From Flight Lines To Job Sites

Jet noise, Humvees, and a weather station might sound like an odd path to construction leadership, but that’s exactly where Alicia’s story takes us—and why it sticks. We sit down to talk about growing up with limited family ties, finding belonging in the Air Force, and discovering that “voice” isn’t just confidence; it’s responsibility when pilots are waiting on your call.

Alicia breaks down the real work behind the “weather observer” title—tactical support with Army units, maintaining deployable systems, even mastering Humvee driving—and how those stakes forged communication, poise, and process improvement instincts. Then we get real about transition. She calls it “optimistically naive,” the belief that corporate America will instantly value mission-first leadership and initiative. Instead, we unpack how to translate military experience into business language, avoid being misread as a threat, and prove value without burning out.

From rebuilding a childhood home to earning a construction management degree, Alicia moved through roles as project engineer and superintendent, learning to coach early, protect standards, and keep a team moving without hiding from tough conversations. Today, she runs a consulting practice with two engines: a fractional, co-op style compliance backbone that helps small contractors win and deliver federal work, and a veteran-focused program that equips construction firms to reduce risk and raise resilience. We talk suicide risk in the trades, what leaders signal by their habits, and how to design structures that build hope instead of draining it.

We also meet Admiral, her service dog, who detects hypervigilance and medical shifts before she does and supports mobility when back injuries flare. It’s a powerful case for practical accommodations and dropping the stigma around tools that work. If you care about veteran transition, construction leadership, mental health at work, or building small-business capacity to compete on federal projects, this conversation offers both hard-won lessons and actionable steps.

Enjoyed this one? Follow and share with someone navigating the jump from uniform to hard hat, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

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This episode is brought to you by Memorial Ranch; A place where for our veterans and first responders to find rest and relaxation while they prepare for their next mission: LIFE

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If you're a military veteran in the construction industry, or you're in the construction industry and support our military vets, and you'd like to be a guest on the podcast you can find me at constructionvetpodcast@gmail.com , or send me a message on LinkedIn. You can find me there at Scott Friend. Let's share the stories and motivate others!

Chapters

• 0:39 Host Welcome And Setup
• 2:00 Alicia’s Roots And Early Family Life
• 7:30 Finding Structure And Voice Through Service
• 9:56 Why The Air Force And Weather Operations
• 15:40 Army Support, Humvees, And Tactical Weather
• 19:03 Lessons In Voice, Authority, And Briefing
• 21:00 The Civilian Transition And Hard Reality
• 27:00 Reframing Skills For Corporate America
• 31:30 Renovating A Home And Choosing Construction
• 36:54 Starting At The Bottom Older And Wiser
• 41:54 Building A Business To Help Builders
• 50:44 Mental Health, Purpose, And Leadership Signals
• 58:06 Why Veterans Thrive In Construction
• 1:03:16 Pride, Resilience, And What Fuels The Work
• 1:09:06 Admiral The Service Dog And Real Support
• 1:15:46 Resources, PAVE, And Final Wrap

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:39

Let's take it. All right. Hey, welcome back, everybody. Uh, today's guest is somebody I'm really excited about and I've been looking forward to talking with for a while now. It took us a minute to do this. Uh, but Alicia is a former U.S. Air Force vet who spent the last 20 years, correct me if I'm wrong, in the construction industry. Is that right?

SPEAKER_02: 1:06

Yep, 20 years is a good estimate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:08

Yeah. Serving in multiple roles, uh, navigating a space that hasn't always made it easy, I'd say, especially as a vet. Um, and we're going to get her perspective as a woman in a male-dominated space as well. Uh, we're going to talk about where you're from, uh, why you joined the Air Force, what your role was, and much more. So I appreciate you being here.

SPEAKER_02: 1:28

Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. And um I think we deserve a gold star for being persistent on making this happen with as long as we've been trying.

SPEAKER_01: 1:38

It's like two months, maybe, maybe more.

SPEAKER_02: 1:41

I think it's been more than that.

SPEAKER_01: 1:42

Probably, but no, I'm I'm stoked because we connected a while back um on LinkedIn, and I know you've checked out some of the shows. So I really appreciate that, and I'm excited to get you on. Um, you've got a cool perspective, so I'm I'm stoked to get into it. So let's uh let's start at the beginning. So, where are you originally from, Alicia?

SPEAKER_02: 2:00

Originally, I'm from Southern Oregon, actually. Um, but I moved to Arizona when I was in grade school. That's my dog playing with his squeaky toy over there.

SPEAKER_01: 2:14

That's totally fine. It is we're recording this just so everybody knows. This is the week before Christmas, even though we're gonna release this in 2026. So hopefully it's an early Christmas gift for the dog.

SPEAKER_02: 2:23

Yeah, yeah, he's good. Uh his zoomies are usually short-lived. So um, yeah, so I consider Prescott, Arizona, actually, to be where I grew up. Um, and I went into the service from there. So kind of from the Wild West to a different type of Wild West.

SPEAKER_01: 2:45

Yeah. So tell me a little bit about like family life, values, influences, kind of what what shaped you growing up?

SPEAKER_02: 2:52

Oh goodness, you know, that's a good question. Um, I would say my my connection to family most of my life has been very minimal, to be honest. Um I lost my mother when I was very young. I was five. And um the family was kind of fragmented anyhow. Um so I grew up with my dad and my brother, which is one way I kind of rationalized that I've always been comfortable in like the male-dominated fields and areas. Um that just felt more uh familiar and comfortable to me. So um my closest relative growing up was my grandpa, and I would just keep in touch with him by writing letters. So, of course, you know, I was the favorite grandchild because I kept in touch that way. And um really beyond that, you know, I've got some some aunts and uncles out there, but um nobody that I'm really close with, unfortunately. Um so I would I would speak to that in a way that uh a lot of veterans come from that position, and that's one reason why we find so much comfort in the military is because it's like you walk into an instant family, and uh really I would also say that uh making those connections as a young adult um is is a little bit easier, right? Like I have a whole bunch of elected family that I made from early times in the service, so um I still keep in touch with a lot of those people today.

SPEAKER_01: 4:45

Yeah, no, that makes sense. I I think uh it was a shock for me. It was the first time I was on a plane when I went to boot camp. And I I didn't grow up in like a small town per se. There was probably man, I think when I left there was like 3,000 people, maybe. So it wasn't huge, but it certainly wasn't like you know, one horse town kind of thing, but it was a shock because you get all these people from these different socioeconomic backgrounds and uh you know different family histories and upbringing, so it's wild. But yeah, I I that resonates with me as well, kind of making friends. I can remember making friends with guys from California, and I'm like, man, why did they wear their socks so high? And they were like vans and black socks. I'll remember that for my first command. Um, but anyway, um, so were you always somebody that who kind of leaned towards structure, you'd say, or or hard work and leadership, those kind of things? Because that's that's kind of comes naturally uh to a lot of vets, I'd say when you're out, but do you think you were that way before you went in?

