U-R-G On the Go
An informative podcast for the United Recyclers Group. Each week we will feature an entertaining guest that will share their knowledge and information with you, providing you with tips and tools to help you become a more profitable business.
U-R-G On the Go
How Auto Recyclers Are Coming Together to End Veteran Homelessness
At the heart of the auto recycling industry lies a profound commitment to service that extends far beyond business operations. The special edition of URG On the Go podcast from Orlando, Florida captures this spirit perfectly as URG announces their partnership with Tunnel to Towers Foundation to donate much-needed passenger vans for homeless veterans.
Matthew Milazzo shares the powerful origin story of Tunnel to Towers, born from the sacrifice of firefighter Steven Siller who, on September 11, 2001, ran on foot through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel with his full gear to reach the Twin Towers where he ultimately lost his life. Today, his legacy lives on through a foundation committed to providing smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans, paying off mortgages for families of fallen first responders, and working to eradicate veteran homelessness across America.
The podcast weaves together conversations with industry leaders who emphasize how conventions like URG foster essential knowledge-sharing that transforms businesses. George Nestertsov of Parts Box references "iron sharpening iron," while Shannon Nordstrom traces his journey from a family dairy farm to building a nationally recognized auto recycling operation through industry connections. Gary Kahn, a 35-year veteran, perfectly captures the essence of these gatherings as "family reunions" where competitors become collaborators in pursuit of collective growth. Whether you're considering donating $11 monthly to Tunnel to Towers or wondering if industry conventions are worth attending, this episode demonstrates how the auto recycling community combines business acumen with a genuine desire to make a difference. Visit t2t.org to support their mission or u-r-g.com to discover how membership can transform your business.
Welcome to a special edition of the URG On the Go podcast. This is a special event. We're here in Orlando, florida, and URG is giving two vehicles away. Of course, today this is a real special thing. So I want you listeners to know we have Matthew. Now how do you pronounce your last name, malazzo? Malazzo, we have spoke numerous times on the phone and I want to welcome you to URG, and he's here representing Tunnel to Towers. So, matthew, or you'd like to be called Matt. So, matt, tell us a little bit about Tunnel to Towers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, first, thank you so much for having me DJ.
Speaker 1:Thank you, my friend, it's an honor to be here.
Speaker 2:I'm so glad and excited. It's amazing what URG is doing, you know, donating passenger vans to help our homeless veteran recipients at our villages. So a little bit about Tunnel to Towers. I'll keep it brief. So Tunnel to Towers is a foundation that was started after 9-11.
Speaker 2:So a lot of people who might not know the story firefighter Steven Siller he was coming home from his night tour and he was on his way home, actually to play golf with his brothers, and a plane struck the tower. And so he turns his truck around. He went back to his firehouse Everybody at his firehouse already responded to the call and he grabbed his gear, threw it in the back of his truck, tried to go through what was the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel at this time, and it was closed for security reasons. So he grabbed his gear from his truck, ran from the tunnel to the towers where he was ultimately killed in the collapse of the South Tower. And so his family wanted to honor his legacy and all those of our brave heroes. And so they created the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Speaker 2:And so it's grown exponentially since then. And so we help our nation's heroes, so we provide housing. So what we do is we have our Smart Home Program for our catastrophically injured veterans and first responder. We have our fallen first responder and gold star programs where we pay off the mortgages of those killed in the line of duty or in training that leave behind young children. And then our newest program is our homeless veteran program, where we're making the commitment to eradicate veteran homelessness in the United States Right.
Speaker 1:And that's the hot button that got me. So what I want you to know. I listen to the commercials and then we think about us. We give away vehicles to veterans during the year and so all of a sudden, I thought, all right, what if our recyclers at URG and Team PRP, which is this conference, ara, which is Automotive Recycling Association, if they start thinking about okay, now I have a van coming in. It's wheelchair accessible. Somebody had already used the wheelchair there. Some of them already have ramps, some of them have devices for handicapped people and some vans that we really are looking for for the villages, for the eradicating homelessness of veterans. That's what pulls on my heart. And when you and I talked on the phone, you were very kind and I thought, well, and when you and I talked on the phone, you were very kind and I thought, well, I'm one of your $14 a month people, or $11 a month $11 a month, $11 a month.
Speaker 1:I'm one of them and I've been on it for years. This is my fourth year now, but this is a program where you really give back to the community and URG really does that. So you, being on the podcast, you're accepting the vehicles and I want them to know during the year as more, next year, the year after, you'll be looking for vans for people to go to Walmart or so forth, you know, pick up their toiletries and all to come back to their veteran village. So that was the purpose of the vans. That was the thinking of how can we help out? Also, you have a car program yourself.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, we do actually so that you can volunteer a car. Yes, yes, yes. So we have a new car program. So if someone it doesn't matter where the vehicle is, the use of the vehicle. If you just want to donate it and help the foundation in that way, that's certainly another way to get involved.
