Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:18):
Welcome back to Community Connections and Commerce.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I'm Drake Watson, your host, along with black co hosts
as always, Wendy Anderson. We are joined by special guests
today from Valiant Logistics, Trevor Seabring, the owner, and Eric Connor. Guys,
we really appreciate you coming on this morning and talking
to us and taking the time out of your day
to spend some time with Wendy and I and hopefully
provide some good insight as to what you guys do.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, good morning. We're happy to be here. Thanks for
having us. This is really cool. We've never been on
a podcast before. This is a first, so excited to
be here.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
So, Trevor and Eric or whomever wants to tell us,
where did you come up with this concept of Valley
Logistics and why?
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So the concept you know, my background, you know, at
a professional level is uh, you know, I work in
fire and MS as a paramedic and I'm a nurse
too by trade. So combining you know, my pre hospital
experience with working in the hospital and like the critical
care setting I've seen, we have a major gap in
(01:25):
transportation and having patients get access to healthcare. It's not
only a problem here in the Ohio Valley, but it's
a problem everywhere. So on the ambulance I was encountering
patient care situations where people were utilizing the emergency service
to be transported to the hospital just to go to
(01:47):
a regular doctor's appointment. So that being said, you know,
some resources were being tied up for this type of
transportation rather than providing you know, the critical access emergency service.
So that was problem number one. And then problem number
two is the patient population were being diagnosed with illness
(02:12):
and they couldn't find adequate transportation to get them to
their appointments to get the necessary care. So things were
getting worse. It's a snowball effect. So I started looking
at some of the cases I was taken care of
in the hospital, and I figured I might be in
a position to do something about it. So Eric Connor
(02:35):
here with me is my partner in crime in this
business world, so discuss this idea with him, and we
figured we need to step up. The High Valley is
very important to us. It's what we consider to be
our home. I consider everyone here my people. I don't
work locally anymore. I work out of town in Washington, DC,
(02:56):
but I still have a very soft spot for the
valley and I want to be able to help everybody.
So Eric and I had this idea that we were
going to start utilizing Curtsey cars transporting people to medical
appointments with the hopes of getting into stretcher transportation with
an ambulance service, which we've accomplished. Our vision in the
(03:19):
beginning was, let's consider someone who is elderly and age,
where their family is all moved away, they may not
have any friends that live locally anymore, and they're sick.
So put yourself in their shoes where they need to
(03:39):
get to the hospital or they need to see their doctor,
but they simply have no way of getting there. That
keeps me up at night. So that was why Eric
and I decided.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
To do what we do.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I love that you mentioned that the Ohio Valley is
home to you and it's so important to you, because
you mentioned you had an idea that of something that
could help out well, not only in this area, but
all across the country. People are struggling with this and you, obviously,
i'd imagine, could have taken this to a larger market
with more of a population, but you decided to stay
(04:11):
local and help out the folks from from the place
that's home for you guys, And I think that's incredibly important,
and you know, I appreciate it just as a valley
resident that that kind of care is being put into
the valley. And yeah, I think that's incredible.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
So you guys are private correct, correct?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Yes? All right?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Do you have contracts with the local hospitals?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
So yeah, we we partnered up with a billing company
in Ohio to handle the financial side of what we
do for reimbursement, and we have drafted up contracts. We've
sent them out to local facilities. Eric has been instrumental
in that meeting with all the local hospitals and you know,
the long term care facilities. That way we can come
(04:56):
in and do whatever we can to not only help
the facility, but there is and it's there as well.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Okay, So what about like the local volunteer fire department,
They all know about.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You, uh I believe so yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Okay, because I know personally my my husband's an EMT
and he's a volunteer fiedman, and I know that there
are people in our neighborhood that call just to go,
like you said, to the hospital for just an appointment
because they don't have another way of transportation to get there.
(05:32):
That they know that when they they call the hot
the ambulance because they feel like they're in good hands.
But it looks sounds like you guys, do you have
an Do you have an ambulance? Is that what you have?
So you are all prepared? Do you know how to
take care of these patients?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yep? We uh were trying to look at it holistically,
you know. We we began with the courtesy car, and
we we realized that we didn't take any consideration all
of those that just simply can't walk. Whether that's because
of their illness, age, it doesn't matter. Some people just
simply require a stretcher. So that was when Eric and
(06:12):
I said, okay, we have to take this, you know,
a step further and acquire an ambulance.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Okay, so I know again I have personal experience because
my dad was in the hospital, like I told you,
and they gave me a list of transports, transport companies
to call, and that was it. They just said, okay,
here you go. You call these people, get somebody to
take him to a rehabilitation center. Well, I was dealing
(06:42):
with not only that then my dad and all the
things that come with it. I was his person. My
mom had passed and you know, my brother wasn't able
to help me. But it was it was tough on
a family member because not only do you have patience
and your your parent whatever aunt uncle is you know
(07:05):
in that type of shape that they need a transport
that you got to deal with that emotional You got
to deal with everything. So I thank you guys for
what you do. That is. So, have you seen your
business grow? Has it grown from the onset?
