September 11, 2025 • 36 mins
From the battlefields of Afghanistan to the forefront of community service, Scott Wood's story is one of transformation, purpose, and unwavering faith. After enlisting in the Navy at just 17 and deploying to Afghanistan as a military canine handler at 19, Scott experienced traumas that continue to shape him today – including the loss of his military dog, Axe, and fellow service members.
"I don't think I've coped yet," Scott candidly admits when discussing his military experience, offering a powerful glimpse into the ongoing mental health challenges many veterans face long after their service ends. His turning point came when a fellow sailor invited him to church during recovery, where he found the spiritual foundation that would eventually guide both his personal life and business philosophy.
Today, as owner of McCarthy's One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, and Mr. Sparky Electric, Scott has transformed these businesses into platforms for community service. His "Heroes Plan" offers veterans deeply discounted maintenance services at just $11.11 monthly – a rate symbolizing Veterans Day (11/11) – though he refuses to widely advertise it, preferring it spread through genuine word-of-mouth.
"I'm not doing it for any kind of publicity... it's just genuinely a give back," Scott explains, embodying his adopted philosophy that "if you have the ability, then you have the responsibility." This ethos extends throughout his organization, which recently donated $10,000 to the 50 Mile March Foundation for veteran suicide prevention and collected over 350 toys for another organization through employee initiatives.
Perhaps most striking is Scott's unapologetic integration of faith into his business model, from the cross at his entrance displaying "Be still and know" to his straightforward approach in interviews: "I'm a Jesus-loving guy, and if you don't like it, don't work for me." Rather than limiting his hiring pool, this transparency has attracted like-minded employees committed to service and integrity.
Join us in discovering how one veteran's journey through trauma, faith, and purpose has created ripples of positive change throughout his community, and consider how we might all better serve those who have served us.
https://www.facebook.com/scott.wood.5680
https://www.onehourheatandair.com/omaha/
https://www.benjaminfranklinplumbing.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
connecting the dots, connecting his guests to the
world, creating more connections.
Welcome to the connection.
Meet your host.
Author, coach.
Air coach, air Force veteranJay Morales.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Thank you for joining the Connection.
I'm sitting here with ScottWood again today For the second
or third time.
I mean, we've been hanging outlately at a couple of different
events, significant places, butI wanted you to connect with
Scott just a little bit deeper.
Not only is he the owner,proprietor of McCarthy's One
Hour Heating and AirConditioning and Benjamin
(00:50):
Franklin.
I just want to peel back thelayers and introduce you to
Scott Scott.
Is there anything you wantanyone to know about you outside
of what I've read before westart?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
No, I just absolutely love what I do and love taking
care of people.
Giving back to those that havetaken care of me for all those
years and you know yourorganization's a great way to be
able to reach local grassrootspeople here in Omaha.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Absolutely, I want to talk about your service to our
country.
Let's go back that far when wewere probably younger kids.
Right, I know I'm a lot olderthan you, but take us back to
your service time.
What made you join the military?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Every male in my family was in the service.
Every male in my family was induring some sort of time of
conflict or war, and it wascertainly impressed upon me that
joining the military was in myinterest growing up, and yeah, I
wanted to be like my dad orgrandfather, cousins that are
all serving.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, so what age were you when you enlisted in
the Navy?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
17.
I just graduated high schooland went in as a CB, actually
originally, and I wanted to doheavy equipment.
I really wanted to do masteredarms but it was locked down
because of the it had to be afive or higher.
But um nine, 11 happened duringmy delayed entry program Right,
and a recruiter called me andsays, hey, you want to switch?
(02:17):
And I was like, yeah,absolutely yeah.
And I switched over and wentthrough basic that December
Lackland air force base.
Yeah, and I switched over andwent through basic that December
Lackland Air Force Base.
Yeah, I did my master at armstraining and from there just
started going all over the place.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah, you were a canine handler.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah, I did my canine training in Lackland and fell
in love with the dogs.
And Axe was my dog, yeah, andhe was a Belgian Shepherdian
shepherd and uh, awesome,awesome guy so let's, let's talk
about that right just after9-11.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
This, the nation is highly patriotic.
And then a couple conflicts,you know overseas.
Uh, where were you deployed to?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Started off in Corpus Christi, texas, yeah, and went
to Bagram Airfield inAfghanistan.
I was there for nine months.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
How old were you?
Young, 19.
Man, yeah Right.
First time out of the country,kind of, or not really no.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I went to Ireland for a school trip.
I was younger but, yeah, firsttime on my own, for sure, yeah,
yeah, man, scary time Felt likeyou were just in some weird I
don't even hard to explain, likeyou don't even know how to
comprehend everything that'sgoing on.
Surreal Surreal is a good wordVery surreal.
(03:41):
A lot of moving pieces andyou're like standing still in
twilight like what's going on?
Yeah, yeah, and obviously veryhot and dry.
But when stationed over there Iwas doing search and rescue, um
, and I was assigned withdifferent teams to go through
and just try to find people and,you know, take them out dead or
(04:02):
alive.
The team that I was associatedwith they handled a lot of the
hands-on portions.
I dealt more with the doghimself and, you know, had to,
you know he'll lead the way.
You know, if we went throughsome of the manholes and through
the mountains after they're,you know, hit, yeah.
Yeah, just try to find people.
(04:24):
That's village to village, youknow, looking to see who there
was and what information wecould find.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I mean some 19-year-olds today, and I'm not
making fun, I'm just comparisoncontrast.
You know they're in that.
What do I do now I'm done withhigh school?
I'm going to take a year offand take it easy option for you.
No, you went straight from highschool right into the
battlefield, if you would right.
I'm not trying to over glorifycombat experience.
Yeah, it was.
(04:48):
You went to a foreign countrywhere it was hostile yeah, it
was.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
It was a about a year and a half after I graduated
and, like I said, my my fatherwanted me in the service.
He was a army guy, he wanted me, he wanted me in the air force,
yeah and uh.
So I pissed him off and joinedthe Navy.
Yeah, okay and yeah, that's oneway to do it.
Yeah, it was, yeah, but heshowed up at graduation.
(05:13):
It was fun.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Well, that's that's all that matters.
You know, you go through allthe pressures and all the things
that you, you see overseas andall the, all the action that you
see, and I don't care if peopleserve sandwiches or if they,
you know, shot a machine gun.
It doesn't matter to me.
What matters to me is thetrauma and the pressure.
Can you describe just not thethings, but how you felt when
(05:36):
you did see some of the traumaand the pressure?
You know, how did you cope at19 years old?
Or were you coping, or was itjust what the heck's going on
here?
Were you repressing?
Were you?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I don't think I've coped yet.
Yeah, just to be honest, I meanspeaking at your operation,
briefing, briefing, you know one.
One thing that I I struggledwith is talking about my
military career it's somethingthat I don't I'm not, I'm proud
(06:11):
of, but I'm not joyful of, Iguess would be a way to put it.
But you know, and, and, andmental illness, ptsd comes in
all shapes and forms and youknow, we we become numb and
compartmentalize things thathave happened to us.
Yep, and I've been what I thinkvery successful in locking
things up in a box.
Yeah, and you know it's it.
(06:32):
This is as much for me as it isfor other people, because it's
something with my life that Ineed to just face, you know, but
it was, it's hard to explain, Imean, it's just so, just so
unreal.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
And I don't want you to explain or justify yourself
Like I.
Just I appreciate you, evensharing the haze about it, right
?
Just, you know just the honestyof, hey, I still need to cope
and you're right, we all need tocope.
So you know, along with that,when someone you know you see in
distress right, because we'rebetter to help other people when
(07:06):
you see someone else indistress, what is your advice to
them?
Now, not that you'll take ityourself, but what's your advice
to them?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Man, you got to put your pride aside.
It's not about I'm better thanthis or I'm better than that,
about you know I'm better thanthis or I'm better than that.
