I'm Todd Miller of Isaiah Industries, manufacturer
Todd Miller:of specialty metal roofing and other building materials.
Todd Miller:Today, my co host is Ethan Young.
Todd Miller:Ethan, you haven't been on here in a while.
Todd Miller:We've missed you.
Todd Miller:How you
Ethan Young:I've, uh, I'm doing good.
Ethan Young:I've kind of avoided it, I guess.
Ethan Young:Nah, I'm just kidding.
Todd Miller:Avoided it.
Ethan Young:No, we always have a, have a good time talking to a lot of
Ethan Young:interesting people and, you know, hearing their stories and their perspectives.
Ethan Young:So glad to be back.
Todd Miller:Glad you're here.
Todd Miller:Well, yeah, it's kind of like a life sentence being on the show.
Todd Miller:So we're glad you're here.
Todd Miller:So I do have a question for you.
Ethan Young:Yeah.
Todd Miller:Why did the pony ask for a glass of water?
Ethan Young:Cause his throat was a little hoarse.
Todd Miller:Because it was a little horse.
Todd Miller:Good one.
Todd Miller:I was going to be disappointed if you didn't get that, so I'm glad you got that.
Todd Miller:So as a reminder to our audience, once again on this episode, we
Todd Miller:are doing our challenge words.
Todd Miller:And that means that each one of us on the show today has been given a special word
Todd Miller:or phrase by one of the others that we are challenged to work into the conversation
Todd Miller:somehow as seamlessly as possible.
Todd Miller:And at the end of the show, we will Reveal what our words were and whether
Todd Miller:we were successful or not, and you, the audience, all along can be guessing
Todd Miller:what our challenge words might be.
Todd Miller:So, Ethan, you ready to go?
Ethan Young:Yeah, I'm ready.
Ethan Young:Let's do it.
Todd Miller:Okay.
Todd Miller:So, how do you prepare an industry as wide and varied as construction for the future?
Todd Miller:Um, that's a great question.
Todd Miller:And our guest today is someone with years of leadership experience who is, who is
Todd Miller:preparing our industry for the future.
Todd Miller:And he sees that as his burning passion.
Todd Miller:Today's guest is Mr. Clyde King of Buckhannon, West Virginia.
Todd Miller:Clyde, I want to say, served in the U. S. Marine Corps for eight years.
Todd Miller:Thanks so much for your service, Clyde.
Todd Miller:And then he entered the AEC trades focused on commercial construction, where he has
Todd Miller:built a career over the last 30 years.
Todd Miller:Someone who loves a challenge, Clyde has spent his recent years focused on
Todd Miller:mentoring and training younger folks in our industry, helping to continue the
Todd Miller:legacy of those in construction of, you know, those great folks in construction
Todd Miller:who have built and grown our nation.
Todd Miller:Clyde, welcome to Construction Disruption.
Todd Miller:Pleasure to have you today as our guest.
Clyde King:Glad to be here.
Clyde King:Thank you for having me.
Todd Miller:Well, again, I want to thank you for your service to our country.
Todd Miller:That means a great deal to us.
Todd Miller:And, um, one thing I noted, I thought was really interesting was that you
Todd Miller:were a drummer in the U. S. Marine Corps Field Drum and Bugle Corps.
Todd Miller:Um, before we start talking about carpentry and construction, tell us a
Todd Miller:little bit what that was like to be in the, uh, Field Drum and Bugle Corps.
Clyde King:It was an honor.
Clyde King:Um, we got music.
Clyde King:I've been playing drums.
Clyde King:Well, Probably since I was in first grade, so like seven, and I just turned 60.
Todd Miller:Wow,
Clyde King:um, but no, I mean, I was always loved, um, marching
Clyde King:field shows in junior high.
Clyde King:I believe we went to see eighth and I, um, for a Friday evening parade.
Clyde King:And I was like, you know what, if I can do it.
Clyde King:That's what I want to do.
Clyde King:So my junior year, I took an audition and was accepted on a music guarantee.
Clyde King:And then after graduation, um, I went to Parris Island, then
Clyde King:went to the school, naval school of music at Norfolk, Virginia.
Clyde King:It's Little Creek's, the, the base, Little Creek Amputee Base is where the school is.
Clyde King:Then from there, um, back then, they kind of had different things with heighth,
Clyde King:and me being on the short side, I didn't go to eighth and I. I went to 29 Palms,
Clyde King:to the Field Drum Corps, and spent from, I was out there from 1984 through 1990.
Todd Miller:that had to have been pretty interesting and cool because everyone is
Todd Miller:just marveled whenever they see any of the USMC music groups and just amazing.
Todd Miller:So thank you.
Todd Miller:That's fantastic.