SPEAKER_02: 5:44

Oh, absolutely, yeah, because um my dad grew up well, my dad was in the military, so like the glory stories were always about his navy days, right? Um, so I felt like my best way to like connect to him was by by being a hard worker, right? Like by trying to make myself into kind of that military self. Um and I I'm not quite sure how well that worked, but it gave me a great foundation to just like decide who I was gonna be as a person and a character. And so I've always been a very hard worker. Um that, you know, also to be said about that, I think sometimes um we let that be a little bit too much of our identity, especially in the in the veteran community, right? Like we feel like our value is based in how much we do for other people. And um it takes time and intention over the years to understand that that's not that's not where your value comes from, but it's a good spot if um that's kind of how you determine or decide who you want to be as a person.

SPEAKER_01: 7:11

Yeah, and I think I've said it before, I think that kind of rubs people the wrong way that haven't served sometimes because I've I know I've I've talked about it in the past where I think a majority of us get out where we like we just want to help. That's our biggest thing. We want to be, we want to serve and support other people. And a lot of people that haven't served go, are you trying to take my job? Like, man, stay in your own lane, kind of thing, and rubs people the wrong way, and that's honestly not where our hearts at. But yeah, I know what you're saying.

SPEAKER_02: 7:37

Um absolutely, yeah. I so I totally appreciate that you bring that up because I just I just um well I'm currently going through a rehearsal of a presentation that I'm gonna be covering for a um a mental health conference, and something I touch on during that is is that point exactly of like if there if there is an organization or confidence or accountability in a in a structure or excuse me, in an organization, like a construction company, and and a veteran comes in and let's say like you know, they just need resources to get their job done. If they're not able to find the resources by asking other people, then they're gonna take it upon themselves, typically, to just go find what they need, right? And along the same vein, if they're on a team where nobody's leading, I think they're also naturally try to step in and lead. And that's definitely viewed as um a threat to a lot of people. Um to be honest, I think that's a big part of my story um in the construction industry is that due to the fact that I was resourceful and not afraid to just like step in and try to get things done, you know, sometimes that's viewed as like going around the system. Whereas I felt like I was given no other option because I need to get my responsibilities fulfilled, right?

SPEAKER_01: 9:13

Yeah. Yeah, I think a lot of people get that analysis paralysis, and it's like, oh, everything has to be perfect. But a lot of vets have that, I'm gonna just give it a shot. I'm gonna try. I might fail, but I'm just gonna go. Like, we got to push forward, we got to get the mission done. Um, so speaking of that, the whole mission. So I want to talk about the Air Force a little bit. Um what what led you to join the military in the first place? Sounds like your dad had a big influence. I know mine did. My mine was a Vietnam era Navy guy. I can remember reading through his uh his keel, the the whole deployment book. I'm sitting here looking at mine. I got mine sitting on the shelf too, and I've read through it with my daughters. Um, so that that was cool seeing the the the history behind it, uh, the tradition. Do you think that's kind of what led you down that path?

SPEAKER_02: 10:00

Yeah, absolutely. I well, that and the fact that I grew I spent, you know, my young childhood in Klamath Falls, and there's an airbase there. So the jets were always zipping around, and it was back in the 80s, so you know, they were allowed to break the sound barrier back then. And um I just got super um excited and motivated about the idea of being in the Air Force when I was young. And then as I went through high school, I was considering going to college. Um, the ROTC folks definitely came after me, but I didn't feel like I had enough understanding or like parental support to even understand if that was truly an option for me. So I um once I realized college wasn't going to be an option for me, because I was told flat out, you know, I wasn't gonna have any kind of assistance. Um my my stubborn self figured, oh, okay, fine, I'll do it on my own. But then um after I filled out all the financial aid paperwork, it was discovered like, you know, my dad made too much money for me to qualify for anything. So I was like, this is the perfect sign then that I'm just meant to go in the Air Force, just like I thought I was gonna do when I was a kid. So it was kind of a I mean, I I really saw it as kind of a calling and it was just something I was supposed to do.

SPEAKER_01: 11:34

Very cool. Yeah. So you're looking at all the different branches. Why the Air Force? I mean, so you were near the base, your dad was a Navy guy. What was it the base that had that influence on you, or why the Air Force, you think specifically?

SPEAKER_02: 11:48

Yeah, I would definitely say it was the base. And I loved um flying or the idea of flying. I had only been on a plane twice in my life uh before then. Um, so I'm not quite sure how my heart got so set on the idea of me piloting anything, but still to this day, I'm trying to finish up my license.

SPEAKER_01: 12:10

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_02: 12:11

Yeah, just for fun. And um, yeah, maybe it was a little bit of because my grandpa was also in the navy, so maybe I just wanted to be different. I don't know. Yeah, you know, they have jets in the Navy too.

SPEAKER_01: 12:26

Yep. I remember growing up and seeing Top Gun, and I didn't realize the process. I don't know if my dad just let me flounder on purpose, but I remember walking to the recruiter's office at 17 going, I want to be a pilot. They're like, uh, hey bud, have you gone to college? Like you look pretty young, and not knowing that whole process. Um, but you know, I I I just joined before I was a CB, I joined my first couple years, I was an air crewman, so I was kind of the next best thing. Um so what what year did you join? And and what was your job? Let's talk a little bit about what you did in the service.

SPEAKER_02: 13:04

Um, yes, I joined in '96, I believe. Maybe I maybe I delayed enlisting in '96 and didn't go until 97. I don't know. It's blurry. Um, but I ended up being a meteorologist because I definitely went in with that idea. I was gonna be a pilot. And of course, the recruiter was like, oh yeah, your pathway to that is go in as enlisted and then go to college while you're in or go to the academy.

SPEAKER_00: 13:39

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02: 13:40

And I was like, of course, that's what I'll do. Ironically, I did get that opportunity. I I passed on it, but um I knew that I still was interested in aviation. So, of course, you know, you go in and you get to pick your jobs in your little in your little skill set or uh score set that you what is that test? The ASVAD test. Yeah. So um I had a couple I could select from. I wanted to do avionics, but I had to lift 70 pounds up off the floor and lift it over my head. Um I actually did get myself to the point where I could do that, but then at MEPS, I got caught in the mind games of like I just counted plates on the weight machine. And I just said I was done when I had seven plates, but they weren't 10-pound plates.

SPEAKER_01: 14:34

So no.

