Thursday, September 1- Tune in for Part 2 of our first annual EWN Tailgate Week. Check out more of our awesome people within EWN.
Quick Links:
James Cross on Linkedin
Jim Schauer on Linkedin
Episode Transcript
[0:00] [music]
James Cross: [0:24] We’re live here with Corey Farver. I like when we have some professional guests on.
Jim Schauer: [0:34] Unpack that, James. Let’s go deeper. Let’s go deeper, James.
James: [0:37] Corey is the face here on the podcast, the voice here. That’s a big deal for us being in the podcast. A “Feature Focus,” a way for our clients to really see some of our products and features within our catalog. Corey, welcome to the show.
Corey: [0:57] Thanks for having me. Excited to be on the awesome podcast with you guys. First‑time podcast guy, right here.
Jim: [1:06] This is your first time on a podcast?
Corey: [1:08] I’ve been on the webinars, but podcast…
James: [1:10] That doesn’t count.
Jim: [1:12] No, this counts.
Corey: [1:13] I’ve been waiting all this time to get onto this one.
James: [1:15] Do you have one of these coffee mugs?
Corey: [1:17] Haven’t been able to receive one yet, no.
James: [1:20] I promise that to every guest so far and nobody’s taken it. I’ll promise it to you too, long as you leave it.
Jim: [1:26] Put it back on there. We need that.
James: [1:27] Corey also is one of our account managers. He takes care of our clients, and make sure they’re successful. Their success means our success.
Jim: [1:36] Can I just jump in a little bit here? I actually get to hear Corey’s voice almost every day in my home…
James: [1:44] That’s weird.
Jim: [1:44] In West Palm Beach. It sounds weird, but on the other side of the house, Tammy Bomia with ClockSpring|NRI, and Corey is supporting world global operations for them.
James: [1:55] I’m going to say something creepy. I’m still on that email chain, so I still see things because I was involved in that project. I still see things, so I know he’s taking care of people.
Jim: [2:06] They’re always on it. The thing with Corey, though, he has to support people in the UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa, or wherever, and he is always on. I hear nothing but great things about you each and every day.
Corey: [2:20] Thank you.
Jim: [2:21] Well done.
James: [2:22] We’re live at tailgate week. It’s cool to be back. I know for some people it’s their first time. For those of us who have been able to enjoy some of the team building before and some of the fellowship before myself, it’s neat to be back. How’s it like for you getting to break bread with people and sit down?
Corey: [2:44] It’s a different taste of your day. I mean, you get so used to…At least for me, when I work at home, I’m looking at my screen. Yeah, we might have Zoom meetings and stuff, but just the interactions and, “Wow, that person’s taller than I would’ve expected,” without even thinking…
James: [2:59] Right.
Corey: [3:00] things of that nature. It’s so much fun. I think, for me, as with probably most people you ask, the culture at EWN is what makes them so…They glow when they talk about it. There’s a bit of that that you miss when you’re at home.
[3:18] Being able to be around what I consider my work family here, it’s just such a great experience. It’s encouraging. I’m excited as I go back into a normal workday after this, just to carry the momentum from our awesome week here.
Jim: [3:34] I think that’s the goal. That’s great that that’s…
James: [3:36] It’s funny you say that. People ask me all the time because of my role. When I speak and stuff, they say, “When you know it’s working, how do you know if your culture is good or bad?”
[3:52] This week, for me, is one of those where…Look, I’ll be honest. I wasn’t a part of planning this big time, right? I wasn’t the one doing the logistics. I wasn’t on the hook for things. I gave a little involvement in this. When I look around and then, “Is the culture aware?”
Jim: [4:11] Are you a proud culture dad?
James: [4:13] Yeah. Bring it, daddy.
Jim: [4:14] Somebody, give him a tissue.
James: [4:14] Yeah, but really, it’s going to be one of those like when I speak next, it would be like…It’s when everybody else starts talking, and you’re not the one that has to be beating the drum anymore. I don’t have to say it anymore. You say it. She says it, and he says it.
Jim: [4:30] Let me just unpack it a little bit. Do you think you’re so happy and proud because it’s not forcing? It’s organic. People are just…
James: [4:37] It’s multiplicity, kind of, right? I mean, I can only do so much.
Jim: [4:40] Right.
James: [4:41] I’m, “How are you?” Then it’s the goose and the golden egg, P/PC balance. If I can leverage that and now I got two champions, and three, and four, and five, I don’t have to work so hard.
Jim: [4:54] Then it keeps going and going and…
James: [4:56] Hearing you say that, hey, you got me. You got me.
[4:58] Corey, a lot of training here too, a lot of safety trainings. Neat to see our impact on the community and the people here really beating the same drum we are when it comes to safety. Has there been any classes you loved?
Corey: [5:13] Yeah there’s been…I was…
James: [5:16] Go.
Jim: [5:16] Keep going.
Jim: [5:18] I’m waiting for it. I’m waiting for it.
Corey: [5:20] [laughs] Well, I actually went to a date night with my wife last night. We were sitting down and talking about our classes. I said, “This was that rare training day where I look back and I thought I enjoyed each session,” and it’s kind of a cop‑out answer.
James: [5:34] That’s cool. That’s so true, isn’t it?
Corey: [5:35] I will say we had the Active Shooter.
Jim: [5:39] Bingo.
Corey: [5:39] It was our first class we went to, in the morning. I was like, “I don’t need any coffee.” I was awake after that.
James: [5:45] I’ll bet it made the restaurant a little bit different last night.
Corey: [5:49] When we sat down, I said, “You sit here, I’m sitting here.” and I said “So, where are your exits in the room?” and we went through them.
James: [5:56] That’s impactful right there.
Corey: [5:58] She works with students as well. She has been through her own sort of training in a different kind of perspective. And so, this has been…
James: [6:05] That’s an impact right there, right? You went home and applied it. Corey, thanks for taking care of our clients. Thanks for being who you are. Thanks for Feature Focus. Thanks for all your work there.
Jim: [6:16] Absolutely, so much.
Corey: [6:18] Join us on Feature Focus. Hopefully, you guys will learn something or ask us questions that we can help and make your experience better.
Jim: [6:22] And that is a plug, right? We did a great job with that.
James: [6:26] We’ll let that sponsor go. All right, we’ll be back.
Corey: [6:29] Thanks, guys.
James: [6:29] You already have one, don’t you?
Josh Owings: [6:32] No, we don’t.
James: [6:33] I feel like he does. You’re so interesting.
Jim: [6:35] You know he has a podcast.
Josh: [6:37] Am I?
James: [6:36] I mean that as a good thing. I’m not being funny. You’re next Josh.
Jim: [6:41] Yep. You cannot hide.
James: [6:43] We’re live. Josh is coming out of his shell. This is the time. He’s prepping, he’s over‑prepping right now.
Jim: [6:50] I love it. I love it.
James: [6:50] He’s thinking, he’s taking notes.
Jim: [6:52] And he’s looking at Sebastian right now. He’s like “What are they going to say to Sebastian? What are they going to talk about? What’s going to come up tailgate week?”
Josh: [6:58] With Jim, there’s no knowing.
Jim: [7:02] Not on the air.
James: [7:03] Hey, it’s like the second week in a row we’ve hung out with Sebastian.
Jim: [7:06] We were in St. Louis Missouri at SGA Natural Gas Connect last week.
James: [7:10] For those that don’t know, Sebastian was behind the camera. If it wasn’t framed quite right…
Sebastian Campbell: [7:16] I was the producer Intern.
James: [7:17] Oh yeah, and sales intern and brand intern.
Sebastian: [7:21] And sales intern.
Jim: [7:22] I would say construction intern because he was instrumental with the construction.
James: [7:26] Logistics and…
James: [7:28] That’s what we call that.
Jim: [7:29] And you know what, though? He just kept stepping up.
Jim: [7:32] He didn’t even ask.
