FMBGN-Biz-Ascension Drone Services: Documenting Paradise Before the Storm

The resilience of coastal communities is put to the test when natural disasters strike, but it's in these challenging moments that true innovation and human spirit emerge. Jack Walker's story exemplifies this perfectly, as he transforms personal adversity into opportunity through his drone technology business on Fort Myers Beach.

Eight years ago, Jack and his wife made the leap from a Chicago suburb to the sunny shores of Fort Myers Beach, drawn by its beauty and community. Like many residents, Hurricane Ian dramatically altered their lives, but instead of defeat, Jack found purpose. Drawing on his 30+ years of insurance industry experience, he launched Ascension Drone Services to address a critical need: documenting property conditions before and after storms to streamline insurance claims. "A picture tells a story of a thousand words," Jack explains, highlighting how drone footage can capture comprehensive evidence of roofing, AC units, and structural elements that proves invaluable during claims processing.

What makes Jack's vision particularly compelling is his forward-thinking approach. While currently focused on documentation and dramatic real estate marketing videos, he's positioning his company to revolutionize roof cleaning through drone technology. This innovation would eliminate the dangers faced by workers who currently risk falls and damage to fragile tile roofs. Though battery limitations mean this vision is still developing, it represents the kind of creative problem-solving that rebuilding communities need.

Beyond business, Jack's story reveals the deeper transformation many experience after disaster. His faith deepened substantially after Ian, giving him a new perspective on life and community. His wife Trista's extensive volunteer work with the Red Cross, delivering meals to shocked residents, illustrates the community bonds that make Fort Myers Beach special. Despite facing multiple hurricanes in recent years, Jack remains remarkably optimistic: "In five years this place is going to be a gold mine." To learn more about Ascension Drone Services or connect with Jack, call 239-851-5900 or email [e-mail].

Ascension Drone Services
Jack Walker
239-851-5900
[e-mail]

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor
podcast, where the sun's alwaysshining and the stories are even
brighter.
Each episode we bring youcloser to the neighbors, local
legends and beachside businessesthat make Fort Myers Beach the
slice of paradise we all love.
Pull up a beach chair, grab adrink and let's meet the people
who make this island feel likehome.
We want to send out some islandlove to Eric Tibbs from Edward

(00:21):
Jones State Insurance USA andHome Well Care Services Fort
Myers.
Welcome to Fort Myers Beachgood neighbors.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
We're all about no shade just sunshine, drama-free,
positive vibes only right.
So let's get.
Today we have good neighborJack Walker from Ascension Drone
Services.
Welcome, Thank you.
Yeah, pleasure to have you on,let's just jump right into it.
Why don't you share a littlebit about your story and what
you do here in Fort Myers Beach?

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Sure, yeah, we moved down to Fort Myers Beach about
eight years ago from a Chicagosuburb, arlington Heights,
illinois, and you know we hadalways loved southwest Florida

(01:34):
and had vacation down here quiteoften, have both friends and
family in Cape Coral.
So we knew the area pretty well.
And actually my company was inthe process, my insurance agency
was in the process of gettingbought by a larger firm and my
wife and I thought, boy, ifwe're ever going to move down,
this is the time.
So we went ahead and took theplunge and actually we were

(01:58):
looking at homes in Cape Coraland a friend from Cape Coral
said, hey, you know, you reallyought to check out Fort Myers
Beach.
And so I did.
I came down kind of by myself,because I was, you know, started
working another job down here.
My wife was still in Illinoisand sure enough, there was a

(02:20):
place that was available offseason for six months right on
the beach and um, so I kind ofswooped it up and, uh, told my
wife the good news and you knowshe couldn't believe it at first
that we were going to be righton the beach.
And she said you know, by theway, if you're, if you're

(02:40):
kidding me right now I'mdivorcing you.
So luckily I wasn't kidding.
And uh, she came down and justcould not believe the community
we had.
We had been to Fort Myers Beachmany occasion via boat and you
know, do the usual Lonnie Kaithing and hang out by boat there

(03:02):
.
And you know we're aware offort myers beach.
But we weren't totally aware.
And so we, um, we stated thatwe rented that place for six
months and we found morepermanent location and um, you
know then, uh, as it turned out,uh, ian hit us, of course,

(03:24):
three years ago, as everybodyknows, and that kind of changed
everything for us, and so we'reslowly but surely kind of making
our way back.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
That's the way to do it.
It's about the community andcoming together and helping each
other.
And yeah, you're right, you hitthe nail on the head there.
You know it is a greatcommunity and once you become
involved in it you realize howgreat the people are and how
supportive the people are.
You know, it's funny youmention I'm from Illinois too.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Actually.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
I lived in LA tonight for a little while.
I went to grade school there.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yep, you're a Packers fan and a Brewers fan, right?