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (07:22):
I mean it has definitely grown. You know, when we started,
we were primarily doing all the work for one facility.
You know, now we get calls to go to Morgantown, Columbus. Oh,
we actually had a very large hospital in Columbus reach
out to us to possibly be able to assist them.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Nice.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
So, yes, it's definitely growing.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
And you have to I mean, what's your how many
people do you have helping you out? Because I'm imagining
you would have to grow your your your roster a
little bit to be able to execute those things.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, we're pretty small right now. There's only about eight
of us that are that are doing the the bulk
of the work. We're definitely actively hiring, and we're looking
for people that are committed to our mission, that you know,
want to honor what we're trying to accomplish. Eric is
the one that receives the phone calls. It's funny you
mentioned like we have to consider the family members that
(08:17):
are dealing with all this too, and some of the
cases that we get are pretty heartbreaking, exactly what you said.
People are desperate, you know, they'll do anything, pay anything.
They just don't know where else to turn. And Eric
gets those phone calls and works with all of them,
and we do the best that we can.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Well, the hospital gives you a timeline, like you only
have a half hour because then your loved one is
being discharged, so you have to run and you have
to just figure it out. And it is very emotional.
So what you guys do is very important. So you
(08:59):
mentioned these are your people, This is this community is
your people? Right? So are you both from here? So?
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I was born and raised in Adana, Ohio. Still reside
there with my family. Uh, And you know, I went
to college here in Wheeling. I worked here in the
city of Wheeling. So my entire life has been on
this river right here, right and you know.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Eric, Yeah, I'm from Wheeling and I've lived there my
whole life and within it last year. I actually I
live in Adena now, but you know the area, it's
the Higher Valley. I don't think it really necessarily means,
you know, just Wheeling. I think here when we say
Ohio Valley, you know it's it's everywhere it is.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, moving to a Dina added to the to a
list of great people in Adena. But uh, you guys,
what were the challenges when you guys first started out. Obviously,
you know, you guys have things rolling now a it seems,
and you do just incredible work for the families of
the valley. But when you first started out, was there
ever that moment where you felt like you were stuck
(10:08):
and you're just scratching your head trying to figure out
what's next.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Absolutely, So this was the hardest thing I've ever had
to do at a professional level. You know, Eric and
I run a different business, whole different ballgame, so we
had some experience on the administrative side, but meeting the
standards to be one hundred percent compliant legal that takes
(10:32):
a lot of time, and it takes a lot of money,
So there was a lot of personal investment in this
to get rolling. Everything that we do. We want to
be the safest, we want to be the most reliable.
We want to have the best equipment that there is
to offer because that's what the people deserve. So in
order to do that, there was a lot that Eric
(10:52):
and I had to do to get this going in
the beginning, much more than I call it red tape. Yeah,
you know, just a lot of things we had to
check off of the list to make sure we were
one hundred percent good to go.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yeah, because you can't just let someone in the back
of your empala and say you're a taxi driver, right,
so you have to what if you could speak more
specifically to what the challenges were or what kind of
guidelines you guys have to adhere to as far as
compliance and things like that, Like what kind of you know,
I don't want to say handcuffs because it's important, but
you know, what kind of restrictions do those place on
(11:27):
you guys, and how does that difficult to navigate?
Speaker 1 (11:29):
So number one, when it comes to you know, just
the cursy car side, we have to have very strict
insurance requirements, so you know, those policies have to be
pretty large. When it comes to our staff, there's specific
training obligations that they have to go through when they
(11:52):
get hired, so that's kind of hard. Everyone has lives,
so there's a lot of things we have to get
them certified in. First, they have to have super clean
driving records, which is hard with speeding tickets and other
parts of life. So that's just that aspect, a little
piece of it. And then for the ambulance side, you know,
to meet state guidelines, there's specific equipment that has to
(12:16):
be on there, has to be tested, certain amounts, expiration dates.
There's just a whole lot of work behind the scenes
that people don't really think about when they see, you know,
our vehicles going down the street.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
HM.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
So if you could just just saying, if you could
tell your younger self something like a bit of wisdom
that you wish you would have told yourself when you
were younger, what would it be.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
We'll let you guys both go on this one.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Yeah, for me personally, I probably would have done this
sooner because that we've been able to help people, and
I read some of the feedback from families that we've assisted.
I think we could have helped a lot more people
for a longer period of time leading up to this point.
That's number one. Should have rolled the dice and took
(13:15):
that risk a long time ago. But the biggest piece
of advice that I have, just on a personal level,
not even considering, you know, my business adventures, would be
to save more money when you're young and you have
a job. You know, I had a job when I
was like twelve years old, and have you know, made money.