Todd Miller:If I'm not mistaken Maybe I'm drawing off of memory wrong here West Virginia
Todd Miller:kind of has a bit of a storied history with drum and bugle corps groups
Todd Miller:Don't they aren't there a number of real solid ones that have come out
Todd Miller:of West Virginia over the years?
Clyde King:Back in the 70s, I believe, um, Pennsylvania, And like, uh, like the
Clyde King:Garfield cadets were out of Garfield, New Jersey, Pennsylvania had to cross,
Clyde King:been in a couple other smaller cores, but like you're a lot of your class A cores,
Clyde King:your open class DCI cores were mainly Midwest, West coast, and then East coast.
Todd Miller:Yeah, cool.
Todd Miller:Neat stuff.
Todd Miller:I always enjoy watching that.
Todd Miller:I was never anywhere close to that level of a musician, but, uh, amazing.
Todd Miller:So, throughout your career, um, you have worked on a lot of areas
Todd Miller:including carpentry, estimating, quality control, being a foreman.
Todd Miller:Um, can you give us kind of an overview of your career after
Todd Miller:you left the Marine Corps?
Clyde King:Well, after I had moved back home to PA and went to work for.
Clyde King:A subcontractor that was doing, uh, metal studs and drywall, they happened to be
Clyde King:subbing to a job for my dad's company.
Clyde King:Dad left the architectural firm that he was with and became part
Clyde King:owner of a general contractor.
Clyde King:And then throughout those 14 years, I was with the non union side.
Clyde King:Um, everybody kept saying, it's like, why don't you just go into the GC side and
Clyde King:take over for your dad when he retires?
Clyde King:Well, there's, there's a story there or why I didn't, because me and one of the
Clyde King:other owners, we kind of grew up together and we'd, we'd have been button heads.
Clyde King:So I was like, no.
Todd Miller:Sometimes we know when a recipe is not made for something good.
Clyde King:So I just kind of, but I went to work.
Clyde King:For actually, it started out as a labor with them, but from my
Clyde King:background with design and everything from dad and then plus working
Clyde King:in the summers when I was home.
Clyde King:Um, it's a Boy Scout camp and that we did be doing carpentry working at
Clyde King:there on the camp for the Boy Scouts.
Clyde King:Um, the foreman knew my background.
Clyde King:I spent a week as a laborer and then I was in tools.
Clyde King:And then within three years I was running, oh, an eight or nine hundred
Clyde King:thousand dollar interior project.
Todd Miller:And that was, uh, that was the start of what led to a whole lot more.
Clyde King:Oh, yeah.
Clyde King:Yeah, I was with that company for 14 years and finally had enough
Clyde King:of a project manager and he wasn't giving, he wasn't supporting the
Clyde King:field superintendents at all.
Clyde King:And I had enough.
Clyde King:I went to the owner.
Clyde King:It's like, either he goes or I go.
Clyde King:He was like, well, he just, I was like, he doesn't need to be in a position he's in.
Clyde King:He doesn't know what he's doing.
Clyde King:And I went to the foreman.
Clyde King:I said, Friday's my last day.
Clyde King:And he goes like, where are you going?
Clyde King:Says, I don't know yet, but by Friday, I'll have another job.
Clyde King:And I did.
Clyde King:I went to work as a superintendent for another interior company.
Clyde King:superintendent had
Clyde King:a heart attack.
Clyde King:So they just, I just finished up a million dollar project under them on another site.
Clyde King:And I was like, well, you know everything that's going on because you
Clyde King:handled all the subs on that project.
Clyde King:So we'll just pay you 28 hours a week from us.
Clyde King:You know, as a ticket, and then, you know, the company
Clyde King:can cover your remaining hours.
Clyde King:So, that, that project, I was kind of bouncing between
Clyde King:the GC side and the sub side.
Clyde King:And then, when we finished it up, is when I had moved down here to West Virginia,
Clyde King:and Ended up joining the union in 2007 and have been literally doing anything and
Clyde King:everything that carpenters do since then.
Todd Miller:so all types of projects then you're involved with today.
Todd Miller:I mean, commercial, residential,
Clyde King:well, not, we don't really do much residential.
Todd Miller:yeah.
Clyde King:Um, we do have a couple of contractors that do some residential work.
Clyde King:The scale's lower, and the benefit package is different.
Clyde King:So I try to stay on the commercial and industrial side.
Todd Miller:Well, during your time in all of that.
Todd Miller:You know, one of the things you've really developed a passion for, and I know
Todd Miller:you and I have spoke before, um, has been leadership and also for training
Todd Miller:and encouraging others in our industry.
Todd Miller:Kind of curious, where does that drive come from for you?
Todd Miller:I mean, is that something you've had your whole life?
Todd Miller:You like to bring others along, or did it sort of come out of your Marine
Todd Miller:Corps experience, or maybe just because you saw a real need for it out there?