James: [7:33] Rock star.
Jim: [7:33] He just kind of like saw places to help out and you did it. You did a great job.
James: [7:38] You were like the VR expert on top of that.
Jim: [7:39] Oh, yeah, that got some good…
James: [7:41] Did you reboot it? That’s what I kept hearing on the other side.
James: [7:44] I don’t know, let me see it. Reboot.
Sebastian: [7:46] Try again.
James: [7:47] OK, it’s perfect. Sebastian, we’re live at tailgate week. You’ve been here now, what, five years, six?
Sebastian: [7:54] Yeah, five years and a couple of months now.
James: [7:56] So it’s happened, right? You got your horned toad as well. Five years on the job. So you’ve kind of grew up like I did in this place, where we had a lot of team building. Well, you spent a lot of time together. Your team is very close, right? How’s it been being together with a larger group this week?
Sebastian: [8:13] It’s been good.
James: [8:15] Scared how he was going to answer that, there was a long pause. “Hmm, the jury’s still out, James.”
Sebastian: [8:22] It’s been terrible.
James: [8:23] Everybody’s cool but Brian.
Sebastian: [8:25] Except for that James guy. No, it’s been good. I think it’s been a good opportunity to see people. It’s been a good opportunity to see people but also get to collaborate in person on things.
James: [8:40] For solutions; that we’re just solving things.
Sebastian: [8:44] Yeah, but people can just walk up to you and say, “Hey, I’ve got this question,” or, “I have this idea about a new set of courses that we could look into.”
Jim: [8:52] And do you think that would’ve happened had we not been together in person? Do you think they would have just picked up the phone or Zoom and done that, or do you think that the in‑person has really fostered that?
Sebastian: [9:02] I think ‘foster’ is a good word because I think you can do that online. You can Slack someone or Zoom someone but…
James: [9:10] But not all people operate that way, right?
Sebastian: [9:12] Right, I don’t, I have to be really intentional about Slacking James with an idea or something like that, whereas if it’s in person it’s much more natural to start small talk really quick and sit down and say, “I have this really great idea about something I want to work on.”
Jim: [9:31] And as a micro‑example, it’s wonderful to see it here, James and I live in the industry, out at conferences and such and when people say, “Why do you go to so many conferences?” imagine that on an industry level where you’re collaborative with operators and contractors and manufacturers day in and day out. It’s intense how that just fosters.
James: [9:49] And for a lot of people that don’t know, Sebastian works closely with a lot of our clients, I mean with custom content needs and making sure they got what they need as far as training and our CBTs. We’ve had a lot of training here. What’s been some of the training that you’ve enjoyed?
Sebastian: [10:09] We just got through the Emergency Management training…
James: [10:12] Oh really?
Sebastian: [10:12] with Julie, which was really good.
James: [10:14] Oh, I’ve heard of Julie.
Sebastian: [10:16] Yeah, you’ve heard of her.
James: [10:18] EWN alumni, as we call it.
Jim: [10:17] Is she working on her PhD right now? Is she?
James: [10:19] I don’t know if she is.
Jim: [10:22] Oh, it’s something intense.
James: [10:20] It’s her seventh PhD.
Jim: [10:21] Yeah, it’s something intense.
James: [10:22] Julie Elliott, we love you. She knows it.
Jim: [10:25] Yeah.
James: [10:25] Did Connor fly her here? That’s the real question.
Sebastian: [10:28] I’m not sure he’s flying right now.
James: [10:29] Is he right here? Did he just whoosh‑whoosh?
Sebastian: [10:32] He just took off. [laughs]
James: [10:32] He flew the helicopter. No, just kidding.
Jim: [10:35] He went through the past hour.
James: [10:35] Another alumni. I mean, it’s weird, but it’s awesome.
Sebastian: [10:38] He might make a surprise visit. He could make a…
Jim: [10:41] I hope so.
Sebastian: [10:41] surprise showing on Jim and James.
James: [10:43] Fly over. Can we get a flyover there?
Jim: [10:45] What’s that in Top Gun or request a flyby or a buzz the tower or whatever?
Sebastian: [10:50] Buzz the tower.
James: [10:52] I don’t know either.
Jim: [10:53] Maybe he had his stuff.
Jim: [10:55] Well we don’t?
James: [10:54] Yeah, this is basically our podcast comes about.
James: [10:57] See why you feel so good at it?
Sebastian: [10:59] Yeah.
James: [10:58] Yeah. Well, it’s good to see you. Good to be in person. Good to see back‑to‑back weeks.
Jim: [11:04] Yeah, absolutely.
James: [11:06] I’ll see you next week, I guess.
Sebastian: [11:07] Yeah.
Jim: [11:07] I won’t…
Sebastian: [11:08] Maybe.
James: [11:08] I don’t know.
Jim: [11:10] because you’re coming to Florida?
James: [11:10] We’ll be back.
Jim: [11:11] Can we open it?
James: [11:12] Can you get in the shot?
Jim: [11:15] Oh, we got it. We’re good, Is this…
Jim: [11:17] Is this extroverts‑united right here?
James: [11:20] Yes. Right now we are the story. Aaron said I’m working on Josh. I’m trying to make him extrovert and that’s…In my head I was thinking, I don’t think that’s how that works.
Josh: [11:32] He’s really got his work it out for him on that one.
James: [11:36] Quite a drive.
Jim: [11:34] Would you classify yourself as an introvert more than extrovert?
Josh: [11:38] Yeah, I think Aaron has been trying for two decades nearly now.
Jim: [11:42] Two decades.
Jim: [11:43] He told us it working?
Josh: [11:45] No well.
Jim: [11:45] He told the story about when you guys were working there at some place you tore down your cue balls?
James: [11:51] I thought it was a story. I thought he was lying.
Josh: [11:53] No, it happened.
James: [11:54] It really happened.
Jim: [11:55] How did you feel when that happened?
Josh: [11:57] It was different.
Jim: [11:58] OK.
Josh: [11:58] It’s nice to get the cube walls down though. Regular desk, you can see the people. Not so closed off.
James: [12:04] We weren’t really digging into your early years in your career. We were talking about our group here all being together and how…
Jim: [12:12] The camaraderie.
James: [12:13] The walls coming down metaphorically, and also he brought up that literally. But it has been nice. You and I have been on some team‑building teams before. I think we carved pumpkins or went on Easter egg hunts, or whatever it might be.
[12:27] It’s funny to think back at those. Now being here, realize how much we needed things like that. Did it need to be Easter eggs? Maybe not, but being here together is important. When we’re saying that I think on day one…How was day one for you?
Josh: [12:44] It was good.
James: [12:44] It was good?
Josh: [12:45] A couple of really good sessions that I enjoyed.
Jim: [12:48] What was your favorite session?
Josh: [12:49] The favorite one?
James: [12:50] Hear, the helicopter took them off just mid‑podcast.
Jim: [12:54] I hear the helicopter.
Josh: [12:56] The Fire and Police Department one was the super‑entertaining.
James: [12:57] I heard you get to get drunk in that one. Is that…
Jim: [12:59] That’s the one with the Google Goggles.
James: [13:02] Oh, I thought I had to drink.
Josh: [13:04] I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t catch anything.
James: [13:04] All right, you got to drink in it.
Jim: [13:06] No, no, no, no. Allegedly, no.
James: [13:08] I signed up twice for the afternoon.
James: [13:12] Have you seen that helicopter? I think it just left.
Jim: [13:14] I just heard it leave. A bevy of people are coming back in.
James: [13:19] You might have missed that one. Josh, we have one more day, and then…Is your family coming out? Are you going to get to enjoy that on Friday? It’s going to be hot.
Josh: [13:26] I know.
James: [13:27] Can you bring a tent, and can we share? I’m just kidding.
Josh: [13:30] I could.