Since it's easy when you're young and you're getting money
(13:38):
in your hand to go blow it. So I try
to emphasize this to those who are young and motivated
and have jobs. Save your money because you can do
more with your life when you're a young adult when
you have money in your pocket.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
Absolutely, and I would say, you know, it's don't give up.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
There's so many times just you know, say this journey, Yeah,
there were so many times that things got hard. We
we you know, we could have easily just said, you
know what, this is too much, we're done. But it's
always pushed forward because there's always there's always that road.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
And I think that's it. I think that's important.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
So did this make you guys closer? Like, how did
you guys meet?
Speaker 1 (14:31):
So you know, I own a different transportation business, totally
different world, different responsibilities, and I was just I was
hiring and I did an interview with Eric, and I
could tell in the first five minutes that this is
somebody that had the same mentality as me, and uh,
it was obviously incredibly driven. So I hired him right
(14:54):
on the spot. And we just our values aligned and
pretty much everything that we do, whether that's professional or personal.
So we've just made a good team.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
I'm sure the mission that you guys are you know
that you guys are working for helps you stay motivated
and driven and helps you along in that process you
mentioned don't give up. It sounds kind of cliche, but
when you think you're not trying to sell Hamburgers, you know,
if that's too hard to just give up, do something else.
But you know you're really doing something that is good
for the community. So it speaks to no matter how
(15:26):
difficult it gets at times, there's still good to be done,
and that you almost feel like you have a unfinished business.
In that sense, we go.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Against every business principle when it comes to the financial
reimbursement side. To us, it's about people. It's not about money,
and most businesses it's the complete opposite finance rules For us,
we're here to help people. We're not trying to get rich.
(15:54):
So that is what's made things difficult on our end.
You know, it was very easy to walk away many times,
and we still have hard times today. We're definitely not perfect,
but we're not going to give up because you know,
the people deserve to have a service they can rely
on that's safe, trusted. So we're going to keep doing
what we got to do. We actually, you know, lowered
(16:17):
our prices just yesterday so we can help a bigger population.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Oh that's great. How do you how do you balance that?
You know, helping out people in the way that you do,
but you also have to pay the bills, you know,
how do you find that perfect balance? And then you
mentioned adjusting your prices. Is that something that keeps you
up at night or something that there's a lot of
thought that goes into I mean, how does that how
is that control?
Speaker 1 (16:40):
I would say it keeps both of us up at night.
For sure. We have to make a lot of tough
decisions throughout the week. But I think we've developed a
pretty good system. Every morning, we take time out of
our day, no matter what we're doing, and we look
at numbers and we're very, very organized when it comes
to our documentation. So we have a pretty good idea
(17:01):
where we're at, where we're going, but there's definitely some
tough decisions that we have to make regularly.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
So you guys used the word driven several times. So
how did your when you were little, when you were younger,
what made that entrepreneurial spirit? Like, how did you come
up with? I mean, did you always want to be
an entrepreneurial? Did you always want to be a nurse?
(17:30):
Did you always want to be a small business owner?
Speaker 4 (17:36):
I mean I would say initially no, you know, I
think at a younger age, you know, everybody has thoughts
and ideas. But I think you know, over the years,
you just kind of grow and you start getting ideas,
and you know, when you're twenty versus you're six, you
(18:01):
can make a lot more things happen. And you know,
that's kind of where we were at. And I don't
think I'd ever do anything else. I mean, I love
what we do and I think that we will always
have some form of new business ideas being populated.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Is that your age when you started when this started
going on with twenty or was that just.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
No, not this?
Speaker 5 (18:26):
How old were you with this business? I would have
been twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
That's still.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
I got some time before I because.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, because you feel like your life is just I'm
sixty three, so I feel like my life is not over.
And someone had told me, well, you if you're going
to look at retirement, and I'm thinking, no, no, not no,
not really. I just can't wait to see what's the
next what the next chapter is going to bring. I
(18:59):
don't want to and I think that spirit and you
guys and you Drake, we can't stop because there's a
lot of people that depend on us doing what we do,
and let's just take it to the next level. That's
what I want to do, is just take it to
the next level. And that's what you guys are doing.
Do you have your what are your plans for the
(19:21):
future with this business venture?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
I always answer this by saying, we're on a mission.
That's like my catchphrase, and that's how I would sum
everything up. We are on a mission and our plan.