Situations of life just comeinto play and you know it is
100% okay to ask for help and itdoesn't matter if you're
struggling with air conditioning, heating repairs or if you're
(07:37):
struggling with trying to copewith trauma that you dealt with
30 years ago, 20 years ago.
You know the majority of usthat have had, you know, a
younger upbringing in themilitary and joined a service at
younger age.
I mean, our brains weren't evenfully developed.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
No, that's just it.
We didn't have a childhood,right?
No, we didn't have a childhoodand we weren't the norm.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
No, and we're that gray matter between Vietnam and
today.
You know, today we, you knowVietnam days.
You know nobody cared when theycame home, no, and today
everything is like oh, mentalhealth, mental health, it's
great.
Yeah, it's a real deal.
And you know, I never eventhrough the trauma that I dealt
with my entire life.
(08:22):
I never believed in anxiety anddepression.
And yeah, it's a real deal.
Yeah, and you know it's a darkplace.
And the sooner you come toreality that it's real and that
you're not, you know Hulkamaniato be able to do.
You can't do it on your own.
There's no way.
And you know, asking for thathand to reach out.
(08:43):
You know there is no shame inthat whatsoever.
That's something in my opinion.
It's more prideful to reach outand ask for help for whatever
scenario it is, and try toconquer it on your own and end
up alone and dark and cold.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Yeah, I think too often, and even the male role,
right, the father figure, if youwould, or just it's too
overcorrected when they say, oh,be macho about it, or hey, be a
man about it, or hey, man up,or you're going to be fine,
right.
I think there's a place and atime for us to be able to look
(09:19):
for that help, seek for the help, be accountable to the help,
and there's nothing wrong withthat, you know.
But I think, on top of it iseven more important is and this
is me and I speak for me and Iknow I probably share it with
you you got to have strong faith.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Man, I tell you what.
I would not be who I am orwhere I am, or even sitting here
talking to you, if it wasn't,if it wasn't for Jesus Christ.
You know when, when I startedto go through recovery after my
injury, and you know, I had nofamily around me, I had no
friends around me.
My dog was gone, he was, waskilled.
You lost your friends and yourdog, yeah, yeah, lots of friends
(09:55):
.
And axe was killed and it was,man, I tell you what.
There's nothing more lonelythan that.
And you know, I had a lot ofdecision making to do on my own
that that dealt with waking upthe next day and opening my eyes
, and that was a decision that Ireally struggled with.
You, what is my purpose in life?
Everything I touch justdisappears.
(10:17):
And it was extremely, extremelylost, cold feeling that you,
just you, never forget.
And you know, through that timeI, I had some met some different
people and invited me to church.
And during one of my recoveries, a fellow sailor says hey, come
to church with me.
(10:37):
And I'm like for what?
And, man, that was the bestmessage.
It was like the pastor spoke tome and nobody else was in that
congregation and I found myselfwalking down to the altar area
and asking for him to to to.
You know, save me.
And I tell you what I.
I I am not at all who I am.
(10:57):
This company is not mine.
This, this belongs to Jesus andI use it to give back and to
promote and help him and glorifyhim, because that's, that's all
we're called to do.
Uh and I mean that's why my kidswere there on that Saturday.
I want them to see exactly whatit is that we do and why it's
important to give back andfollow what we're called to do.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Sarah said the same thing.
You know, when I came up and Ithanked you guys, and she goes.
I just want to let you know,we're just stewards.
She said we're just stewards.
You know, and I keep going backto this daughter, abby, she was
incredible.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Hi, my name's Abby Looked me in the eye and
everything you know and's it'simportant for them to see and to
be able to give back.
You know, and they only see asmall fraction of it, and you
know, I want them to be able tofully understand why our
military is important, why ourveterans are important, why
giving back to community isimportant, and you know why, why
(12:07):
serving a God that we're calledto serve is the most important.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
My serving to God, that we're called to serve is
the most important, yeah, youknow, and that leads into your
making an impact in thecommunity.
You're led by God, you're ledby your faith to be a good
steward.
Right, and I want to talk aboutyou know some of the things
that you've been involved with,not just the 50 Mile March, but
what Heart Heroes was one ofthem.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, yeah.
We gave back to the HeartHeroes organization for a few
years and bags of fun.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
That's a fun, yeah Great.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
And they, they, they partner up very well together.
Yes, and we may possibly stillbe doing it again this year, but
we collected over 350 toys lastyear by our own employees.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
So your own employees , because of the culture you
have here at McCarthy's One HourHeating and Benjamin Franklin,
the culture you have you, didn'tyou just said hey, here's what
we're doing.
What were you surprised by theresponse of 350 toys?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Very very, that's a lot of toys.
Yeah, last year was the secondyear we had done it.
The first year we did just over200 and they had this own
internal contest that they weredoing.
We weren't doing any kind ofpromotion of, hey, most
donations you know gets to atthat time.
We didn't do any of that, right, and we have a staff just full
of open hearts and arms andwanting to be able to take care
(13:32):
of it.
I love it when they call me andsay, hey, you know I'm at this
customer's house and you knowthey're just in a tough, you
know a tough spot.
You know we need to be able tohelp them out.
I'm like, okay, what is itgoing to take?
Typically, we do it, one of thereasons you know why I think
we've been nominated andselected as the net servitive
franchise of the year or SarpyCounty Business of the Year.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Well, yeah, congratulations again on that.
I was at your table.
Yes, man, that was so cool.
I was like I'm among the cool.
But again you glorify JesusChrist on stage, man.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
You've got to and you know I am able to do what I can
because of him and I want tomake sure that he gets full
credit for that.
And you know we we're notperfect, we're going to struggle
, but you know, if we all striveto do the best we can, then
that's all that matters.
And you know that's why one ofour core values here is own it.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
You know you have your honor, your respect,
integrity.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
But own it.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, own the scenario.
It doesn't matter what you'vedone or what's happened.
What the customer wants, ownthat customer.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah, I've experienced that you guys have
stepped up and said, hey, youknow what, we were there, I'll
own it.
Tell us what we need to do.
But you know, talk aboutoutside of, you know the, the
culture and the giving that youhave.
Talk about the service that youprovide for veterans period,
veteran families in there.
Yeah, tell me.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, so obviously we have the McCarthy's one hour
heating and air and the BenjaminFranklin plumbing.
Yeah, mr Sparky electric isalso here.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Okay, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
And we have our our heart hero excuse me, not our
heart hero, but our our hero'splan.
Hero's plan, yes, yes and yeah.
So free maintenance servicesfor the furnace, air
conditioning, plumbing, waterheater, flushes, they do the
electrical panel and all theelectronics or the electrical
outlets and light fixtures, andit's, it's free, it's our way to
(15:16):
give back to our veterans thesame thing.
And, yeah, we, we do the thefree promotion.
We've been doing it for a while.
We started doing it where we do11, 11 as a monthly payment yep,
yep, that's right and so we wedo continue to do that, we we
offer it free to those veteransthat reach out to us through the
50 mile march.
So we can help keep us connectedtogether Absolutely, and it's
(15:37):
just a great way to give all,whatever we can to people that
have provided all they have tous.
And you know, no company, nostate, no municipality is going
to be able to do the servicesthat we wish and hope for.
Politics, and you know theytalk about what they want to do,
and it's the one thing thatreally attracted me to you is
(15:59):
you know, it's not red, we'renot blue, we're red, white and
blue, and we're going to walkright down the middle and I
don't care what side of theaisle you're on, you serve our
country, we're going to serveyou, and that's all that matters
.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Absolutely, and we reiterate that, over and over
being on a solid foundation youknow the 50 mile march we want
to make sure that we build solidand slow, right, I know we have
a solid foundation In your eyes.
Outside of that, what elseattracted you?
You heard about it about a yearago, right, and it took us a
while to get here, becausesometimes we just learn a little
bit, a little bit more.
Why the 50 Mile MarchFoundation for you?