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Well, you know, yes, I like the Packers, I support
the Packers, but they weren'tvery good when I was growing up,
so I became a Cowboy fan.
So, hey, cheerleaders, can youblame me?
I don't know, right.
But I think they're Brewersright now.
So I'm sorry about the Cubs,but the brewers are doing great.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
So they're, they're on fire Free burgers.
I saw George.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Webb Got to love that Right, See Wisconsin.
Yeah, yeah, you do so youstarted your own business down
here now.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Ascension Drone Services.
What's that all about?

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Yes, French and drone services.
What's that all about?
Yes, we're really excited aboutit.
I guess phase one of ourcompany involves insurance work
and I've been, of course, in theinsurance industry for 30 plus
years and I know how claims workand document documentation is

(05:02):
the key, and you've got to dothat with video equipment if
possible, so that's always beenthe rule.
You know, everybody has heardthe stories before about agents
saying hey, look, document allyour property, all your
possessions inside your houseand make sure that the company
is aware of that.
The company's aware of that.

(05:22):
It's the same idea forhomeowners and building owners
condo buildings.
We want to document thecondition of the building before
a storm and make sure thatwe've got all of the roofing
equipment, the AC units, theterraces, the balconies, the
lanais, all of that equipment.

(05:44):
We want to show that's inperfect condition prior to the
storm.
And then you know, hopefully wedon't have another storm, but
if we do, our company will comeback out and do another
documentation of the damage.
And you know, a picture tells astory of a thousand words.
It becomes very easy for thecarriers to see the insurance

(06:06):
companies, to see what thedamage is and they can have also
a real good idea of what thecost to replace that's going to
be.
And you know it definitely willmake the claims process much
smoother and really carriers arelooking, the insurance
companies are looking for thattoo and kind of surprisingly,

(06:29):
it's underutilized.
I think people are starting toget the idea that you know,
maybe we ought to take somepictures of our roofs or of our
buildings, but a lot of times itdoesn't get done, or if it does
, it's just a few snapshots, youknow, on the ground, which
doesn't get a full picture ofthe roof.
So that's that's idea.

(06:50):
That's the first phase, alongwith real estate and marketing
work, because we're doing somekind of dramatic videos with our
, with our drones.
We've got an FPV drone.
It's just like riding a rollercoaster and does some really
cool stuff.
You can take it inside and getfootage inside and you know it's

(07:12):
just it's it's some really coolthings going on with technology
and want to be involved in thatreally cool things going on
with technology and want to beinvolved in that.
And then phase two of ourcompany is going to be washing,
cleaning tile roofs with a drone, because right now, you know,

(07:32):
workers get up there and theybreak tiles and it's a dangerous
job.
They fall off and it's just.
It's's a tough gig and it takesa while doing it the way that
they're doing it now.
With the drone you could do ita lot quicker and easier and a
lot safer too, and we're notquite there yet with the
technology.
The battery life on thesedrones is not quite where it

(07:55):
needs to be to go full force onthat yet, but we want to be on
the cutting edge of dronetechnology and be involved in
that.
As soon as the technology is alittle bit better, when the
battery life increases which itwill in a couple of years, I'm
betting on it then we'll beready to rock and roll.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
That's exciting stuff , you know.
Technology is always, you know,some people dread it, but most
people embrace it because itdoes make things a lot easier
and, like you said, especiallyin this scenario, uh, safer for
people as well too so, and it'sa lot more dramatic too, the
footage.

Speaker 3 (08:37):
Just the cameras are so great on these drones and you
can get some incredible shots.
And, just again, the technologyis amazing and it brings things
really to life.
And with the documentation aswell, yeah, I can get inches
away from a roof if I need toand you know, show exactly the
condition and that's what's kindof cool.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
Yeah, that aerial view really helps.
And you said, hey, you don'thave to get up on a ladder and
get up on a roof and whip thecamera out.
Right, it's a lot easier.
Yeah, so Fort Myers Beach, arethere things that you're
involved with or maybe like tobe involved with, as far as
maybe giving back to thecommunity or supporting the

(09:20):
community?

Speaker 3 (09:22):
Yeah, we've been involved pretty heavily.
My wife especially with the RedCross.
She delivered, kind of boycountless meals to people.
You know, after the two stormslast year, especially Milton,
you know when people were kindof in a state of shock and you

(09:43):
know working on their homes justshoveling stuff out again and
doing all that dirty work and alot of times they wouldn't take
a degree.
We're really out there andhelping people out.

