American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
From Tragedy to Training: Youth, Faith, and the Future of Towing
What if a single choice—choosing grace—could change the way we work the white line? We open with a raw reflection on public grief, forgiveness, and the quiet power of listening, then connect those values to the most practical lever we have: training that sticks under pressure. From youth engagement and more honest speech to concrete drills in brush-filled gravel pits, we explore how character and skill reinforce each other when the scene gets loud and the angles matter.
We welcome back owner-operator Michael Lard, who walks us through building an effective learning environment: partnering with a fire department for a professional classroom, then moving to field scenarios that mimic true recoveries—uneven ground, tall weeds, limited sightlines, and all. Michael explains why light-duty fundamentals scale to rotators and heavy-duty jobs, and why he often hires “green” talent to cultivate clean habits from day one. We get into the math beneath the muscle—rigging choices, load paths, and anchor strategies—while acknowledging the human side: humility beats bravado, and teachability can save a career.
There’s also a look at the ecosystem that makes operators better. Cross-training with fire teams tightens command handoffs and reduces chaos at scenes. Neighboring companies that cooperate during peak demand or holidays build resilience without sacrificing service. And yes—investing in classes and certifications for light, heavy, electric, and alternative-fuel vehicles pays off in fewer incidents, stronger retention, and a culture people want to join. We close with upcoming training dates and a reminder that your voice shapes this show: subscribe, share, and tell us who you want to hear next. If this conversation pushed you to rethink how you lead—or how you learn—drop a review and tag a teammate who should be in the next class.
You're on the train to success with April and Wes Wilburn. I'm DJ Harrington, the co-host, better known as the Toad Doctor. We're all on our way to the town of proper towing and recovery, along with our producer Chuck Camp in the studio. Don't go to the town of woulda, coulda, shoulda. You could have done this. You should have done that. Listen every week to thought-provoking wisdom from great guests. So if you have Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, Stitcher, iArt Media, or the number one podcast, or maybe Amazon, or wherever you get your podcast, turn in on Wednesday and be turned on all week long. If you are a State Association and watch your announcements or upcoming State Association news, or maybe a co-show that's coming up, let us know. Our podcast studio phone number is 706-409-5603. I'm proud to be part of a great team at the American Dome Recovery Institute. Let's make 2025 our best year ever. I will turn it to April and Miss. Thank you, DJ. As always, I appreciate your kind words. Appreciate you being here today. Yeah, of course we appreciate all the fans. Can't believe we have 20,000 uh subscribers.
SPEAKER_06:If you haven't subscribed to us, please hit that subscribe button. We really appreciate that.
SPEAKER_08:Um this is the first uh podcast that we're recording after the end up with Charlie Kirk and the moral service. We need to recognize that as a country, hopefully we maybe turned a corner and I don't know. Uh I think um it was a heal it was a change moment for the country, and hopefully we're headed in the same direction Um pray for uh his family.
SPEAKER_05:And I think the um actually a couple of points that I want to go on. We we've had a podcast before um back when mental illness, and this is kind of a mental illness thing with the crazy lunatic who shot him, but the youth of America, the young people of America, and that's how you know I'm old is I'm saying the youth of America are in a they're kind of in the in the midst of of the changing AI world and the computer world and not having as much human interaction as we did when we were kids. And um they kind of got left behind with that and with this movement Charlie Kurt is not somebody I really delved into before the assassination. I have watched I have watched a lot of his um bed when he could have. Um and he's engaged the young people because he is he was a young person, and two things that I've kind of forgotten about even. Those two words put those two words together and you you got something. Another thing I heard was saying what you mean without being me. And um those two things have stuck with me. That that ceremony that happened Sunday was I I listened to a good bit of it, I I went on like a little cover of the weekend and I'm like on that um through YouTube or whatever whatever I was listening to it on. And it and then just watching some of it as I when I got back home, it was amazing. But I I'm hoping we have turned a corner, but it's gonna be that next generation that I think a little bit older people. I think we're a little bit stuck in our ways and and I I hope some of the older people are turned a corner. But I think it's gonna be the younger people that this resonates with more hopefully that makes our world a better better world.