Jim: [13:31] We should give the…
James: [13:32] a canopy. I’m just saying I’m just work‑shopping ideas of how we could team‑build together. Maybe a porter cooler or something. It’s going to be long, but it’s going to be neat to get our families together.
Jim: [13:43] It’ll be fine.
James: [13:44] The dunk tank in action. Can’t wait to dunk this guy twice.
Jim: [13:48] I am looking forward too. You know what, I’m enjoying about this though. I’m looking forward to that for myself. I know people professionally, but to meet people’s families and their kids, and such like that, it really just builds some relationship.
James: [14:03] It’s something like we know each other. I’m friends with Josh on Facebook, I see his family. He may not know it. [laughs] But we’ve grown up together. Our kids are the same ages and things like that. It’s going to be neat to get them together.
James: [14:19] You know, kids don’t care.
Jim: [14:20] It’s going to be a fun day.
James: [14:21] They’ll be best friends and we’ll be over there on the outside.
Jim: [14:24] Sweating.
James: [14:24] Me and Josh going, “Man, can we go?”
[14:28] Well Josh, thanks for everything you do on our systems engineering software.
Jim: [14:33] What did you think of this? Did you like it?
James: [14:34] This wasn’t so bad. See? Extrovert in training.
Josh: [14:36] Yes.
[14:37] All right. Thank you, sir. We’ll be back.
James: [14:41] It’s one of my favorite guests of all time. I can hardly tell.
Jim: [14:44] Why? Because she used to call me Hollywood? Remember those days?
Baylie Brown: [14:48] I do.
James: [14:48] So let’s tell that story, a super‑fast version of it. When Jim came to the interview, I was out of town, I think I was at a TGA event and Jim came and it wasn’t really an interview. It was like, “Hey, he’s going to get hired”. We all knew that but we wanted Jim to meet the teams, and Baylie slacks me while I’m on there, “So, who’s this Hollywood guy?”
[15:09] [crosstalk]
[15:09] Jimmy came in with a shirt out. His chest out. His long flowing mullet.
Baylie: [15:15] Glasses.
James: [15:16] Glasses up in his hair. You know, the Jim of old.
Jim: [15:20] And Baylie’s like, “Why are you in my office? And why are you asking about trade shows? Please leave.
James: [15:24] But really at the time, we were in the Brand. I don’t even think it was a brand department there. It might have been marketing.
Jim: [15:29] It was marketing.
Baylie: [15:29] It was marketing.
James: [15:30] So we have a long history together and then she left and went and spread her wings and went to Safety and Compliance now. So you grew up in this world where we team‑build it a lot, right?
Baylie: [15:42] Yes.
James: [15:42] So how’s it been this week getting together?
Baylie: [15:45] Oh, it’s been fun. It’s learning everybody. I’ve had to look at badges because I don’t remember everybody’s names.
Jim: [15:52] Right.
James: [15:53] It’s James.
Baylie: [15:53] Yeah.
James: [15:53] Also James.
Jim: [15:54] It’s Jim.
Baylie: [15:55] Now that we’re not at the conference, I can’t just be like, “Oh, well, they may be with somebody else.”
James: [15:59] Yeah, it’s really awkward when there’s two people. I really don’t know their name, and they’re not wearing their tag. I’m really embarrassed.
Jim: [16:05] Well, OK, this is an interesting perspective because me being remote, I’m coming in expecting to see people I don’t know. You folks are corporate, HQ‑based, and you’re still dealing with the same thing.
James: [16:16] Because of all the remote people that are on teams that we’re not a part of, right?
Jim: [16:21] Right. It’s interesting where our culture has grown over the years here. We have more and more remote, and people coming in and covering certain parts of the country and such like that. It’s exciting to see. Baylie, this week, expectations, what did you have? What did you want to get out of this week going into tailgate week?
Baylie: [16:38] To meet new people, honestly.
Jim: [16:40] OK.
James: [16:40] It’s so weird to say it in your own company.
Baylie: [16:43] It is.
James: [16:43] You were around when we had 25, 30 people, right?
Baylie: [16:46] We used to walk around the building. We knew what everybody drove, all their vehicles, where everybody parked.
Baylie: [16:51] I mean, it was the same. Now, we can’t fit.
James: [16:54] We can’t fit in this parking lot. I had to park by, a helicopter.
Baylie: [16:56] We opened up the building. They need more space. We can’t fit.
Jim: [17:01] We actually put in another parking lot, right? That one in the back.
Baylie: [17:04] Yeah.
Jim: [17:04] On heavy days, that one’s filled too. They’re going over into the grasslands.
Baylie: [17:09] Yes, the front, the side, the back.
James: [17:13] We’ve had a lot of safety training woven into this week already, and we have the rest of today. What’s some of the cool stuff that you’ve got to sit on? Which one hit home the most for you?
Jim: [17:24] Your favorite?
Baylie: [17:26] Well, those are different.
James: [17:27] Yeah, you can do both.
Jim: [17:27] Oh, that’s a good point.
Baylie: [17:29] What hit home the most for me right now is the active shooting.
James: [17:32] No doubt.
Jim: [17:33] OK.
Baylie: [17:34] I’ve got two little ones.
Jim: [17:35] Yup, yup.
James: [17:35] Very timing.
Baylie: [17:38] My favorite? That one is hard to say. Yesterday, every…
James: [17:46] There can be a three‑way tie.
Jim: [17:48] Cool. Politically.
Baylie: [17:48] Yesterday, every training I’ve attended has been great so far. Then I’ve only attended one today, and that was great as well. I still have three more.
Jim: [17:57] OK.
James: [17:57] Oh, we’re keeping you from it.
Jim: [17:59] Maybe we will wait and see what she says at the end of the day.
Baylie: [18:03] The LSCS I have taken, I took it, was actually in twice at the conference. And I learn more every single time I take one of their trainings.
James: [18:12] I heard the one yesterday. The back of the truck thing was awesome. Like the tools, whatever they did yesterday. I didn’t get to do it. I was like man that’s the one I wanted to show like how to booth. Just pull a truck up and just explain everything to me. Because I don’t know a lot.
Baylie: [18:30] Today they are supposed to be doing all the fusions. I went a couple of months ago to go watch them onsite, to actually watch some guys fuse. So, I’ve already learned. Let’s see if I can remember it today.
Jim: [18:44] We might have to put you through a performance evaluation one day, on fusion.
James: [18:48] certified.
Baylie: [18:48] Possibly.
James: [18:48] Are you certified?
Baylie: [18:49] No.
James: [18:52] We did but…
Baylie: [18:52] We did, but it’s been a long time.
James: [18:55] I’m probably out of certification.
Baylie: [18:57] Every year.
James: [18:56] It was a little sketchy that day. I don’t think I did very well. Well, hey Baylie, thanks for everything you do for us. So good to see you.
James: [19:04] Enjoy the rest of the day.
Baylie: [19:06] Maybe I’ll get a mug one day.
James: [19:08] I promise you this one when we are done today.
Baylie: [19:08] OK.
Jim: [19:09] You’re number 19 if that’s confirmed to us too.
James: [19:10] That’s cool.
Baylie: [19:10] That’s my number, so deal with it.
James: [19:11] There’s only 100. Hey, you’re at pretty good odds to win.
Baylie: [19:16] We will see you at the dunking booth.
James: [19:17] That’s true. We didn’t even talk about that.
Jim: [19:19] Oh, my gosh. Was that a threat?
James: [19:20] Oh, I am terrified. She is a former softball player.
Jim: [19:23] Oh.
James: [19:23] She is about to tag in a former softball player. We will be right back.
James: [19:28] Just in from the bullpen.
Jim: [19:31] Now, number seven.
James: [19:33] Right‑hander.
Lauren Morton: [19:34] 19 was actually mine.
James: [19:35] Number 19, Lauren.
Jim: [19:40] Lauren Morton.
