you strive towards once you got into education?
• 40:26
  Speaker 3: Did that help?
• 40:26
  Speaker 3: Did that help like motivate you to say I'm making the best of this?
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I.
• 40:32
  Speaker 3: I was.
• 40:32
  Speaker 3: You chose that as a learning lesson yes it's important also the other, the other thing too, and that's for everybody who's listening and if you've got youngins and children at home, what said I want to be so good at, just that they won't want to do this without me.
• 40:50
  Speaker 3: And if we can go into anything like that and put all that energy into it, that in itself is something that will carry you for the rest of your life.
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: It definitely did.
• 41:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I just want to do a shout-out real quick.
• 41:09
  Speaker 4: Michael.
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: O'Brash was the gentleman's name.
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: If anybody knows Michael O'Brash, he just wanted to offer me the deal to get Ronald Holmes and I should have taken it.
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: Mike, if you're out there listening to somebody who knows him, give me a call.
• 41:26
  Speaker 3: I'd love to talk to you and that's an unquantifiable way that he touched.
• 41:29
  Speaker 3: Like, how you touch people is unquantifiable.
• 41:32
  Speaker 3: You don't know when they do something safe on the side of the road, it doesn't get back to you most of the time.
• 41:38
  Speaker 3: Sometimes she will call you up and say I I was just at your class and the thing that I learned saved me so much money from not damaging something.
• 41:47
  Speaker 3: But most of the time you don't know that.
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: You don't know what you have done.
• 41:52
  Speaker 3: It's inclinifiable.
• 41:53
  Speaker 3: Michael brass, even though you didn't take him up on this offer, it was unclinical way that he touched your life because you use that to say okay, here's an opportunity, I'm not missing on on this one.
• 42:07
  Speaker 3: And here we are.
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: How many years later?
• 42:11
  Speaker 3: 30, 40 almost almost 40 years later because of that one event.
• 42:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I met.
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: Michael about 40 years ago.
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: Probably what I'm talking about will probably happen 35.
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: And how many?
• 42:23
  Speaker 3: years have you been doing education?
• 42:26
  Speaker 2: Since 93.
• 42:27
  Speaker 2: So that's I went to my first class in 92.
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: I helped teach a class in 92, but 93 is when I sold my two businesses in the training and education.
• 42:57
  Speaker 2: I, 11 years in the industry at that point got Robin the industry full time in 82.
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: She was all those old mouth in Virginia but they'll take them show for his life and I think that, even though you went in different directions, I think that we need to talk about Donny Cree just for one moment.
• 43:20
  Speaker 2: Talk about what?
• 43:21
  Speaker 3: Donny Cree.
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, donny was a great guy.
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: He was a challenging individual as well.
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: Sometimes, if I hadn't had my experience with him, I wouldn't be sitting where I am today A horrible situation that happened to him and his family.
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 43:43
  Speaker 2: So much love and respect for Donnie.
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: Even though we went off on different visions of education, I still respected him, and I believe the same was vice versa.
• 43:53
  Speaker 2: He was actually in my home two weeks before he passed, sitting there right within a couple feet of where I'm sitting.
• 44:05
  Speaker 3: When they would come back to North Carolina for training, he would stop and see me, so we were still continuing to talk, and who knows where that relationship might have gone and I never had the honor of meeting him, donnie cruz but I I have been around justin a little bit and talked to him and he's first class kind of a guy too.
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah that's definitely yeah, I, I know one thing.
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: You know you're talking about Donnie Cruz and Kane Cruz and George Conley and some of these people that are just wonderful, wonderful people.
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: But I have to tell you that one of the very first times Wes that I met you is Ruthie.
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: Is Ruthie's last name, landau?
• 44:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, out of.
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: Florida and you guys were at the table for the museum and I met Ruthie that day.
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: I met you and you had all of these you know I call them props, but you had all these small little auto, you know, tow trucks and all of this stuff.
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: And when a kid came by you didn't care if that kid had $2 or $1, that kid walked away with one of these tow trucks and I said you know, you are the most generous human being.
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: And then later on, when I knew how involved Ruthie was in the museum and what she does down in the Florida Tow Show for that women's luncheon, I then became one of her sponsors so that I went to Car Park and I said you know, they need stuff.
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: So all of a sudden we had stools from Car Park, we had bottles of bourbon, we had the gifts of gifts given from industry people to make her luncheon bigger and better.
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: And last year was probably one of the most successful luncheons ever held by Ruthie and she's just very gifted and she has done a lot for the women in the industry and all of the state associations that have a women's branch.
• 46:32
  Speaker 3: It's because of her person like Ruthie, yeah, she definitely works herself into exhaustion, getting those things pulled off too.
• 46:38
  Speaker 3: I mean, you could see it, and that's her passion and her love.