SPEAKER_06:We have several callers calling in on the city of mine asking you to find younger people and older people.
SPEAKER_05:Well, I am I am thirty-eight years old, so obviously I thought it was thirty nine. I can't keep track of these birthdays reoccurred so often and so many years um consecutively.
SPEAKER_08:But they have a way of doing that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, so to define it, teenagers and people in their early twenties, and anybody who wants to take that message and as a as a positive and what he's accomplished as a positive. Um, but it's probably gonna be the teenagers and the um the the people in their twenties. I think we're a little bit stuck in our ways. And it's hard it's harder for us to change as we get older. Um not impossi that impossible.
SPEAKER_08:No, yeah, that's a fact. Not impossible.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_08:Many different things come into play there.
SPEAKER_05:I think we get locked in and entrenched in what we think is the right thing, and sometimes we impose that a little bit too much on other people. So I think it's gonna be the the the younger people and that's that's my perception of it anyway, and that's my hope. JJ, what did what did you think about it?
SPEAKER_07:Okay, so twenty thousand listeners. So let me just share with all of you West and April already know that I studied to be a Catholic priest and because of my background I really thought the service was fantastic. I know uh Charlie Kirk was living, he had twenty some thousand chapters uh at the time of his funeral uh in Arizona with there was over a hundred thousand people trying to get into the auditorium. Uh he then had sixty seven thousand in that eight day span. And this morning when I went on the news, he had over a hundred thousand chapters of Turning Point USA on high school campuses and college campuses. The Vice President of the United States, J. Ban, said it best that in the last two weeks he spoke more about God in his presentations than he's ever had in his life. Today, as we're recording this episode, three people were killed in testimony. And the man who led off the presentation for the newscast said, Let's bow our head and say a prayer. That never happened before. And all of a sudden now they're having prayer. I myself thought Rubio, the Secretary of State, did a phenomenal job because he he talked about our Lord Tucker Carlson did a great job without notes. None of these men had notes. The people from Turning Point that were very, very close to Charlie had to have notes. When I spoke at my brother's funeral, I had to have notes because you're so close to him. And I think the big thing that Erica Charlie Kirk, Charlie Kirk's wife, who was Miss Arizona, who I believe has the most beautiful eyes in the world she has a degree from Notre Dame, a master's degree, a doctorate degree from Hillsdale's College. And I want you all to know that when she forgave this guy now I'm gonna tell you, Wes and April and our twenty thousand listeners and our guest who's gonna be on right after our messages I'm gonna tell all of you that on the cross Jesus accepted the forgiveness of the people that were betraying him and crucified him. And I want you to know when she forgave this young man it was phenomenal. I myself, as a good Christian and like I say I'm a Christian, I I don't know if I could forgive him. It's very, very hard.
SPEAKER_05:I will tell you that that speech was heartbreaking and heart mending all at the same time.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah. But I I thoroughly enjoy working with you guys. I thoroughly enjoy working in the town of the government. I thoroughly enjoy writing for the magazines in the past and writing for presently the professional magazine. But I'm gonna tell all of our listeners I think the time of forgiveness, a little bit of grace of of just listen to the other person. Do what Charlie Kirk did. Charlie Kirk had two ears and one mouth. He did twice the amount of listening that he did speaking. And we need to be a little bit more forgiving of some of our brothers in the towing and recovery industry. And one man said to me, Are you in towing and recovery? And I said, Well, I've been associated with them now for over 40 years, and I think the world of these people, they're independent owners, and a lot of them don't have education, but they have one thing they have street smarts, and they're wonderful, wonderful people. They'll give their shirt off their back, and the charities that code and recovery people have done in this country are phenomenal. So I think we should just have more grace, more forgiveness, and I too agree with April and West. I hope that Turning Point USA continues to grow. Tucker Carlson, as of this morning, he's going out on college tours, and Megan Kelly is going out on college tours along with Mrs. Kirk, uh, you know, Erica. So that's my input, West, in April. And uh we'll go from there. You you got it from the uh former guy who's coming to me.