SPEAKER_02: 14:37

They're playing some mind games, but um yeah, so I couldn't lift the weight, is what they recorded, so I had to pick a different job. And um, I thought about ATC, but then meteorology was intriguing to me, so that's where I ended up. So I ended up um actually being a weather observer attached to the army the whole time I served in the Air Force.

SPEAKER_01: 15:04

Oh wow, yeah, and there's a lot of jobs out there, uh, some in the special operations community, some like what you did, that are the only Air Force person attached to that army or Navy or Marine Corps unit. So it's it's really, I think the Air Force doesn't get a lot of credit with how diverse they are. Um, and you're probably like me. I'm like, man, I wish I knew about all these jobs before I went in, but they're good at sales. I'll tell you that. The recruiters and like you said, the mind games. Um, what tell me about uh because I don't know much about the meteorologist job specifically in the Air Force. What in a normal day look like for you?

SPEAKER_02: 15:45

Well, I could tell you what a normal day of being Army support looked like, which was much different than than if I would have been like Air Force weather that was focused on Air Force, it would have literally been me wearing my blues to an office every day and essentially doing an office job and going home. So I'm so glad that I actually got attached to um army support because we got to do a lot more of the tactical work. And eventually, you know, after I got my meteorology observing skills down, then I started um maintaining all of our tactical equipment, including the Humvees. So I got to do a master driving course and learn how to drive the Humvees, and then eventually I was training other people in my unit and um also maintaining all of our weather equipment for deployment. So, like if we would go on training exercises and such, because we were mostly out of uh Fort Carson, Colorado. We had a ton of, you know, we went to I can't even remember the name of the big training exercises in Fort Hood. But anyway, we went to all of those big major training exercises, like down in Texas, as well as the ones on post. Um, so we had to make sure that all of our equipment was up and ready and good to go. I kept up the inventory and the maintenance and came up with um better deployment plans. So I reduced the amount of time it took us to pack up our trucks from like you know, three hours to one hour. I I made load plans, so uh that was fun.

SPEAKER_01: 17:40

Yeah, that's certainly different than the office job. So is the title itself is it weather observer? Is that right?

SPEAKER_02: 17:47

Yeah, it was weather observer. Today, I don't even think they have that role anymore. They consolidated forecasters and observers after a while. Um and actually today, I don't even know if they're still utilizing forecasters much with the updated technology of other methods. But um yeah, so my primary job was to monitor and report existing conditions, not necessarily try to forecast what was going to happen. So the big bonus for me was that I was always right, since I didn't have to worry about forecasting.

SPEAKER_01: 18:28

Is it like uh the civilian meteorologist where you could be wrong and you're still gonna get paid?

SPEAKER_02: 18:34

Well, yeah, you know, we all got paid anyway, but at least I never had to be wrong.

SPEAKER_01: 18:39

Yeah. So uh what kind of big picture? What what do you think? And it's it's a little different for everybody. What do you think your biggest lessons were that you took from the military about either yourself or leadership or or technical skills? What do you look back and like the first thing that comes to mind is, man, I think the Air Force taught me that.

SPEAKER_02: 18:59

Oh, there's so many good things, but I the number one for me, especially in that role that I served, was to learn the value of my voice. Because, you know, if you think about it, I was a young, tiny little 19-year-old Air Force weather girl, is what they called me. Um telling pilots whether or not they could go do what they needed to do. So to have to understand the gravity of that and to really own the importance of my role was incredibly um important for me, especially at that stage of life. And then to be able to carry that, you know, through to adulthood um and construction. Oh my goodness, it's been incredibly valuable.

SPEAKER_01: 19:57

Yeah, there's there's some really good opportunities. There, not every job in the military, but you you can probably agree with this that there are some roles, uh, yours included, where as a younger enlisted person, you're kind of thrust into I'll call them opportunities to you know sometimes you're speaking of Fulberg colonels or generals, and you're this E4, maybe an E3, kind of having to give these briefs. So you you're forced to grow up really fast, but it's also you're forced to mature fast too. Is like I have to learn how to speak properly in front of people. I had to learn to get really comfortable with public speaking, which a lot of people seem terrified about. That's one soft skill I'm glad I came out with is I got comfortable speaking in front of dozens of people, which, as you know, as a superintendent, I I had to do that all the time, especially on weekly safety stand downs. So um I think a lot of us are fortunate that there's some roles out there that do that. That's not every role, you know, but I'm glad you got that opportunity.

SPEAKER_02: 21:00

Um, for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 21:03

I want to move kind of into the transition story too. So that's the whole point behind this is talking about people like my audience. I really try to focus on is people that are getting out. Uh, because I don't know if you're anything like me, like it's it's a scary process, and I don't know okay, what's the next step? It took me years to kind of get comfortable with who I was, and you know, the military something I did, it's not who I am. Um, so every veteran has to go through that transition at some point, whether you're retired or you serve four years or whatever. But what was it like for you when you first separated from the Air Force kind of mentally? Uh, were you scared? Did you have things lined up? What do you think?

SPEAKER_02: 22:06

I was definitely apprehensive. I so when I got out, I had was coming off of stop loss actually from September 11th. So it was kind of one of those deals where I had it set in my mind I was gonna get out, and then it was like, oh, guess what? You're not. So by the time I did get out, I was feeling a little more confident about it because I had had that weird start stop. But um I would say I was optimistically naive. Um a big part of transitioning from the military to back to a civilian is that I think for us veterans, there's a temptation to think we should be able to slide back into civilian life because we used to be one, right? It's just like putting on a old pair of jeans again because they fit you. Um but it's it's really not quite that easy. And I think if you're not careful about the mindset that you take into civilian life, then um it's gonna change other people's perspectives about you in a way that may or may not be hard to recover from. Um I think we need to be cognizant of the narratives that we're walking around with on our own about like what this air quotes should be like, and have some open-mindedness around um, like just like you were saying earlier, like maybe we're not quite certain how to solve this problem, but we have to start somewhere and be able to adjust from that. That was not a mindset that I had when I got out. I was just um blissfully thinking, heck, I've got these amazing skill sets, I've led teams, I've led teams in combat, I've gotten to do all these cool things, I'm a super hard worker, I'm a great communicator. I just need to show up, and corporate America is gonna love me too. But um that's not quite how it went.