What resonates?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Just the camaraderie of your contractors, your
sponsors, the in-depth rootsthat you dig into the community,
hearing your testimony and thetestimony of others, yeah, truly
need help.
And it's like the story I toldyou.
You know about that soldierover there and you know if, if
he had the opportunity to havesomebody to reach out, you know,
like your organization, maybehe'd be here today.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
You know without going in depth, you basically
this today wasn't even going tohappen between you and I know
Cause we cause.
I said hey it.
I said hey, is tomorrow better.
Yeah, you're like, well, youknow today's better.
I'll go till 3.30.
I said, okay, I'll try to bethere by 2.
And then you shared the story.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, one of our plumbers went to a customer's
house and she was in a realtough spot emotionally and
really kind of just laid heremotions on his shoulders and he
was really touched.
And come to find out yesterdaywas the anniversary of her son's
suicide, who struggled severelywith PTSD from his time in
Desert Storm, and she had asignificant amount of his stuff
(18:02):
that she just couldn't stand tosee anymore and was going to
throw it away and I said there'sno way.
So we wanted to try to help herand connect her with people
that she can maybe do.
Some donations of this uniforms, medals, pictures.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
She was going to throw it away.
She was going to throw it away.
I don't want to bring it oncamera, but it's sitting right
over here off camera, and thishappened just yesterday.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Just yesterday.
Like I said, you know, there isno coincidence in my mind.
I mean, everything happened fora reason and, yeah, you know, I
believe strongly in my faiththat that it's a realistic
example today that we still dealwith.
You know that our parents, ourgrandparents, our aunts, our
uncles, you know, taking yourlife because you feel like it's
(18:44):
too much to handle, it is notworth it, oh, it is not worth it
.
The air that we breathe,breathe is is more than enough.
The, the, the life that thatGod provides us is yes, you just
you can't put words to that.
And hearing these stories, man,it breaks my heart and it just
is a good reminder of where Iwas and what keeps me motivated
(19:06):
and that's probably a good thingto say why you guys is is you
never forget who you are andwhere you come from.
You know you can do real estate, you can do contractor services
, you can do whatever, but we'reall in the people serving
business, and our own peopleneed the most help.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
I think we sometimes lose sight of that when it comes
to profit and growth andscaling and betterment and
improvement and cycle and allthose things, and stock prices
and margin, all those things youknow feed into the beast.
But if we pull back and we sitdown and we say, okay, you know,
we're giving because we can,not because we're giving because
(19:45):
we can, and I think one of myfriends, van Diep, said, if you
have the ability, then you havethe responsibility.
I mean, think about that for asecond right, because sometimes
the highest skill is ability oravailability.
I should say the highestability is availability and if
you have the ability, you havethe responsibility and, and you
(20:10):
know, we're all in this together.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
You know, it doesn't matter what color you are or
what nationality or your belief,it doesn't matter, right, and
you know we, we all come herewith nothing.
We're going.
It doesn't matter, right, andyou know we, we all come here
with nothing.
We're going to leave withnothing.
Yep, you know, it would just benice to have some sort of
fellowship along the way, andand and that's, and, that's what
you know, that's what we're allabout, and same with you.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
That's, that's what I love.
I love the fellowship part.
So, Scott, you know, let's talkabout what you want most for
the people you come in contactwith.
Right, because you've got youremployees, you've got your
family yeah, your lovely family,by the way, and Sarah's so kind
, she's my rock head or when shesaid we're just stewards, jay,
(21:00):
like it was, like just matter offact, you know what I mean?
It wasn't, it wasn't rehearsedanyway.
I mean, what do you want mostfor the people around you?
That?
What do you want them to know?
What do you want them to feel?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
I want them to know Jesus.
You know how people live todayand not have him.
I don't understand it.
I want them to know thatthey're not alone, that there,
there is someone there andpeople there that are available
to help, and I want them to knowthat it is not.
It is not the end of the line,and that's extremely important.
(21:32):
You know it's.
There are so many resourcesavailable.
He's the highest and strongest.
Yeah yeah, and that's the mostimportant.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Yeah, I think that is that's well said, because it's
too easy that we think ofmotivational books, leadership
courses, right, motivationalquotes.
But at the end of the day, Ican tell, by you being centered
in Christ, your faith is whatsets you straight, that's what,
(22:03):
that's your guide, that's yourplum.
You know what I mean.
If you would, what about this?
What's on the horizon?
Anything exciting with any ofyour companies that you're
working on, or anything that youknow that you're excited about,
that you might.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well, we're certainly excited about our upcoming
March.
Oh gosh, okay, yes, okay, yes,okay.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Yes, fair, fair.
Let's leave all the corporatestuff behind, let's highlight
this and let's talk about theMarch.
So, yes, saturday, sunday.
First of all, I want tohighlight your $10,000.
So I know people have for ourveterans.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
And you know again, it's you have the ability, it's
your responsibility.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
I might have to borrow that.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
I mean, hey, I just borrowed it too.
Yeah, and you know, we, wecertainly have the ability and
was the.
That's the largest donationwe've been able to make thus far
since.
I've been here to be able toknow that that has been, you
know, just increased tenfold ofyou know, to almost 40,000 in
total.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
The force multiplier for us, for sure, and so that
you know, I mean our staff andour programming and I took this
from our latest report and Idon't want to be held to this
but it's about 27-ish percentright where that goes to
programming and overhead and therest goes towards the community
of hope.
Our score from our audit is sogood.
(23:49):
I want to share that withpeople.
We have seven acres that we arein the current mode of
developing so that your gift isnot just some pass-through where
we're going to put it insomeone's pocket, to put in
someone's pocket, to put insomeone's pocket right, and I'm
telling you I can't wait for theworld to see what we build.
(24:12):
It's going to take a while, butlet's talk about this.
You were at our missionbriefing, like you said.
What was the atmosphere likethere?
What was it like?
Well, it was good it was atWerner, right?
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Yeah, yeah, it was at Werner and a nice facility, by
the way, and awesome people.
But man, they were pumped.
They were those men and womenare riled up and yeah, I mean
even my, my seven-year-old he'sjust like trying not to trying
to contain them in the seat.
Hey, they were so good.
Yeah, they were sitting rightin front, right.
And yeah, he was just like,okay, let's go.
(24:46):
We literally leave, we wentaround the back and I think
there's like a training breakroom, and so we came out of the
restroom to get ready to leaveand he's like all right, we're
marching.
I was like, where are we going?
He goes, we're going to Lincoln.
I'm like no, we're not.
They start in Lincoln and cometo Omaha.
And he goes okay, where are wegoing?
I'm like buddy.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
That's funny.
Well, you and your family areinvited to come out to Walton if
you'd like to see the launch.
It's a pretty big deal.
We will check in, we willprocess our equipment, we'll
make sure final safety checks.
We'll lay down for 22 minutes,we'll pray, final mission
(25:26):
briefing.
Platoon leaders break down totheir platoons and then we
launch.
Man, that's a it's a sight tosee.
Yeah, uh, the media vehicle 17,17 crew media vehicle, two
drones, four still cameras, twooperator cameras, two point to
zoom cameras.
Live stream.
It's, it's all.
(25:48):
It's.
It's like a military operation.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Man, that's going to be awesome to see.
I can't wait to see the, the,the progress of it and the, and
the production of it I can, it'sgoing to be nice.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
And then you're going to be at the end as well and
you're going to see two largehorse troughs.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
That's a horse trough , I mean it's a water ton,
they're stock tanks.
I mean, they're huge, yeah, andthey'll be filled with some
cold ice water and frozenelectrolyte popsicles.
Not for feet, no, not for feetor hands Feet, no, not for feet
or hands, and we'll have all thekids there with the water
cannons squirting everybody asthey come along and some misting
(26:25):
fans and cooling fans.
Yeah, just a good time, man,just to show back and show the
support for you guys.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Oh, you'll have fans there, the cooling stations as
well.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Is that right?
Yeah, we'll have the coolingstation there.
