American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
Beyond the Classroom: Why Hands-on Towing Experience Matters
Hands-on towing training is revolutionizing the industry, and JT Reesor is leading the charge. As a second-generation tower who operates a 75-ton rotator by day and teaches advanced recovery techniques across the country on weekends, JT brings unparalleled real-world expertise to every classroom.
The magic happens when theory meets practice. Working alongside Wes Wilburn at the American Towing Recovery Institute, JT has transformed how towing professionals learn by creating immersive, realistic recovery scenarios. Rather than simple demonstrations on flat parking lots, students experience the challenges of tail wraps for leaning trailers, pick-and-swing methods for tractor-trailers with elevated drives, and other common roadside emergencies—all under expert guidance.
What makes these classes exceptional is their inclusive approach. While rotators have become increasingly popular over the past decade, JT recognizes that many companies still rely on conventional equipment. That's why their training incorporates techniques for both advanced and traditional tow trucks, ensuring every operator leaves with practical skills they can immediately apply.
The podcast reveals the extensive preparation required for these transformative experiences—securing appropriate venues, arranging casualties for demonstrations, coordinating multiple trucks, and ensuring host companies can maintain their operations throughout. This behind-the-scenes effort culminates in training that's changing industry standards.
Perhaps most exciting is the introduction of proficiency testing, where operators must demonstrate their ability to safely handle equipment, mirroring standards in related industries like crane operation. This represents a significant step toward professionalizing towing and recovery work.
Ready to elevate your skills? Check out upcoming training opportunities in North Carolina, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, and beyond. Whether you're handling light-duty vehicles, heavy equipment, or preparing for the growing number of electric vehicles on our roadways, these hands-on classes will transform how you approach every recovery.
Welcome one and all to the American Towing Recovery Institute podcast. I want to remind all of you that the American Towing Recovery Institute aims to promote professionalism, safety and education within the towing and recovery industry. Remember, we provide training and certification programs for towing operators. We also advocate for industry standards and best practices, support research and develop all new techniques, including research and development of electric and alternative fuel vehicles With extensive research, with the EV Clever app, available now on Apple and Google Play stores, Foster cooperation among industry stakeholders. Please, if you need to contact us, we're always at wwwamtowri G Now. Here is Towing News Now.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, dj. As always, you're way too kind with your introduction of me. I certainly appreciate it, appreciate everything you're doing to help the American Towing Recovery Institute. Boy, what a week. We just got back from our first heavy duty school of the year and it was really a great school and I'm going to talk about that a little bit with our guest today. I'll talk about it a little bit as well, but before we do that, dj, how are you feeling today?
Speaker 1:I am doing excellent. Thanks to all the prayers and well wishes from our listeners for the Towing News channel, it has been excellent and I am doing fantastic.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, you mentioned your health situation. We definitely had a lot of people commenting like you got a lot of people out there that care about you and love you and are worried about you.
Speaker 1:It was a scary that you and love you and are worried about you. It's very nice. Your Toe Doctor is still around. I am still around. I'll be down at the Florida Toe Show and I will be also three blocks away at the Recycler Show, so we're doing two shows the same weekend.
Speaker 3:And speaking of Florida, JJ, this is April here. Happy to be with you guys again. Florida's going to be beautiful in April, but it is gorgeous here. It's 80 degrees here today in North Carolina. I don't know how your weather is, but we are doing fantastic here.
Speaker 1:In Atlanta. It is 75 degrees, so you're warmer than we are. Yeah, it is 75 degrees, so you're warmer than we are.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's perfect weather.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's beautiful out Nice blue skies, it's very, very nice and, of course, florida. I'm excited because the Tunnel to Towers on Friday at noontime we're giving two vans away and thanks to our listeners it has been really a very big blessing and we'll be giving two vans away to Tunnel to Towers to help eradicate homeless veterans.
Speaker 2:So, DJ, I want you to talk about that because I found there's two kind of, in my world, different people that I talk to two different kind of people when it comes to Tunnels to Towers. One of them is like myself and my wife. We watch a fair amount of cable TV, cable news in particular, and we know exactly who Tunnels for Towers is and how they came from out of the ashes of 9-11. So families of wounded warriors and soldiers have been doing a wonderful job with the A1 plus rating from the different people that look into charities like that and they advertise quite a bit. Then I have a group of friends that are a little bit younger, most of them. They don't watch any cable TV, cable news, etc. They don't watch anything with TV, cable news etc. They don't watch anything with commercials for the most part, and so they're not as aware of the charity. Can you give us a quick overview of the organization maybe?