Healthcare systems are growing in the Ohio Valley and throughout
the tri state area. My vision is to speak with
(19:45):
more members of the administration of all of these facilities
and try to see what we can do to assist
them and their clients. For our currency car business, I mentioned,
you know, we lowered prices yesterday. I have a vision
to be able to help more people, more vehicles on
the road, bigger staff. I want to be able to
(20:06):
sit at a red light here on Main Street and
wheeling and see my fleet drive by helping somebody. You said,
take it to the next level. And that's exactly we're
on the same page with. Yeah, that was my whole
you know, professional pathway has been the same way. I
could never settle. I wanted to help more people in
a different way, and that's exactly what Eric and I
(20:27):
are going to keep doing. We have meetings pretty much
every week, and it's funny, we call it the war room,
but we sit down and we look at everything, and
we're always looking not this day or the past twenty
four hours. We're looking at what we're going to do
in the next six months. And we do that weekly
(20:49):
and I hope that in the next year we can
double in size and help more people.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Have you always kind of been wired that way where
you know what you've done and what you're doing. That's great,
but you just can't get your mind off of what
it could be. You know, the next level that you
could take it to. Is that something that's that's kind
of always been the way you've thought about things, don't.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
I agree, get I understand that that.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Is exactly how I'm wired.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
That was actually my follow up question.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Yeah, yeah, that is. Now, do you have any age restrictions?
How young do you go? How young can you transport,
or how old you can transport?
Speaker 1 (21:28):
There's some requirements for you know, we call them pediatric cases,
but typically, at least in the ambulance service world, you
have to have a guardian or you know, a parent
on board. So we will haul our pediatric cases, but
we do require a guardian or a parent or that sense,
(21:49):
there's somebody to be on board just to stay compliant.
And we don't have an age restriction in terms of
how old people can be and will help anybody. And
it's funny, you know, Eric gets the phone calls and
every day it's it's just a huge mix. It's never
the same.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Well, talking to you Eric out in the hall there,
you said you have stayed with patients, and I think
that is amazing because how many times have I seen
during in the hospital patients sitting there by theirselves, But
you stay with.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Them absolutely, so we you know, we're not just a
I guess you'd call it a typical cab service, you know,
pick up, drop off, see you later. A lot of
these patients, especially elderly, you know, they require assistance walking.
Some of them have some cognitive issues, you know, they
(22:49):
they don't know where they're at, they don't know why
they're at that appointment. So our staff does stay there
the entire time. We make sure that they get checked in,
you knowed scene and then obviously assisted back to the
vehicle to where they need to go.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
We also take it a step further, like we just
talked about moments ago, the next level. You know, if
you are older and you have these mobility issues or
cognitive issues, sometimes just your regular activities of daily living
are difficult. So you know, Eric will have our staff
(23:28):
stop at the pharmacy for them on the way home,
stop at the grocery store, for them on the way home,
go to the bank, whatever they need to make it
the next few days. We're willing to do that. That's
what we do.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
That is what's needed because our population here in the
High Valley is older. That's what our population is the must,
you know, older folks. So I really think what you
guys are doing is amazing. So thank you for what
you're doing.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, that shows that shows that you that you care
about what you're doing, and don't I don't know that
you know. Of course, actions speak louder than words. You
guys have talked about it for twenty minutes that you
know you're driven and you want to help people. But
things like that, little actions that you do, that that
really shows people. And I imagine you guys hear amazing
things from the people that you help out and the
families of the people that you help out.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
So as we wrap this up, how can people find you?
Tell us how to find you, to get a hold
of you.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So when you call and request a transport or a quote.
Eric is going to be the guy you talk to
as soon as the phone is picked up, and he's
going to guide you through that process until the end.
He's definitely committed, and I'll let you speak on that.
Getting you where you need to be and making sure
you're taken care of and all these circumstances. In order
(24:48):
to reach out to us, you can call us our
business line seven four zero eight two seven five seven
seven zero. You can go to our website and you
can request a trip that way and then Eric will
get back with you. You can apply for a job
if you're interested in joining our team on our website
(25:11):
that is at www dot Valley Logistics dot org. And
you can also send us an email if you prefer,
and that is that admin at Valley Logistics dot org.
And then Eric, you know, he handles these cases and
picks up the phone and he can tell you what
(25:32):
information he will need when you call. That will speed
up the process and make it much more organized and easier.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
I also want to mention that we do have a Facebook.
You could look us up on Facebook, just under Value Logistics.
We will pop up that way when it comes to
the phone calls. You know, really, we just need some
basic information, you know, the date of the appointment, the time,
(26:03):
the location. Something that I think is important is we
we always show up early. So if if your appointment
is at nine thirty. We're getting to the hospital no
later than nine to fifteen. And I think that's important
(26:25):
because you know, time is an essence and I just
I think that's a good thing to good thing to
have and we will always do that. You know, sometimes
it's a downfall when you're sitting there for a little while.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
About better early than late.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Absolutely, well, another good thing to have was you two
on with us this morning. Yes, we really appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
And we would like to remind the listener that if
there's anything any feedback you'd like to give us, suggestions,
or any other kind of comment, you can reach us
at OUI podcast at Ohio dot edu. Again, that is
o UI podcast at Ohio dot edu. Valley Logistics seven
four zero eight two seven five seven seven Oh they
do incredible things and if you are somebody who is
(27:13):
in need of what they can provide, they are the
ones for you. Thanks Trevor, Thanks Eric, Thanks Wendy.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
I'm Drake Watson.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Thanks for listening to Community Connections and Commerce
Welcome back to Community Connections and Commerce.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I'm Drake Watson, your host, along with black co hosts
as always, Wendy Anderson. We are joined by special guests
today from Valiant Logistics, Trevor Seabring, the owner, and Eric Connor. Guys,
we really appreciate you coming on this morning and talking
to us and taking the time out of your day
to spend some time with Wendy and I and hopefully
provide some good insight as to what you guys do.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, good morning. We're happy to be here. Thanks for
having us. This is really cool. We've never been on
a podcast before. This is a first, so excited to
be here.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
So, Trevor and Eric or whomever wants to tell us,
where did you come up with this concept of Valley
Logistics and why?