Yeah, it's going to be a realgood time and we'll be, you know
, hopefully talking to peopleabout our heroes plan.
And you know just the biggest,the biggest challenge, and it's
a.
It's a great, you know, servicethat we offer, but the biggest
challenge is just putting thatout there.
I'm not doing it for any kindof publicity or anything of that
(26:56):
nature, it's just genuinely agive back.
So we don't do a huge promotionof it and people say all the
time, oh, you should, but I getwhat?
Speaker 3 (27:03):
you're saying but, but I will tell you.
Let let me emphasize this forScott because, like he said he
won't, but I will and I don'twork here.
Veterans in general arehardworking people or they know
hard work.
An organization like this workshard.
I can tell you he's seen theclock that we've worked on right
.
He's seen the uniforms that weworn and I want you to know when
(27:27):
he does this for families$11.11 per month.
I mean, that's nothing, it'speace of mind.
And you're right, you don't seeit on a billboard.
And that just hit me just now.
It's not a promotion, it's yourgive back and the way you want
it to get out is word of mouth.
So I challenge or I imploreveterans to say, hey, let me
(27:51):
just find out what this is about.
Ring their phones, I'll put alink, but do yourself a favor.
You're going to spend the moneyone way or another.
Support a veteran-ownedbusiness who doesn't even want
anything back for it.
That's it.
That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Yeah, and and have fun while you're doing.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Yeah, no doubt, tell me about, tell me about the
business place here, like I keepgoing back to this man because
I'm so fascinated how, how big,how many employees are here.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Uh, so we have 22 employees in total.
Okay, 19 trucks on the roadevery day.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
And about five of us here in the office.
Yeah, and this is the.
This is the original franchiseone hour and that ever started.
Yeah, 22 years ago.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
Yes, and and you bought it from the.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
I bought it from the the, the, the pioneer.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Yeah, the pioneer.
And you bought it from the.
I bought it from the, the.
The the pioneer, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
But uh, yeah, he, John McCarthy.
He started the whole thing andhe called me in to and the
organization.
You know he was looking forsomebody that can just help him
grow and get the company in theright place that he wants it to
be.
I mean he was an oldergentleman at the time.
Sure, wants to retire and youknow I honestly was not looking
for employment.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
And you were over there in another franchise.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
I was over in another franchise, yeah, and I loved
the people that I worked withand you know it's.
You know he just chatting withhim here and there and you know
it kind of made me realize okay,maybe there are other things
out there.
And I had left that locationfor a little while and about six
, eight months later he calls meback.
He's like what are you doing?
I'm like working.
(29:37):
And he goes I think it's timeyou come to Omaha.
And I said I think it's timeyou go get your your Alzheimer's
checked, Cause I told you thatit's not going to happen.
Yeah, he and he's like well,it's negative 40 here, cause you
guys had a real bad freeze.
Oh yeah, and and I saw Isnapped a photo of my palm tree.
I said it's 86.
Leave me alone.
(30:08):
And so, yeah, I mean my wife.
You know we had this internalchecklist that only her and I
discussed about if we were toever leave or relocate.
You know, florida, what wouldit look like?
And you know, at the time youknow he checked off every box
and literally, you know you juststart feeling that tug and so
we just, we just put it in God'shands and you know our prayer
was to close every door.
We're stubborn Close every doorthat we can't or don't need to
go through and open the ones youdo.
And lo and behold, omaha,nebraska, gets here.
(30:29):
And you know, I move here and hegot sick.
He got really sick and weweren't really quite sure if he
was going to make it.
Our house got destroyed by adowndraft Wow, first, 90 days,
and so it's like our stuffhadn't even gotten here yet and
I called my wife.
I'm like put the house backinto market.
She's like nope, you made acommitment to us in Christ.
(30:51):
You're going to follow throughand through him, you'll get
through this.
And there's a lot of turmoilthat we went through, I'm sure,
and you know, through faith, andfaith alone and obedience, you
know that's why we have thatcross at the front door.
Be still and know.
You know Psalm 46, you have tobe still and know that Christ is
King and he will put us throughit.
And he put me here for a reason, you know.
(31:12):
It is to truly give back andglorify him, and that's what is
the most important thing to meand that is what my mission is
to do.
And the greatest thing is, youknow, you, you, you deal with
tradesmen and a lot of tradesmendon't know Christ.
You know it was a testimony initself and maybe another time
for another podcast.
But you know, when I got here,culture was not the greatest
(31:33):
Sure, people were run down andyou know, it was just.
It was just.
What it was is what it was, youknow.
And you know my wife and Italked and I told her I want to
put a cross on the door.
She helped me find a nice oneand you know it's scary.
You know, put that up there andfive, six people walk right out
the door and I'm like, and notbecause of that or whatever
reason, it just happened.
(31:54):
And you know, I, I literallyfound myself, you know, walking
through the lobby and it's likefive, 30 at night, just fell to
my knees and just crying out toGod and like okay, what, what am
I supposed to do?
And literally, within two weekswe had five fully qualified
striven people and I'm like youhave got to be kidding me.
Well, no, there's no kiddingand no, and these guys, I mean
(32:15):
they, they love what they do,they love their the walk, they
love the talk, and I telleverybody in the interview, I'm
a Jesus-loving guy, and if youdon't like it, don't work for me
.
I'm going to talk it, I'm goingto preach it, I'm going to put
scripture on the wall.
It's going to be all over.
Yeah, and they love it, theyabsolutely love it.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
Well, you're attracting what you want.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Right.
If you're someone who this isnot just something you say, it's
something you live and it'ssomething that you want for
others, you know what I mean.
That's important it is, and thestruggle in this business cable
(32:52):
plumbing, air conditioning,heating, electrical it doesn't
matter.
We can train people, we candevelop people, but at the end
of the day, after that interviewand after that face-to-face we
have, it's really challenging tofind out what are they really
doing in that home it's true andyou know, the biggest thing is,
I never, ever want to, nor everhave been on, you know, one of
those inside edition shows orwhatever we actually undercover,
(33:12):
boss yeah, you know, we'veuh, we've been one of the
professionals that have beencontacted, you know, but you,
you know, to have like-mindedpeople of who I am representing
me, the best way that I know howto the community is a piece in
its own, and again, that's whenyou have to be still and know,
and you know, and therepresentation is extremely
(33:35):
important and you know they lookthe part, act the part and
provide the best servicepossible, and that's what we're
known for that's a big deal.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
You can do a whole master class, scott, on just
hiring people, right you know Imean it's one of the most
difficult parts.
Like you said, this is a peoplebusiness.
You'll find many skilled, butwill you find the people, the
who they are versus the whatthey are?
Speaker 2 (33:58):
right, that's the challenge you want, the who they
are versus what they are.
Hire for character and trainfor the trade.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
I mean easier said than done.
Much, I mean.
Is there anything else you wantto impart?
Any other knowledge, Any otherlast-minute Scott wisdom sayings
before we go?
Speaker 2 (34:15):
I've got a lot here, man yeah, I just appreciate the
opportunity to partner up withyou guys.
I mean, it means you knowequally as much or more to me
than than than maybe to you guys.
But I know what we're doingtogether along with all the
other sponsors, is so important,and that's what I really love.
I will say this that's onething I really did and was
(34:36):
attracted to your organizationabout is it's not about the name
on the shirt.
Yeah, you have other heatingand air contractors there, you
have cabinet people, counterpeople.
We're all people serving people.
Yeah, and you know, that's theone thing that really was a
really nice icing on the cake,so to speak, and it's just true,
(34:56):
people that really want apurpose of helping others.
And that's what I really likeand that really fits me and our
and my my model here very welland yeah, so I mean I appreciate
that, I appreciate theopportunity and you know I'm
looking forward to seeing whatwe can do in the years to come.
Man, cause this is a, this isthe beginning.
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
Well, you guys heard it here Scott Wood, sarah Wood,
I got to meet her, your entirefamily.