SPEAKER_01: 24:29

No. No, I think a lot of people, yeah, a lot of people have that. I want to say this I've been doing this show for almost three years, and I have never had anybody put it the way you did as uh optimistically naive. I like that. I think a lot of us are because we have this expectation of I'm awesome, I did all these things, I have all these skills, they're just gonna fall in love with me, and that's not at all the case. I mean, you kind of had to back to what you said earlier, finding your voice. You have to do the same thing when you transition out. You have to learn how to sell yourself of, hey, here's what I did. And I think there's a lot of folks out there, um, maybe too many at this point, that kind of take you through the process of here's how you change your resume, here's how you how you show the civilian sector what you did in the service and how that relates. I think there's a lot of good people uh helping with that. There's also a lot of LinkedIn experts that want to claim like they are experts on that. Um, but I think that yeah, that's that's that was the hardest part I had because taps on on the Navy side, and I don't know about the Air Force side, didn't do a great job of really setting you up for success. It was here's your packet, here's three days of of a class on how you kind of put a resume together, which they didn't do a great job. It was just kind of a basic outline and wear a suit, you know, for men, wear a suit when you go to your interview uh to make sure you're clean shaven. Good luck. Like that was it. So you had to learn to fight for yourself, really.

SPEAKER_02: 26:01

Absolutely, and and you have to learn to fight for yourself in a way that feels um it may feel really weird to some of us because it may feel for one well, like you just said a moment ago, like you're trying to sell yourself, which we never had to do. We didn't have to even think about that in the military. We didn't the the corporate uh environment requires uh a completely different skill set, and I think we're super naive to veterans are naive to it, and corporate America is blind to it. That thinking about something such as uh how to uh maximize profits on something is not something a veteran has ever had to think about. Unless they were an officer and they managed the annual budget, right? Even then it's not about profit, it's about budget. So there's a I think a big gap of understanding between even even between veterans understanding, like what's truly needed to adapt to corporate America. When I say corporate America, I really mean anything other than some brand of military service, right? Or or maybe even first responders. But the the gap is significant and I I really think it it's something that gets overlooked quite often once again, because we appear to be these like you know, normal humans, but we're we're just a different a different dialect in many ways. I don't know if that's does that even make sense?

SPEAKER_01: 28:04

Yeah, I I think the way I always looked at it was we have a different type of skill set. Um I was really fortunate when I got out, where you know, I had been running teams and um it was very similar to what I did when I got out, what I did when I was in. I was I was a carpenter, you know, I got to run crews, I I had to learn how to schedule like all the basics that a brand new project engineer out in the civilian world would have to learn. But the guy I got teamed up with, who was also brand new, but he just graduated college, he had a lot of book smarts, whereas I had a lot of practical, hey, I know how to talk to people and lead people, and we we kind of shared that knowledge. So I think we could do a better job for ourselves, we as the veteran community, and just understanding what are the strengths that I build or that I bring to the table. Um, and I I really there's probably a better way to put it, but you kind of be you gotta be a little selfish sometimes. It's it's yes, you want to you want to be part of that team still, but that's all we've had in our head is you're it's not a bad thing, like you're a number, you're you are part of the bigger picture uh of the United States military. You're you're a finger on the hand of the arm of the body of the United States military, like you're part of the group. Well, this is your opportunity when you get out to be a little selfish, chase what you want to chase, and really like, hey, here's why I deserve to get job XYZ.

SPEAKER_02: 29:27

Oh, yeah, I totally agree with you on that. I wholeheartedly believe it's very difficult for veterans to adapt to corporate America because it feels like a self-centered um organization, like a you do you situation rather than the way we've been developed, which is you know, servant in in any way, right?

SPEAKER_01: 29:58

Yeah, absolutely. So um, all right, so we've you've transitioned out. Um, did you have anything lined up? Like, did you have any idea what you wanted to do when you got out?

SPEAKER_02: 30:13

I actually, when I got out, I went back to Klamath Falls. Um, it's a tiny town, and I thought it would be smart for me to try to get used to civilian life somewhere that was slow-paced, which I'm so glad I did that. Um and I actually ended up working on the airbase as a weather observer for a little bit just on the civilian side. Um, I did that for I think three years or so, but I just got insanely bored with it. I felt like I wanted to do something that was a little more um, you know, required more of my brain, my brain and my hands. Like I really enjoyed building things at that at that same time. Um when I got out, I bought one of the houses that I grew up in, um, bought it from my dad, and I spent five years rebuilding that. So when I decided I was gonna do that, I just kind of had this idea in my mind that if I could live through rebuilding this house while I was living in it and and not absolutely hate myself or the process, then you know, maybe construction was something I should consider. So that I would say is what led me to construction as a profession, as well as, you know, I mentioned my grandpa was my closest family member. Whenever I would go visit him, we were always doing projects, not necessarily building anything construction-wise, but um, you know, working on his bus or um building, like he had this old city transit bus that he essentially made into an RV. So we would be in there working on the cabinetry or the plumbing or something together whenever I would go visit. And I super appreciated that he would always um when we spoke or visited, you know, he would tell me all these stories. And it didn't take me, well, it it took me a while to recognize something I really appreciated about him telling me stories was that they were very technical. And he never assumed that I shouldn't understand what he was talking about just because I was a girl. You know, he he treated me as anybody else and told me the same, you know, very technical engineer style stories as he did anybody else. Um so that was something that just kind of I suppose it made me feel respected. Um and that would be another thing that led me to construction was just that now I had this kind of mindset where I tried to visualize everything because that's how you know my conversations with grandpa would go. Like I had to visualize what the heck he was talking about.

SPEAKER_01: 33:18

You okay, so as a father of three girls, you just motivated me because like I'm a little hard on them sometimes, and it's just the dad thing, but I try to do the same thing too. Like they're they are equal and they're they're different ages, but I talk to them all very similarly when I'm I'm we homeschool now. We decided to go back to that a few months ago, and I say I'm the shop teacher at home, right? Like I teach them the building, so I'm really I'm sitting here smiling ear to ear. I know we're not I'm not on video, um, but I'm really happy to hear that because I'm like, I'm trying to hope, hey, I hope you get a little bit of this knowledge and you can carry this forward. Like, I want you to be able to change your own tire and like I want you to be able to build this stuff. And so it sounds like you caught the bug from grandpa, but when you got out, so the home renovation is that kind of what solidified, hey, I think this is something I want to do with the rest of my life.

SPEAKER_02: 34:25

Yeah, I would say so. And and again, you know, it never occurred to me that I shouldn't be able to do it just because I was a woman.

SPEAKER_01: 34:32

And yeah, sure.

SPEAKER_02: 34:33

And going back to one of your earlier questions, you know, you asked what the most valuable things were that I got out of the military, and one of them was um the idea that you know, we m the military is a wonderful equalizer. So just because I was a woman had had nothing to do with my capabilities or my skills in the military, and that was wonderful. I was also optimistically naive about that when I got out. And maybe I should polish that comment a little bit and say, you know, males and females were treated equally in terms of how you could do your work, not necessarily in terms of, you know, other matters, not all matters, but um, I do believe that that was one of the best things I had in the military that was the most shocking change to me when I like came to realize out in the civilian world that that is really not um common treatment.