Lauren: [19:42] Can you guess my walk‑up song, my senior year?
James: [19:45] Put me in coach.
Lauren: [19:47] Not quite. Come on.
James: [19:49] Reba, was it “Fancy”? Oh wait, I can’t ask you what year.
James: [19:55] Oh, baby. Oh, it’s Darth Vader. What is..? It’s the Imperial March.
Lauren: [20:00] Yes, it was the Imperial March.
James: [20:01] My son will be proud that I knew that.
Jim: [20:03] I didn’t know that. But wait, they played music when you’re going to the Mound?
Lauren: [20:06] Yeah, no. No. When I was up to hit, it is called a walk‑up song.
James: [20:10] No. Not the pitch‑up, but the walk‑up player pitcher Mound song.
Lauren: [20:14] I was a catcher when I played first later on, but yeah, I didn’t get any special song for that.
James: [20:17] So, what was your favorite thing to do? Throw people out?
Lauren: [20:22] That was always fun when you did that.
James: [20:24] The sneaky behind the batter one down third? The sneaky just…
Lauren: [20:29] I really loved blocking the ball.
James: [20:31] That’s an art.
Lauren: [20:32] I was known probably more for my defensive catching skills, blocking the ball. I loved it whenever the pitcher would strike somebody out and I could throw the ball up in the air.
James: [20:41] No big deal.
Lauren: [20:42] On the third out. That was always fun.
Jim: [20:45] Then strut off the field?
Lauren: [20:47] Yes.
James: [20:48] No big deal. The reason we bring this up and why this is so important.
James: [20:53] It’s part of the history and background.
Lauren: [20:55] What does this have to do with anything?
James: [20:58] It’s because, tomorrow, Jimmy and I have to get in a dunking booth.
Jim: [20:59] Allegedly.
James: [20:59] Let’s just say that I’ve not always did all the right things for Lauren. No. [laughs] I’m retracing all of my steps and all the mistakes I possibly made.
Lauren: [21:09] It’s payback time. [laughs] I know.
James: [21:11] Remember how nice, and I’ve always been a Lauren fan.
Lauren: [21:13] I’ve been icing my shoulder every evening because it’s…
Jim: [21:17] Why? A nice underhand pitch, just lob it in. That’s fine. You’ll be great tomorrow.
Lauren: [21:22] I have a feeling that if it’s going to be 105, you all are going to be glad you are in.
James: [21:28] I’m going to be in. I’m going to be a slow get‑out, that’s for sure.
Lauren: [21:30] [laughs] I’m just going to hang out with you for a while.
Jim: [21:32] Do we need to get you water wings tomorrow?
Lauren: [21:34] No, I can get you a little floaty…
James: [21:36] For sure. Lauren, we’re at Tailgate Week.
Lauren: [21:39] Yes we are.
James: [21:40] Our first one ever.
Lauren: [21:40] Super awesome.
James: [21:42] That’s what I was going to ask. Day one is in the books. We’re in the middle of day two. We’re rolling through training. What was day one? What was the vibe? What do you think?
Lauren: [21:50] It was totally awesome to have that opportunity to be able to be under the same roof for the first time ever with all the new folks that we’ve got. Just that collaborative spirit, the energy that I felt just being there was very synergistic or whatever.
Jim: [22:09] It is.
James: [22:09] Is that a word?
Jim: [22:11] It is.
Lauren: [22:11] Make it up, whatever. Synergistic.
James: [22:13] Synergistic.
Lauren: [22:14] To be able to be together and have that energy. It was just awesome.
James: [22:19] It really was.
Lauren: [22:20] Really cool.
James: [22:21] So many great trainings also over the two days. Have you caught any of that? Any stick out for you?
Lauren: [22:28] I was able to catch a couple of them. Obviously, I did some review of CPR and the importance of that and remembering that.
James: [22:36] You’re already certified.
Jim: [22:37] Are you certified?
Lauren: [22:37] Yes.
Jim: [22:38] OK. Good to know.
Lauren: [22:39] It’s good to have a little refresher and get to practice on the little dummy. That’s always good, but…
James: [22:45] Can’t call him that, he’s right here.
Jim: [22:45] You can’t call me that.
Lauren: [22:46] No, no, no.
James: [22:47] Cancel that.
Lauren: [22:49] I did attend the Active Shooter, and so that’s something that’s…
James: [22:52] Had you seen that one before from Gary?
Lauren: [22:55] I had at an event previously.
James: [22:57] Me too.
Lauren: [22:59] That was good little refresher there. The thing that’s most important for us to remember, no matter where you are on any of that, is having that situational awareness, so, being aware. I know a lot of us travel. And so…
James: [23:15] Head on a.
Lauren: [23:16] being aware of where your exits are. If you’re going into an event, knowing, “Hey, if something were to be an issue, where do I need to go? Where are my exits?” That situational awareness is very important.
[23:30] If you’re walking out in the parking lot, don’t be on your phone. Make sure that you’re looking at where you need to go. That’s just basic from a safety standpoint. It’s something I try to…
James: [23:39] Terrible…
Lauren: [23:39] do as well.
Jim: [23:40] It’s good that you’re sharing it here and we should all share it when we’re with people, especially, James and I who travel a lot. We should remind people that hey, we’re in the…
James: [23:47] A lot of people in our audience…
Jim: [23:49] exits…
James: [23:49] exactly…
James: [23:50] We try to do that. When we speak, we always have those safety moments…
Jim: [23:54] We will start off…
James: [23:54] but think about that, when we speak four times a year. When we go to a restaurant, do we act the same? That’s that reminder. Somebody said that. Corey Farver said it. Last night, I went home and we went to dinner, and I sit my wife where she needed to sit, and I had my eyes and we had our exits figured out.
Jim: [24:14] There and there. We talked about it.
James: [24:15] That’s impact right there.
Jim: [24:16] Yeah.
Lauren: [24:17] Absolutely.
James: [24:17] Lauren we have a whole another day today. You grew up…I mean, you’ve been here a while now.
Lauren: [24:24] Just a few years.
James: [24:25] You started when you were three?
Lauren: [24:27] Yes.
James: [24:27] No, you’ve been here a while and you’ve seen this family, if you will, of a company grow and how important team building has been throughout the years, whether it was pumpkin carving or anything. All the fun things that we did over the years, scavenger hunts. How nice is it to have that feeling back a little bit with some of these new folks?
Lauren: [24:52] Fantastic. I mean, we tried like everybody to do that in this weird remote scenario…
Jim: [25:00] Not now.
Lauren: [25:00] but it’s the same…
Jim: [25:01] In the Zoom world?
Lauren: [25:03] Yeah, the Zoom.
James: [25:04] Some of those Zoom team buildings were…
Lauren: [25:04] Some of those were quite…
James: [25:05] pretty cringy.
Lauren: [25:06] interesting.
Jim: [25:07] Yeah.
James: [25:08] And we paid for them.
Lauren: [25:09] Yeah.
James: [25:10] That’s the sad part.
Lauren: [25:11] We sure did.
Lauren: [25:12] Kidding.
Jim: [25:15] We made…
James: [25:15] Jim and I hosted two game shows over the pandemic and if we look back on it and we’re like…
Jim: [25:21] Cringing.
James: [25:22] what?
Jim: [25:22] What were we doing?
James: [25:23] What were we getting paid for?
Lauren: [25:25] There’s just nothing…
James: [25:26] But we tried everything.
Jim: [25:27] Well, you had to.
Lauren: [25:28] Being able to…
Jim: [25:27] Well, you had to. You had to adapt to the situation there was but it’s so nice being back.
Lauren: [25:32] Yes. Well, there’s just something to be said to be face‑to‑face and sometimes it doesn’t need to be any knee‑to‑knee, shoulder‑to‑shoulder conversation.
[25:38] [crosstalk]
Jim: [25:38] Knee‑to‑knee conversation.