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 46:43
  Speaker 3: And it beams out of her.
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, and we talk so much about men in the industry, but there's some very gifted women in the industry that Wes, you have helped.
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: Michelle suko, you know, you've helped her and you know and those are the things just like one of your sponsors, gabe rochester I from ina oh yeah, that's another lady that has given so much back.
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: So you know, a lot of times you think it's a male-dominated industry, but there are some females in it that really have made a big difference.
• 47:28
  Speaker 3: And Gay Rochester is a little bit hard because she does a lot behind the scenes and she's unsung and she wants to be unsung and I want to sing her a lot but it's hard to get her to come.
• 47:34
  Speaker 3: She just wants to do what she does and she wants to be unsung and I want to sing her a lot but it's hard to get her to come.
• 47:35
  Speaker 3: She just wants to do what she does and she wants to contribute, but she doesn't want all the praise and the credit for it that she definitely deserves yes, well, I think that I just mentioned those two ladies because, uh, I just you know it's.
• 47:51
  Speaker 3: It's astounding what they put into it.
• 47:53
  Speaker 3: It really is.
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: Well, the towing industry, wes, the generosity of some of these towers that give back to their community, or they give to St Jude's or they give to Tunnel to Tower.
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: It's amazing how many givers we have in the towing industry that give back to their community.
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: They've been blessed and they pass it forward.
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: So it's just, you know, and you're the same way, wes, you're always making sure that this event is successful.
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: Or, just like with me, you're the one who got me involved with the injured drivers fund and nothing would please me more than every state would have an injured driver's fund, you know, for the guy who breaks his leg and can't drive the truck and can't work it.
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: So he just needs help those eight to ten weeks, and that's what the Injured Drivers Fund's for.
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: And you're the one who got me involved in it.
• 49:05
  Speaker 2: And now I love it.
• 49:06
  Speaker 2: That's awesome.
• 49:07
  Speaker 2: We definitely appreciate your generosity.
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well your generosity.
• 49:12
  Speaker 2: There are a few states that have an injured driver's fund.
• 49:14
  Speaker 2: Colorado and Ohio.
• 49:16
  Speaker 2: Choose a coat of mine, I'm sure there's another one.
• 49:19
  Speaker 2: That's one reason people should consider supporting the Ohio Toe Show.
• 49:24
  Speaker 2: They'll be back in Great Wolf this year.
• 49:27
  Speaker 2: They do an auction.
• 49:30
  Speaker 2: They do two different auctions.
• 49:32
  Speaker 2: The women's group there does a dollar auction.
• 49:36
  Speaker 2: That is second to none.
• 49:37
  Speaker 2: And then they also do a live auction.
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: And the live auction I believe 100% of the proceeds go back to that driver's fund?
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: It sure does.
• 49:49
  Speaker 2: So that's an example of the Toll and Recovery Association of Ohio, who does some great things legislatively for the Towing of Ohio.
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: Yep, but see, Wes, you're the one who got me involved in that, and so you sit back and you know theirs is coming up in a couple of weeks, the 25th or the 27th of September and you sit back and you're the one who got me?
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: Involved in it and I think that this year I got four or five items going.
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: But you're a giver, buddy, and it's nice being around somebody.
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: You're a go-getter but at the same time you're a go-giver and then I have a question to ask too.
• 50:39
  Speaker 3: I don't know if we could have time before our next break, or Because we only got one break left.
• 50:45
  Speaker 3: So Okay, let's tease that you guys.
• 50:49
  Speaker 3: You guys want to come back from the break and hear my very Wonderful question.
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: You got a deal, We'll do it April.
• 51:00
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: We'll break and we'll come back for the mystery question that April's going to ask.
• 51:06
  Speaker 2: Let's do it.
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: Let's do it.
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: Let's do it.
• 51:13
  Speaker 4: The best towing companies offer a combination of great training, efficient operations along with quality supplies, of great training, efficient operations along with quality supplies.
• 51:22
  Speaker 4: Towing Equipment Direct is committed to help your towing company stay ahead of the competition by providing the best quality of towing equipment and supplies.
• 51:28
  Speaker 4: Here's why you should choose Towing Equipment Direct for all of your towing supply needs.
• 51:32
  Speaker 4: We provide affordable towing supplies and equipment.
• 51:35
  Speaker 4: All towing supplies and equipment are made from the latest technology and we supply products from the most respected brands in the towing industry.
• 51:43
  Speaker 4: If you're not using the latest towing equipment, there's a good chance your company has fallen behind.
• 51:49
  Speaker 4: Savvy consumers can quickly tell which towing companies provide the best service.
• 51:54
  Speaker 4: In many cases, the quality of your equipment and supplies can make a huge difference.