Speaker 1:Yes, and the $11 a month. What's the best way for their because this is a listener that's maybe in Nebraska who's listening today where can they go to sign up for $11 a month?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I'll give you two great ways to go sign up for the $11 a month campaign. So if you want to do it yourself, you can go to t2torg Again that's the letter T, the number 2, the letter Torg and click on that big red button that says Donate Now and sign up for the $11 a month. However, if you want someone to assist you with it, you can call our main line 718-987-1931 and donate $11 a month, and if everybody donates $11 a month, we can help every single veteran.
Speaker 1:Exactly right, and, matt, you knew the number perfect. I can't thank you enough for being on the podcast. All right, thank you. Matt and we'll have a good ceremony here at URG in Orlando at the conference. We are at the URG convention right here in Orlando. George just walked by. George, tell our listeners where you're from.
Speaker 3:Hello, my name is George Nestorsov. I live in Belton, South Carolina, not too far from Greenville.
Speaker 1:Okay, the name of the location get sabotaged a little bit.
Speaker 3:Yes, so our name is Parts Box and originally we started in 2015 in Venice, florida. Then we opened up a location in Englewood, which is about 20 minutes away, and then, a few years later, we opened up a location in Belton, south Carolina, and then one year ago in Anderson, south Carolina. So we currently have four locations.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I want everyone to know. I called George on the phone to encourage him to come to URG. Are you glad you came?
Speaker 3:I am very glad I'm here Seeing this young man right here next to me. Oh yeah, Looking great.
Speaker 1:Now, George, some of the classes and I see you brought people with you, which is good, but what's some of the things you get out of URG?
Speaker 3:I think a big thing is networking. Yes, just seeing other yards, and, as it says in Scripture, iron sharpens iron. So one hand sharpens another. So here we see great men, great women, who encourage one another, give good tips and just say hey, keep going, keep doing this, and it really is encouraging.
Speaker 1:All right, it's far down and gives you good tips so I want to ask you yes, this is a short interview but I want to ask you if you had a guy sitting on the fence thinking about whether they should come to the next convention that's going to be in denver, what would be one of your tips that encourages a person that come that has not been here yet?
Speaker 3:I mean it's invaluable information. It is worth it, it's worth the time. Some people may say, hey, I can make a few dollars back in Belton selling a few parts, but over here it's multiplication, it's meeting people, it's information for your whole life. Fantastic, george. Hey, thanks.
Speaker 1:DJ. It's a pleasure, my friend, it's good seeing you and thanks for being on the URG podcast.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you, listeners, this is a great one. We have just walked by, we're at the URG conference in a beautiful Orlando, florida, and the number one guy, shannon Nordstrom, from Nordstrom's Shannon, how are you today?
Speaker 5:Wonderful, don't build me up that much. The number one guy, shannon Nordstrom. From Nordstrom's Shannon, how are?
Speaker 1:you today? Wonderful, don't build me up that much. The number one guy is sitting right beside me. No, my friend, I have to ask you this Tell us a little bit about your position at ARA, if you would. Yeah, no, we're excited.
Speaker 5:I'm the first vice president right now in Birmingham at our convention coming up here. This fall I'll become the president. Right now, Eric Wilbert is a president and it's great to be able to be in a position to get back to the industry, interact with other industries and be in those rooms to have those conversations. And working with URG, like we're doing more right now, things like this. It's exciting about the future for our industry.
Speaker 1:Shannon, the most important part of this little, it's a short interview and, folks, I was trying to pull people from the audience to talk to you why you need to be in Denver next year. So what's some of the tips that you give people? You're a speaker here yourself.
Speaker 5:Yeah, well, I tell you what, when I first started coming to shows in the late 1990s, 2000s, as a young man, a teenager, I didn't know what I didn't know and I knew what I knew. But just my horizons were opened up so big to be able to just think bigger than the window that I saw out of back in Garrison, south Dakota, we would never have been able to build our business on our family dairy farm, with cows and alfalfa and corn all around us, to have 80 employees and be able to service markets all across the country without being at places like this. I just got done listening to my friend, pat from Pam's Auto, talk about AI use, and it was amazing to sit there and just let your mind wander about what can happen very soon and what they're doing now and other places are doing now using AI. Things like that will continue to expand, and being at these shows is where you're going to find out about it. Otherwise, you'll be back sharpening the axe. I'm here sharpening the axe while other people are swinging it.
Speaker 1:Yes, all right.
Speaker 5:And my axe is going to be sharp.
Speaker 1:And one final question. Last question I want to ask you you have your son Riley here with you yes, I do and you have other people from Norselands. Why is it that when people call you on the phone, they come and want to visit Norselands 2.0?
Speaker 5:Well, we try to share as much as we can.
Speaker 5:You don't always have the time for everybody that wants to but we love to share because I learn when I share, when I share with other people, they share things back, and I'm like huh, never thought of it that way. And so, as long as you keep an open mind, the back-and-forth sharing is valuable for me. My son is here for the first time. I'm excited about that. Third generation of Nordstroms. We've got employees here that have not been to events like this before. I want to open up their window too, so it's not just me at the top thinking bigger If I can get more people seeing that, more people opening their eyes. I saw two of my employees sitting in one of the meetings and I'm like, okay, we're going to have a conversation when we get back and I want to hear what they got out of that and we can expand together because I'm not pulling the rope by myself that way, listeners, you've been listening to Shannon Nordstrom, first vice president of ARA and a wonderful dear friend of mine.