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, briefly, just like Wes said, time of Towers was created after 9-11. When most people are running out of the building, firefighters were running into the building and we had lost 306 firefighters that day alone, not counting all the other business people that were inside the building alone, not counting all the other business people that were inside the buildings. So this started by helping those families, and then it grew and it started helping everybody who's a first responder. So the police officers in New York who were killed by two bullets from newcomers. They were then taking care of paying off their mortgages on their homes and it led to helping first responders. So now they help firefighters, they help police officers, and now they're buying buildings, old hotels, and converting them into centers to eradicate homelessness of veterans.
Speaker 1:So they started one in Houston, one in Florida, we have one in Atlanta here where I am, and it's right next door to Six Flags. So when I went down there, they took the old Western Hotel that was abandoned for two years. They have bought the property and on the first floor is the PSTD Center, there's an employment center, there's a job occupation location, and then on the second, third and fourth floor of the building we'll actually house, 96 homeless vets, so it's a really great program and these vans are going to those centers. So because of this podcast, we already have a van set for delivery five months from now out in Colorado. We have a van up in New York ready for when they do one up in upstate New York. So, little by little, this has really grown and thanks to the listeners of the podcast, it has helped tremendously.
Speaker 3:It also goes to show you how Tunnels to Towers not only have expanded but have evolved with their charity as to it initially was for firefighters because of the 9-11 horrible tragic event, and it's went to veterans, and it's went to homeless veterans and it's just, I think it just keeps improving and getting better and getting better.
Speaker 1:And the thing, wes, that you brought up is I had a friend who made a comment and he said what's the difference between Wounded Warriors and Tunnel to Towers? Tunnel to Towers, not one person in an executive position is paid a dollar. They're all volunteers. Executive position he's paid a dollar. They're all volunteers. At Wounded Warriors, the head of Wounded Warriors last year made $306,000. It's right on the end. So this is a company. Just like Wes said, it's the second best charity in the United States and I'll be happy to tell our listeners Tunnel to Towers is number two. St Jude's Hospital is number one, that's really a company to be in there 6.8% of every dollar, and Tunnel to Towers is 95.5.
Speaker 2:Well, that's great that you're going to be there and I can recognize you at Florida at the Recycler Show in Orlando in April. It's really awesome work you do for those folks, dj, I'm really proud to associate myself with you.
Speaker 1:Well, I want all our listeners to know on the banner hopefully they'll see on Fox Television that night it'll say the American Towing and Recovery Institute was a big cause of this success, of what's going on down there. I thank you, wes, and I thank all of our listeners.
Speaker 2:That's very humbling, very humbling.
Speaker 1:And we thank you, dj, we really do so we got a great show today, great interview coming up.
Speaker 2:We're going to talk about training in the interview and we'll be talking about training now. Here's our current schedule.
Speaker 4:On March. We'll be in Morganton, north Carolina, on the 21st with a two-hour EV course at Liberty Towing. The 22nd to the 23rd in Liberty Towing we'll have a two-day heavy-duty rotator course On April. The 4th we'll be in Long Island, new York, with the two-hour EV course at All-County Towing and on the 5th and the 6th at All-County we'll have an advanced level light-duty course. On the 10th to the 12th of April, that is, the Florida Toll Show at the Host Hotel Hilton Orlando. On the 10th we have a free, with registration to the convention, one-day heavy-duty rotator course with electric and alternative fuel. On the 11th we'll be with DJ Harrington at the Tunnels Towers event in Orlando, florida.
Speaker 4:On the 22nd to the 24th of April with the STA of Massachusetts. We have three separate EV classes Massachusetts. We have three separate EV classes One's at Wind Street, massachusetts, at the Wind Street Service, ted's of Fayville in Southboro, massachusetts, and Dorenzo's Towing in Worcester, massachusetts. For those classes you register at statewide towingorg In May. The 16th will be in St Louis for one-day light duty at Cardinal Towing. We'll also be at Cardinal Towing for the 17th and 18th for a two-day heavy duty with rotator course.