SPEAKER_06:Well we hope it's a you know country and we continue to move forward.
SPEAKER_07:So depending on how close to when this podcast drops, you're listening to it. Probably you're listening to it right away.
SPEAKER_06:You're probably on your way to the Chattanooga show.
SPEAKER_07:We're gonna be there uh on October 9th and 10th for a two-day heavy duty class. The following weekend we'll be in uh Kansas City. Um one day late duty on October the 16th. Two-day heavy duty October 17th and 18th.
SPEAKER_06:Following weekend we'll be at Waffle Telling. That's an advanced level class. Um that's October 25th and 26th.
SPEAKER_05:That's an advanced level heavy duty class, correct?
SPEAKER_06:Yes. Also be in Enterprise Alabama, November 7th for light duty, 8th and 9th for heavy duty.
SPEAKER_07:This and all your train training information go to www.amto sign up.org. That's amto. A M Toe sign up. Wait a minute. AM Toe Sign Up O R G. Yes. Listeners hang around. We got a great interview coming up. We'll be right back.
SPEAKER_00:We also offer the National Tower Operator Certification, an independently sourced virtual testing program covering light duty, heavy duty, electric, and alternative fuel vehicles.
SPEAKER_07:Welcome back, listeners. You know you're listening to the American Tow and Recovery Institute podcast with Wes Wilburn, April Wilburn, DJ Harrington, the Soat Doctor. I wanted to tell all of you, we are available every week. Make sure you download and listen. We're available on Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, Stitcher, The Big Guy, iHeartMedia, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcast. So without further ado, bring it back to April Luther.
SPEAKER_05:TJ, thank you for that uh very hearty uh introduction. We would like to welcome back Michael Lard with COVID forever. Michael, introduce yourself. You've been on our podcast before, but just in case we have a new listener or two uh that hasn't heard us before or heard of you, which is kind of hard to imagine, wouldn't you uh give us a little brief intro into yourself?
SPEAKER_01:Uh my name is uh Mike Lard. I'm from Oak Hart, Indiana. I own and operate Tom's 24-Hour Time Incorporated. Um third generation um in this business. Um I worked for my boss for about six years until he retired and took over about four and a half years ago, and um just enjoy being on the podcast and helping West with the training world as well.
SPEAKER_07:Michael definitely stepped up over the last few years, hosted classes, and the company that he took over uh 30 years ago was instrumental in helping bring education to that part of the state of the country and that part of the state of Indiana. So we're definitely appreciative of the long-term relationship. So uh we did a class there a couple a couple weeks ago now. Uh tell us a little bit about the class. I know one of the things is the professional classroom that was provided.
SPEAKER_01:Uh yeah, Oslo Fire, they're always, you know, give us welcoming arms when we ask for their training room. Um it's secluded from everyone else. Um they got um a kitchen net for us and stuff to eat lunch at, um, the equipment that's needed for you know the projector screens and um the seating and everything. They like I said it's uh it's top notch, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, oh it is.
SPEAKER_07:I you know obviously I do saw the hand screen the way that I just computer. And uh any of the audio visual and stuff, they have their IT guys helping uh get hooked up and just a first class operation. We're super appreciative of that.
SPEAKER_05:And it also shows what a great partnership we could have with the um the tower and the fire could have with each other too, and work like that together.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, which is very important in my opinion.
SPEAKER_05:It's crit it's it's it's we don't understand that sometimes, but it's it's critical. You know, it they help you out with the classroom, um, and then when you guys are on the side of the road and there's a handoff between what they've done and then what you do, it can make it just so much more mainstream, it's so much more professional and and under the circumstances still pleasant. So the classroom was great. Um, you guys had the IT people there to help with with what you did and how with and was professional. So that was phase one of that.
SPEAKER_07:The students have said well.
SPEAKER_05:Right.
SPEAKER_06:So you and then have so sponsored lunch. No, I I thought he was asking you, sorry.