Todd Miller:I'm kind of curious what brought that all to be.
Clyde King:It came, the leadership I learned as a Marine when I
Clyde King:became an NCO, I still apply to this day on different things.
Clyde King:You know, trying to get everybody to work together, because even though
Clyde King:I was in the music field, um, we still have to go out and train.
Clyde King:Because during combat, our basic secondary MOS is the commanding general's
Clyde King:perimeter guard and that for the base.
Todd Miller:Oh, interesting.
Clyde King:And when Saddam invaded Kuwait, we were up in Washington
Clyde King:State and had our air transportation yanked out from under us, uh, because
Clyde King:they were shipping everybody over.
Clyde King:When we got back down to 29 Palms, we ended up not having
Clyde King:to go over, but I spent my last few months as an MP on the base.
Clyde King:And we had some kids that had never, you know, been in that situation, so
Clyde King:we were trying to train and, um, so, so throughout, you know, their time,
Clyde King:I had a bunch of friends that ended up going over eventually, and I've lost
Clyde King:some friends over there the 1st time and this last time, but, you know, it's.
Clyde King:One of those things, it's, you're always going to have evil in
Clyde King:the world in one way or another.
Clyde King:We all just kind of have to, you know, deal with it in our own way.
Clyde King:Getting close to retirement, I started seeing different friends post on LinkedIn,
Clyde King:you know, trying to pass knowledge on, and that's really what started it.
Clyde King:It's like, you know, I'm 60 now, I just turned 60 in November.
Clyde King:I can go at 62.
Clyde King:Uh, because I'll have 20 years on the union side then, you know, it's like
Clyde King:this knowledge has to get out there.
Clyde King:So that's what started my random thoughts.
Clyde King:And then my other 1, my construction talks unfiltered, which that 1
Clyde King:actually started as to get some information out there about some.
Clyde King:Companies that are, in my eyes, doing things wrong.
Clyde King:Like, uh, my first couple posts wasn't naming any companies, and I won't.
Clyde King:When you've got a superintendent that's playing favoritism at everything with
Clyde King:guys, you know, that's absolutely wrong.
Clyde King:When you've got guys that are outperforming these guys, and then
Clyde King:they're getting laid off and you're keeping the guys that aren't performing
Clyde King:because they're one of your favorites.
Clyde King:Yeah, that's, that's for the talks unfiltered.
Clyde King:That was like, you know, I'm just going to speak my mind.
Todd Miller:Now, well, tell us a little bit more about your videos
Todd Miller:and things you have out there.
Todd Miller:I know you've been spending a lot of time on that.
Todd Miller:They're, they're on YouTube.
Todd Miller:Is that correct?
Clyde King:Um, I'm trying to get some up on YouTube, but mainly
Clyde King:I've just been keeping everything on the LinkedIn platform.
Clyde King:Um, the construction talks unfiltered.
Clyde King:They're like my video podcast, but they're normally broke down because LinkedIn
Clyde King:will only let you upload 10 minutes.
Clyde King:So, a 30 minute conversation gets broke down to 3 or 4 sessions.
Clyde King:You know, even though I continue it, but I do all my own editing and, and everything.
Clyde King:I use, um, software called Wondershare Filmora that I
Clyde King:was using for the race team.
Clyde King:And I was like, well, I could use the same thing here, bring
Clyde King:the interview off a stream yard.
Clyde King:Into it, but then start breaking down and adding music or doing different things.
Clyde King:And that's where that came from.
Todd Miller:encourage folks to check them out for sure.
Todd Miller:Well, going back to your career, I mean, you know, you've been
Todd Miller:in construction 30 or so years.
Todd Miller:Um, what are some of the significant changes you've seen
Todd Miller:in the industry over that time?
Clyde King:One significant change that it's still being slow to be
Clyde King:adopted is the switch to digital drawings and digital paperwork.
Clyde King:I mean, I've got probably 15 or 20 of the old big green construction
Clyde King:logbooks full of notes in that from over the years on projects where I ran.
Clyde King:Um, so yeah, that switch over to digital bringing more of quality control.
Clyde King:Into things to, you know, help try to alleviate rework and then just like on
Clyde King:the carpentry side back when I first started when we were laying out talking
Clyde King:lines, putting down bottom tracking that we'd be up at the deck with our
Clyde King:thumb on a plumb bob dangling down to hit that line to mark for the top track.
Clyde King:Well, now we've got rotating lasers and spot lasers and everything
Clyde King:else that, you know, weren't around back in the early 90s.
Todd Miller:Well, I mean, talking about that and technology and
Todd Miller:things, how do you find that you keep yourself up with technology?
Todd Miller:I mean, you, you kind of seem to have a natural bent that way
Todd Miller:toward tech, but, um, how, how do you keep up with everything?