Speaker 4:The 19th through the 21st there'll be, a hazardous materials technician course with Perry Beattie at Cardinal Towing in St Louis, Missouri. Course with Perry Beattie at Cardinal Towing in St Louis, Missouri. In June at Lake George, New York, from the 6th to 8th is the Esther Tow Show. We'll be glad to see you there. We'll also be hosting the live auction at the Esther Tow Show on the 6th. On June 20th we'll be in Medford, Oregon, for a light duty course at Star 24-Hour Towing. The 21st to the 22nd we'll have a two-day heavy duty rotator course at Star 24-Hour Towing in Medford, Oregon, and October 3rd to the 5th we'll be in the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area of New York for a three-day extreme advanced level heavy duty course. And that is a look at training. Let's take a break and we'll be right back with today's guest.
Speaker 6:For electric and other alternative fuel vehicles. We have developed an app that gives you all the manufacturers 411 for when that 911 happens. Whether you are a fire tower or police, we got you covered. To find the EV Clever app, go to your Apple or Google Play store for a 30-day free trial.
Speaker 4:We also offer the National Tow Operator Certification, an independently sourced virtual testing program covering light duty, heavy duty, electric and alternative fuel.
Speaker 1:vehicle light duty heavy duty electric and alternative fuel vehicle. Welcome back listeners. Of course you know you're listening to the new Towing News channel and this is a great program. Today, I want to remind all of our listeners. We're available on Spotify, itunes, pandora, stitcher, iheartmedia, amazon or wherever you get your podcasts, and I want you to thank you. We have over 18,000 listeners on a regular basis and it's all because of Wes Wilburn, april Wilburn and the great listeners that tell their towing friends all about our channel. So, without further ado, wes, let me pass it back over to you for our great guest. We'll be back one more time.
Speaker 2:Thanks, dj. Today our guest is JT Reesor. As many people know, he's been working with me as an associate instructor for over a year now and has come a long ways and helped take the program a long ways, and I'm excited about what you're helping us do with the program and your involvement. Jt, reintroduce yourself to the guest for us and tell us a little bit about yourself, if you would please.
Speaker 7:I'm JT Rees, from St Louis, missouri. I certainly worked for J&I Hauling, which is a parent corporation to now eight towing companies around the country. Most of them are located here in St Louis, with the exception of one we have in Naples, florida, second generation tower. I was born and raised in the industry, started out answering phones. I was born and raised in the industry, started out answering phones, worked my way up through the shop and up to where I run a 75-ton rotator, and currently the 75-ton rotator is your day-to-day driver.
Speaker 2:but you also drive a light duty to help cover police calls, don't you?
Speaker 7:Correct. Yeah, I have a 75-ton that's my daily foot heavy if I need it. And then I still take a light duty roll back home with me every night.
Speaker 2:And you're also serving the capacity of fleet manager at this point, don't you Tell us a little bit about the size and the scope of that part?
Speaker 7:of it. So we have 130 reasons to put it all together I kind of oversee that and five of our full-time mechanics making sure that everything stays up to date on the service work and make sure the guys got their trucks to run each day.
Speaker 2:So you definitely have your hands full on a daily basis, and yet you make time to travel with me around the country.
Speaker 7:Yep, it's kind of my escape on the weekends is to sneak a look in this place. It still works, but it's more enjoyable to see the light bulbs light up in the classroom.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's amazing how the vibe in some of these classes as that sharing of information happens. It's one of the things I love about doing what I do in this industry, so I give you a lot of credit. By being still involved day to day, you've taken our hands on to a whole different level keeping us current and update and helping us focus on different subjects. We tend to focus a lot more on telling situations and whatnot now.
Speaker 6:I have a question to ask. Maybe I ask the question, but we come back to it a little bit later on. What got you interested in the training part of this, with with your life being so full personal life and then your job being so full with all the responsibilities that you have?
Speaker 7:um, so I started at a young age with training. Um, like I said, I was born and raised in a business, so my old man believed in it. That, um, if you're gonna be good at so, if you're gonna do something, you might as well be, you know, be the best you can be at it. And so he started sending me to training classes, wes. I went through one of Wes's classes when he was with rec master at 13 years old here in St Louis and it kind of just um, you know, stuck with me on going through the classes that I could get to and it's just really, um, it's a waste of time if you don't pass it along in the industry, in my opinion.
Speaker 6:Um, the new guys and there's something to be, there's something to be said about that too. I don't know if people quite think of it in that way, but you're right, you got your experience, which might be a little bit different than, um people from other parts of the country.
Speaker 7:That that you could, that you could share, yeah and that's the nice thing with traveling and doing this stuff. You know, whether you know, here in missouri we call it. You know, go get me a shackle and other parts. They say give me a d-ring, or you know, or a or a clevis.
Speaker 6:I've heard clevis too, yeah.