SPEAKER_01: 35:49

Yeah. Yeah, I think everybody has a little bit of a different uh story when it comes to that, specific to the military. It's um I've been fortunate to make friends with a lot of pretty pretty heavy-hitting ladies that have gone through some crazy training, and they'll be the first one to tell you it's not whether you're male or female. I met the standard, regardless of what they are.

SPEAKER_00: 36:12

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01: 36:13

I've I've met some awesome ladies out in the construction sector too, that it's the same thing. It's like maybe it's because I'm a vet, I don't know. Um, that my mindset was I don't care. I shouldn't say I don't care. Regardless of what you look like, regardless of where you come from, regardless of what you did, it's can you perform the job? Like outside of work, that's your own thing. And yes, I care about you as an individual, of course, but can you meet the standard in the construction industry too? Can you show up and swing that hammer for 10, 12 hours a day if you have to? And can you can you make it? Can you hack it? I don't care, you know, what you look like. It's you're here, can you perform the work? And that's really all I cared about.

SPEAKER_02: 36:59

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01: 36:59

Yeah, my team perform.

SPEAKER_02: 37:02

Absolutely. You know, I was um this is such a weird dynamic. I'm so I'm glad that you bring this up, Scott. I'll I'll give an example of an interesting story. Um, I was a superintendent on a project and I had some carpentry crews uh working with me. And there was a foreman who was having some struggles with the production. And so when I asked, you know, what's what's the issue here, because we we were struggling for a decent two or three weeks, and he said that he was like, Well, I really don't I really don't want to tell you what the real problem is. And I I was like, uh we don't have time for anything but the truth, so dish it. And he said that you know, there was a a woman on the crew that was really bogging down production, not only was she bogging down production because lack of skill, but it was because of like some induced drama. And it struck me as so surprising that he was afraid to tell me that. He didn't want to tell me because he thought that I would view him as like discriminating or um you know, just bad mouthing. And it was an interesting situation because I actually had to go to like HR with him and say, Hey, we need to put this disciplinary action in place or just have this person removed from the crew because we're in danger on the schedule and um it's a big it's a big issue around this whole like claim of discrimination, right? But we had the data to to back it up and it was just tough. It was a tough situation, especially since he didn't want to tell me and he let it go three weeks before he really dished out what the true problem was. Um so I mean also let's let's talk about the fact that she just needed some additional mentoring and skill building. So letting it go three weeks didn't serve her either. Um so it's not just about this, you know, fear of discrimination model. It's also about like how are we serving all of the people of the team? So there's there's a lot of interesting dynamics to it.

SPEAKER_01: 39:52

Yeah. Well, I mean, kudos to you too for like not getting defensive automatically. You go, well, wait a second, you know, you're doing this because she's a woman, and it's I I can hear his heart in your story. It's like, hey man, I I I don't want to tell you, Alicia, because like I don't want you to get offended, but this is clearly an issue. And so kudos to you because I think that is especially you know, in recent history and and politically and everything going on, like people are kind of afraid to speak up because they don't want to be judged and think, well, I'm this I'm this bigot towards group XYZ, whatever it is. Uh, but the truth has to be said. So people are failing the mission. And I think that that is an awesome thing that the military does do is it's you know, coming from the CBs, at least. We had all kinds of different people. Um, you know, I was swinging hammers right alongside with the ladies and everybody else. So they did, and I'm sure the Air Force did this too. They're really good at just breaking you down. You're all equal. And then they build you back up to be that skill set. Um, there's an awesome lady here in the Dallas area. She's a Navy Master Chief. She's the first female Master Chief I've ever met in person. And she's like, I would love to have served under her and her command. I mean, for those people that aren't military or don't know, the Master Chief is the highest uh enlisted rank in the Navy, and she's awesome. So shout out to Jamie. She's just really cool people. Um, so I want to talk about how you got into construction. So uh you you renovated the house and kind of found the bug. What was your first role? Were you like a project engineer? Did you start kind of from the baseline? What did you do?

SPEAKER_02: 41:30

Yeah, I um well, let's see. First, I started my education by getting an associate's degree where I learned to actually build first. Um, so with that, I was still down in southern Oregon and I was uh project manager assistant for a heavy civil company. And I was so underemployed. Like I was bored out of my mind because they just weren't challenging me in any way. So then I got this idea in my mind that I wasn't going to be given the rule the roles that I was capable of um or that I wanted, unless I had a bachelor's degree. So then I went up to um Corvallis and got my construction engineering management degree at at Oregon State. And then um upon graduating with that, then I was a project engineer for a large GC in the Portland Metro. Um that was an interesting dynamic as well. It's always interesting when you're in the entry-level positions, which you have to start with those base level skills. You need to nail those down. But when you're in those positions and um, you know, you're 10 to 15 years older than all your peers, I was the only project engineer who had a daughter, a family. Um and my direct supervisor had never really led teams before. So it was it was an interesting spot to be plunked um into, but I learned a tremendous amount, and I still am good friends with a lot of those folks today. Um that was a a good place to start for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 43:31

Yeah, and you hear a lot, you know, you can't lead until you learn to follow. That has got to be a very interesting role to be in because you're over a decade senior to your colleagues, and sounds like maybe even your supervisor. Uh, but so I'm I can assume it was a little humbling too. Like, hey, hold on, I gotta take a step back. Like these folks don't have as much life experience as me. Um, so I'm sure they were very thankful for your mentorship and leadership as well, even though they might have outranked you per se.

SPEAKER_02: 44:01

Yeah, and I, you know, this goes back to the things that us veterans need to be cognizant of when we go into the civilian world and corporate America, is that, you know, you were off doing military service, they were off doing something else. They they got to the same place that you did with their own volition too, right? So you have to respect that um you guys are standing in the same place based on some amount of effort put in, right? And there's plenty of stories I've heard about you know, veterans being a little um irritated or annoyed with the idea of having a supervisor that's 10 years younger than you, or someone who never led teens before, or somebody who um just doesn't have the life experience that you do, and they're your boss, and you have to just get over it.

SPEAKER_01: 45:04

Yeah, no, that's it's it's a hard pill to swallow, but it's that's just the truth. That's the way life is. Um, so I'm kind of jumping all over the place because there's like there's a lot I want to get to. Um, but really quick, you've worn a lot of hats. Uh so project manager, superintendent, you kind of you're like me, we kind of dabbled in the field and the office a little bit. I did some scheduling. Uh, I never worked in safety or anything like that. But I know I I looked through your background, but now uh for four years, is that right? You've had your own business. Is that about right?

SPEAKER_00: 45:39

Yeah, yep.

SPEAKER_01: 45:41

So all of this led to you starting your own business. Can we talk about what you're doing now?

SPEAKER_02: 45:47

Absolutely. I would love to.