SPEAKER_05:No, no.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so uh Saturday um we uh sponsored the lunch for the guys, and uh uh Sunday Trues Towing sponsored lunch. Um and then each morning uh we sponsored Dunkin' Donuts and Coffee for everybody. And then when we're at the end of the class, we uh kept everybody hydrated with water and Gatorade and whatnot.
SPEAKER_05:And then as far as truth towing, they've always uh worked well with us too with the training, and I think they've partnered with you um from time to time too, haven't they?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, we we work pretty close with each other. Um we're we're about 45 minutes to an hour away from each other between offices, but uh a lot of our customers, you know, cross paths and intermingle, and there's you know what I mean, we have that relationship where we, you know what I mean, it's still business, but we're still friends and we're able to work with each other and do what's right for you know the modern public.
SPEAKER_05:And that's a good situation to be in too because oftentimes when you're that close together, that's that's always the case. You you see the you see the bigger picture with having having your friend in the next town or two over that sometimes they it could actually help you out.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly, because it I don't I don't care how big you are, you're you're s there's gonna become a day or you know, many days in your lifetime that you don't have the manpower equipment and you got people to take care of. So you g you gotta it don't matter if it's tony or in your personal life, you're gonna have people to lean on.
SPEAKER_05:And that works both ways because I'm sure they also have um have the opportunity to lean on one of you guys as well.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. You know, anything personal that ever goes on or you know, whatever comes up, I always get a text from Travis or Rob that, you know, if we need anybody to come down and help or cover while we're doing a Christmas party, or you know what I mean? They're it's always back and forth. We always offer to help each other.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, that's a relationship that's been going on for decades, and it really is super healthy for both sides as far as what I witness.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yep. Um Rob and uh Trev Rob True and Mike Don Sulovic, you know, they had the same relationship as well.
SPEAKER_05:And you care and you carried that on, um which was easier easier for you to do maybe because you had worked for Mike Don Sulovic for for those years and and watched that happen and seen that happen. You had some good examples.
SPEAKER_06:Exactly.
unknown:Yep.
SPEAKER_05:So as far as um as far as the training goes, um meeting for the class that was held at your plane. Um what is your input and what is your input into that? What what what did you take away from that? Your biggest highlight of that?
SPEAKER_01:Um training it, training it um at all excites me. I mean I love to see people, uh, men and women getting involved in um trying to grow in this industry and not just doing it the fly by the seat of your pants uh kind of ways, but um it was it was a great class. There was there wasn't a lot of people there, but you know, in a way that's almost better sometimes because we need more hands-on. But it uh it was a great class from um from the classroom out to the hands-on. One of our local uh excavation companies offered one of their gravel pits up to us, and we were able to um do the light and medium heavy-duty um rollovers, you know, down an embankment with uh you know weeds that are four or five foot tall. You know, you got the full experience that you don't get when you're you know just doing recoveries and in a parking lot in some training classes.
SPEAKER_02:I was gonna say I thought I thought it was a great uh hands-on experience, and everybody was end up and trying to help and rig and asking questions, and and Jay Two did a great job at you know answering questions and helping people too.com at 910-747-9000. That's 910-747-9000. We look forward to serving you. Welcome back, listeners.
SPEAKER_07:You are listening to the number one podcast in the tow and recovery industry. It's on the towing news channel, but this is the American Town Recovery Institute podcast, Wes Wilburn and April Wilburn, and DJ Harrington, the Toad Doctor. I want to remind all of you. I can't thank you enough. 20,000 listeners and growing up to 21,000. This is just it's it's breathtaking that enough of you have been kind enough. But I want to remind you, just like Wes did in the first segment, remember to like, review, and share everywhere. Share with your friends so that you can hear another industry expert like Michael from Tom's 24-hour going. Remember to like and review. And if you want to hear somebody like Michael, by all means dial our hotline number here at the podcast center, 706-409-5603, and tell Wes and April who you'd like to hear, and we'll do our best to get them on the next podcast. So without further ado, April, I'll turn it back over to you.