Speaker 7:Clevis is another one Mm-hmm. You know, but just the different terminologies that we use around the country but also the different styles you know, trying to take that and develop into the program to where we can deliver the best product out there for our guys.
Speaker 2:It's very rewarding. It really is Talking about delivering the best product, the hands-on we accomplished together, you taking the lead, me just being there and helping a little bit. But last weekend, well, first of all we got to talk about the host. The host is what wins or loses the game and Cody and Heather Post. Last weekend down in Alabama I was at their yard. Of course we work with Griffin and Griffin are part of the sponsorship of the class, but Cody really did a great job with things, didn't he? Jt.
Speaker 7:Yeah, cody and his crew, Cody and Heather's crew that got on the CP record had a great job. I mean, it was the hands-on portion of it was as realistic as we've had in a long time as far as scenarios that were set up. And so it was. It was great, you know, and we had, you know, griffin and griffin was there as well and we used, you know, able to use multiple trucks from multiple companies to complete scenarios, multiple scenarios going on at one time to where um basically set up like stations, to where they can go, you know, divide the class up in groups, to where everybody gets a chance to participate in it.
Speaker 7:And then, with that is that you know everybody, you know we break them up in groups, we split them up like we did. You know, each team goes to their station, they learned how to rig it there and then, before that scenario is completed though, the whole class goes over and goes through that scenario together to watch the recovery actually happen. And so everybody, you know they might not be hands-on in every scenario of it, but they're getting to see and hear that in here, that see the demonstration on how it comes out or how the you know how it's upright to perform, and to me that takes it to another level, to where they actually you know they're getting more bang for their buck, as opposed to just seeing one or two recovery scenes done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that was in big part because the students were willing to work hard and pull together to make that happen. We've got an upcoming class in North Carolina. It's going to be just a couple days from now, as this podcast drops, but we're going to achieve the same thing there. We already have extra tow trucks. Hunters is one of our founding members in Charlotte. They're sending employees and I asked Rick if he could send a truck, so that's one of the extra trucks, and the folks that are putting it all together Danny and whatnot with the Tow Association are working hard to get us multiple trucks. So we're going to try to do that same thing multiple workstation, multiple trucks. We also did some proficiency testing that we hardly ever get to do and I want to talk about that, but at this point, I think, think we got to take a quick break, so, jt, can you hang around till after the break yes, sir
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Speaker 1:Welcome back listeners. Of course you know you're listening to the number one podcast in the towing recovery industry, towing News Channel and this is a special episode. Jt is doing a fantastic job. I want to remind all of our listeners to like and review and share everywhere. Always welcome people that are brand new to the podcast. I thank the new listeners on today. If you're a state association and you want some news put on the podcast, dial the hotline line right at the podcast center, 706-409-5603, and Wes and April Wilburn will do their very best to implement it into the next podcast. So, without further ado, I'll send it back over to April Wilburn.
Speaker 6:April hey, dj, thanks for welcoming me back. I think part of the success in part some of the success for Opelika is what's happening for the class that Wes and JT are going to do together in Morganton, and that's a lot of the communication prior to it, a lot of the planning between you two, the host, other companies around. That's also what's happening in Morganton, north Carolina, this week. There's a lot of back and forth going, a lot of things that people don't see when they walk in the door and sit down at that class. There's a lot of legwork that goes into that. What can you say about that? Jt?
Speaker 7:Yeah, people, I don't think there's a lot of people that realize that there's a huge undertaking to put on one of these classes.
Speaker 7:As far as you know, finding a meeting room that's suitable for, you know, up to 45, 50 students, um, getting sponsors for lunch, so that for the meals, so that, um, we can all be together, because for our for lunch, because not only at the class you get to learn the knowledge, knowledge from us and we learn from the students as well but the amount of networking that can go on at these classes, so like a sponsored lunch, makes it great to where everybody can stay together.
Speaker 7:They can tell their work stories or talk about different jobs that they've done and different things Down to, you've got to have the casualties for us to use outside is what can we roll over, what can we hook up to to show towing procedures and stuff like that. And then still, you know, each company that we go into to do these at, they still got to be able to run their day-to-day operations, because we all know towing is a 24-7 business and, kind of like the fire department, never know what's going to happen until the phone rings. So it's a huge undertaking to put one of these classes on.
Speaker 6:Yeah, wes used to say if you want to get busy, let me host a class here and that same weekend it just seems like everything just all riles up then.