I just want to say to you andpeople watching our gratitude
towards your family.
The fact that you all attendedreally said something about you
know.
Your family says somethingabout what you want to do in the
community.
I saw the news piece when youwere out in the parade.
(35:38):
Was it the Irish?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
The St Patrick's.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Day Parade and your family was there, right, and
Sarah was there.
You had your outfit on.
I was like this guy's all in onthe community.
I want people to watch wherehis feet point and they always
point towards the community.
So if you need someone toconfide or trust in, definitely
the Wood family.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate you, Scott.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Yeah, man.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Thanks for tuning in to the Connection.
It's been a fantastic journey,exploring stories, insights and
inspirations that bridge ourlives.
Remember every connection hasthe power to transform.
Please subscribe, rate andreview.
Your feedback keeps us going Inthis connected world.
(36:24):
Let's make meaningfulconnections that enrich lives.
Now signing off until next time, the Connection, keep
connecting and let's go.
connecting the dots, connecting his guests to the
world, creating more connections.
Welcome to the connection.
Meet your host.
Author, coach.
Air coach, air Force veteranJay Morales.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Thank you for joining the Connection.
I'm sitting here with ScottWood again today For the second
or third time.
I mean, we've been hanging outlately at a couple of different
events, significant places, butI wanted you to connect with
Scott just a little bit deeper.
Not only is he the owner,proprietor of McCarthy's One
Hour Heating and AirConditioning and Benjamin
(00:50):
Franklin.
I just want to peel back thelayers and introduce you to
Scott Scott.
Is there anything you wantanyone to know about you outside
of what I've read before westart?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
No, I just absolutely love what I do and love taking
care of people.
Giving back to those that havetaken care of me for all those
years and you know yourorganization's a great way to be
able to reach local grassrootspeople here in Omaha.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Absolutely, I want to talk about your service to our
country.
Let's go back that far when wewere probably younger kids.
Right, I know I'm a lot olderthan you, but take us back to
your service time.
What made you join the military?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Every male in my family was in the service.
Every male in my family was induring some sort of time of
conflict or war, and it wascertainly impressed upon me that
joining the military was in myinterest growing up, and yeah, I
wanted to be like my dad orgrandfather, cousins that are
all serving.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, so what age were you when you enlisted in
the Navy?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
17.
I just graduated high schooland went in as a CB, actually
originally, and I wanted to doheavy equipment.
I really wanted to do masteredarms but it was locked down
because of the it had to be afive or higher.
But um nine, 11 happened duringmy delayed entry program Right,
and a recruiter called me andsays, hey, you want to switch?
(02:17):
And I was like, yeah,absolutely yeah.
And I switched over and wentthrough basic that December
Lackland air force base.
Yeah, and I switched over andwent through basic that December
Lackland Air Force Base.
Yeah, I did my master at armstraining and from there just
started going all over the place.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Yeah, you were a canine handler.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah, I did my canine training in Lackland and fell
in love with the dogs.
And Axe was my dog, yeah, andhe was a Belgian Shepherdian
shepherd and uh, awesome,awesome guy so let's, let's talk
about that right just after9-11.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
This, the nation is highly patriotic.
And then a couple conflicts,you know overseas.
Uh, where were you deployed to?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Started off in Corpus Christi, texas, yeah, and went
to Bagram Airfield inAfghanistan.
I was there for nine months.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
How old were you?
Young, 19.
Man, yeah Right.
First time out of the country,kind of, or not really no.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I went to Ireland for a school trip.
I was younger but, yeah, firsttime on my own, for sure, yeah,
yeah, man, scary time Felt likeyou were just in some weird I
don't even hard to explain, likeyou don't even know how to
comprehend everything that'sgoing on.
Surreal Surreal is a good wordVery surreal.
(03:41):
A lot of moving pieces andyou're like standing still in
twilight like what's going on?
Yeah, yeah, and obviously veryhot and dry.
But when stationed over there Iwas doing search and rescue, um
, and I was assigned withdifferent teams to go through
and just try to find people and,you know, take them out dead or
(04:02):
alive.
The team that I was associatedwith they handled a lot of the
hands-on portions.
I dealt more with the doghimself and, you know, had to,
you know he'll lead the way.
You know, if we went throughsome of the manholes and through
the mountains after they're,you know, hit, yeah.
Yeah, just try to find people.
(04:24):
That's village to village, youknow, looking to see who there
was and what information wecould find.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I mean some 19-year-olds today, and I'm not
making fun, I'm just comparisoncontrast.
You know they're in that.
What do I do now I'm done withhigh school?
I'm going to take a year offand take it easy option for you.
No, you went straight from highschool right into the
battlefield, if you would right.
I'm not trying to over glorifycombat experience.
Yeah, it was.
(04:48):
You went to a foreign countrywhere it was hostile yeah, it
was.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
It was a about a year and a half after I graduated
and, like I said, my my fatherwanted me in the service.
He was a army guy, he wanted me, he wanted me in the air force,
yeah and uh.
So I pissed him off and joinedthe Navy.
Yeah, okay and yeah, that's oneway to do it.
Yeah, it was, yeah, but heshowed up at graduation.
(05:13):
It was fun.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Well, that's that's all that matters.
You know, you go through allthe pressures and all the things
that you, you see overseas andall the, all the action that you
see, and I don't care if peopleserve sandwiches or if they,
you know, shot a machine gun.
It doesn't matter to me.
What matters to me is thetrauma and the pressure.
Can you describe just not thethings, but how you felt when
(05:36):
you did see some of the traumaand the pressure?
You know, how did you cope at19 years old?
Or were you coping, or was itjust what the heck's going on
here?
Were you repressing?
Were you?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I don't think I've coped yet.
Yeah, just to be honest, I meanspeaking at your operation,
briefing, briefing, you know one.
One thing that I I struggledwith is talking about my
military career it's somethingthat I don't I'm not, I'm proud
(06:11):
of, but I'm not joyful of, Iguess would be a way to put it.
But you know, and, and, andmental illness, ptsd comes in
all shapes and forms and youknow, we we become numb and
compartmentalize things thathave happened to us.
Yep, and I've been what I thinkvery successful in locking
things up in a box.
Yeah, and you know it's it.
(06:32):
This is as much for me as it isfor other people, because it's
something with my life that Ineed to just face, you know, but
it was, it's hard to explain, Imean, it's just so, just so
unreal.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
And I don't want you to explain or justify yourself
Like I.
Just I appreciate you, evensharing the haze about it, right
?
Just, you know just the honestyof, hey, I still need to cope
and you're right, we all need tocope.
So you know, along with that,when someone you know you see in
distress right, because we'rebetter to help other people when
(07:06):
you see someone else indistress, what is your advice to
them?
Now, not that you'll take ityourself, but what's your advice
to them?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Man, you got to put your pride aside.
It's not about I'm better thanthis or I'm better than that,
about you know I'm better thanthis or I'm better than that.
Situations of life just comeinto play and you know it is
100% okay to ask for help and itdoesn't matter if you're
struggling with air conditioning, heating repairs or if you're
(07:37):
struggling with trying to copewith trauma that you dealt with
30 years ago, 20 years ago.
You know the majority of usthat have had, you know, a
younger upbringing in themilitary and joined a service at
younger age.
I mean, our brains weren't evenfully developed.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
No, that's just it.
We didn't have a childhood,right?
No, we didn't have a childhoodand we weren't the norm.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
No, and we're that gray matter between Vietnam and
today.
You know, today we, you knowVietnam days.
You know nobody cared when theycame home, no, and today
everything is like oh, mentalhealth, mental health, it's
great.
Yeah, it's a real deal.
And you know, I never eventhrough the trauma that I dealt
with my entire life.
(08:22):
I never believed in anxiety anddepression.
And yeah, it's a real deal.
Yeah, and you know it's a darkplace.
And the sooner you come toreality that it's real and that
you're not, you know Hulkamaniato be able to do.