• 51:59
  Speaker 4: Our representatives are knowledgeable in the towing industry, so for the best towing equipment and supplies, count on the team at Towing Equipment Direct.
• 52:07
  Speaker 4: Browse our catalog online at towingequipmentdirectcom or give us a call at 910-747-9000.
• 52:15
  Speaker 4: That's 910-747-9000.
• 52:18
  Speaker 4: We look forward to serving you.
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: Welcome back listeners.
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: Of course, this is the American Towing Recovery Institute podcast, but this year it's called the Towing News Now channel and it's been very, very successful, and it's because of your kindness of sharing with other people in our industry and some people that are not in our industry.
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: And out of the 20,000 listeners, do you know that we have close to a thousand that listen outside the United States?
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: So you have people in Australia listening to this.
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: You have people in the UK listening.
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: You have people in Korea.
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: You have people in China listening.
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: You have people in Korea.
• 53:01
  Speaker 2: You have people in China all listening to the podcast.
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: And we can't thank you enough.
• 53:09
  Speaker 1: So before the break we were talking with April and she was going to ask this question to the one and only Wes Wilber.
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: So, april, take it over girl.
• 53:16
  Speaker 3: I am going to ask this question, but first I want to tell a little story about when I would go to a trade show or anywhere that Wes wasn't in the room with me and I would introduce myself and they were like who?
• 53:28
  Speaker 3: And I would say Wes Wilburn's wife.
• 53:30
  Speaker 3: And they're like, oh so it was an honor for me to be Wes Wilburn's wife.
• 53:35
  Speaker 3: It's an honor to be Wes Wilburn's wife.
• 53:37
  Speaker 4: So it's never, like a sight to me whatsoever so.
• 53:40
  Speaker 2: I am West.
• 53:40
  Speaker 3: Wilbur's wife.
• 53:41
  Speaker 3: But my question to my husband, west Wilbur, is it's part A and part B.
• 53:46
  Speaker 3: Where is a place that you would like to do a class that you haven't been to yet, because we're coming to our 1,000th class.
• 53:55
  Speaker 3: Okay, everybody, hawaii, Kenny Tom are you listening, hello?
• 53:59
  Speaker 3: Kenny Tom, are you listening?
• 54:03
  Speaker 2: to love.
• 54:04
  Speaker 3: I really expected him to ponder on that for a second thing about it.
• 54:05
  Speaker 3: But that was right there.
• 54:07
  Speaker 3: And then part of that class is where's he been that?
• 54:10
  Speaker 3: He would like to go back to you that.
• 54:12
  Speaker 3: That it's been like a cup and that might be a hard question.
• 54:15
  Speaker 3: They answer because we're studying anybody else.
• 54:18
  Speaker 3: But let's see, there, that means that he doesn't have an answer for that, because every place we've been to, um, he's gotten something out of it, something he's, he's, yeah, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's telling operating a wonderful individuals who are doing the exact same thing only totally different and many different corners of the country.
• 54:40
  Speaker 3: It's been my extreme privilege to visit them and when I first met wes for about a year and a half I went everywhere with them to these classes and I came.
• 54:53
  Speaker 3: My background is towing because I worked for henry's worker service in northern virginia, um, but I was around them and I knew the pride that they took in their jobs and their professions.
• 55:03
  Speaker 3: I thought from everything that I've heard about tow truck drivers and tow companies that I must be in the unicorn of places, because these guys are good, they care about what they do.
• 55:19
  Speaker 3: Places because these guys are good, they care about what they do.
• 55:23
  Speaker 3: They.
• 55:23
  Speaker 3: When they come back from doing a job that they had an issue with, they go back and forth and they discuss, like could have done this, could have done that.
• 55:27
  Speaker 3: They really cared what they did.
• 55:28
  Speaker 3: So it's like well, this must be an exceptional place, but on the road with west wilbur, their first year and a half that that I was with them, that was everywhere.
• 55:39
  Speaker 3: Everywhere I went, and even with the guys, because we asked a lot when we go to a place to do a class.
• 55:46
  Speaker 3: They worked monday through friday.
• 55:48
  Speaker 3: They work 12 16 hours a day and we're asking them to come in on saturday, sunday, and sit down for eight hours.
• 55:56
  Speaker 3: I mean half of it, half the classes in a classroom, another habit outside hands, the lines.
• 56:02
  Speaker 3: But we're still asking a lot of them, when they've already given 60 or 80 hours to choose the profession that they love, we're asking them for 60 more hours.
• 56:12
  Speaker 3: That's a lot to be away from their, their wives and their husbands and their kids, in addition to what they've already put in.
• 56:20
  Speaker 3: Sometimes when they would sit down you could see that on their face a little wives and their husbands and their kids, in addition to what they've already put in.