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So the concept you know, my background, you know, at
a professional level is uh, you know, I work in
fire and MS as a paramedic and I'm a nurse
too by trade. So combining you know, my pre hospital
experience with working in the hospital and like the critical
care setting I've seen, we have a major gap in
(01:25):
transportation and having patients get access to healthcare. It's not
only a problem here in the Ohio Valley, but it's
a problem everywhere. So on the ambulance I was encountering
patient care situations where people were utilizing the emergency service
to be transported to the hospital just to go to
(01:47):
a regular doctor's appointment. So that being said, you know,
some resources were being tied up for this type of
transportation rather than providing you know, the critical access emergency service.
So that was problem number one. And then problem number
two is the patient population were being diagnosed with illness
(02:12):
and they couldn't find adequate transportation to get them to
their appointments to get the necessary care. So things were
getting worse. It's a snowball effect. So I started looking
at some of the cases I was taken care of
in the hospital, and I figured I might be in
a position to do something about it. So Eric Connor
(02:35):
here with me is my partner in crime in this
business world, so discuss this idea with him, and we
figured we need to step up. The High Valley is
very important to us. It's what we consider to be
our home. I consider everyone here my people. I don't
work locally anymore. I work out of town in Washington, DC,
(02:56):
but I still have a very soft spot for the
valley and I want to be able to help everybody.
So Eric and I had this idea that we were
going to start utilizing Curtsey cars transporting people to medical
appointments with the hopes of getting into stretcher transportation with
an ambulance service, which we've accomplished. Our vision in the
(03:19):
beginning was, let's consider someone who is elderly and age,
where their family is all moved away, they may not
have any friends that live locally anymore, and they're sick.
So put yourself in their shoes where they need to
(03:39):
get to the hospital or they need to see their doctor,
but they simply have no way of getting there. That
keeps me up at night. So that was why Eric
and I decided.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
To do what we do.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I love that you mentioned that the Ohio Valley is
home to you and it's so important to you, because
you mentioned you had an idea that of something that
could help out well, not only in this area, but
all across the country. People are struggling with this and you, obviously,
i'd imagine, could have taken this to a larger market
with more of a population, but you decided to stay
(04:11):
local and help out the folks from from the place
that's home for you guys, And I think that's incredibly important,
and you know, I appreciate it just as a valley
resident that that kind of care is being put into
the valley. And yeah, I think that's incredible.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
So you guys are private correct, correct?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Yes? All right?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Do you have contracts with the local hospitals?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
So yeah, we we partnered up with a billing company
in Ohio to handle the financial side of what we
do for reimbursement, and we have drafted up contracts. We've
sent them out to local facilities. Eric has been instrumental
in that meeting with all the local hospitals and you know,
the long term care facilities. That way we can come
(04:56):
in and do whatever we can to not only help
the facility, but there is and it's there as well.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Okay, So what about like the local volunteer fire department,
They all know about.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You, uh I believe so yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Okay, because I know personally my my husband's an EMT
and he's a volunteer fiedman, and I know that there
are people in our neighborhood that call just to go,
like you said, to the hospital for just an appointment
because they don't have another way of transportation to get there.
(05:32):
That they know that when they they call the hot
the ambulance because they feel like they're in good hands.
But it looks sounds like you guys, do you have
an Do you have an ambulance? Is that what you have?
So you are all prepared? Do you know how to
take care of these patients?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yep? We uh were trying to look at it holistically,
you know. We we began with the courtesy car, and
we we realized that we didn't take any consideration all
of those that just simply can't walk. Whether that's because
of their illness, age, it doesn't matter. Some people just
simply require a stretcher. So that was when Eric and
(06:12):
I said, okay, we have to take this, you know,
a step further and acquire an ambulance.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Okay, so I know again I have personal experience because
my dad was in the hospital, like I told you,
and they gave me a list of transports, transport companies
to call, and that was it. They just said, okay,
here you go. You call these people, get somebody to
take him to a rehabilitation center. Well, I was dealing
(06:42):
with not only that then my dad and all the
things that come with it. I was his person. My
mom had passed and you know, my brother wasn't able
to help me. But it was it was tough on
a family member because not only do you have patience
and your your parent whatever aunt uncle is you know
(07:05):
in that type of shape that they need a transport
that you got to deal with that emotional You got
to deal with everything. So I thank you guys for
what you do. That is. So, have you seen your
business grow? Has it grown from the onset?
