100 Episodes! Taking a Look Back

We’re celebrating a major milestone—our 100th episode! In this special installment, we look back on the moments and conversations that have meant the most to us over the past four years. From paradigm-shifting ideas to memorable interviews, we reflect on what we’ve learned along the way. Most importantly, we thank our listeners for tuning in, sharing the journey, and helping make this podcast possible.

If you have comments or questions about our podcast, you can reach us through this link. To discuss a project or talk to one of our engineers, call 800-348-9843.

Transcript

00:08

Hello and welcome to Make It Clear, a conversational podcast about all things related to water and wastewater.  I'm your host, Angela Bounds, and I'm joined by my co-host, Shawn Rapp.  In each episode, we'll tackle a relevant topic with facts and expert opinions and make things clear. 

Angela: Hello and thank you for joining us again.  Today, Shawn and I are recording our 100th episode. 

Shawn: It is so hard to believe we

00:37

hit a hundred episodes already. 

Angela: It is surreal to say the least. It's just crazy. Like, I mean, we just kind of decided to talk and let people listen to us. (Shawn: Right?) Really. I mean…

Shawn:  It's sort of how it came about. 

Angela: Yeah. We were just like, Hey, you know, podcasts are kind of a thing. It'd be another medium that we could utilize to share information and help people out.

01:07

And like, hey, we could give this a try. Like, what do you think? And now here we sit, how many years has it been? 

Shawn: Well, I think we started this in 21. 

Angela: So four years?  (Shawn: Yeah.) Four years, a hundred episodes. (Shawn: Yeah.) We've talked to a lot of people. We've covered a lot of topics. And so as we were, you know, kind of brainstorming, like you don't want your hundredth episode to just be like, wah-wah. Like, you don't just want to...

01:35

What I mean by that is you don't just want it to be what you always do.  

Shawn: Right. It’s got to something special. It's 100 episodes. 

Angela: And so for us, as we were discussing, like, what should we do for our hundredth episode, we decided that we really wanted to talk about our favorite parts of the podcast, other than getting to sit here and chat with each other. (Shawn: Right.)  And our colleagues and people that we care about and respect.  But like, what were our

02:05

top three, we decided on three a piece, moments on the podcast. (Shawn: Yeah.) and kind of why they meant, why they meant stuff to us, just to kind of give you guys a little insight into who we are a little bit more.  

Shawn: Yeah. So something fun. 

Angela: Yeah. Yeah. You listen to us every other week, but this is, this is a little, you know, it's a little different. Let's, let's talk about, let's talk about our favorites.  

Shawn: Absolutely.

02:33

Angela: All right. So third in line for you is... 

Shawn: You know, I listened to a lot of episodes and went back and I should say I re-listened to lot of episodes over the last couple of weeks, just getting ready for this. (Angela: Yeah.) and I think the one that struck me the most as my third favorite was Paradigm Shifts. (Angela: Yep.) I really liked that episode basically because it focused on changing the way people think about wastewater. This one was about

03:04

how we looked at our ongoing efforts to changing the way that we think about water and how we use it.  And I know that we did an episode of Bob Rubin that kind of touched on some of this, but this one, we talked, it was just the two of us talking about that and how we look at water differently, how we clean water differently, how we are now looking at reclaiming nutrients because we're looking at water differently or wastewater differently. How we're looking to repurpose wastewater

03:32

as another resource. And I think most importantly from that episode, it talked about stewardship and how we're responsible for that. It doesn't just happen. We have to be responsible for that and make that happen.  I think we're, as a society, I think we're moving in the right direction.  And I think that message is getting out there.  But I definitely think that it does take a lot of repetition and a lot of education to get people to really

04:01

be aware, especially those who don't use septic systems or aren't on septic systems and don't give it a thought. (Angela: Right.) That whole flush and forget mentality that we've talked about several times, it still takes some effort to get people to understand that what they do matters even if they're not on a septic system. (Angela: Yeah.) So I think that's why I liked that episode so much. (Angela: Yeah.) Just talking about that effort to change people's minds and really get them to think about what they're doing. 

Angela: Yeah.

04:30

So stewardship also falls in line with my third favorite episode, which is the one that we did with Bob Rubin. (Shawn: Yes.) who has been a huge influence in my life. Having known him, I don't even know how long.  I’m 51, and I think I started O2WA conferences when I was 20?

05:00

(Shawn: Yeah.) and that would have probably been the first place that I met Bob. Because he would come and... (Shawn: Yeah.) present at the O2WA conferences. But... (Shawn: Yeah.) sitting down and talking to Bob about stewardship and people's responsibility... (Shawn: Yeah.) was definitely a highlight for me. (Shawn: Yeah.) I have a ton, just a lot of respect for Bob and the work that he has

05:28

tirelessly put into the industry in an attempt to move it forward. Always thinking about others, always giving of himself, always giving his time and his knowledge and sharing, sharing, sharing a message that is very much in alignment with my own and the message that, you know, Hal and my dad preached forever and ever. So that was...