• 56:26
  Speaker 3: Sometimes when they would sit down, you could see that on their face a little bit.
• 56:28
  Speaker 3: And before lunch break would come, you could see one thing that was said, one little thing maybe, or one big thing that he said that hurt them up, that they said, okay, I, I just heard something that might make next week, when I go back in, a little bit easier, a little bit better, a little bit safer.
• 56:45
  Speaker 3: And I've seen that time.
• 56:47
  Speaker 3: I've seen that time and time again and I also learned that my company that I worked for, henry circuit service phenomenal company, great toy coat, cook up operators.
• 56:59
  Speaker 3: They were exceptional what they did, but they weren't the exception across the board.
• 57:04
  Speaker 3: All two operators are like that they love this job, they love this industry, they love what they do, they give their lives to it, and west is a big part of that.
• 57:15
  Speaker 3: So I'm going to thank him because he stepped away right now and I just did my little rant.
• 57:21
  Speaker 3: I'm going to ask CJ to come in for a second.
• 57:27
  Speaker 3: And what else do you think about this, cj?
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: Well, I think one of the people that you know we talk about how great Wes is, I think Tommy Luciano.
• 57:40
  Speaker 1: I used to tell people when I was up in Baltimore and somebody would say, well, where are we going for dinner tonight?
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: I said, well, I'm eating a brief dinner so I can go over and see the movies with Tommy.
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: Wow, and Tommy would play a scene and then discuss the scene and we became friends.
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: And then Luciano, who does fishing, and he helps kids with fishing poles, so I landed up fishing poles.
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: So I landed up in April.
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: You know I had a four-car garage, two-car garage on one side of the house and two on the other.
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: It's a U-shaped home and the side of my garage was filled with fishing equipment poles.
• 58:36
  Speaker 1: And so forthmmy luciano and his friends would fix the poles and give them to kids that didn't have parents and the kid would fish, and.
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: But I met him through west and it's tommy luciano.
• 58:54
  Speaker 3: I met him through west he is an exceptional person, oh.
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: Oh, just a wonderful guy.
• 59:02
  Speaker 1: And then you meet other people that were with Rackmaster Terry, who was the older gentleman who was just as kind to me as he can be, and you meet and, of course, donnie Cruz.
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: I was a motivational speaker.
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: Donnie Cruz took me under his wing and would share with me techniques and that's how we met.
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: And Wes and I met in a hallway up in Baltimore and I said where are you training next?
• 59:38
  Speaker 1: And I had my seat there and I remember taking two or three guys from the auto recycling industry to Chattanooga and we sat in the audience for two hours and listened to Wes do his class and the guys from the recycling industry, they were enthralled.
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: They were just saying, boy, this guy is really.
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: But wes has helped so many good people.
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 1: And of course, he became friends with very, very good people.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: I think tommy luciano is one of the finest people.
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: He's like wes, he's he's.
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: He's one of the finest people I've met and and people that have sacrificed.
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: When he said, George Connolly, george Connolly, to me, has sacrificed so much for the industry.
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: And those are the kind people you want to remember.
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you want to remember them and I think we're better people because we are around better people.
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's you know.
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 1: And I wanted April.
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 1: I want when people say you know, dj Harrington was here.
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: I just want to make the world a better place.
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: Wes is the same way.
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: You know he wants to make the world a better place.
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: So you know, when people ask me, I kneel for the cross and I stand for the flag and that's the way life is and I'm going to be that way and, thank God, I have good friends like you, april and Wes, so I'll turn it back over to you.
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 1: That's my final words of the podcast.
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: I just think it was a good one and that more and more people are getting to know who the real Wes Wilburn is, because he's a very generous good guy.
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 3: He is, he is, and my final word is we're on the road to 1,000.
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 3: We're going to achieve that soon.
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 3: We're scheduling classes.
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 3: We've got a full fall lineup.
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 3: It's not going to happen this year, it's going to be next year sometime, as far as the thousand goes, but every class that we do is one more class towards that, and along the way we'll see old friends and we'll meet new ones and we cannot wait.
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: Now you're talking.
• 1:01:56
  Speaker 1: I want to tell all our friends and April's probably been the best thing that happened to Wes but besides Wesley, wesley, his son, is just a gift of gifts and he's going to continue training and teaching people.
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 1: But he'll be teaching young people how to do the key bars and sing a note and do theater and do all that stuff, because he's a very gifted young man.
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 3: Wesley is very industrious.
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 3: That is a fact.
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 1: Very much so.
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: He'll be a success no matter what.
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 1: But I want to thank all of our listeners for listening and I want you to know develop from within so you never go without and always have that Kenai spirit constant and never-ending improvement.
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: So, april, until next time.
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 1: We'll see you on the next podcast from the new Towing News Channel.
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 1: Thank you.