(10:04):
My wife, trista Walker, and youknow she's been been part with
Alex King Group and they did agreat job of, like I said,
delivering those, those mealsand water and and trying to
bring some good cheer becausethat was a tough time.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
Yeah, I mean, you dread going through it one time,
but going through it threedifferent times, you know,
within a matter of years, is notfun in any aspect at all.
No, but appreciative of thesupport that, like I said, the
community and the businessesaround it have given as well too
.

Speaker 3 (10:40):
So great way to give back.

Speaker 2 (10:43):
So you mentioned boating as an activity like
doing outside.
I mean, obviously you're fromIllinois, you know snow sports
are ideal down here.
But when you get a moment offree time, what do you enjoy
doing outside of work?
What do you?

Speaker 3 (10:57):
enjoy doing outside of work.
You know we've been very muchinto fishing, boating, kayaking,
paddle boarding, kind of allthe great water sports that
we've got just right here, andwe love doing that kind of stuff
Any of that stuff is just a joy, joy, yep.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
That's why we live down here, so we can get out and
enjoy it year round, right?
Not just during the summerseason.
For that short little windowyeah, yeah exactly.
I never understood why peopleowned a boat up north.
Because you use it for you knowyou store it for what nine
months and use it for threemonths.

Speaker 3 (11:37):
Yep, well, I mean, boaters are a different breed.
They just love the water andany chance they get they're
going to be out there.
I get it, I get it.

Speaker 2 (11:47):
So is there one thing you wish our listeners knew
about what you do, or maybe justthe Fort Myers Beach community
in general that they wouldn't betoo familiar with?

Speaker 3 (11:57):
I didn't catch that question quite.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
Is there one thing that you wish our listeners knew
about you that maybe theywouldn't be too familiar with?

Speaker 3 (12:08):
Well, you know, certainly everybody on this
island you know went through achange after Ian.
I could pretty much guaranteethat and you know my change
personally was faith based and Ibecame that much closer to God

(12:30):
and to Christ after certainlyafter the storm and really
changed my way of thinking.

Speaker 2 (12:39):
Because you have a different perspective, doesn't
it?
Oh, absolutely thinking yeah,because you have a different
perspective, doesn't it?
Oh, absolutely, Definitely yeah.
So final question how would ourlisteners go about contacting
you if they had some questionsabout your drone service or
needed that assistance?

Speaker 3 (12:55):
Yeah, first thing they can do is just call me on
my cell phone.
Yeah, and I can 239-851 on mycell phone and I can
239-851-5900 for Ascension, andthen right now my email for
Ascension, because we're justkind of starting out the last
couple months it'shappyjackwalker at gmailcom and

(13:19):
we're in the process.
Actually, we're finalizing thisweekend our website, so I'll
have somebody wanted to call meor or shoot me a email.
I can get get more informationon the on the website too after
this weekend very nice, verynice things are looking up yeah
unintended right yeah, you'reright.
Yeah, we're taking off right yougo.

Speaker 2 (13:41):
Any last words for our listeners today.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
I'm sorry.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
Any last words for our listeners today.

Speaker 3 (13:49):
No, just like I said, this community is very
resilient and it's taken sometime to get where we're at.
But you know I've said it amillion times it feels like in
five years this place is goingto be a gold mine, and what a
place to be it really is.

(14:12):
It's going to be pretty coolthe next few years to see the
growth.

Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yep, it's changing.
It'll be better.
It'll be better for sure.
So looking forward to that, butappreciate you being such a
good neighbor and we'll see youon the beach soon.

Speaker 3 (14:25):
Yeah, sounds good, thank you.

Speaker 1 (14:28):
Thanks for tuning in to the Fort Myers beach Good
neighbor podcast, wherecommunity meets paradise.
If you love what you heard,share it with a friend and keep
the good vibes going until nexttime.
Stay sunny, stay salty and keepbeing a good neighbor.
Also, to nominate your favoriteneighbors, local legends,
heroes or island businesses tobe on the show, go to
CaboWaboGymcom.
That's CaboWaboGymcom, or call239-427-4100.

(14:53):
We want to send out some islandlove to Eric Tibbs from Edward
Jones State Insurance USA andHome Well Care Services Fort
Myers.
They are the businesses thatallow us to share the soul of
our community with everylistener, from local stories to
the positive vibe of island life.
Here's to celebrating all thatmakes Fort Myers Beach the slice
of paradise we all love.