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (07:22):
I mean it has definitely grown. You know, when we started,
we were primarily doing all the work for one facility.
You know, now we get calls to go to Morgantown, Columbus. Oh,
we actually had a very large hospital in Columbus reach
out to us to possibly be able to assist them.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Nice.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
So, yes, it's definitely growing.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
And you have to I mean, what's your how many
people do you have helping you out? Because I'm imagining
you would have to grow your your your roster a
little bit to be able to execute those things.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, we're pretty small right now. There's only about eight
of us that are that are doing the the bulk
of the work. We're definitely actively hiring, and we're looking
for people that are committed to our mission, that you know,
want to honor what we're trying to accomplish. Eric is
the one that receives the phone calls. It's funny you
mentioned like we have to consider the family members that
(08:17):
are dealing with all this too, and some of the
cases that we get are pretty heartbreaking, exactly what you said.
People are desperate, you know, they'll do anything, pay anything.
They just don't know where else to turn. And Eric
gets those phone calls and works with all of them,
and we do the best that we can.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Well, the hospital gives you a timeline, like you only
have a half hour because then your loved one is
being discharged, so you have to run and you have
to just figure it out. And it is very emotional.
So what you guys do is very important. So you
(08:59):
mentioned these are your people, This is this community is
your people? Right? So are you both from here? So?
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I was born and raised in Adana, Ohio. Still reside
there with my family. Uh, And you know, I went
to college here in Wheeling. I worked here in the
city of Wheeling. So my entire life has been on
this river right here, right and you know.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Eric, Yeah, I'm from Wheeling and I've lived there my
whole life and within it last year. I actually I
live in Adena now, but you know the area, it's
the Higher Valley. I don't think it really necessarily means,
you know, just Wheeling. I think here when we say
Ohio Valley, you know it's it's everywhere it is.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, moving to a Dina added to the to a
list of great people in Adena. But uh, you guys,
what were the challenges when you guys first started out. Obviously,
you know, you guys have things rolling now a it seems,
and you do just incredible work for the families of
the valley. But when you first started out, was there
ever that moment where you felt like you were stuck
(10:08):
and you're just scratching your head trying to figure out
what's next.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Absolutely, So this was the hardest thing I've ever had
to do at a professional level. You know, Eric and
I run a different business, whole different ballgame, so we
had some experience on the administrative side, but meeting the
standards to be one hundred percent compliant legal that takes
(10:32):
a lot of time, and it takes a lot of money,
So there was a lot of personal investment in this
to get rolling. Everything that we do. We want to
be the safest, we want to be the most reliable.
We want to have the best equipment that there is
to offer because that's what the people deserve. So in
order to do that, there was a lot that Eric
(10:52):
and I had to do to get this going in
the beginning, much more than I call it red tape. Yeah,
you know, just a lot of things we had to
check off of the list to make sure we were
one hundred percent good to go.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yeah, because you can't just let someone in the back
of your empala and say you're a taxi driver, right,
so you have to what if you could speak more
specifically to what the challenges were or what kind of
guidelines you guys have to adhere to as far as
compliance and things like that, Like what kind of you know,
I don't want to say handcuffs because it's important, but
you know, what kind of restrictions do those place on
(11:27):
you guys, and how does that difficult to navigate?
Speaker 1 (11:29):
So number one, when it comes to you know, just
the cursy car side, we have to have very strict
insurance requirements, so you know, those policies have to be
pretty large. When it comes to our staff, there's specific
training obligations that they have to go through when they
(11:52):
get hired, so that's kind of hard. Everyone has lives,
so there's a lot of things we have to get
them certified in. First, they have to have super clean
driving records, which is hard with speeding tickets and other
parts of life. So that's just that aspect, a little
piece of it. And then for the ambulance side, you know,
to meet state guidelines, there's specific equipment that has to
(12:16):
be on there, has to be tested, certain amounts, expiration dates.
There's just a whole lot of work behind the scenes
that people don't really think about when they see, you know,
our vehicles going down the street.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
HM.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
So if you could just just saying, if you could
tell your younger self something like a bit of wisdom
that you wish you would have told yourself when you
were younger, what would it be.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
We'll let you guys both go on this one.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Yeah, for me personally, I probably would have done this
sooner because that we've been able to help people, and
I read some of the feedback from families that we've assisted.
I think we could have helped a lot more people
for a longer period of time leading up to this point.
That's number one. Should have rolled the dice and took
(13:15):
that risk a long time ago. But the biggest piece
of advice that I have, just on a personal level,
not even considering, you know, my business adventures, would be
to save more money when you're young and you have
a job. You know, I had a job when I
was like twelve years old, and have you know, made money.