Speaker 7:Oh, pretty much yes. So without the constant communication back and forth weeks prior to it, it would be a real challenge. Last weekend was great because a lot of times we're coming into town and we're trying to set up for these. But you know, cody and Heather had everything. All the scenario was basically set up to where I didn't have to go out in the field and set them up in the morning where class was going on.
Speaker 2:So that made it even better to where I actually get to be involved in the classroom portion of it as well, and that's so important because what we're trying to do is take what we talk about in the classroom and put it to life in the field and I have to say JT's done a wonderful job of that and by being in the classroom, get some more opportunity to interact with the students there, prep for things that we're going to do outside on the hands-on when a certain point's made, so that just makes the flow of the class go that much smoother. Speaking of hands-on, we definitely have people that are stepping up to help you at the different classes. Cody Post was just wonderful helping last weekend, but the reality of the situation is we could use some more help in that regard, can't we? Jt?
Speaker 7:Oh, absolutely. I think that you know, with us trying to push forward, be more progressive thinking with running scenarios and multiple stations at one time, I think it would be great if we could. You know we can add. You know we've got some guys around the country that have talked about it, but if we could add some guys that are interested in coming on to the team and traveling to a couple of schools with us a year and doing part of the hands-on portion with us, it'll help take our program to the next level. If any of you guys out there that are listening or interested reach out, we'd definitely be interested in talking to some guys if they're interested in doing some training with us absolutely, um, starting one of the starting points with that is have a resume put together.
Speaker 2:Uh, in this day and age is easy enough to get that done. But that is one of the starting points. And it's guys, gals, um, we're open-minded and open to working with whoever has a passion and an interest in this industry. So, as far as the hands-on one, you know. Just another thing I want to talk about real quick. We're still doing some of the big recoveries, but we're also doing what we feel are more common jobs, uh, that happen in the day-to-day. Tell them about the trailer that we did, the, the tractor trailer in the ditch, loaded, leaning, how you know. One of the things about about that job was the drives on the upper side were up in the air. So it was a real deal. Tell us.
Speaker 7:You know, we simulated a tractor trailer that ran off the road. We truly had a ditch that it was in, so it was leaning the tandem to the tractor on the right step. So with that scenario we were able to utilize a tail wrap in the trailer and teach that, which is a common practice around the country to do that the way we were able to do it there, we did it to where we pulled the casualty up next to the wrecker. So, on the interstate, on a four-lane interstate with a shoulder, you're only shutting down one lane so you keep the wrecker. So, on the interstate, on a four-lane interstate with a shoulder, you're only shutting down one lane so you keep the traffic moving, so you can mitigate some of the traffic congestion out there while you're working these incidents.
Speaker 2:And that was one of the things that was accomplished was we sat and measured out lanes. So, it was a real world scenario. We also took that. I don't remember if it was the same trailer or not, I don't remember that, but we had this set of drives like they cut the corner too short.
Speaker 7:So, yeah, it was again. We used the same trailer for that, but fortunately enough we were able to back it off the edge to where they did simulate basically simulate the big you know the corner. Few shots short and, uh, drop the tandems on the left side in the ditch, again bringing the tractor up in the air. So we're able to utilize just a pick and swing method for the most part, with just using the 35 ton straight stick. Rotators have become more prevalent in the last 10 years. A lot of people have them, but there's still a lot of companies that don't have them, so we try to utilize techniques with bow-style trucks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great point. And the rotator? That is a great point you make, jt. While there is a lot of rotators out there, there's a whole lot of people that don't have them. As a matter of fact, at one point we asked for hands up and I don't know. 20, 25% of the class operated a rotator.
Speaker 7:Yeah, I think it was out at 34, 34. We have 34, 36 students. This weekend I think there was only four or five of them in the class that we had that actually were. You know, we're running a rotator, so that's. I think that's one thing we try to do is to get a feel for it when we're doing a hands-on. Okay, what are you guys running on a daily basis and kind of you know, so much is the program geared towards what the people in class are actually what they're running.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, we pride ourselves on that, we absolutely do. Now we're going to be out at y'all's place. Y'all are the host of the next two or three schools down the line here in May and we're going to have six days of education out there On May 16th. On the Friday, we're going to be there for the one-day light duty On Saturday, sunday, the two-day heavy duty, teleno recovery At that on those schools we'll be at y'all's home location where we have more than just parking lot, right where we can get something stuck in the back.