You can't do it on your own.
There's no way.
And you know, asking for thathand to reach out.
(08:43):
You know there is no shame inthat whatsoever.
That's something in my opinion.
It's more prideful to reach outand ask for help for whatever
scenario it is, and try toconquer it on your own and end
up alone and dark and cold.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Yeah, I think too often, and even the male role,
right, the father figure, if youwould, or just it's too
overcorrected when they say, oh,be macho about it, or hey, be a
man about it, or hey, man up,or you're going to be fine,
right.
I think there's a place and atime for us to be able to look
(09:19):
for that help, seek for the help, be accountable to the help,
and there's nothing wrong withthat, you know.
But I think, on top of it iseven more important is and this
is me and I speak for me and Iknow I probably share it with
you you got to have strong faith.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Man, I tell you what.
I would not be who I am orwhere I am, or even sitting here
talking to you, if it wasn't,if it wasn't for Jesus Christ.
You know when, when I startedto go through recovery after my
injury, and you know, I had nofamily around me, I had no
friends around me.
My dog was gone, he was, waskilled.
You lost your friends and yourdog, yeah, yeah, lots of friends
(09:55):
.
And axe was killed and it was,man, I tell you what.
There's nothing more lonelythan that.
And you know, I had a lot ofdecision making to do on my own
that that dealt with waking upthe next day and opening my eyes
, and that was a decision that Ireally struggled with.
You, what is my purpose in life?
Everything I touch justdisappears.
(10:17):
And it was extremely, extremelylost, cold feeling that you,
just you, never forget.
And you know, through that timeI, I had some met some different
people and invited me to church.
And during one of my recoveries, a fellow sailor says hey, come
to church with me.
(10:37):
And I'm like for what?
And, man, that was the bestmessage.
It was like the pastor spoke tome and nobody else was in that
congregation and I found myselfwalking down to the altar area
and asking for him to to to.
You know, save me.
And I tell you what I.
I I am not at all who I am.
(10:57):
This company is not mine.
This, this belongs to Jesus andI use it to give back and to
promote and help him and glorifyhim, because that's, that's all
we're called to do.
Uh and I mean that's why my kidswere there on that Saturday.
I want them to see exactly whatit is that we do and why it's
important to give back andfollow what we're called to do.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Sarah said the same thing.
You know, when I came up and Ithanked you guys, and she goes.
I just want to let you know,we're just stewards.
She said we're just stewards.
You know, and I keep going backto this daughter, abby, she was
incredible.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Hi, my name's Abby Looked me in the eye and
everything you know and's it'simportant for them to see and to
be able to give back.
You know, and they only see asmall fraction of it, and you
know, I want them to be able tofully understand why our
military is important, why ourveterans are important, why
giving back to community isimportant, and you know why, why
(12:07):
serving a God that we're calledto serve is the most important.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
My serving to God, that we're called to serve is
the most important, yeah, youknow, and that leads into your
making an impact in thecommunity.
You're led by God, you're ledby your faith to be a good
steward.
Right, and I want to talk aboutyou know some of the things
that you've been involved with,not just the 50 Mile March, but
what Heart Heroes was one ofthem.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, yeah.
We gave back to the HeartHeroes organization for a few
years and bags of fun.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
That's a fun, yeah Great.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
And they, they, they partner up very well together.
Yes, and we may possibly stillbe doing it again this year, but
we collected over 350 toys lastyear by our own employees.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
So your own employees , because of the culture you
have here at McCarthy's One HourHeating and Benjamin Franklin,
the culture you have you, didn'tyou just said hey, here's what
we're doing.
What were you surprised by theresponse of 350 toys?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Very very, that's a lot of toys.
Yeah, last year was the secondyear we had done it.
The first year we did just over200 and they had this own
internal contest that they weredoing.
We weren't doing any kind ofpromotion of, hey, most
donations you know gets to atthat time.
We didn't do any of that, right, and we have a staff just full
of open hearts and arms andwanting to be able to take care
(13:32):
of it.
I love it when they call me andsay, hey, you know I'm at this
customer's house and you knowthey're just in a tough, you
know a tough spot.
You know we need to be able tohelp them out.
I'm like, okay, what is itgoing to take?
Typically, we do it, one of thereasons you know why I think
we've been nominated andselected as the net servitive
franchise of the year or SarpyCounty Business of the Year.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Well, yeah, congratulations again on that.
I was at your table.
Yes, man, that was so cool.
I was like I'm among the cool.
But again you glorify JesusChrist on stage, man.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
You've got to and you know I am able to do what I can
because of him and I want tomake sure that he gets full
credit for that.
And you know we we're notperfect, we're going to struggle
, but you know, if we all striveto do the best we can, then
that's all that matters.
And you know that's why one ofour core values here is own it.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
You know you have your honor, your respect,
integrity.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
But own it.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, own the scenario.
It doesn't matter what you'vedone or what's happened.
What the customer wants, ownthat customer.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah, I've experienced that you guys have
stepped up and said, hey, youknow what, we were there, I'll
own it.
Tell us what we need to do.
But you know, talk aboutoutside of, you know the, the
culture and the giving that youhave.
Talk about the service that youprovide for veterans period,
veteran families in there.
Yeah, tell me.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, so obviously we have the McCarthy's one hour
heating and air and the BenjaminFranklin plumbing.
Yeah, mr Sparky electric isalso here.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Okay, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
And we have our our heart hero excuse me, not our
heart hero, but our our hero'splan.
Hero's plan, yes, yes and yeah.
So free maintenance servicesfor the furnace, air
conditioning, plumbing, waterheater, flushes, they do the
electrical panel and all theelectronics or the electrical
outlets and light fixtures, andit's, it's free, it's our way to
(15:16):
give back to our veterans thesame thing.
And, yeah, we, we do the thefree promotion.
We've been doing it for a while.
We started doing it where we do11, 11 as a monthly payment yep,
yep, that's right and so we wedo continue to do that, we we
offer it free to those veteransthat reach out to us through the
50 mile march.
So we can help keep us connectedtogether Absolutely, and it's
(15:37):
just a great way to give all,whatever we can to people that
have provided all they have tous.
And you know, no company, nostate, no municipality is going
to be able to do the servicesthat we wish and hope for.
Politics, and you know theytalk about what they want to do,
and it's the one thing thatreally attracted me to you is
(15:59):
you know, it's not red, we'renot blue, we're red, white and
blue, and we're going to walkright down the middle and I
don't care what side of theaisle you're on, you serve our
country, we're going to serveyou, and that's all that matters
.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Absolutely, and we reiterate that, over and over
being on a solid foundation youknow the 50 mile march we want
to make sure that we build solidand slow, right, I know we have
a solid foundation In your eyes.
Outside of that, what elseattracted you?
You heard about it about a yearago, right, and it took us a
while to get here, becausesometimes we just learn a little
bit, a little bit more.
Why the 50 Mile MarchFoundation for you?
What resonates?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Just the camaraderie of your contractors, your
sponsors, the in-depth rootsthat you dig into the community,
hearing your testimony and thetestimony of others, yeah, truly
need help.
And it's like the story I toldyou.
You know about that soldierover there and you know if, if
he had the opportunity to havesomebody to reach out, you know,
like your organization, maybehe'd be here today.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
You know without going in depth, you basically
this today wasn't even going tohappen between you and I know
Cause we cause.
I said hey it.
I said hey, is tomorrow better.
Yeah, you're like, well, youknow today's better.
I'll go till 3.30.
I said, okay, I'll try to bethere by 2.
And then you shared the story.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, one of our plumbers went to a customer's
house and she was in a realtough spot emotionally and
really kind of just laid heremotions on his shoulders and he
was really touched.
And come to find out yesterdaywas the anniversary of her son's
suicide, who struggled severelywith PTSD from his time in
Desert Storm, and she had asignificant amount of his stuff
(18:02):
that she just couldn't stand tosee anymore and was going to
throw it away and I said there'sno way.