Since it's easy when you're young and you're getting money
(13:38):
in your hand to go blow it. So I try
to emphasize this to those who are young and motivated
and have jobs. Save your money because you can do
more with your life when you're a young adult when
you have money in your pocket.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
Absolutely, and I would say, you know, it's don't give up.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
There's so many times just you know, say this journey, Yeah,
there were so many times that things got hard. We
we you know, we could have easily just said, you
know what, this is too much, we're done. But it's
always pushed forward because there's always there's always that road.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
And I think that's it. I think that's important.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
So did this make you guys closer? Like, how did
you guys meet?
Speaker 1 (14:31):
So you know, I own a different transportation business, totally
different world, different responsibilities, and I was just I was
hiring and I did an interview with Eric, and I
could tell in the first five minutes that this is
somebody that had the same mentality as me, and uh,
it was obviously incredibly driven. So I hired him right
(14:54):
on the spot. And we just our values aligned and
pretty much everything that we do, whether that's professional or personal.
So we've just made a good team.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
I'm sure the mission that you guys are you know
that you guys are working for helps you stay motivated
and driven and helps you along in that process you
mentioned don't give up. It sounds kind of cliche, but
when you think you're not trying to sell Hamburgers, you know,
if that's too hard to just give up, do something else.
But you know you're really doing something that is good
for the community. So it speaks to no matter how
(15:26):
difficult it gets at times, there's still good to be done,
and that you almost feel like you have a unfinished business.
In that sense, we go.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Against every business principle when it comes to the financial
reimbursement side. To us, it's about people. It's not about money,
and most businesses it's the complete opposite finance rules For us,
we're here to help people. We're not trying to get rich.
(15:54):
So that is what's made things difficult on our end.
You know, it was very easy to walk away many times,
and we still have hard times today. We're definitely not perfect,
but we're not going to give up because you know,
the people deserve to have a service they can rely
on that's safe, trusted. So we're going to keep doing
what we got to do. We actually, you know, lowered
(16:17):
our prices just yesterday so we can help a bigger population.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Oh that's great. How do you how do you balance that?
You know, helping out people in the way that you do,
but you also have to pay the bills, you know,
how do you find that perfect balance? And then you
mentioned adjusting your prices. Is that something that keeps you
up at night or something that there's a lot of
thought that goes into I mean, how does that how
is that control?
Speaker 1 (16:40):
I would say it keeps both of us up at night.
For sure. We have to make a lot of tough
decisions throughout the week. But I think we've developed a
pretty good system. Every morning, we take time out of
our day, no matter what we're doing, and we look
at numbers and we're very, very organized when it comes
to our documentation. So we have a pretty good idea
(17:01):
where we're at, where we're going, but there's definitely some
tough decisions that we have to make regularly.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
So you guys used the word driven several times. So
how did your when you were little, when you were younger,
what made that entrepreneurial spirit? Like, how did you come
up with? I mean, did you always want to be
an entrepreneurial? Did you always want to be a nurse?
(17:30):
Did you always want to be a small business owner?
Speaker 4 (17:36):
I mean I would say initially no, you know, I
think at a younger age, you know, everybody has thoughts
and ideas. But I think you know, over the years,
you just kind of grow and you start getting ideas,
and you know, when you're twenty versus you're six, you
(18:01):
can make a lot more things happen. And you know,
that's kind of where we were at. And I don't
think I'd ever do anything else. I mean, I love
what we do and I think that we will always
have some form of new business ideas being populated.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Is that your age when you started when this started
going on with twenty or was that just.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
No, not this?
Speaker 5 (18:26):
How old were you with this business? I would have
been twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
That's still.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
I got some time before I because.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, because you feel like your life is just I'm
sixty three, so I feel like my life is not over.
And someone had told me, well, you if you're going
to look at retirement, and I'm thinking, no, no, not no,
not really. I just can't wait to see what's the
next what the next chapter is going to bring. I
(18:59):
don't want to and I think that spirit and you
guys and you Drake, we can't stop because there's a
lot of people that depend on us doing what we do,
and let's just take it to the next level. That's
what I want to do, is just take it to
the next level. And that's what you guys are doing.
Do you have your what are your plans for the
(19:21):
future with this business venture?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
I always answer this by saying, we're on a mission.
That's like my catchphrase, and that's how I would sum
everything up. We are on a mission and our plan.