James: [25:42] We’re doing that right now.
Lauren: [25:44] But there’s just things that happened. Even in between an event, you’re in the halls roaming and I just had a great conversation with Brian Russell. We were talking about all kinds of awesome things.
Jim: [25:53] Shout‑out.
Lauren: [25:53] Yes, hello Brian. So that was awesome and just being able to have those organic conversations that happened or some of those innovative‑type conversations or funny things that happened.
Jim: [26:05] It’s nice to talk to HR and not be in the HR office.
Lauren: [26:07] And just Funny things that happened, and it just builds that camaraderie…..
James: [26:13] Can I say a nice thing about this week? That it’s three days, if not four for us, and that gives us all that time, so we don’t feel that we are rushed, trying to see a bunch of people.
Jim: [26:23] It’s a big open lunch today, so we can get off‑site and have some deeper conversation and pull in some of that, that maybe we are more used to in the past. But man, it’s been fun in here. I have laughed a lot this week, and I’ll go back. I got to be on the child with…
James: [26:41] With Amy?
Jim: [26:42] With Amy because I actually was out. And so we jumped on there and I laughed so hard, like crying. And then I was trying to tell my wife about it and I was crying. I couldn’t even tell the story. But I needed that cup filled so much, just the laugh amongst each other. Giving people hard time about coming on here. Me and Jimmy are so comfortable and it’s like you are up. [gasp]
James: [27:09] People panic!
Jim: [27:10] That’s our culture. We always have a good time. Coleman taught us, if anything, to have fun while we do it.
James: [27:15] You know what we should do, though? We should not even tell people we’re recording and just…
Jim: [27:18] We do have to tell people.
James: [27:19] Why?
Jim: [27:20] Oh, it’s just the right thing.
Lauren: [27:22] I will say that it was funny because we were in there and one of the team members, they sent them an email previously and they had took care of something for me, and I was going to send an email back, I still probably will so everybody knows.
[27:37] But instead, I just yelled across the room and said, “Hey Taylor, thank you!” and letting you know, gave me the thumbs up or whatever. So it was good to be able to do and sort of be face‑to‑face. And, of course, make sure we weren’t on the phone, but I did yell across the room.
Jim: [27:53] Schauer: That’s good. That’s wonderful.
Lauren: [27:55] Those are things you can’t do. You’re remote to what not, it was just being able to look at him and say, “Hey, thank you”.
James: [28:01] I know. I fixed something for accounting yesterday. Imagine that. And I was sitting right next to him. Neither [inaudible] , like you said, so there’s so much value in that. Lauren, thank you for everything you do and thank you for coming on for us. Remember that tomorrow, when I’m at that dunk tank, just how much I care about you.
Jim: [28:21] And me. Oh yes.
James: [28:22] Remember our bonds that we have.
Lauren: [28:24] Yes. I’m going to make sure you all stay cool.
James: [28:27] Stay cool cat. I donated some money. I’ve got some tickets I want to endorse Lauren with, that’s for sure.
Jim: [28:35] I’m now getting a little nervous about this.
James: [28:38] You’re going to spend a lot of time in the water.
Jim: [28:41] I need to get goggles.
Lauren: [28:43] Thanks for having me. Thank you.
Jim: [28:45] We are…
James: [28:46] Back.
Jim: [28:47] We are back as well. Did you want a flow sheet? Because you’re not going to get one, brother.
James: [28:53] Not today TJ.
Jim: [28:55] We are going off the cuff.
TJ Heath: [28:56] I’m still looking for the green room.
James: [28:59] It’s in the back.
Jim: [29:00] Yeah, let’s keep that…
James: [29:02] It’s right there. TJ, you’re live with us. Your team has been busy running around here. You got to do all the hard work.
TJ: [29:10] Yeah, they’ve been busy. They’ve been working hard. Setting up the wireless network control.
James: [29:13] Making sure all the tailgates are down.
TJ: [29:14] Making sure the tailgates are down and the computers aren’t left unlocked.
Jim: [29:19] Have you found many computers that have been unlocked?
TJ: [29:22] So far, just the ones which are on your set.
Jim: [29:26] That is not my computer.
James: [29:28] Full disclosure, I really am a big advocate of the InfoSec. I see the importance. I learned all about it. I took the courses. And even at our best, sometimes…
TJ: [29:39] Sometimes, we forget.
James: [29:40] we get complacent.
TJ: [29:41] We do.
James: [29:42] So when I walked in there to hustle on our next guest, our next guest called me out and hit the button.
Jim: [29:47] He hit the big red button, right? Let me ask you a question before we get into some of the tailgate week items. You in your world, having this event here, hosting over, I don’t know how many, close to 100 people, what has been your IT concerns? Has the WiFi network been a concern, or what?
TJ: [30:05] The WiFi network has been a little bit of a concern, but that’s really not so much security as it is just making sure that we have a stable system for everybody to use. As far as the security concerns, my biggest concern is leaving the screens unlocked…
[30:20] [crosstalk]
Jim: [30:20] Yeah, we should never do that.
TJ: [30:20] When we have so many computers floating around.
Jim: [30:22] No doubt.
TJ: [30:23] Anybody can walk up to one.
James: [30:26] We have so many new people. It would be easy. I wouldn’t know if it was a person that worked for us or not.
TJ: [30:30] I know, and I definitely wouldn’t know if you…
James: [30:34] If they walk up and gave me a snack, I’m probably going to let them look in my computer…
TJ: [30:37] Yeah, there you go.
James: [30:38] if I’m going to be honest. What is that called? Snacking. TJ, tailgate week, it’s our first one as a company. Therefore, it’s your first one as well. How was day one, and how is day two ramping up?
TJ: [30:53] It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s been really great to see people. It’s been so long since we’ve been remote. We haven’t had a chance to get back together, and we’ve grown so much over the last two years. So many new faces, and getting to meet them in person and say “Hello.”
Jim: [31:07] A little extrovert right here. Do you see that?
James: [31:10] I know, right?
TJ: [31:10] I’m a closet extrovert.
Jim: [31:11] Are you?
TJ: [31:11] I keep it well hidden, yes.
James: [31:13] He does keep it well hidden. He keeps his cup that needs to be filled way in the back.
TJ: [31:16] Way in the back.
James: [31:18] You got to know, it’s like a speak‑easy to get to it. It’s been nice. it’s been nice to be around folks. It’s a lot harder to lie to people when they look you in your face and, “Hey, did you lock your computer?”
[31:30] [laughter]
James: [31:31] No.” It’s been nice. We break bread together. We sit down. We’re hashing out problems between…There’s a conversation going right there between three departments that would never be together.
Jim: [31:42] No.
James: [31:43] That’s the thought.
Jim: [31:44] That would have been a planned session right now.
James: [31:46] That would have been something wrong by accounting. I promise you, that’s an intervention.
James: [31:53] It’s true, sometimes the only time we collaborate is when things go awry. This is a great example of getting together, innovating proactively, and enjoying it.
TJ: [32:05] It’s been great, I’ve had an opportunity to talk to people I normally don’t. I really enjoyed it. The sessions have been great too.
Jim: [32:12] We’ve been asking folks, what’s been your favorite session, or what made the most impact on you?
James: [32:17] Active Shooter it is.
TJ: [32:18] Yes, it was. The Active Shooter was very impactful session.
James: [32:20] Obviously, it’s on everybodys.
Jim: [32:22] Everybody’s mind, especially here in Texas.
James: [32:24] No doubt.
Jim: [32:25] Or the world. I’d say the world.
James: [32:27] It’s rare. You take that stuff home?
TJ: [32:29] You do.
James: [32:30] Instantly.
TJ: [32:31] That and then I would say also the CPR training. I used to be a paramedic in a past life.
James: [32:36] Oh, really?
James: [32:37] Did not know that.
Jim: [32:38] We did not know that.