Speaker 1:First Vice President of ARA and a wonderful dear friend of mine, shannon.
Speaker 5:Love you, DJ, Love you buddy.
Speaker 1:You bet, oh, you know what we've got under the hood. Oh, that's right.
Speaker 5:Get up there, okay, all right, wait, hey.
Speaker 1:And I want to tell all our listeners Now we're up to a total of 9,000 listeners on a weekly basis. Nothing like your audience of 9,000 listeners on a weekly basis. Nothing like your audience. Shannon Nordstrom has 247 radio stations that carry your program. Tell them a little bit about that, a quick little bit.
Speaker 5:It started off as an infomercial and back then, when I think about it, it was a half-hour live infomercial. My mom had the idea. Local radio station put me on the air at 19 years old and it was crazy to think about it now and with the help of my partner, russ evans, who I brought in eight years later who manages our service center and friends that great friends that we made in that industry that were mentors to us to help us learn how to do.
Speaker 5:It's all self-syndicated, we did it all ourselves and now it's a nationally syndicated car talk show. We also have podcasts. We also have YouTube. It's called Under the Hood Show and we want to help consumers be better consumers of the automobile, and in the middle of that we get to talk the position that we are as an auto reseller. We see the body shop side, we see the new car dealer side and we can give people just straight good advice and then we have some fun doing it too, and so it's a two-hour show. We make two one-hour podcasts out of that show the live show and then that goes up on Westwood One satellites to be downloaded by stations all across the country. And now we've been slowly building up our YouTube audience too, doing live streaming on YouTube, Facebook. I think we've got it going on X now we're just trying different things to get out there, and in the middle of all that is the auto recycling story and so that's fun to do.
Speaker 1:You're a real gift. I can't thank you enough for being here.
Speaker 5:You helped me unwrap the gift.
Speaker 1:Yeah, god bless you. All right, thank you.
Speaker 4:URG can help you streamline your business for maximum efficiency and increased profits. Access powerful software and unique tools. Receive top-level training with industry experts. Network with hundreds of recyclers. Employ e-commerce solutions to boost business. Receive support, resources and discounts Starting at just $150 a month. It's the smartest investment you will make for your business this year. Go to u-r-gcom and click on Become a Member. Your path to a profitable future is just a click away. That's u-r-gcom.
Speaker 1:Welcome back listeners. This is the URG On the Go podcast. We're in Orlando, florida. A dear friend of mine that we've known a long time come by.
Speaker 6:Yes sir, yes sir.
Speaker 1:Name address. You know what location you're from and the whole story.
Speaker 6:My name's Gary Kahn.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 6:I'm from the past Raceway Auto Parts and now RTP Raceway Savannah, tennessee. Been in business for 35 years and coming to URG every year. Listening to DJ Harrington speak Years ago yes, but, gary, we've known each other.
Speaker 1:Now I'm going to say 20-some years. Yes, sir, at least, at least more than that. Yeah, now what I wanted to ask if the guy's sitting on the fence and he's thinking about well, should I come to URG? Why did you come? You've been very successful. Why did you come to URG?
Speaker 6:Well, you come and you come to educate and meet people and learn from them and ask questions and you know it's not trade secrets, it's just you know models of business and you exchange information and numbers and you just educate one another so you can become a leaner operation and help grow each other's operations.
Speaker 1:Yes, and it's been a good experience. You're extremely successful, but you picked up some good stuff from here.
Speaker 6:Every year. Every year you learn something new every year and every model works. It's so funny. It's just like you just keep adapting, and adapting, and adapting.
Speaker 1:All right, and what I want to ask you, if the guy's sitting on the fence and he's thinking, well, should I spend the money in investment? We have ARA going to be in birmingham, alabama, which is another good conference to go to. We have urg next year going to be in denver, may 7th through the 9th. But if the guy's there, what caused you to come to urg this year?
Speaker 6:seeing my friends. Yes, seeing all the same people. You see a lot of people.
Speaker 1:It's like a family reunion. It's a family reunion.
Speaker 6:Absolutely, dj. It's amazing and there's so much friendship and if you don't have it, it's kind of like a drug. To be honest with you.
Speaker 1:Now, this is a family show. Let's not talk about drugs here, Gary.
Speaker 6:But you just want to come back and see your people, your friends, the same faces and shake hands and see how each other's doing and break bread with them. I mean it's just amazing. Come back, Just keep doing it.
Speaker 1:You're a good man, Gary. Thank you for being on the you Are GI to Go podcast. Thank you, DJ. I appreciate your time. All right, Until next time. This is DJ.
Speaker 2:Harrington telling you have a safe good time with your time.
Speaker 1:All right, man, till next time. This is DJ Harrington telling you have a safe good time with your families. Love the ones you're with. See you next time on URG, on the Gold Podcast.