So we wanted to try to help herand connect her with people
that she can maybe do.
Some donations of this uniforms, medals, pictures.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
She was going to throw it away.
She was going to throw it away.
I don't want to bring it oncamera, but it's sitting right
over here off camera, and thishappened just yesterday.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Just yesterday.
Like I said, you know, there isno coincidence in my mind.
I mean, everything happened fora reason and, yeah, you know, I
believe strongly in my faiththat that it's a realistic
example today that we still dealwith.
You know that our parents, ourgrandparents, our aunts, our
uncles, you know, taking yourlife because you feel like it's
(18:44):
too much to handle, it is notworth it, oh, it is not worth it
.
The air that we breathe,breathe is is more than enough.
The, the, the life that thatGod provides us is yes, you just
you can't put words to that.
And hearing these stories, man,it breaks my heart and it just
is a good reminder of where Iwas and what keeps me motivated
(19:06):
and that's probably a good thingto say why you guys is is you
never forget who you are andwhere you come from.
You know you can do real estate, you can do contractor services
, you can do whatever, but we'reall in the people serving
business, and our own peopleneed the most help.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
I think we sometimes lose sight of that when it comes
to profit and growth andscaling and betterment and
improvement and cycle and allthose things, and stock prices
and margin, all those things youknow feed into the beast.
But if we pull back and we sitdown and we say, okay, you know,
we're giving because we can,not because we're giving because
(19:45):
we can, and I think one of myfriends, van Diep, said, if you
have the ability, then you havethe responsibility.
I mean, think about that for asecond right, because sometimes
the highest skill is ability oravailability.
I should say the highestability is availability and if
you have the ability, you havethe responsibility and, and you
(20:10):
know, we're all in this together.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
You know, it doesn't matter what color you are or
what nationality or your belief,it doesn't matter, right, and
you know we, we all come herewith nothing.
We're going.
It doesn't matter, right, andyou know we, we all come here
with nothing.
We're going to leave withnothing.
Yep, you know, it would just benice to have some sort of
fellowship along the way, andand and that's, and, that's what
you know, that's what we're allabout, and same with you.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
That's, that's what I love.
I love the fellowship part.
So, Scott, you know, let's talkabout what you want most for
the people you come in contactwith.
Right, because you've got youremployees, you've got your
family yeah, your lovely family,by the way, and Sarah's so kind
, she's my rock head or when shesaid we're just stewards, jay,
(21:00):
like it was, like just matter offact, you know what I mean?
It wasn't, it wasn't rehearsedanyway.
I mean, what do you want mostfor the people around you?
That?
What do you want them to know?
What do you want them to feel?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
I want them to know Jesus.
You know how people live todayand not have him.
I don't understand it.
I want them to know thatthey're not alone, that there,
there is someone there andpeople there that are available
to help, and I want them to knowthat it is not.
It is not the end of the line,and that's extremely important.
(21:32):
You know it's.
There are so many resourcesavailable.
He's the highest and strongest.
Yeah yeah, and that's the mostimportant.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Yeah, I think that is that's well said, because it's
too easy that we think ofmotivational books, leadership
courses, right, motivationalquotes.
But at the end of the day, Ican tell, by you being centered
in Christ, your faith is whatsets you straight, that's what,
(22:03):
that's your guide, that's yourplum.
You know what I mean.
If you would, what about this?
What's on the horizon?
Anything exciting with any ofyour companies that you're
working on, or anything that youknow that you're excited about,
that you might.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well, we're certainly excited about our upcoming
March.
Oh gosh, okay, yes, okay, yes,okay.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Yes, fair, fair.
Let's leave all the corporatestuff behind, let's highlight
this and let's talk about theMarch.
So, yes, saturday, sunday.
First of all, I want tohighlight your $10,000.
So I know people have for ourveterans.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
And you know again, it's you have the ability, it's
your responsibility.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
I might have to borrow that.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
I mean, hey, I just borrowed it too.
Yeah, and you know, we, wecertainly have the ability and
was the.
That's the largest donationwe've been able to make thus far
since.
I've been here to be able toknow that that has been, you
know, just increased tenfold ofyou know, to almost 40,000 in
total.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
The force multiplier for us, for sure, and so that
you know, I mean our staff andour programming and I took this
from our latest report and Idon't want to be held to this
but it's about 27-ish percentright where that goes to
programming and overhead and therest goes towards the community
of hope.
Our score from our audit is sogood.
(23:49):
I want to share that withpeople.
We have seven acres that we arein the current mode of
developing so that your gift isnot just some pass-through where
we're going to put it insomeone's pocket, to put in
someone's pocket, to put insomeone's pocket right, and I'm
telling you I can't wait for theworld to see what we build.
(24:12):
It's going to take a while, butlet's talk about this.
You were at our missionbriefing, like you said.
What was the atmosphere likethere?
What was it like?
Well, it was good it was atWerner, right?
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Yeah, yeah, it was at Werner and a nice facility, by
the way, and awesome people.
But man, they were pumped.
They were those men and womenare riled up and yeah, I mean
even my, my seven-year-old he'sjust like trying not to trying
to contain them in the seat.
Hey, they were so good.
Yeah, they were sitting rightin front, right.
And yeah, he was just like,okay, let's go.
(24:46):
We literally leave, we wentaround the back and I think
there's like a training breakroom, and so we came out of the
restroom to get ready to leaveand he's like all right, we're
marching.
I was like, where are we going?
He goes, we're going to Lincoln.
I'm like no, we're not.
They start in Lincoln and cometo Omaha.
And he goes okay, where are wegoing?
I'm like buddy.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
That's funny.
Well, you and your family areinvited to come out to Walton if
you'd like to see the launch.
It's a pretty big deal.
We will check in, we willprocess our equipment, we'll
make sure final safety checks.
We'll lay down for 22 minutes,we'll pray, final mission
(25:26):
briefing.
Platoon leaders break down totheir platoons and then we
launch.
Man, that's a it's a sight tosee.
Yeah, uh, the media vehicle 17,17 crew media vehicle, two
drones, four still cameras, twooperator cameras, two point to
zoom cameras.
Live stream.
It's, it's all.
(25:48):
It's.
It's like a military operation.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Man, that's going to be awesome to see.
I can't wait to see the, the,the progress of it and the, and
the production of it I can, it'sgoing to be nice.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
And then you're going to be at the end as well and
you're going to see two largehorse troughs.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
That's a horse trough , I mean it's a water ton,
they're stock tanks.
I mean, they're huge, yeah, andthey'll be filled with some
cold ice water and frozenelectrolyte popsicles.
Not for feet, no, not for feetor hands Feet, no, not for feet
or hands, and we'll have all thekids there with the water
cannons squirting everybody asthey come along and some misting
(26:25):
fans and cooling fans.
Yeah, just a good time, man,just to show back and show the
support for you guys.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Oh, you'll have fans there, the cooling stations as
well.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Is that right?
Yeah, we'll have the coolingstation there.
Yeah, it's going to be a realgood time and we'll be, you know
, hopefully talking to peopleabout our heroes plan.
And you know just the biggest,the biggest challenge, and it's
a.
It's a great, you know, servicethat we offer, but the biggest
challenge is just putting thatout there.
I'm not doing it for any kindof publicity or anything of that
(26:56):
nature, it's just genuinely agive back.
So we don't do a huge promotionof it and people say all the
time, oh, you should, but I getwhat?
Speaker 3 (27:03):
you're saying but, but I will tell you.
Let let me emphasize this forScott because, like he said he
won't, but I will and I don'twork here.
Veterans in general arehardworking people or they know
hard work.
An organization like this workshard.
I can tell you he's seen theclock that we've worked on right
.
He's seen the uniforms that weworn and I want you to know when
(27:27):
he does this for families$11.11 per month.
I mean, that's nothing, it'speace of mind.
And you're right, you don't seeit on a billboard.