TJ: [32:39] Oh, really? You learn something new about me today.
James: [32:41] See, this is why we are here.
TJ: [32:42] I’ve done CPR several times, many times.
Jim: [32:45] Wow.
TJ: [32:45] Too many times.
James: [32:46] Wow.
TJ: [32:48] Just not so much the CPR training is all the context before it, the health risks. I’m getting up there, I’m getting a little bit older.
James: [32:56] Same.
TJ: [32:56] Starting to worry about some of these.
Jim: [32:58] 32, 33.
TJ: [32:59] 46.
Jim: [33:00] Oh wow. OK.
James: [33:01] So high, getting up there?
TJ: [33:03] Thank you.
James: [33:04] We are all getting up there. I’m just kidding.
Jim: [33:08] Let’s stand over here, young.
James: [33:10] 42.
James: [33:12] After you hit 40, it’s the same bucket from there on out, right?
TJ: [33:15] Yeah, it is.
James: [33:16] Once they start, these gray patches here show up, it happens, something happens. These feel like distinctions. These feel like something’s out of control.
TJ: [33:25] It’s like my grandfather always said, “You don’t got anything to worry about until you’re afraid to catch yourself naked in the mirror.”
James: [33:31] Oh, wow, that’s aggressive.
Jim: [33:33] Wow.
James: [33:34] I think we’ll edit that out.
James: [33:37] No, I think there’s a lot of words in that, for sure.
James: [33:39] My stepdad said, you’re not old until you get hurt sleeping, and I would fall into that category too.
Jim: [33:49] I do.
Jim: [33:50] I hurt my shoulder.
James: [33:51] You’ll hurt your back sleeping.
James: [33:55] Love it. TJ, it’s been great, man. Thanks for making us laugh today. You’re always a blast. We’re going to have you back on. We’re going to have your team back on. We’re going to talk to InfoSec soon.
TJ: [34:06] I’d like to do that.
James: [34:07] We’re going to make sure to buy locks for the computers.
Jim: [34:10] So, we’re doing a full episode.
James: [34:11] We are. We’re going to bring in. I told him, I’m going to put him on the hook for it.
TJ: [34:14] I love it. I love it.
James: [34:15] All right, we’ll be back.
James: [34:18] We are live, Jimmy, back with Savannah, one of our account managers. So, you deal with a lot of our clients, say hello.
Savannah Marlett: [34:27] Hello.
James: [34:29] She’s super nervous to come on, but I made her do it anyway because that’s our culture. No, I’m just kidding. Be brave, right?
Savannah: [34:35] Right.
James: [34:35] Being brave. Tailgate week, how’s it been?
Savannah: [34:39] I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and I’ve learned a lot.
James: [34:42] What was yesterday? Have you had fun yesterday?
Savannah: [34:44] I did.
James: [34:45] Lots of games?
Savannah: [34:46] Yes, and my favorite thing was to CPR, CPR in babies.
Jim: [34:50] In babies, OK.
James: [34:52] Hold that. That’s very specific. Why is that important?
Savannah: [34:55] I have a one‑year‑old and a three‑year‑old, so I get really nervous and I tend to panic when it’s my own kids.
Jim: [35:02] Sure. Most people do, I would say.
Savannah: [35:04] I used to work at the daycare, so I was certified in CPR for babies, but when it comes to my own kids I freak out. I’m more calm when it’s…
James: [35:12] Someone else’s?
Savannah: [35:13] Yes, I think it’s easier to work on somebody else’s kids.
James: [35:17] Yeah, I work with Jim all the time. I can understand that.
James: [35:21] Savannah, we’ve done this for a long time. We’ve done team‑building, I know you’ve got to experience that a little bit in your departments some stuff like that. But how’s it been being with a greater group and experiencing this all together, if there’s something to be said about being together, right?
Savannah: [35:38] Right. And I think it’s really beneficial to do it, just because we work with so many different departments on different days and stuff. When you don’t know the person, you don’t know how they’re coming across or you may just not understand, and it may be easier to understand them in person.
James: [35:55] If I know, Savannah has a little one at home, and I have a little one at home, then we have some common ground to start from. If we meet here and then we can go back, next time you have a problem, you can reach, sounds bad to say, across the aisle and be able to work with that person. It’s a lot easier that way.
Jim: [36:15] It really is.
James: [36:16] Just like with clients. When you get to know the clients more, it’s a lot easier to work with them every day.
Savannah: [36:21] Right.
James: [36:21] Savannah, thank you so much for everything you do here and for coming on.
Jim: [36:25] You’ve been great. Thank you for being so brave.
Savannah: [36:27] Thank you.
James: [36:27] See, it wasn’t so bad. All right, we’ll be back.
Jim: [36:28] You were so wonderful.
Jim: [36:30] I’m scared.
James: [36:30] I like Veronica because she smiles so big and it’s all the time.
Veronica Mares: [36:34] Trying not too big. I can’t help it.
James: [36:34] No, I like…No, I can’t do it.
Jim: [36:37] She always does.
Veronica: [36:38] I’ve tried talking to him while not smiling and it’s so uncomfortable.
James: [36:41] I’ve got to talk to you since EWNCON really, but we killed it. I don’t want to say it out loud in front of everyone to the Internet and everything, but we were a pretty good team.
Jim: [36:52] Absolutely.
James: [36:53] I mean, I read all the results, all we got were FOBs.
Veronica: [36:56] Oh, yes.
Jim: [36:57] Is that right?
James: [36:57] Out of 10. But no, no, it was solid and I had a blast doing it with Veronica, and we…I don’t know. It just…It’s more fun doing it. You’ve done that one leading people, not like you.
Jim: [37:10] Yeah.
James: [37:11] And there’s a part where you have to talk about men and women. And when you’re doing just one side, it seems like you’re…
Jim: [37:18] Pointing?
James: [37:18] Women are like this.” So when a woman can do that part, and I can do the male part, look, I made fun of you and your clothes and…
Jim: [37:25] Oh, all the time.
James: [37:25] It didn’t work too well when I make fun of women. You know.
Jim: [37:28] No, it would not.
James: [37:29] But when you get to do it, then it’s like, “Oh, so that’s fine. She knows. “
Jim: [37:32] Yeah.
James: [37:33] She’s in on it.” But we had a blast anyway. Didn’t we?
Veronica: [37:35] We did. We did.
James: [37:36] So we’re back here at tailgate week.
Veronica: [37:38] Oh my gosh.
Jim: [37:39] I love it. I absolutely love it. Let me ask you a quick question, Veronica.
James: [37:42] This is Veronica’s jam, I felt like.
Veronica: [37:44] I can’t wait.
Jim: [37:44] Oh, I think so too.
James: [37:46] She comes into the office all the time.
Jim: [37:48] What did you want to get out of this week, and have you achieved that so far?
Veronica: [37:52] Yes. So like there’s people that don’t get to talk to, even if they were in the office, a hybrid mode. There’s some people that I still don’t see because we’ve got our days. Like right now, I’m over here talking to Antonio awesome stories.
James: [38:03] An accounting?
Veronica: [38:04] Accounting, yes.
James: [38:05] What’s happening over there? Are you in trouble?
Veronica: [38:07] No.
James: [38:07] You didn’t file in something right? Just kidding.
Veronica: [38:10] Getting to see everyone. I have an employee who is coming up on their one‑year anniversary, and she hadn’t been here since she was on‑boarded.
James: [38:17] Get out of here.
Veronica: [38:18] We get to do team building tomorrow, our whole team. That’s awesome.
Veronica: [38:22] The networking again. Seeing everyone.
James: [38:24] Love it. A lot of good training here.
Veronica: [38:27] Oh my God, the training has been awesome.
James: [38:29] Tell me about it.
Veronica: [38:30] So I got to…I didn’t bring it with me.
Jim: [38:31] It’s fine.
Veronica: [38:31] It’s on fusion.