SPEAKER_05:Thank you, DJ, very much for that. Uh, Michael, I think um I've done this with Wes for about 14 years as far as like being in the business, coming with them a little bit, seeing seeing the actual impact it makes when uh a student one day show up and they they they get that first that first tissue that they see that says, oh, okay, this is what I'm here for. I admire the personal choice that a student makes at attending their class. Number one for the class of the class or the travel expense, and then also the time. You you spend sixty, eight hours a week at your job, or if you're an owner at your business, and then you decide to spend two days to sit in a class. And I just think that that needs to be mentioned, talked about maybe even expanded a license. You were at a point in time where you were just uh an individual sitting in a class. What was your course class like?
SPEAKER_01:Um it was uh it was mind opening. Um, like I said before, you you you know, you get into it and other companies that you know, there's companies that do train, there's companies that don't. And um it's nice to actually understand what you're doing as well as you know knowing how to do it. And that's that was what hooks me on it is you know, I mean, getting that solid evidence of what's going to work and how you should do things.
SPEAKER_05:And sometimes I think it's validate, something that you've already simulated, and then I think positive sometimes it says, um maybe I should be doing it this way instead. Do you have any examples of that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, um my approach to that is um you can you can be taught a million ways to do something, but there's always another way to do it. And there's um you can always learn from other people no matter how long you've been doing it or your business background or you know how long your family's been doing it. There's always things to learn in life.
SPEAKER_05:And and then at these classes where you usually have like a mixed amount of people coming from different places too, sometimes you would also spend a class with the other students, um, pick up pick up a tidbit or two as well.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the camaraderie is always good too, because you know, we'll be shown something, or guy will guys will point out, well, we've done it like this and the reason why, and it's it's it's like I said, it's it's nice to see things from a different point of view.
SPEAKER_05:Different points of view are a very vital, vital thing, and if we're able to actually do that in other aspects of life, then I think that we're just ahead of the game.
SPEAKER_06:I I strongly agree. Five plus five equals set. ten, so does eight plus two. That's correct.
SPEAKER_04:DJ.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:You I know have you ever been to any of us in training?
SPEAKER_07:I know not that oh yes. And th that's the reason why I asked Mike who were Michael about who was in attendance. Listening to the people uh Michael for me he could read the phone book and I'd listen to him because he has such a great presence. But I I know for a fact what he just said, I hope everybody wrote it down. Dr. Wayne Dyer probably said it the best between all three of us me and Mike and Michael and Wes change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change. And by Michael sharing that we see somebody do a presentation and we pick up so many tips. I've gone to Tim's training three different times and Michael I have got something out of it all three times. It has been phenomenal. And what you experienced this past weekend there are guys that come over to you and they say thank you from the bottom of their heart because they know because of the training that your company provided and your friends provided and Wes and PD, you know, did all this training they are safer today when they work the white line. They are better operators they are better mothers and fathers. They are just better in the industry because they attended the class and they pick up tips every time just like you said every time you go you pick up another tip that you learnt from another guy who may be a seasonal guy you know and I know they learned from you so I thought it was excellent.
SPEAKER_06:So Michael uh we're seeing that some in some areas of genuine trends that folks don't want to invest in right duty operators.
SPEAKER_08:You're someone that definitely invests in all the operators at your operation you want to talk a little bit about that why why you feel that's important?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah um to me I I think it should start from like anything else and you know from the bottom up you don't learn to run before you can walk and I don't uh I don't think a guy should you know come into the industry and go straight to a rotator from the things you learn in the light duty class the map the rigging um your angles everything else it's all the same whether it's from a flatbed to a rotator um all the all the the weight changes the objects change but it's all the same principles in theory there's a little bit more advanced things when you get into the bigger stuff but you have to start at the bottom and work your way up in my opinion to be the best operator you can be and I strongly support um training the the light duty side of things um and I honestly prefer to have somebody green walk through the door that's never had any training or been in the industry period than have somebody that's got a lot of bad habits if you want to put it yeah that's the mindset of many I um definitely depending on their background uh will you there's some knowledge of mechanics have a little um knowledge of trucks no telling experience can be beneficial many I probably just feel that way.