And that just hit me just now.
It's not a promotion, it's yourgive back and the way you want
it to get out is word of mouth.
So I challenge or I imploreveterans to say, hey, let me
(27:51):
just find out what this is about.
Ring their phones, I'll put alink, but do yourself a favor.
You're going to spend the moneyone way or another.
Support a veteran-ownedbusiness who doesn't even want
anything back for it.
That's it.
That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Yeah, and and have fun while you're doing.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Yeah, no doubt, tell me about, tell me about the
business place here, like I keepgoing back to this man because
I'm so fascinated how, how big,how many employees are here.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Uh, so we have 22 employees in total.
Okay, 19 trucks on the roadevery day.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
And about five of us here in the office.
Yeah, and this is the.
This is the original franchiseone hour and that ever started.
Yeah, 22 years ago.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
Yes, and and you bought it from the.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
I bought it from the the, the, the pioneer.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Yeah, the pioneer.
And you bought it from the.
I bought it from the, the.
The the pioneer, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
But uh, yeah, he, John McCarthy.
He started the whole thing andhe called me in to and the
organization.
You know he was looking forsomebody that can just help him
grow and get the company in theright place that he wants it to
be.
I mean he was an oldergentleman at the time.
Sure, wants to retire and youknow I honestly was not looking
for employment.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
And you were over there in another franchise.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
I was over in another franchise, yeah, and I loved
the people that I worked withand you know it's.
You know he just chatting withhim here and there and you know
it kind of made me realize okay,maybe there are other things
out there.
And I had left that locationfor a little while and about six
, eight months later he calls meback.
He's like what are you doing?
I'm like working.
(29:37):
And he goes I think it's timeyou come to Omaha.
And I said I think it's timeyou go get your your Alzheimer's
checked, Cause I told you thatit's not going to happen.
Yeah, he and he's like well,it's negative 40 here, cause you
guys had a real bad freeze.
Oh yeah, and and I saw Isnapped a photo of my palm tree.
I said it's 86.
Leave me alone.
(30:08):
And so, yeah, I mean my wife.
You know we had this internalchecklist that only her and I
discussed about if we were toever leave or relocate.
You know, florida, what wouldit look like?
And you know, at the time youknow he checked off every box
and literally, you know you juststart feeling that tug and so
we just, we just put it in God'shands and you know our prayer
was to close every door.
We're stubborn Close every doorthat we can't or don't need to
go through and open the ones youdo.
And lo and behold, omaha,nebraska, gets here.
(30:29):
And you know, I move here and hegot sick.
He got really sick and weweren't really quite sure if he
was going to make it.
Our house got destroyed by adowndraft Wow, first, 90 days,
and so it's like our stuffhadn't even gotten here yet and
I called my wife.
I'm like put the house backinto market.
She's like nope, you made acommitment to us in Christ.
(30:51):
You're going to follow throughand through him, you'll get
through this.
And there's a lot of turmoilthat we went through, I'm sure,
and you know, through faith, andfaith alone and obedience, you
know that's why we have thatcross at the front door.
Be still and know.
You know Psalm 46, you have tobe still and know that Christ is
King and he will put us throughit.
And he put me here for a reason, you know.
(31:12):
It is to truly give back andglorify him, and that's what is
the most important thing to meand that is what my mission is
to do.
And the greatest thing is, youknow, you, you, you deal with
tradesmen and a lot of tradesmendon't know Christ.
You know it was a testimony initself and maybe another time
for another podcast.
But you know, when I got here,culture was not the greatest
(31:33):
Sure, people were run down andyou know, it was just.
It was just.
What it was is what it was, youknow.
And you know my wife and Italked and I told her I want to
put a cross on the door.
She helped me find a nice oneand you know it's scary.
You know, put that up there andfive, six people walk right out
the door and I'm like, and notbecause of that or whatever
reason, it just happened.
(31:54):
And you know, I, I literallyfound myself, you know, walking
through the lobby and it's likefive, 30 at night, just fell to
my knees and just crying out toGod and like okay, what, what am
I supposed to do?
And literally, within two weekswe had five fully qualified
striven people and I'm like youhave got to be kidding me.
Well, no, there's no kiddingand no, and these guys, I mean
(32:15):
they, they love what they do,they love their the walk, they
love the talk, and I telleverybody in the interview, I'm
a Jesus-loving guy, and if youdon't like it, don't work for me
.
I'm going to talk it, I'm goingto preach it, I'm going to put
scripture on the wall.
It's going to be all over.
Yeah, and they love it, theyabsolutely love it.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
Well, you're attracting what you want.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Right.
If you're someone who this isnot just something you say, it's
something you live and it'ssomething that you want for
others, you know what I mean.
That's important it is, and thestruggle in this business cable
(32:52):
plumbing, air conditioning,heating, electrical it doesn't
matter.
We can train people, we candevelop people, but at the end
of the day, after that interviewand after that face-to-face we
have, it's really challenging tofind out what are they really
doing in that home it's true andyou know, the biggest thing is,
I never, ever want to, nor everhave been on, you know, one of
those inside edition shows orwhatever we actually undercover,
(33:12):
boss yeah, you know, we'veuh, we've been one of the
professionals that have beencontacted, you know, but you,
you know, to have like-mindedpeople of who I am representing
me, the best way that I know howto the community is a piece in
its own, and again, that's whenyou have to be still and know,
and you know, and therepresentation is extremely
(33:35):
important and you know they lookthe part, act the part and
provide the best servicepossible, and that's what we're
known for that's a big deal.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
You can do a whole master class, scott, on just
hiring people, right you know Imean it's one of the most
difficult parts.
Like you said, this is a peoplebusiness.
You'll find many skilled, butwill you find the people, the
who they are versus the whatthey are?
Speaker 2 (33:58):
right, that's the challenge you want, the who they
are versus what they are.
Hire for character and trainfor the trade.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
I mean easier said than done.
Much, I mean.
Is there anything else you wantto impart?
Any other knowledge, Any otherlast-minute Scott wisdom sayings
before we go?
Speaker 2 (34:15):
I've got a lot here, man yeah, I just appreciate the
opportunity to partner up withyou guys.
I mean, it means you knowequally as much or more to me
than than than maybe to you guys.
But I know what we're doingtogether along with all the
other sponsors, is so important,and that's what I really love.
I will say this that's onething I really did and was
(34:36):
attracted to your organizationabout is it's not about the name
on the shirt.
Yeah, you have other heatingand air contractors there, you
have cabinet people, counterpeople.
We're all people serving people.
Yeah, and you know, that's theone thing that really was a
really nice icing on the cake,so to speak, and it's just true,
(34:56):
people that really want apurpose of helping others.
And that's what I really likeand that really fits me and our
and my my model here very welland yeah, so I mean I appreciate
that, I appreciate theopportunity and you know I'm
looking forward to seeing whatwe can do in the years to come.
Man, cause this is a, this isthe beginning.
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
Well, you guys heard it here Scott Wood, sarah Wood,
I got to meet her, your entirefamily.
I just want to say to you andpeople watching our gratitude
towards your family.
The fact that you all attendedreally said something about you
know.
Your family says somethingabout what you want to do in the
community.
I saw the news piece when youwere out in the parade.
(35:38):
Was it the Irish?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
The St Patrick's.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Day Parade and your family was there, right, and
Sarah was there.
You had your outfit on.
I was like this guy's all in onthe community.
I want people to watch wherehis feet point and they always
point towards the community.
So if you need someone toconfide or trust in, definitely
the Wood family.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate you, Scott.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Yeah, man.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Thanks for tuning in to the Connection.
It's been a fantastic journey,exploring stories, insights and
inspirations that bridge ourlives.
Remember every connection hasthe power to transform.
Please subscribe, rate andreview.
Your feedback keeps us going Inthis connected world.
(36:24):
Let's make meaningfulconnections that enrich lives.
Now signing off until next time, the Connection, keep
connecting and let's go.
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