05:56

that was definitely a highlight for me was getting to sit down with Bob and chat with him.

Shawn: Yeah. I know that I heard his name just working here, but I'd never had a chance to actually meet him until we had him uh at WEFTEC.  was the first time I'd actually met him.

Angela: Yeah, ‘cause we interviewed him twice. We interviewed him at WEFTEC and then we did a, an individual interview with him afterwards. 

Shawn: Yeah. And I know I'd talked to him beforehand, you know, just getting ready for that episode, but to actually get a chance to meet him.

06:22

I have so much respect for him as well. I really enjoy…

Angela: He’s just a special man. 

Shawn: He is. He really is. 

Angela: Yeah. His passion comes across. (Shawn: Yes.) It definitely does. It just seeps in. (Shawn: Right?) It seeps in. It's fun to be around Bob. 

Shawn: Speaking of the WEFTEC episodes, that was my second favorite. 

Angela: Okay. So the whole series? 

Shawn: The whole series. 

Angela: So you- Let me get this straight. So we decide to pick three-

06:51

episodes and you decide to sneak in a whole series of episodes. 

Shawn: I have to tell you, it's really hard to separate them because they were all unique, but they were all very similar.  The reason I liked them was because they were very organic.

Angela: They were very, yeah. 

Shawn: Some of them were actually off the cuff because we hadn't planned on a few of those folks being there, but they made wonderful guests and we were so fortunate to have them on the podcast.

Angela: I think that Bob actually helped us with that, didn't he? 

Shawn: He did, actually. 

Angela: He was like, hey!

07:20

(Shawn: Right?) You should really talk to this person. 

Shawn: Exactly. (Angela: Yeah.) So he was very key in that. But those episodes, I think, were very informative and very educational, even just for me. (Angela: Yeah.) Sitting and listening to those guests talk about their subjects and so on and getting to know them. (Angela: Right.) Hearing more of what they had to say. And I know we did some follow up episodes with a few of them, but

07:43

it was just, it was a great time to be there in that atmosphere. You know, the, if you listen to this episode, you can hear the crowd around us. (Angela: Yeah.)  as we're standing at the table. There was just this lively buzz in that conference. And it was so much fun to sit there and just spend a few moments with each one of those people. So yeah, that was my, that's my number two. 

Angela: Yeah. Well, speaking of education, my number two, I guess, I guess I technically picked a series for my number two as well.

08:13

After I gave you a hard time for it and then I'm like, oh wait. So my number two is the first few episodes that we did with Jeff. And I guess one of the reasons that it doesn't for me ping that it's multiple episodes is because we recorded that in one shot.

08:33

(Shawn: Yes.) Or, I think we had to do it over two days, actually. 

Shawn: We might have, yeah. 

Angela: Because I think that we had to come back because we were going so long. 

Shawn: Yeah. And that was the Orenco story. That was the first…

Angela: It was the Orenco story. 

Shawn: Yeah, the first three full length episodes. 

Angela: First full length episodes that we did were the Orenco story. And just sitting down with Jeff Ball, whose father started the company with my father, and running through the history with everybody. Like, how did we even get here? (Shawn: Yeah.) How did, how did all this happen?

09:03

Like how, what? (Shawn: Right.) Like it, it was really cool to sit down and do that with him. (Shawn: Yeah. Yeah.) And it was our first foray into it. had no idea what we were doing.  You'd, you'd, I'd never hosted a podcast before. Jeff had never been a guest on a podcast before you had never edited

09:27

or co-hosted a podcast before. We did not know what we were doing at all. We can say that now because we're four years down the road. But we didn't. We were literally just sitting down, having a chat and running through the history. And where did things come from and how did it start and how did we get here and how did this product come to be and like, why did we do this? And you were working in garages at first.

09:57

(Shawn: Right.) Just running through all of it. (Shawn: Yeah.) And so for me, that's, that's my second favorite. 

Shawn: I think what made that special for me, because I really enjoyed those, those three episodes as well, was I thought I knew a lot of the Orenco story. (Angela: Right.) I learned SO much more. 

Angela: Until you sit down… and there's so much more like until you sit down. But Jeff and I, we go, oh, wait, like, like, wait, we used to have Christmas parties, but they were down on the

10:26

covered tennis court. (Shaw: Uh huh.) Like, or the, I think he actually shared that the boys came home from college and their dad had covered… so they had a tennis court out on their ranch and their dad covered it while they were at school. They came home and oh, guess we're not playing tennis.  There was no way you were ever parking a car in my parents' garage because stuff was always being built.

10:56

(Shawn: Right.) And that is actually the only thing I think that could top for me sitting down and talking about this really cool thing that my dad and Jeff's dad built. The only thing that could top that for me is sitting down with my dad. (Shawn: Yes.) If you know my father, you know that the last thing that he wants is to be in the limelight.  He is a very, very humble man. (Shawn: Yes.) And he doesn't, he doesn't do interviews.  He's never really

11:26

like that. The only way you could ever really get him on a stage is if he were presenting. (Shawn: Right.) And then you were sure to learn by fire hose. And if saw him in a conference, he probably went over by about 15 minutes.  