Clyde King:One, I find it fascinating to a point.
Clyde King:Um, and then two, my really dove into research and that for the tech through my
Clyde King:Dirt track racing, the evolution of dirt late models from the mid nineties to now,
Clyde King:and all the adjustments and everything that you can do to them, you have to stay
Clyde King:on top of The mechanics and the physics of what flows where what weight transfers,
Clyde King:otherwise, you're just going to be sitting around around the back of the pack.
Clyde King:So that's where the drive to keep learning things kind of started.
Clyde King:But then it's like, you know, I can better my career.
Clyde King:I can hopefully get myself into position because, yeah,
Clyde King:I might pull my pension at 62.
Clyde King:I'll never walk away from construction until probably they put me in the ground.
Clyde King:I'll be involved in one way or another, either going to start my own consulting
Clyde King:business, or if somebody has me in as a superintendent project manager, where I'm
Clyde King:completely out of my tools that I could mentor their younger ones, you know,
Clyde King:that's, you know, all well and good.
Todd Miller:Well, yeah, it becomes part of your DNA.
Todd Miller:I mean, it's who you are at this point and that's, uh, that's cool.
Todd Miller:So dirt track racing, I don't know a ton about that, but is that what they
Todd Miller:do at Eldora Speedway here in Ohio?
Todd Miller:Okay.
Clyde King:that's one track.
Clyde King:I've been there.
Clyde King:We haven't had the car there, but we did have the, we did race at Bristol
Clyde King:back in 2001 when they first put dirt on the high banks for the very first time.
Clyde King:They did it in 2001 and 2002.
Clyde King:We didn't go back down because we heard a motor the year before while we were there.
Clyde King:So we ended up not actually getting to run the heat races and features.
Clyde King:We heard the motor practice, but.
Clyde King:That's, you know, that love, that passion of going fast and
Clyde King:yeah, it's, it's still there.
Todd Miller:Cool stuff.
Todd Miller:Good, good deal.
Todd Miller:So, you've been a member of the union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.
Todd Miller:Um, I'm just kind of curious, uh, for our younger audience members out
Todd Miller:there, what do you see as the key benefits or even challenges to union
Todd Miller:membership, um, for our industry?
Clyde King:One of the key benefits is the training, bar none.
Clyde King:Um, if you go, actually, I didn't go through the apprenticeship because
Clyde King:I had already had so many years.
Clyde King:Experience, but for the younger ones coming in going through the
Clyde King:apprenticeship, you'll get to learn each aspect about the carpentry
Clyde King:trade just for the carpenters because we do for coverings.
Clyde King:We do, uh, ceramic tile, um.
Clyde King:metal studs, drywall, exterior framing, uh, scaffold building, you know,
Clyde King:or what we do covers a wide gamut.
Clyde King:And if you go through certain cities and that, because the apprenticeship
Clyde King:and that is so big, they kind of try to make them specialize into
Clyde King:like one area, either concrete or metal studs and drywall and that.
Clyde King:But down here, since we only have two locals in the state now, since we kind
Clyde King:of, Combine everything with the Eastern Atlantic States Council, um, we get
Clyde King:the guys trained in everything that we do so they can go out, you know,
Clyde King:and on the job and feel confident.
Clyde King:Okay, I can perform, but then, like I said, you know, the advantage
Clyde King:is the training and the safety.
Clyde King:There's been way, way too many, unfortunately.
Clyde King:In my first 14 to 16 years, I was on projects where three people were killed.
Clyde King:Um, one was a ditch collapse, which they should have never been digging
Clyde King:that day because I literally walked out of my boots and I wore lace up
Clyde King:boots trying to get into the building.
Clyde King:My boot got stuck down in In the mud, and I literally came
Clyde King:up out of my laced up boots.
Clyde King:Another one, they overloaded the scaffold with the masons, and
Clyde King:the scaffold collapse killed two.
Clyde King:And another one, they were, um, the backup alarm wasn't working on a dozer,
Clyde King:and the operator didn't see the guy.
Clyde King:So, yeah, I mean, safety wise is another big one.
Clyde King:And then, of course, The benefits, a lot of your non union companies are
Clyde King:paying great wages, real comparable to what we make on the hour.
Clyde King:But then they're asking the guys to take money out of that, to help them cover the
Clyde King:cost of their health insurance or their 401k, you know, even though the employer's
Clyde King:matching a little bit with us, with the benefit package, my healthcare, my pension
Clyde King:and everything is completely part, it doesn't come out of my hourly check.
Clyde King:That's a separate part of the package.
Todd Miller:Gotcha.
Todd Miller:Makes a lot of sense.
Todd Miller:Oh, thank you for that.
Todd Miller:It's good stuff.