James: [38:32] No, go get it.
Jim: [38:33] Go.
Veronica: [38:34] I did awesomely.
James: [38:34] Go. We’ll talk amongst ourselves.
Jim: [38:37] Go get it. Go grab it.
James: [38:38] We trust you.
Jim: [38:39] She is literally running right now.
James: [38:41] And we’re going to let her.
Jim: [38:42] Did you see the excitement she had?
James: [38:44] That’s what we’re talking about.
Jim: [38:45] She’s bringing up fusion. Look at Amy coming in very quietly.
James: [38:49] She’s very concentrated. She doesn’t want to make a scene on the podcast.
Jim: [38:52] She wants to be on.
James: [38:53] Yeah. She did. We’re going to grab her in a minute.
Jim: [38:56] She’s coming in.
James: [38:57] Representing. Breathing hard.
Jim: [38:59] Is that an LSCS?
James: [39:01] Let me see that side. Is that a sidewall fusion there? Sidewall fusion. Look at that. Let’s see how that bead is there.
Veronica: [39:09] It’s a pass. Jeremy said it is a pass.
Jim: [39:12] It’s a pass?
James: [39:13] This was yours?
Veronica: [39:14] No, I didn’t.
James: [39:15] You did it as a team.
James: [39:17] I see. It’s all coming out.
Veronica: [39:19] This one I did. Boom, solid.
James: [39:20] Is that a butt fusion there?
Veronica: [39:23] Solid.
James: [39:25] A little discharge from there.
Veronica: [39:27] Then he shaved it off to show how it’s perfect. Look at that. See?
James: [39:29] That’s what we’re doing today.
Jim: [39:30] That is a great thing to take away from this week. I think that was not expected.
James: [39:34] That’s very, very cool.
Jim: [39:35] And I think that’s one of the things that I’ve taken away from this week, is so many of the things that I had not expected, have happened.
James: [39:41] So our people are important.
Veronica: [39:43] Very.
James: [39:44] Yeah. We got to break bread with a lot of folks that maybe we didn’t get to all the time here, outside of your department, right?
Veronica: [39:53] Yes.
James: [39:53] And you kind of grew up in this company with team building. We had a little more team building going on, then they sent us all home.
Jim: [40:02] They? It was me.
James: [40:05] Now coming back and doing this as a larger group, 100 people here.
Veronica: [40:08] Yes, over 100.
James: [40:10] Get out of town. It’s awesome, isn’t it? That fills your cup.
Veronica: [40:13] Yes.
James: [40:14] I know Veronica very well. She comes in on her days off. She’s one of those people. Just hangs out.
Jim: [40:20] Just in the office.
James: [40:20] Just see if somebody shows up today. She does.
Veronica: [40:23] I love it. I love it.
James: [40:26] Love it. We got a whole another day today, and then tomorrow we got some fun. Looking forward to anything tomorrow?
Veronica: [40:31] Water slide.
James: [40:32] Is there a water slide?
Jim: [40:34] There’s a water slide?
Veronica: [40:32] Going to be.
James: [40:34] Obstacle course or something. Long as there’s something.
Jim: [40:39] That sounds cool. I mean cool temperature.
Veronica: [40:44] We need all the coolness we could get.
James: [40:45] Dunk tank.
Veronica: [40:46] Dunking booth.
James: [40:48] Who would you rather dunk?
Veronica: [40:50] I’m visiting the ATM machine tonight.
James: [40:53] Who are you looking forward to most dunking? Jim‑bro?
Jim: [41:00] I have to google heckles tonight, so I am ready to go.
James: [41:04] Good. I’m scared.
Jim: [41:05] Oh, you should be. I am.
James: [41:07] Thank you for everything you do for our teams, and for our clients.
Jim: [41:11] Thank you.
James: [41:11] You’re a rock star, and thank you for being my teammate.
Veronica: [41:15] Any time. I don’t know about that, but…
James: [41:18] All right. We’ll see you. We’ll be back.
James: [41:21] Amy, we’re going. We’re on mics. We’re just going.
Jim: [41:23] We’re going.
James: [41:24] We’re going in. Is this your first podcast?
Jim: [41:26] Whoa, whoa, let me do this.
Amy Lujan: [41:26] It’s definitely my first. Oh, thank you.
James: [41:30] We’re professionals.
Jim: [41:32] We got it. We got it down to a science.
James: [41:34] Is this your first one?
Jim: [41:36] No. No, no, no. She’s been on many podcasts before. Many.
James: [41:40] She’s a professional, basically, because of “Chai.”
Amy: [41:43] Yeah.
James: [41:44] Which…
Jim: [41:46] I was…
James: [41:46] I told you. I told him and Coleman the other day, after we did the Chai episode for tailgate week last week, I cried a joyful…
Jim: [41:59] Laughter?
James: [41:59] Laughter. I laughed so hard that day. I got the giggles and couldn’t even…It was real.
Jim: [42:06] I love it.
Amy: [42:07] Yeah.
James: [42:07] I needed it. Me and Amy needed it. Like after EWNCON, and then going straight into Tailgate Week and all the travel that we had, we really have just been…
Jim: [42:17] Non‑stop. Non‑stop.
Amy: [42:18] Non‑stop.
James: [42:18] It was just like one of those hysteria moments where…
Jim: [42:22] You just needed it, right?
James: [42:23] it was just supposed to be funny. It was fun.
Amy: [42:24] Yeah, it definitely turned out way different than I expected.
James: [42:28] It created a nice little on‑ramp going into this week because again, all the work’s done now. Now we get to be in the moment. Enjoy it.
Amy: [42:36] Now we get to relax and enjoy everybody’s presence.
Jim: [42:40] Oh, are you relaxed this week?
James: [42:41] Tell us about that.
Jim: [42:43] Yeah. How’s your feeling this week?
Amy: [42:47] Yes and no. I still have like 30 different projects going on right now, so obviously…
James: [42:52] What a blessing, right?
Amy: [42:54] [laughs] Yeah, it’s definitely…In the back of my mind, there’s a thing. I’m like, “Oh, man, I should work on that right now.” But I’m placing more value on being in‑person with a lot of people that I don’t usually get to be around.
[43:11] So, even though that stuff’s really important, right now I’m taking my time in getting to talk to people that I usually don’t get the chance to. For right now, that’s more important to me than…
[43:21] [crosstalk]
James: [43:21] Than being present?
Amy: [43:23] Yeah, for sure.
James: [43:23] Getting to be there for people. There’s a lot of training here. It’s hard to set in on anything. Anything cool?
Amy: [43:30] Oh, yeah. There’s a bunch of cool stuff like Veronica mentioned earlier about LSCS. I’ve gotten to see them like five, six times. Every single time, it’s super fun getting to learn…
James: [43:42] They bring a new way to teach you almost every time, right?
Jim: [43:45] Jack and Jerry are epic.
James: [43:46] I’m always like, “Oh, it’s just a fusion? They’re doing fusions?” They’re like, “No, they’re some revolutionary way of training.” I’m like, “Wow, that’s really smart.”
Amy: [43:55] Yeah, for sure. The CPR was fun. Pretty much everything was fun. Everything was good. Everything was really interesting.
James: [44:03] It’s cool. It’s cool to see the impact, I think, too as we see the local presence here the last couple of days. We had some local folks here yesterday for lunch, some sponsors locally as well, and then seeing the different groups that are teaching here.
[44:18] It’s neat to see our impact locally, for me. I don’t know how it is for employees to just kind of look around and go out, school. We’re not just patting pockets. We’re making a difference here in the community.
Jim: [44:31] Yeah.
Amy: [44:31] Yeah, absolutely. It definitely builds a lot more trust too, as well as a person in the county getting to know people who are serving you, definitely. Another thing I’ve learned this week is there’s plenty of ways to die, and there’s a lot of people that are willing to help you avoid that and prevent that.
