1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,570 Larry and I were best friends. 2 00:00:01,640 --> 00:00:03,120 Our friendship was developing. 3 00:00:03,186 --> 00:00:05,530 We met in ninth grade, first day of ninth grade. 4 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:07,880 I went over to his house one day. Obviously, I couldn't drive. 5 00:00:07,946 --> 00:00:10,650 My dad, we were out on the boat. Larry wasn't home. 6 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,915 And his mother said, Oh, he went around the corner to go and mow a lawn. 7 00:00:14,982 --> 00:00:18,130 So we go out in the middle of near the Chesapeake Bay, 8 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:25,050 and we see this little teeny rowbar boat, young man coming across the Acillary Bay. 9 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:26,800 And it's Larry. We pull up next to him. 10 00:00:26,866 --> 00:00:28,680 He has a lawn mower in the rowboat. 11 00:00:28,746 --> 00:00:30,890 It just represents what we've always done. 12 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,600 We always have a culture of let's get the job done. 13 00:00:33,667 --> 00:00:36,280 Whether you have to put a lawnmower or a rowboat, that carried through our 14 00:00:36,346 --> 00:00:38,370 whole life to this day, we get it done. 15 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,050 Larry, Kate, and I knew that we wanted to start a business. 16 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,614 We didn't know which business we wanted to start. 17 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,720 But when I studied fire protection, when I went to work at a fire sprinkler 18 00:00:46,786 --> 00:00:49,320 company, I said to Larry, Hey, we ought to do this business. 19 00:00:49,386 --> 00:00:51,210 This seems like a really good business. 20 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,610 We were honest with ourselves. We really didn't know a ton. 21 00:00:53,854 --> 00:00:56,934 I told Dan, as we go along, I said, If you're not here, 22 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:58,120 I don't want to do it without you, ever. 23 00:00:58,458 --> 00:01:00,827 That stands today. 24 00:01:01,929 --> 00:01:05,160 Larry and I have always been the person worried about strategy, 25 00:01:05,226 --> 00:01:08,669 working on the decisions, the big picture decisions for the company. 26 00:01:09,069 --> 00:01:14,000 Now, I'm relieved to have help and also a forum to provide input 27 00:01:14,066 --> 00:01:15,542 to the larger organization. 28 00:01:15,609 --> 00:01:19,000 Since we've teamed with Pye Barker, we've had opportunities that we never 29 00:01:19,066 --> 00:01:21,014 would have had on our own. 30 00:01:21,081 --> 00:01:25,120 One of the reasons we partner with Pye Barker is we want people 31 00:01:25,186 --> 00:01:29,414 to have a path, to have a path that will go further than it could when Larry 32 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:31,250 and I just owning the company together. 33 00:01:31,391 --> 00:01:35,329 We want people to have a path, the opportunities around the country. 34 00:01:35,395 --> 00:01:38,240 If they continue to get education, certifications, and keep doing 35 00:01:38,306 --> 00:01:41,668 their job, they can move up in the structure of this company. 36 00:01:41,735 --> 00:01:44,600 One of the things we loved about Pye Barker, and absolutely the biggest 37 00:01:44,666 --> 00:01:47,494 thing, is everybody else that we talked with didn't 38 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,000 have the same dynamic as Pye Barker. 39 00:01:49,066 --> 00:01:52,294 But if you've never turned a pipe wrench, you don't really 40 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:53,480 know what we do for a living. 41 00:01:53,546 --> 00:01:55,614 Now, you just look at dollars and cents, go, Oh, this is a great market. 42 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:56,480 This is a great event. 43 00:01:56,546 --> 00:01:58,040 Well, that's not really what you should be looking at. 44 00:01:58,106 --> 00:01:59,970 You should be looking at the people. That's what's important. 45 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:01,760 They understand what we want to do with our people. 46 00:02:01,826 --> 00:02:03,600 They are people people. That is the difference. 47 00:02:03,666 --> 00:02:05,130 I'm going to tell you, that is the difference. 48 00:02:05,592 --> 00:02:07,928 They're the uncorporate, corporate. 49 00:02:07,995 --> 00:02:11,934 As we've said, we work because we want to, not because we have to. 50 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,960 One of the things that really drives me is to support the community and 51 00:02:15,026 --> 00:02:21,041 to do nonprofits, participate on boards, and to really give back to the community. 52 00:02:21,108 --> 00:02:25,145 We always put ourselves in our customers' shoes. 53 00:02:25,612 --> 00:02:30,280 How would we feel if we called somebody to provide a sprinkler system 54 00:02:30,346 --> 00:02:31,614 What do we need to provide? 55 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,170 We tried to provide them with the best solution that provides long-term value. 56 00:02:35,255 --> 00:02:38,125 I just can't wait to tell everybody I see. 57 00:02:38,191 --> 00:02:39,320 It's every van, all pie... 58 00:02:39,386 --> 00:02:41,450 I want people going, Who the heck is Pye Barker? 59 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:43,240 We're going forward. We're not looking back, guys. 60 00:02:43,306 --> 00:02:44,770 People get stuck looking back. 61 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:46,360 Don't, go forward. 62 00:02:46,426 --> 00:02:48,010 The past is the past. 63 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:49,960 We're going to do great things. We can do great things. 64 00:02:50,026 --> 00:02:51,440 We will do great things, and I'm excited for that..