Todd Miller:So, you were part of helping to write a book, um, that was called
Todd Miller:Elevating Construction Foreman.
Todd Miller:Tell us a little bit about that and why that's important to you.
Clyde King:Again, it goes back to being able to pass the knowledge on to help
Clyde King:leaders, um, today learn to be able to, one, handle the guys, you know,
Clyde King:two, be able to keep track of things.
Clyde King:That was, I forget how many was in that conglomeration,
Clyde King:collaboration, but it was through Jason Schroeder with, um, Elevating
Clyde King:the trades or elevate construction.
Clyde King:It is the main thing he does.
Clyde King:He's got books and elevating construction superintendents, um, lean, tact and
Clyde King:everything else that being able to bring the foreman up to speed and how they
Clyde King:talk to people and talk to their crews in today's day and age when I came in,
Clyde King:we were still screaming and yelling at each other to go get things done.
Clyde King:Well, you know, that doesn't work all the time.
Clyde King:Some guys you still have to do that with, I will say, though, but most of
Clyde King:the time, if you talk to some of these younger kids like that now, they're
Clyde King:just going to blow you off and say, I don't care, and that's the other reason.
Clyde King:It's like, you know, we're out here building a legacy for future generations.
Clyde King:What we do now affects years from now.
Clyde King:As far as building,
Todd Miller:Absolutely.
Todd Miller:Now, and, and the, you know, you brought up the safety aspect and even
Todd Miller:the building safety aspect, making sure the construction is done well.
Todd Miller:So, um, it is long term safe as well.
Todd Miller:So, so one of the things that caught my eye at the top of your LinkedIn
Todd Miller:profile, and I know Clyde would be happy to connect with anyone on there,
Todd Miller:but on top of your profile, it says, believe in yourself and your patience.
Todd Miller:Um, where's that come from?
Todd Miller:And what do you hope people take from that?
Clyde King:just to get people to realize that they have the power
Clyde King:within themselves, you know, believe in your abilities, believe in your
Clyde King:passions, you know, show your leadership skills, let the world know that,
Clyde King:hey, you know, this is what I've done or not being braggy about it.
Clyde King:But this is what I've done.
Clyde King:This is what I can bring to the table.
Todd Miller:What are some of the challenges that you're seeing
Todd Miller:emerging in construction right now?
Todd Miller:And, um, that you see maybe, you know, things we need to be really trying
Todd Miller:to address here in coming years.
Clyde King:One of the biggest challenges, and I've been taking a bunch of webinars
Clyde King:and that about, is mental health.
Clyde King:Mental health in the construction industry is a major problem.
Clyde King:Um, one forefront out of Washington does different webinars and that
Clyde King:that I've sat in on and taken.
Clyde King:Well, the one was dealing about the social studies and of
Clyde King:the Dave Dunn as far as data.
Clyde King:And everything else on how mental health affects communities, well,
Clyde King:that translate right translates big time right into mental health and
Clyde King:construction and it's, you know, for years, it was always in the shadows.
Clyde King:I mean, it's been around mental health problems in the construction
Clyde King:industry had been around since the 70s.
Clyde King:I mean, you get hurt on a job, you're going to go, doctor's going to prescribe
Clyde King:you pain pills, you're going to go back to work, you're going to keep popping pills
Clyde King:because it helps you get through that day, well then you start to get anxiety because
Clyde King:you're hurting, you know, it, it gets to be a great big downward spiral, and kind
Clyde King:of gets, you know, it's gotten out of hand, and that's one reason why, um, yeah.
Clyde King:For those of you out there that have seen some of my random thoughts,
Clyde King:you'll see that I have an alter ego, my Blues Brothers hat, and my dark
Clyde King:glasses, and I go under the synonym of Clyde Blues, and we're talking about
Clyde King:mental health, you know, things like alcohol, opioids, and things of that
Clyde King:nature, to just keep it Everybody aware of it and what it does affect.
Clyde King:I've seen way too many people go down a very bad path with, you
Clyde King:know, a mental health problem.
Clyde King:We had one worker that I had worked with, but he thought
Clyde King:his wife was cheating on him.
Clyde King:She wasn't.
Clyde King:Well, he called her one day and to come home, he needed
Clyde King:her at the house right now.
Clyde King:She pulled in the driveway and walked up to the barn.
Clyde King:He blew his head off right in front of her.
Clyde King:I mean, you know, it's mental health is a big time problem in the industry.
Todd Miller:No, it is.
Todd Miller:And I'm glad you brought that up.
Todd Miller:We did have a previous guest on a number of episodes ago, a gentleman
Todd Miller:by the name of Chad Dunlap.
Todd Miller:And, uh, Chad works for a large commercial roofing firm, but mental health in
Todd Miller:our industry is a passion of his.