Healthcare systems are growing in the Ohio Valley and throughout
the tri state area. My vision is to speak with
(19:45):
more members of the administration of all of these facilities
and try to see what we can do to assist
them and their clients. For our currency car business, I mentioned,
you know, we lowered prices yesterday. I have a vision
to be able to help more people, more vehicles on
the road, bigger staff. I want to be able to
(20:06):
sit at a red light here on Main Street and
wheeling and see my fleet drive by helping somebody. You said,
take it to the next level. And that's exactly we're
on the same page with. Yeah, that was my whole
you know, professional pathway has been the same way. I
could never settle. I wanted to help more people in
a different way, and that's exactly what Eric and I
(20:27):
are going to keep doing. We have meetings pretty much
every week, and it's funny, we call it the war room,
but we sit down and we look at everything, and
we're always looking not this day or the past twenty
four hours. We're looking at what we're going to do
in the next six months. And we do that weekly
(20:49):
and I hope that in the next year we can
double in size and help more people.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Have you always kind of been wired that way where
you know what you've done and what you're doing. That's great,
but you just can't get your mind off of what
it could be. You know, the next level that you
could take it to. Is that something that's that's kind
of always been the way you've thought about things, don't.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
I agree, get I understand that that.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Is exactly how I'm wired.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
That was actually my follow up question.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Yeah, yeah, that is. Now, do you have any age restrictions?
How young do you go? How young can you transport,
or how old you can transport?
Speaker 1 (21:28):
There's some requirements for you know, we call them pediatric cases,
but typically, at least in the ambulance service world, you
have to have a guardian or you know, a parent
on board. So we will haul our pediatric cases, but
we do require a guardian or a parent or that sense,
(21:49):
there's somebody to be on board just to stay compliant.
And we don't have an age restriction in terms of
how old people can be and will help anybody. And
it's funny, you know, Eric gets the phone calls and
every day it's it's just a huge mix. It's never
the same.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Well, talking to you Eric out in the hall there,
you said you have stayed with patients, and I think
that is amazing because how many times have I seen
during in the hospital patients sitting there by theirselves, But
you stay with.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Them absolutely, so we you know, we're not just a
I guess you'd call it a typical cab service, you know,
pick up, drop off, see you later. A lot of
these patients, especially elderly, you know, they require assistance walking.
Some of them have some cognitive issues, you know, they
(22:49):
they don't know where they're at, they don't know why
they're at that appointment. So our staff does stay there
the entire time. We make sure that they get checked in,
you knowed scene and then obviously assisted back to the
vehicle to where they need to go.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
We also take it a step further, like we just
talked about moments ago, the next level. You know, if
you are older and you have these mobility issues or
cognitive issues, sometimes just your regular activities of daily living
are difficult. So you know, Eric will have our staff
(23:28):
stop at the pharmacy for them on the way home,
stop at the grocery store, for them on the way home,
go to the bank, whatever they need to make it
the next few days. We're willing to do that. That's
what we do.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
That is what's needed because our population here in the
High Valley is older. That's what our population is the must,
you know, older folks. So I really think what you
guys are doing is amazing. So thank you for what
you're doing.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, that shows that shows that you that you care
about what you're doing, and don't I don't know that
you know. Of course, actions speak louder than words. You
guys have talked about it for twenty minutes that you
know you're driven and you want to help people. But
things like that, little actions that you do, that that
really shows people. And I imagine you guys hear amazing
things from the people that you help out and the
families of the people that you help out.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
So as we wrap this up, how can people find you?
Tell us how to find you, to get a hold
of you.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So when you call and request a transport or a quote.
Eric is going to be the guy you talk to
as soon as the phone is picked up, and he's
going to guide you through that process until the end.
He's definitely committed, and I'll let you speak on that.
Getting you where you need to be and making sure
you're taken care of and all these circumstances. In order
(24:48):
to reach out to us, you can call us our
business line seven four zero eight two seven five seven
seven zero. You can go to our website and you
can request a trip that way and then Eric will
get back with you. You can apply for a job
if you're interested in joining our team on our website
(25:11):
that is at www dot Valley Logistics dot org. And
you can also send us an email if you prefer,
and that is that admin at Valley Logistics dot org.
And then Eric, you know, he handles these cases and
picks up the phone and he can tell you what
(25:32):
information he will need when you call. That will speed
up the process and make it much more organized and easier.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
I also want to mention that we do have a Facebook.
You could look us up on Facebook, just under Value Logistics.
We will pop up that way when it comes to
the phone calls. You know, really, we just need some
basic information, you know, the date of the appointment, the time,
(26:03):
the location. Something that I think is important is we
we always show up early. So if if your appointment
is at nine thirty. We're getting to the hospital no
later than nine to fifteen. And I think that's important
(26:25):
because you know, time is an essence and I just
I think that's a good thing to good thing to
have and we will always do that. You know, sometimes
it's a downfall when you're sitting there for a little while.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
About better early than late.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Absolutely, well, another good thing to have was you two
on with us this morning. Yes, we really appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
And we would like to remind the listener that if
there's anything any feedback you'd like to give us, suggestions,
or any other kind of comment, you can reach us
at OUI podcast at Ohio dot edu. Again, that is
o UI podcast at Ohio dot edu. Valley Logistics seven
four zero eight two seven five seven seven Oh they
do incredible things and if you are somebody who is
(27:13):
in need of what they can provide, they are the
ones for you. Thanks Trevor, Thanks Eric, Thanks Wendy.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
I'm Drake Watson.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Thanks for listening to Community Connections and Commerce
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