SPEAKER_01: 45:50

I'm sure, yeah. Here's your time to shine.

SPEAKER_02: 45:52

Yeah. I um well, let's start with like the idea behind why I even did that too.

SPEAKER_00: 45:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 45:58

I really I recognized that there was just kind of a um a lack of understanding around what veterans need to thrive in organizations. And so I I had this idea that I wanted to like start my own company so that I could essentially provide direct paths to construction management positions for veterans, you know, whether or not they had the requisite education. I figured we could OJT them into good condition. And um, as I got started, it was natural that I was gonna have to find some other things to do first, because unless you're incredibly wealthy or have some sort of angel investor, nobody can start from ground up and just bootstrap into a GC position when you're a single person entity. So what I decided to do first was consulting. And um that's where I'm at now. And I consult along two different pathways, really. One is for construction small businesses, helping them get infrastructure in place, especially if they want to do federal work, because their accounting, timekeeping, document control all has to be done in a very technical and special way. And if they don't have that in place, then they don't get to do the federal work. So we've got this huge project kicking off up here in the next year, the bridge replacement project. And because there's federal money involved, then this federal compliance framework has to be in place. So I've developed a very unique um professional services support network for small businesses. Uh essentially it's like a co-op of professionals that many different companies get to use because they need the specialized skill, but maybe they don't yet have the capability to hire those roles internally. Um, so if they want to keep their head above water and actually be able to perform, then they need this additional help. And a lot of times not having it is what you know it becomes the demise of their company, which is um unnecessary, I think. So, but there really wasn't there really isn't a logical way around it. So I I created a way, and um that is getting some really good traction. It's relatively new because it's so unique that it took me a while to build all the little intricate um support niches, just really because nobody's ever heard of doing it that way before. So when I approach even the service providers, they're like, no, that's not how we do it. And I and then I'm like, my response is I understand that's not how you do it now, but you can do it that way. What would that look like? So it's been some really fun, really fun conversations and networking and puzzles to solve. But um beyond that, I'm also uh providing consultation for organizations that want to learn how to support their veteran employees better. Uh, as we recognize there's some uh large gaps there too, especially in construction, uh, which veterans are attracted to. So I essentially call it the Venn diagram of disaster, uh, to speak to the fact that you know, our veterans have a high suicide rate, and and so does our industry. Construction is number two in the nation um amongst industries for suicide rate. And through my own experience, I see I've had some unique insights, and so I took the time to break those insights down into essentially cause and effect and create a program that allows organizations to assess where they're at and then make changes if or when needed. Uh for the sake of improving mental health and job satisfaction for veterans. Um, I call it building hope instead of depleting hope, because eventually over time, you know, some of these um these structures are or lack of structure is really what it is, is is really what depletes hope for our brothers and sisters. Um so that was a the other big motivating factor for me there. So I'm really with my own business doing both. Um and it's it's been interesting, but it's been once again another big puzzle to solve, and it's been a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01: 51:40

Yeah, no, I appreciate you going into detail on that, and that's more than uh what you and I had the chance to discuss in the past. It sounds like they're like maybe I would call them fractional support, if you will, because there's like fractional CFOs and things like that, but you're doing a lot of administrative type support. Um, and I would I would think you might agree that a lot of vets were sort of gluttons for punishment, and we want the next challenge. So I think you're you're doing just that. So yeah, you uh I mean you've been going over four years now, so kudos to you on that because it's not easy starting a business. My wife and I have done it before. Uh it it's challenging, but you're almost past that five-year mark. So kudos to you on that. And I'm really glad too uh you brought up the mental health aspect because that's something I really know you and I both wanted to discuss on here. Um, and we've both had our own struggles in the past. I've talked very openly about my struggles with alcohol. You know, I'm so I'm I'm sober now, but I guess we're technically supposed to say I'm an alcoholic still. But um have the have you had seasons I know I have where you just kind of struggled silently and didn't really open up to anybody about it.

SPEAKER_02: 53:04

Absolutely, yeah. And you know, to be honest, I would be I would feel dis I'd feel dishonest if I didn't express like I still have struggles. Um which feels odd because I'm out here like trying to trying to be the speaker, right? You would think um that's a little counterintuitive, but I'm doing it from the from the vantage point or the viewpoint that you don't have to be perfect to be helpful. And I really would love for many more people to understand that because I do believe that fuels the idea that you can't be hopeful until you've figured your own business out. Um I believe that mentality fuels a lot of folks staying quiet when they shouldn't.

SPEAKER_01: 54:02

Yeah. I don't think it's odd. I I agree with you fully, and I don't think any of us have it figured out. I mean, anybody that says they do is a liar. And the people I respect the most is the you know, the older folks that'll say I'm still having an issue or I'm still trying to figure these things out. So I it I think it's refreshing and it's also become more accepted, if you will, in the last decade or so for people to say, Hey, I I'm I've got an issue, but just FY, I'm working on it. Like I am working through this. Um, and I've had people come up to me, like, hey man, you know, especially on site, the one thing I'm really gonna miss about being a superintendent is that I was always very outspoken about all the struggles that I've had, whether it be in the service or out. And so many men and women would come into my trailer or up to my truck on the job site and hey, can I talk to you? And I loved hearing that. So I'm like, all right, we're about to get to the good stuff. And you know, grown men crying in my office over something that they're struggling with, and I love that. And I I hope, you know, maybe it was just me saying it that finally had them open up and go, all right, this guy's dealing with this, I can be open about it. He I can trust him, I can talk about it. So I I always encourage people, like, hey, share it. You know, if somebody doesn't like me because of the stuff I share, the stuff I've gone through, I'm sorry, that's me. I'm gonna be outspoken. Um, it hasn't failed me yet. You know, I think I gained respect from other people for doing that. Um, because I'm not gonna try to put myself on a pedestal and act like I'm perfect, like you said. And I respect a lot of people that have done that. So I don't think it's odd at all. I think you're doing the right thing.