Todd Miller:And he goes around and speaks with students and so forth and really
Todd Miller:trying to raise awareness and also to help with suicide prevention,
Todd Miller:being another passion of his.
Todd Miller:Thanks, Peter.
Todd Miller:No, I'm glad you're addressing that as well, because it, it
Todd Miller:does seem to affect our industry disproportionately, no doubt about it.
Ethan Young:While we're on the topic of challenges, one thing I wanted to ask you,
Ethan Young:Clyde, especially you mentioned a couple of times through the interview about, you
Ethan Young:know, talking to younger generations and that's something that we've heard from a
Ethan Young:lot of different people we've interviewed and, you know, including a guy that helps
Ethan Young:run a trade school is just how can we get this younger generation more involved?
Ethan Young:How can we kind of, you know, keep this tradition going and not, you know, not
Ethan Young:just, you know, a lot of people get.
Ethan Young:Oh, you know, kids don't want to do manual labor.
Ethan Young:They don't want to, you know, it's like chopping firewood or whatever.
Ethan Young:They don't, you know, they didn't grow up doing any of that.
Ethan Young:So they don't want to do construction, but what's your opinion on all that?
Ethan Young:What do you think we could, we could do to improve it?
Clyde King:One of the main things is when they took the shop classes
Clyde King:and that out of the schools.
Clyde King:And when the schools and the public school system kept promoting college,
Clyde King:kept promoting college, that deterred a lot of young talent away from the trades.
Clyde King:And now they're finding out that, hey, we can make a lot of money into trades.
Clyde King:So we're starting to see more and more come back.
Clyde King:But, you know, I mean, it's still a problem.
Clyde King:But one place to start, um, there's an instructor in a school in New Jersey.
Clyde King:That I follow on LinkedIn that he works with middle school kids, teaching
Clyde King:them how to, um, for doing plumbing and carpentry and everything else.
Clyde King:And, you know, that's a great program.
Clyde King:I wish that most school districts would start trying
Clyde King:to bring things like that back.
Todd Miller:Absolutely.
Todd Miller:It seems like, you know, trying to get people interested, kids interested
Todd Miller:when they're younger and just exposed to things so that they know the
Todd Miller:opportunities are out there, uh, seems to be a real positive thing.
Clyde King:Yeah,
Todd Miller:So we've talked a lot about, you know, where you are today, and,
Todd Miller:um, I know that, you know, you've got this burning passion for the industry.
Todd Miller:Um, What, you know, looking out a little bit, you said, you know, you may go into
Todd Miller:consulting or who knows, but what is the impact you would like to say, uh, have
Todd Miller:folks later say you left on the industry?
Clyde King:just the fact that, you know, I helped pass knowledge on and help.
Clyde King:Young, younger ones realize that passion in themselves to help continue
Clyde King:that legacy, which is another thing that I've tried to do with a couple
Clyde King:of our apprentices that I've had working with me the last couple of
Clyde King:years, you know, being with the union, you get so many different guys for
Clyde King:a job and then they might move on.
Clyde King:Well, when I have an apprentice with me, being in the trades for so many
Clyde King:years, I've got Doubles, triples, and quadruples of so many of the hand tools
Clyde King:that, you know, we're supposed to carry.
Clyde King:Um, you know, power tools and that are technically up to the contractor,
Clyde King:but our hand tools, you know, your hammer, your saw, square, framing
Clyde King:square, you know, things of that nature, we're supposed to have all the time.
Clyde King:So, when a young apprentice, especially a first year, comes along and works with me,
Clyde King:before he leaves me, I give him one of my tools that I've got doubles or triples of.
Clyde King:You know, I've passed on a handsaw to him to keep in his toolbox from then on,
Clyde King:uh, framing square, um, one youngster I had, we were doing some door hardware.
Clyde King:And trying to replace some doors, I had to get my impact screwdriver out
Clyde King:that has a great big number three tip.
Clyde King:Then you smack with a hammer to get that screw to loosen up.
Clyde King:I showed him how to use that.
Clyde King:Well, when he left me, that went in his toolbox for him
Clyde King:to carry with him for future.
Todd Miller:That's cool.
Todd Miller:Yeah, they'll certainly remember you for that as well.
Todd Miller:That's good stuff.
Todd Miller:Well, Clyde, this has been a great discussion.
Todd Miller:We're thankful for your time today.
Todd Miller:Um, we're close to wrapping up kind of what we call the business end of things.
Todd Miller:Is there anything we haven't covered yet today that you wanted to be
Todd Miller:sure to share with our audience?
Clyde King:Just the fact that for companies out there, you
Clyde King:know, look to your older workers.
Clyde King:Lean on them for advice at times if they need, you know, take them into
Clyde King:the office if you need to let them come in and learn a little bit about that.