Speaker 7:Yeah, we've got an area out back there where we do some training at that. We can simulate some. We'll make real-life scenarios back there, as opposed to just, uh, laying a tractor trailer over in a parking lot. So we can, you know we can we can come up with a tail wrap situation there or, um, you know, some some hard pulls on some true, you know, true recovery work. So we're not just driving something across asphalt or gravel parking lot. We're not going to get the resistance factor in it.
Speaker 2:Right. Simulating real life is super important, no doubt about it. On May 19th, 20th and 21st, we're going to have a three-day training class from Hazmat Responder Network. From Hazmat Responder Network, this is HazWopper training for cleaning up small petroleum spills, etc. For more information, contact Perry Beatty at 877-356-9767.
Speaker 6:877-356-9767.
Speaker 7:You made a number again 877-3566-7. Give me the number again 8-7-7-3-5-6-9-7-6-7.
Speaker 2:So, JT, talk about what you got planned for us out there.
Speaker 7:We'll have a tractor trailer. It'll be loaded with 40,000, 40,000, 44,000 that we'll use for not only an upright but the tail wrap scenario. We'll have a trash truck. I'm working on trying to get a tank trailer.
Speaker 2:And what about the possibility of maybe a big machine, a track machine, we could get stuck.
Speaker 7:Working on that still trying to get one of those lined up to where we can do some heavy winching. Working on still trying to get one of those lined up to where we can do some heavy winching. Working on still trying to get those lined up.
Speaker 6:So that's for your two-day heavy. What about your light duty?
Speaker 7:Light duty class. We'll have multiple vehicles for towing, demonstration purposes and recovery scenarios with those as well, as we should have a couple EV vehicles there as well.
Speaker 6:I was going to ask about that. Will there be EV scenarios with the heavy-duty training as well?
Speaker 7:Depending on we don't have. So right now we don't have a lot of, we don't have any of the EB heavy stuff in our area. But I know, um, the Florida show, when we do the Florida show, we're going to try to, we're going to incorporate some of that into the Florida show. But as far as if I'm going to have any in St Louis or not, I don't think so because we don't. We don't have any in our area.
Speaker 6:You don't have the accessibility to it for the most part.
Speaker 7:No, I've got a. You know they run a lot of C&G and L&G trucks up here, but as far as know, ev has not made it to the area on the heavy side.
Speaker 6:Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Well, JT, I want to thank you for being a guest today. Any comments you want to share with us?
Speaker 7:No, just that. We had a great class last weekend in Alabama and I think we're going to move on to North Carolina in two weeks and I think we're going to continue on the success that we had this weekend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually, when the listeners are listening to this, we'll be in North Carolina in three days because they listen to it the day it drops. I've got that whole week delay thing happening there and then we'll be two weeks later. We are in New York City, up in Long Island, and then we'll see everybody at the Florida show after that and you'll be there with us right at Florida. I will be All right. Well, thanks for being here today. Thank you for everything you're doing to keep the program going, and not only going, but moving forward and upward in a great direction. And you know what JT we do. Got to tell them one more thing.
Speaker 2:I forgot one thing to talk about Last weekend because of the equipment we had. We did what I'm going to refer to as proficiency testing to actually prove that each operator that was there could operate the equipment. That's one thing I get asked about when other industries look at the training that we're providing for the towing industry, in the crane industry, in order to hold one of their certificates. You have to prove you can operate the equipment and we did a whole scenario this weekend that every single student stepped up and operated it during a concrete mixer upright. Any thoughts about that, jt, I think that it's.
Speaker 7:You know, that's one thing that's going to set, you know, standards going forward is that you know it's no longer just's. You know that's one thing that's going to set, you know, standards going forward is that you know it's no longer just. You know you can't just show up to a class and not be hands on. It requires everybody to get involved in it and to be, you know, to be involved, to show that they can in fact do what we're showing them to do. Like you said, the crane industry. I do know that they've got a proficiency test. They actually have a hand-on portion of it where they've got to pick things and run them through an obstacle course, basically to show that they can run the crane, to show that they can run the crane, and I think that's something that's coming for our industry. That should become a standard eventually, in my opinion.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can't agree strongly enough. I'm sorry to kind of eke that out at the end, but it was one of the subjects that I wanted to talk about and it got away from me when the conversation was going earlier. So again, I thank you, JT, Appreciate all your help, Looking forward to seeing you in a week from now in North Carolina, DJ April, the entire team at the podcast studio here at the office and all our hosts and students that are attending.
Speaker 2:We can't thank everybody enough Until next time. Be safe out there. Thank you.