SPEAKER_02: 55:41

I appreciate that. I appreciate the encouragement because it's certainly um, you know, it's like I'm okay with the idea that that I struggle and there's people out there that struggle, and for some reason still I think just us as humans, we get this idea that there's something wrong with us if we have challenges like this. And it and it's really like there's probably more wrong with you if you don't have these kind of challenges. So um it's taken me some time to get a level of comfort, and it sounds like you know, what you're doing with your interactions with folks is pretty great because you're creating like psychological safety for folks to meet you at the threshold, um which is just so important because without without feeling like it's safe to be open and honest, then then people are just gonna stop doing that altogether, and that's gonna lead to more of this this challenge that we have on our hands. So being able to speak open and honestly about it, but then also show like you're doing the work to to get better is huge. Um something I speak about when I'm talking about organizational structure is you know, your people are watching you, the leaders, they're watching the leaders. And if they see that you know, you have struggles and you're just going to the bar every night after work to blow off your steam, or you're just fast forward flipping through relationships or something in your personal life or professional life, and you're not really doing the work, then the message they receive is it's not okay to to need help. Um if they don't see their leaders doing that for themselves. And that's not to say all the subordinates need all the details, but it does become pretty obvious when um a life is being lived in a in a kind of an offhanded way that way. I don't does that make sense, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 58:14

Yeah, it makes sense. And as we're as we're talking about this, I'm thinking, how exhausting is it to try to pretend like you're perfect and that you got it all put together. And I mean, we we talk about the mental health about you know today's youth or anybody that's on social media, there's a lot of faking it out there, and how exhausting is that to try to put on a face every single day? And I'm saying, look, I I don't have it all put together, and I'm just I'm me, I'm struggling with random things. I got three little kids, like it. That that's a struggle in itself, yeah. And you know, I I'm very fortunate, I've got a great wife, I've I've got a good job. Um, but there's I'm gonna have days, everybody has days, like comparison lately, just to be totally honest with everybody. Like, lately, comparison has been the biggest one for me as I'm looking at other people in my industry or you know, people in my circle of influence that are way ahead of me. And um, my wife is really good about calling me out. She's like, Scott, these guys have been doing this for you know 10 years plus. You just got into this, like you can't compare yourself to them. And I did the same thing in the construction industry too. It's like, oh, I gotta get to the next thing. And I I was really bad about stopping and looking around me and being grateful for what I have. So that's been the last month or so I've really tried to focus on just being grateful for what I have, even if it's just man, I have a bed to sleep in every night, I have a warm house to be in, I have kids that love me. Like, I I've got to be thankful for those things. And whether that's cheesy to some people or not, I I could care less. But um, if if we have somebody that's listening right now who is struggling, whether it's construction or military folks, what what what specific thing would you want to stick out to them uh for them to hear?

SPEAKER_02: 1:00:02

That's a good one. You know, I would say um strength comes in all in all shapes and sizes, and it's important to acknowledge the areas where you're strong and then utilize those to keep yourself moving forward. Um I've had so many days where I felt like I couldn't get out of bed. But but I started with the the little things you just talked about, you know. I I would spend time to think about the things I'm grateful for, the things that are going well. And then that gives you the the steam, at least, to stand up. And then it's just one foot in front of the other. There's gonna be plenty of days where you know your heart is heavy and your and your head is full of things, and there's always a solution. There's always a solution. It may not happen on a timeline that you want it to, but as long as you keep working for it, then give it space to find you too.

SPEAKER_01: 1:01:21

Yeah, that's good. Ooh. Going to church. This is good. I like it. That's very good. Um, all right. So I want to I'm I want to get back to the positives, but uh not that that was bad, but I mean um some more upbeat stuff. So let's look back at your whole journey. I mean, Alicia, you've you've had a really cool journey from the Air Force and all the stuff you've done. If you guys haven't done it, find her on LinkedIn. Look at her background. I mean, you've got a really impressive background, all the stuff that you've gone through, um, and the fact that you didn't really grow up around construction per se, and you've thrived in this environment now. You didn't do it in the service. I love talking to vets that had nothing to do with uh construction, and then you get out. And to that note, I want to ask you. I mean, I have my opinions on this. Why do you think veterans thrive so well in the construction industry?

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:12

Oh, I think it's because it pretty closely, well, our perceptions of it, maybe before we actually get into it, is that it's you know, it's structured, it's teamwork again, it's working shoulder to shoulder with somebody that has a very valuable skill. There's a common language. Um, you can walk on a job site and get that sense of belonging if you feel like what you have to contribute is valuable. So that's step one is know that you're valuable no matter what you bring in. But um I would say that's that's the biggest part of it. The idea of camaraderie, the teamwork, it's hard work, it's a challenge. So we also thrive on that. Uh you have to use your brain. Also a bonus. At least that was something that drew me to it. Um there's a lot of really great reasons. There's a lot of really great reasons that veterans should be in construction. Um there's a lot of great reasons to pay attention to the the cautionary caution zones too.

SPEAKER_01: 1:03:29

Yeah, I I think there's a lot of industries out there that uh you get a lot of satisfaction. Um, you know, you're going through hard stuff. Like I'll give you an example. So I'm in insurance now, and when I finally close a sale or like get a new client, it's very satisfying. And I think that's something we miss is like we have this mission that we have to carry out. Construction offers that almost daily. It's like I've got this obstacle I'm up against this day, whether it's you know, we're swinging a new chiller onto the roof, or you know, we got to pass this inspection, whatever it is, or we got to get CFO. It's like I I've got this end goal in mind. And to me, that's where construction kind of shines above all these other industries, because it's you're going about it with a team, too. It's this, it's not as individualistic. Yeah, there's a leader, uh, you know, as a superintendent, we're the leader of the job site, but I can't do Jack without these other people. Uh, I can't do it alone. And and that's to me, that's what I missed was just that team aspect. Um, so what I you know, back to I kind of started on this question, but your whole uh your journey that you've gone on this is gonna be a hard question. What would you say you're the most proud of? And and I'm I'm not I know you know, you got a daughter, yes, let's get that out of the way. Obviously, I'm the most proud of my kids, but as far as your professional journey through the Air Force and through construction, what would you say you're the most proud of?

SPEAKER_02: 1:04:57

Oh, that's a good one. All right. Um to be very honest, I say the thing I'm most proud of is that I've been able to turn a lot, a lot of adversity into something positive.

SPEAKER_01: 1:05:19

I love that. Good. I like it. That's there's no wrong answer, and I really like that.

SPEAKER_02: 1:05:27

I kept that one brief for you.

SPEAKER_01: 1:05:29

No, that's good. Well, I mean, and and so what's keep what keeps you going? Because I've I've shared before I did about 14 years in the construction industry, and I I kind of found my way to something else. Uh, just to be honest, the stress started to get to me. Um, I didn't want to have a heart attack. I I've shared before where I went to the emergency room earlier this year thinking I was about to have a heart attack. Just I I really let it get to me. But what what has kept you going? Like what okay, I'm getting out of bed, I'm doing this the next day. Because there, yes, there's crap days, but what keeps you going so long?

SPEAKER_02: 1:05:59

Well, you know, I feel like just the fact that I have such unique insights to something that's that's been an issue for a while now, I believe that um that's been kind of a gift to me or or kind of a calling. Um it I spent this whole last year learning how to write um speeches and deliver um write and deliver speeches. And holy smokes, that was a challenge just because it was so hard to talk about my own journey, and I have I can listen to anyone talk about their journey and feel like um I respect them highly for it, but for some reason when I talk about my own, it's terrifying. It's like once you let people know like the depth of of your story, um shoot, it's out there. So I would say the thing that keeps me going the most is just this idea that I'm I'm meant to deliver a message. Um and the the adversity and such that I went through, if I didn't have the the gift or the ability to be able to like see the beauty in that, then I wouldn't have these insights that I have. I would just be really pissed off and I would have moved on to a whole different industry by now. And who knows what?