Clyde King:And if they haven't had that experience, but they can also pass their knowledge
Clyde King:down like for superintendents, you got a young superintendent sticking with
Clyde King:one that's been around for a while.
Clyde King:Let him learn from them on, because every building, it doesn't matter
Clyde King:if it's retail, um, a hospital, yeah, the codes might change.
Clyde King:You might have different fire rating things that you have to deal with.
Clyde King:But still, the basic principle of any building has a step by step process
Clyde King:from the underground, clear through to hanging the curtains, and, you
Clyde King:know, lean on the older generation to show you all some shortcuts.
Clyde King:Um, like, one of the things I pride myself on is my ability to think
Clyde King:on my feet sometimes on a project.
Clyde King:The One theater that I ran, they started me three months behind because of design
Clyde King:changes, and then they kept pushing the timeline, pushing the time frame.
Clyde King:Well, I kind of looked at the superintendent and was like, stay
Clyde King:in your trailer, you know, if it's something important, come get me.
Clyde King:Let me bounce the trades around, because the only way we're going to get this done
Clyde King:is if everybody works together, and it's going to mean bouncing around because
Clyde King:you're missing material for something.
Clyde King:Well, let them get in here and get their work done.
Clyde King:And, you know, that ability has served me well, and it's also shot
Clyde King:me in the foot a couple times, but, you know, things happen.
Clyde King:You, you learn and grow.
Clyde King:Above all, keep learning.
Todd Miller:Love it.
Todd Miller:Good advice.
Todd Miller:Great stuff.
Todd Miller:So, um, one of the things that we always do here at the end of the show
Todd Miller:is what we call rapid fire questions.
Todd Miller:So these are 7 questions.
Todd Miller:We will ask you.
Todd Miller:You have no idea.
Todd Miller:We're going to ask.
Todd Miller:Um, some are serious, some are silly.
Todd Miller:Um, all you have to do is give a response.
Todd Miller:So you want to give it a try for rapid challenge, rapid fire?
Clyde King:Yeah, why not?
Todd Miller:Awesome.
Todd Miller:Um, Ethan, you want to ask question number one?
Ethan Young:Yeah, I can get us started.
Ethan Young:Um, oh, this is always a fun one.
Ethan Young:Uh, what's a product or service that you bought recently that
Ethan Young:was a game changer for you?
Clyde King:I'd say product was one of my, um, stair tread tools
Clyde King:for measuring stair treads.
Clyde King:I used to do it the old fashioned way.
Clyde King:Yeah, that little tool saves a lot of time.
Ethan Young:Nice.
Todd Miller:Good stuff, good answer.
Todd Miller:Um, question number two.
Todd Miller:What is your favorite meal?
Clyde King:Manicotti.
Todd Miller:Manicotti.
Todd Miller:See, now I think that and I think Manicotti with a tangerine for dessert.
Todd Miller:I'm good to go.
Todd Miller:So, good one.
Ethan Young:Uh, question number three.
Ethan Young:I guess we already kind of talked about this, but what did the eight year old
Ethan Young:Clyde dream of being when he grew up?
Clyde King:The eight year old me, definitely wanted to be a
Clyde King:drummer or an architect with dad.
Todd Miller:So is this going to be a drummer in a rock band
Todd Miller:or what was this going to be?
Clyde King:More than likely, probably rock band.
Clyde King:I, I've got a diverse music back style.
Clyde King:I mean, I listen to club music, I listen to some country, but I do
Clyde King:like my heavy metal, heavier rock.
Todd Miller:good stuff.
Todd Miller:Okay, next question.
Todd Miller:Oh, if you had to eat a crayon, what color of crayon would you choose to eat, Clyde?
Clyde King:Uh, probably a red one to go with my blood stripes on my uniform.
Todd Miller:Okay, gotcha.
Todd Miller:Good one.
Clyde King:I honestly don't know where the crayon thing started with the marines.
Ethan Young:Oh, yeah.
Clyde King:That's an inside joke with a lot of marines about, you
Clyde King:know, we're crayoneating lunatics.
Todd Miller:Oh my, I did not even know that.
Todd Miller:Oh, that's interesting.
Todd Miller:Had no idea of that when I asked that question.
Clyde King:but yeah, it's probably be a red one to go with
Clyde King:the blood stripes on my uniform.
Ethan Young:Oh, this is a fun question.
Ethan Young:Okay.
Ethan Young:Um, would you rather have to shout all the time or only whisper?
Clyde King:Only whisper when I shout.
Clyde King:You can hear me across the job site.
Todd Miller:You know it.
Todd Miller:Oh, good answer.
Todd Miller:Next to last question.
Todd Miller:So, um, what historical figure, dead or alive, would you like to have dinner with?
Todd Miller:And what is one question you'd want to ask them?
Clyde King:I'm gonna throw this one out there.