SPEAKER_05:Michael what you talked about before as far as like um getting somebody that's green is better than maybe having somebody who has experience the bad habits to try to break and a the bad habits of trying to break uh that could take so much effort because it they may not under actually understand that they're not doing it the correct way or the right way because it still works, you know whatever they did, whatever bad habit they just did, didn't nothing happen, no calamity happened. There was nothing that happened that was no thing and over the shortcut. There will be a time hopefully hopefully not a time but there may be a time in the future that that backfires and then just trying to victim of that habit maybe green is a brand new operator coming is a better idea than um someone who's got experience.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah I I I agree I agree with that 110%.
SPEAKER_05:Having somebody with good experience though that that wants to come one and that is still a little bit teachable, a little bit pliable is not bad. That would that would actually be a benefit. Yes that's sometimes hard that's sometimes hard to know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah and that's what I mean it it all boils down to um you know the old saying if you think you know it all I'm gonna go stand over here because you're about to kill somebody.
SPEAKER_05:I've heard Wes say that nobody's confidence classes. He said let me get my body out of the way.
unknown:Yep.
SPEAKER_01:And that's one thing that I pride um like Wes was saying you know going back in time with Mike Donselovic is that's that's the way he was when I came to work for him. He had years you know three times experience that I did you know because of the ages you know that we were he was in the 60s and I was in my 30s and uh but he always had the attitude that he could learn from me and he could teach me things and that's that's the way the industry needs to be. Just because you own the place doesn't mean you think of everything you know everything or you know I mean you have the best way to do so. You have to keep an open mind.
SPEAKER_06:You want to tell us about training and what your family feels about it.
SPEAKER_07:My brother has an answer. My brother says if you think it's expensive to train your people and have them leave try not training your people and have them stay I've heard that one before too and I'm gonna tell you Michael my brother hires a lot of guys out of the military for he has a very large construction company in New Jersey and every six months Caterpillar has a class that he will send two to three people every time and if you don't do well the first time you go again so he'll take these military people that have drove tractors and all these power equipment in the military he hires them he sends them to Caterpillar and he says to me DJ to me it's an investment because they come back they don't lose a finger or a thumb because of some stupidity that they do and that way my medical bills stay down it's an investment and a lot of the people that I send to the school they think back on their way home from the school and said if Mr Harrington thinks this much of me to invest in me I'll stay with him and he keeps people that some of them were gonna quit but because he invested in their training they actually stay with them. So it proves that learning has so much to do with this and um and he always refers to it as an investment. He invests in his people just like you invest in your people and when people say you know Harrington construction in New Jersey it's like Tom's 24 hours it's you're so well thought of that it comes naturally and when my brother you know his sons now because my brother's in heaven but when his sons are out there all they have to say is I'm with Harrington Construction they don't say I'm John Harrington or Billy Harrington. They just said I'm with Harrington Construction and they say oh what a fantastic company when I talked to Tunnel to Towers they said are you related to Harrington Construction? I said yes I am I'm related to him they said oh what a fantastic company it's because he educates and invests in his people so Michael when I went with Wes and Ron Moore was there and there were so many firefighters that were on the property and I sat off on the side and Wes was worried about me because I was in between my walker and my rollator I was trying to sit down so Wes said told me sit in his truck I sat in his truck and a firefighter sat next to me in the truck they get a break and I said how's the training and the firefighter said I've never learned this much in this short a period of time we should be working together. It was so nice that this firefighter believed in cross-training and he said I've learned so much from West and from the people here it was phenomenal and I did the same and I wrote an article in American Tony magazine called the golden hour that we had to get them out of the vehicle within an hour to the table in the hospital to save their lives so it was from the to keep them stable till we get them to the table that was the article but I learned that by listening to Wes and Ron Moore do a firefighter group along with firefighters. They were doing cross training that day I want to thank our guests today Michael thank you for taking time out of your busy April DJ great job as always appreciate our listeners look forward to seeing everybody uh at Tennessee if you're going and if not be safe out there until next week.
SPEAKER_08:Thanks for listening