SPEAKER_01: 1:07:39

Man, I could have used you a year ago. Golly. No, I I like that too. I mean, you've got a unique perspective. Um question on a positive note. Tell me about Ameril. Who is Amerl?

SPEAKER_02: 1:07:53

Yeah, he's so cool. He is my service dog, and I'm glad that you bring this up. Um another part of my my mission, because I don't have enough already, is um to kind of destigmatize the idea around veterans utilizing service dogs. Um so one thing that I came out of uh the military with was a diagnosis for PTSD, like many of us. And I spent several years learning how that impacted me and how it shows up. And I was able to, like I have decent recognition of most of it. Um, I did learn though that I have an issue with hypervigilance that I wasn't really aware of, but it was impacting my ability to do my job very well in like an open office setting. Um, because I was just subconsciously trying to track movement around me at all times, and I really didn't even realize it. So Admiral is so cool because he is trained um to essentially smell whenever I start getting into that hyper-vigilant state, like I put off some sort of hormone or or something when I start to do that. And he will come like alert me. Um he'll also do that for health uh matters. Like earlier this year, you know, you talked about going to the hospital, you thought you were having a heart attack. I um I ended up having to go to the hospital because I thought I was gonna have a stroke. And he actually came and alerted me uh before my blood pressure really started escalating, but I didn't have a sense of like why he was alerting me. So I just, you know, sat down and decided to do some deep breathing for a moment. Unfortunately, that didn't bring my blood pressure down, it still went up. But um the fact that he is so tuned in to me and can I mean he's communicating with me in a way that's super impressive. Um and beyond that, too, he is to help me with mobility assistance because I've got some scar tissue, internal scar tissue in my low back from my time in Kosovo. And um there are times still, even this year, I had an incident where that uh scar tissue gets like adhesions. And if I just make one wrong movement, who even knows what it was, like picking up a sock off the floor wrong, um, then my my back muscles go into severe spasm. So then depending on how bad that gets, you know, it could be a few days that I can't walk without extreme pain or a few weeks. And this past summer it was it was five weeks. So he um like I still have to get around, I still have to function. So he's kind of my um physical support, like to go up and down the stairs and stuff. I literally push against his shoulder blades so that I can get the proper um strength to go up the stairs. So he is just uh more and more impressive every day. He's seven years old now. We've been partnered for four years, and you would think that his skills would decline over time, but I think they're just getting sharper. Um, we practice his skills quite often. And um ironically, he was assigned to me so that I could work in like office environment better, but I haven't worked in an office since I started my own company working from home. So we still go out to keep his skills sharp, and um it's just been such an amazing partnership, and I have to say it took me by surprise. It took me a very long time to agree to having a service dog because I didn't want the stigma, and the stigma is definitely out there, and it hasn't decreased over time uh with my taking him places, but um it's become less important to me what other people care about it. So um yeah, that's that's Admiral, super cool guy.

SPEAKER_01: 1:12:26

Yeah, sounds like it. So there are a handful of different organizations that assist with service dogs. What organization did you go through?

SPEAKER_02: 1:12:36

So I got through him through an organization called PAVE, it's pause assisting veterans, and they are an amazing organization. They're actually one of the few that's actually accredited, and they get puppies that have washed out of training for guide dogs for the blind. So Admiral started out his training the first 18 months of his life. He was being trained to be a guide dog for the blind. But since he has such a super sniffer, um he when he locks onto scent, sometimes it's very difficult to break him from his stance on a scent. And um, obviously that wouldn't be beneficial for someone who's uh vision impaired. So the dogs that they get are just so amazing to start with because they've got this foundational training as a guide dog for the blind. So they've really got some very high quality um dogs and trainers, and and the folks that make it run are just I I wouldn't be able to have a service dog without the backup that they also give me, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 1:13:56

Yeah. I'm I'm actually so as you told me, I I went on their website just so people know, because there's a lot of different organizations um that are only specific in areas. It looks like they only serve Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho. So if you're in those states looking to paveusa.org, um, how long was your wait, by the way? Because there's some man, you gotta wait years. How long was your wait for Abril?

SPEAKER_02: 1:14:20

Yeah, actually, I don't recall. It was several months, several months because I I remember I applied for the program like right at the end of my employment with one company, um, which you know, COVID happened, so I was no longer working with them. And it was into the employment of um or starting with a new company. So it was it was several months, it's a decent amount of time.

SPEAKER_01: 1:14:57

Yeah, well, that's actually I mean, that's fast compared to some. Some you're waiting two years, maybe a year. So that that is encouraging to hear. So if you're in those states, I mean certainly look into it. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 1:15:09

Well, I think maybe what helps them is that they start out with partially trained dogs, and I think maybe other organizations train them from from puppy. So I think that's probably a big differentiator there.

SPEAKER_01: 1:15:23

Yeah, that makes more sense too. Um, and it's it's nice because they already have kind of like that service dog start. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I wanna I want to go ahead and wrap up. We we ran long, which is good. I like it, Alicia. I've I've I've really appreciated this, and it took us months to finally get to this point, but I really love your story. Um, and I'm glad we got to share it. There's so many more questions I have that maybe you'll be my well, I have one other guy on twice. Maybe you'll be my second one. We'll see, because we got a lot more to get to, it sounds like. But um, I really do appreciate it. Your your whole journey, you know, from the Air Force to construction through leadership, you know, challenges and growth. And that's the whole reason this exists, uh, is to encourage our brothers and sisters. And for everybody listening, uh, if the if the episode resonated with you, please share it uh with someone who might need it. And I wanted to ask too, if if people want to connect with you, Alicia, what's the best way? It's Scoville Construction is her company, uh, but if somebody wants to reach out to you direct, what's the best way?

SPEAKER_02: 1:16:26

Oh, LinkedIn is definitely the best way. Um I've got a personal profile and a business profile on there. The personal profile is more about the veterans uh topics, and then the business is more about the small business support. So either way, but definitely LinkedIn is the best pathway.

SPEAKER_01: 1:16:47

Very good. Well, I appreciate it. Thanks again. Uh thank to thank you to everybody listening. Uh, until next time, Alicia, I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02: 1:16:57

I super appreciate the opportunity, and uh, it's been a fun conversation. Thank you so much, Scott.

SPEAKER_01: 1:17:02

Yes, ma'am, thank you.