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: In his allotted time. 

Shawn: Yeah. And that's the funny thing is I listened to that episode as well. And oddly enough, that's my number one episode. (Angela: Yeah.) But just listening to you talking with him about that and how people would come just to hear him.  (Angela: Right.)

11:56

even knowing that he was going to be going overtime by 15, 20 minutes or whatever because he had 120 slides in his slide deck, you know, and he only had 45 minutes to talk.

Angela: It’s true, he only had 45 minutes, but he's going to fit them in. 

Shawn: That's right. (Angela: Yeah.) And your father made the comment, well, some of those slides only take 20 seconds apiece. 

Angela: He does. Yeah. 

Shawn: I'm thinking to myself… 

Angela: It's not the 20 second slide. It's the one that he's expanding on. 

Shawn: Exactly. And so even some of those that could take 20 seconds for one of us,

12:24

he's always got something else he can add to that. (Angela: Yes.) It makes it much more impactful. 

Angela: Yes.  Yes.  Yeah. So for me, I don't, I don't know what would ever be able to, to take over the number one slot for me. 

Shawn: Yeah. I would, I would agree with that. I had a hard time choosing that number one just because I really enjoyed the episodes with Tristan and with Jeff. 

Angela: Yes.  Yeah.

12:55

Shawn: But even though that I am closer in age to Tristan and Jeff, and I probably related a little bit more with JB.  Just because I think we had more in common.  The one with your dad was just so special. (Angela: Yeah.) And I enjoyed that one just a little bit more. (Angela: Yeah.) Given the fact that this is somebody who is, he's so humble, but so knowledgeable and wants to share that information. Even after he retired, he still said he wants to pour into people.

13:25

Angela: He does.  He's meeting people for coffee. He's helping anywhere he can. 

Shawn: Yeah. He continues to pour into people with this knowledge that he has of the industry in the hopes that we will take that information and take it even further.  And I really love that.  That really resonates with me. 

Angela: You know, I get to… being as humble and as

13:51

introverted as he is, he and I have had conversations where I've been able to tell him how proud I am of him. Right. But to get to do that and give people a glimpse of who he is and like how proud I am of him. (Shawn: Yeah.) Like it's not something you really talk to people about, right? (Shawn: Right.) You don't go around singing that from the rooftops. I'm proud of my father.  Like we don't talk about it, but

14:20

you know, I want people to know that because he's never going to talk about what he's done. (Shawn: Right.) He won't do it. (Shawn: Right.) But I will. (Shawn: Right.) Cause not everybody can say that. (Shawn: No.) Right. Like it's a really, really special thing.  I got to work with my father for 40 years.  I got to watch him build something. I got to watch him work his tail off.  I got to watch him achieve.

14:50

And then I get to share it with people. It's super special. 

Shawn: He had a line in that episode that I really, really liked. He said, what do we do to bring some real science to the wastewater industry?  And I love that. That was their aim in the beginning was there was a whole bunch of… little bit of this here, a little bit of that there. Some of it was pseudoscience, some of it was science.  Some of it was just way out there. What do we do to bring some real science

15:20

 to the wastewater industry that we can replicate over and over again and prove that it works. And I, yeah, that really hit home for me. 

Angela: Science is very much a thing for him. (Shawn: Yes.) That's not real. Well, the internet said… he hates that phrase. He is a researcher though. We were talking about something political the other day and he said,

15:50

he said something and I said, that's not how that happened.  You should just research it.  And he goes, okay. And the next day I get this like very long email because he has researched it and he's like, oh my gosh, you're right.  And he wrote me like exactly what happened in the situation. 

Shawn: Yeah, that sounds so much like him.

16:18

Angela: You can take the man out of work, but you can't take the work out of the man, I guess. (Shawn: Right.) Cause he's still doing that. (Shawn: Yep.) He's still building things.

Shawn:  Yeah. He probably will forever. 

Angela: He’s still working. He's still doing all of that. So, so that episode just will always hold a special place in my heart. Yeah. It's my number one. 

Shawn: There we go. 

Angela: And it's your number one. 

Shawn: That's right. 

Angela: All right. So we plan to do this for a little while longer. 

Shawn: Yeah. As long as the people let us. 

Angela: Yeah. Yeah. So

16:47

thanks for being here.  Thanks for always listening.  If you haven't listened to the episodes that we discussed, go back and find them, because they're pretty special. But as always, thank you for listening.  

We want to thank you again for joining us today.  Before you go, don't forget to subscribe where you listen to podcasts so you're notified when new episodes are posted.  Also, you can leave your comments or suggestions through the contact link on our website, www.orenco.com. Until next time, have a great day!