Clyde King:Be Frank Lloyd Wright
Todd Miller:Oh,
Clyde King:to go with my architectural 'cause I love architecture and the
Clyde King:one question I would ask him was what prompted him to do designs
Clyde King:like falling water, which is 13 miles from my parents' house in pa.
Todd Miller:oh, wow.
Clyde King:And to bring nature in to that design, the way he did there.
Todd Miller:That would be a fascinating discussion.
Todd Miller:Good stuff.
Ethan Young:Alrighty.
Ethan Young:Last question.
Ethan Young:I am going to change it up a little.
Ethan Young:Um, what do you think the most important tool a contractor can have is?
Clyde King:Honestly, his brain, you use your brain as a
Clyde King:contractor, more than anything.
Clyde King:If you don't have the proper tool for a particular thing, there is so many
Clyde King:different ways to do it without that tool.
Clyde King:Yeah.
Clyde King:The tool is there to make life easier, make production come, but being able
Clyde King:to think, And think that process through and see the big picture.
Clyde King:Otherwise, it's definitely your brain.
Ethan Young:Makes sense to me.
Todd Miller:Great answer.
Todd Miller:I know I grew up with the saying, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Todd Miller:And I always wondered who these cat skinners were out there, but, uh, there
Todd Miller:is more than one way to do things.
Todd Miller:Good, good stuff.
Todd Miller:So Clyde, thank you again so much for being with us today.
Todd Miller:Um, for folks who want to get in touch with you, uh, what's, or
Todd Miller:to, to watch your videos, what's the best ways for them to do that
Clyde King:Right now, the best place to get a hold of me is on LinkedIn.
Clyde King:And, um, like I said, things are crazy right now because I'm kind of off.
Clyde King:I'm waiting on badging for a job.
Clyde King:And then probably going to end up back up in PA, but the easiest place, because I'm
Clyde King:checking in on LinkedIn a couple of times a day, normally, even when I'm working
Clyde King:lunchtime, I'll check, see what's going on and when I get home and, uh, for those
Clyde King:out there also that are on LinkedIn, if you're not on a LinkedIn premium package,
Clyde King:I would suggest to try it out and look into the LinkedIn learning library.
Clyde King:If you get down through.
Clyde King:My profile in the last three years, I've completed probably 190 different
Clyde King:classes and have certifications for them all through LinkedIn learning.
Clyde King:So there's a wealth of knowledge out there on many different things.
Todd Miller:good advice.
Todd Miller:And, uh, yeah, folks can find Clyde King pretty easily on, uh, LinkedIn I
Todd Miller:found so encourage folks to, uh, join up with you, hook up with you that
Todd Miller:way and connect and see where it goes.
Todd Miller:So good stuff.
Todd Miller:So guys, uh, we were all successful working in our challenge words.
Todd Miller:Um, I didn't think I was going to get mine in there to be honest.
Todd Miller:Um,
Clyde King:about yours for a minute.
Todd Miller:That I kind of cheated, I always try to get it in before
Todd Miller:the rapid fire because she usually can figure out a way to sneak it
Todd Miller:in the rapid fire, but I couldn't.
Todd Miller:So, so my word was tangerine that I worked in there.
Todd Miller:Ethan, you had,
Ethan Young:I had firewood, which is a little bit iffy, but I got it in there.
Todd Miller:got her in there and Clyde, you had,
Clyde King:Social studies.
Todd Miller:I don't think any, you worked it in there so smoothly.
Todd Miller:I don't think anyone would have ever dreamed.
Todd Miller:That was what you were challenged to say.
Todd Miller:So that was good job.
Todd Miller:Good job.
Todd Miller:Well, thank you again so much, uh, Clyde, for being with us today.
Todd Miller:We've enjoyed this time together and appreciate it.
Clyde King:I had fun.
Todd Miller:Well, and thank you to our audience for tuning into this episode
Todd Miller:of Construction Disruption, uh, with Union Carpenter Foreman, um, now we're
Todd Miller:talking social media extraordinaire, uh, Clyde King of Buckhannon, West Virginia.
Todd Miller:He's a great industry veteran, and he just wants to give it
Todd Miller:back and teach at this point.
Todd Miller:So, uh, kudos to him.
Todd Miller:Uh, and please watch for future episodes of our podcast.
Todd Miller:We always have great guests.
Todd Miller:Don't forget to leave a review.
Todd Miller:Um, we appreciate those.
Todd Miller:Until the next time we're together, keep on disrupting, keep on looking
Todd Miller:for better ways of doing things.
Todd Miller:And most importantly, don't forget to have a positive impact
Todd Miller:on everyone you encounter.
Todd Miller:So God bless and take care.
Todd Miller:This is Isaiah Industry signing off until the next episode
Todd Miller:of Construction Disruption.