James: [44:50] No doubt about it, right?
Amy: [44:52] Yeah.
Jim: [44:53] Yeah.
James: [44:53] It’s wild to see that and that common thread of safety through all these, right? That’s something that…
Jim: [44:59] I used to say that. We’re a safety company.
James: [45:01] I didn’t really even think this much about it because it is kind of built into what we do, but that is really neat to see it in all different ways and how many people have said today came up here and said, “I went home and taught about Active Shooter. I went to eat last night, and I’ve sat different,” things that you immediately take home and put in place.
Jim: [45:22] Yes, and it’s really important that we take these messages and just don’t keep them inside, but we share, share with other people. We keep doing that in our community, our industry, and such like that, which is wonderful.
Amy: [45:32] Yeah, absolutely.
James: [45:33] Amy, we’re standing in front of your work. We’re looking around at your work everywhere. It’s got to be neat seeing it lit up. It has to have been a neat month for you ‑‑ month, six weeks ‑‑ to see EWNCON coming full throttle and then see this thing come off, and some of the new products like Tracer. This year’s been a fun year.
Amy: [45:56] Oh, yeah, it’s definitely been a fun year. And it’s really fun as a designer because you’re staring at a screen all day and you’re making mockups of what things are going to look like, and it’s really cool. When you show them, the people are like, “Wow.” But then when you really see it in real life, and you see people using it…
Amy: [46:12] Yeah.
James: [46:12] And you know you you’re just like me. You walk up and you’re immediately critiquing how you can do it better.
Amy: [46:18] Absolutely.
James: [46:18] You know you can’t help it but then for a minute you got just again be present, take it in and go, “Man, this is really neat to see in action,” and some people have never seen these booths it up.
Jim: [46:30] No, they haven’t and I can’t wait for you to get out to a conference where you could hear firsthand all the people in the exhibit hall that come by our booths and say, “Wow. “
James: [46:40] And doing the show. Amy, you were a huge part in the early success of this… success?
Jim: [46:45] Success. Oh, yeah.
James: [46:46] You did all the work early in the show, every week, building those episodes.
Jim: [46:50] Wait a minute, hold on a second.
James: [46:51] You drew this and it’s your logo. It must be neat to see this show coming alive over the last year or so.
Amy: [47:00] It’s pretty incredible. Especially whenever “Coffee with Jim & James” first started, it was like none of us knew what it was going to turn into.
James: [47:08] What are we going to do? I don’t know, let’s try it.
Amy: [47:10] Yeah it was like…
James: [47:10] And then we trusted each other. It was like, Amy, I trust your buildup.
Amy: [47:14] It was really super‑cheesy in the early days. Guys, remember the old intro and stuff?
Jim: [47:19] It wasn’t cheesy, it was cool.
James: [47:21] And the trolley coming up. I mean but it was all… It all built to where we are, but there’s different…Then we rebranded.
Jim: [47:27] It’s a journey. It’s a journey.
James: [47:29] Then we rebranded to this look. It was so neat to see it build.
Amy: [47:34] It’s definitely really, really neat. Especially when I see on LinkedIn when people ask for mugs, or they show pictures of their new hats and stuff, I’m like, “I made that, and somebody wants that,” and that’s amazing.
Jim: [47:46] That’s cool.
James: [47:47] Amy, you are a rock star always. Thank you so much for that.
Jim: [47:50] You’re, absolutely.
James: [47:51] And thanks for stopping by.
Jim: [47:52] She put up when I used to do my own virtual backgrounds with cut and paste.
Amy: [47:57] Oh, yes.
Jim: [47:58] She was like, “Jim, don’t ever do that again.”
Amy: [48:02] I wasn’t that mean, I just…
Jim: [48:03] No, no, no. She wasn’t mean. She was just very, “I’ll help you. I am here to help you, Jim,” and thank you for all you do for me.
Amy: [48:11] You’re welcome.
James: [48:12] Thank you, Amy. We’ll see you. We’ll be back.
Amy: [48:13] All right, see you.
James: [48:15] Let’s make sure we’re framed in. You’re a certified junior paramedic?
Jim: [48:18] I was going to bring that up because all of a sudden we have a badge on him.
Antonio Martinez: [48:22] I know I answered the question correctly, so I don’t think I…
James: [48:24] What was the question?
Antonio: [48:27] Had to do with how many pints of blood a person has.
James: [48:30] That’s a lot. Was it 14?
Antonio: [48:32] I think it’s around 10 to 12. That’s what I said.
James: [48:37] You got it right, apparently.
Antonio: [48:39] I think it was a lucky guess. I remember that when I was in elementary school or something.
Jim: [48:46] I was going to say five. Isn’t there a five of something?
Antonio: [48:45] Maybe.
Jim: [48:45] I don’t know. Maybe not. I don’t know.
James: [48:48] Antonio joins us. Antonio is one of our creative designers. Antonio, you’ve been here a year?
Antonio: [48:53] Not a year yet.
James: [48:55] Not quite?
Antonio: [48:56] I started in October.
Jim: [48:57] That’s it?
James: [48:57] Oh, it’s coming around. It seems like a year.
Jim: [49:00] It seems longer.
James: [49:01] No, just kidding.
Jim: [49:02] No, in a good way, it seems like…
James: [49:03] We’ve accomplished a lot in a year. The conference felt like a year in itself.
Antonio: [49:07] Yes.
James: [49:09] That was three days. You’ve been a big part of that. You work on our courses. You do some of our work on Coffee with Jim & James. This is your first tailgate like many of us. How’s tailgate week going for you?
Antonio: [49:20] I think it’s awesome. I like all the classes that EWN has offered. LSCS has been really cool to see.
James: [49:28] Rock stars.
Jim: [49:29] A lot of comments on that.
James: [49:30] LSCS just sponsored this episode.
Antonio: [49:32] Yeah, probably.
James: [49:32] Them and the Active Shooter training.
Antonio: [49:35] Active Shooter was cool. For me, being new in the industry, it’s good to see what is going on outside. That way I can understand it. If a design issue comes up, I can try to resolve it by knowing what I’m going to explain.
James: [49:48] Right. It’s hard to build a…Give me a term. What’s a tool? You all learned it.
Antonio: [49:56] The pipe fusion.
Jim: [49:58] Like a fusion?
James: [49:58] It’s hard to design that if you…
Jim: [50:00] If you haven’t seen it.
James: [50:04] We should’ve work‑shopped that better.
Jim: [50:06] We should’ve.
James: [50:08] You came on while we were remote. In and out while we were in the pandemic. So getting to be around…I know EWNCON was there, but we were busy.
Antonio: [50:18] Yes.
James: [50:19] We’ve got a lot more slow‑down time here. How’s it been for you to be around some of these folks?
Antonio: [50:24] It’s cool to talk to everybody that you see in the hall if you’re lucky enough to work on the same day.
[50:30] I was telling Clinton that it’s different to see people in person than when we have our meetings in Zoom and you’re scrolling through people. You’re like, “Who is that?” Then, they might look different one day.
James: [50:47] I’m yelling at my kid. That’s not really how I act all the time. Just on that one meeting.
Jim: [50:51] Allegedly.
James: [50:48] It’s real. It’s hard to get a…
James: [50:50] Only one person can talk at one time at a Zoom meeting sitting at a table and just being able to fellowship and…
Antonio: [50:59] We have four different conversations that are organic…
James: [51:02] One, two, three, four, five, six. We have a whole group coming out.
Jim: [51:06] It’s wonderful.
Antonio: [51:08] Being new, it’s great to see everybody in person and to chit‑chat. EWN talked to a few people and it’s great to know what each department does and understand it.
James: [51:18] Understand it. Antonio, you make a big difference. I appreciate you being here.
James: [51:22] Thanks for being on the show and enjoy the rest of the week.
[51:24] [music]
Transcription by WatchingWords