We are doing something different for The DYOJO Podcast Episode 67. This week, Eric "The Tech Whisperer" Sprague and Larry "Pineapple Man" Wilberton, invited Gerrett Stier of GMS Podcast and myself to join them for what they called The Podcast Summit of Blue Collar Nation (BCN).

Blue Collar Nation Podcast + GMS Podcast + The DYOJO Podcast = Restoration Podcastalypse Megazord 2021.

Eric, Larry, and Gerrett were onsite in Charleston, South Carolina for The Experience, where GMS Podcast unveiled their mobile podcasting booth. You can listen to the results of these escapades on Blue Collar Nation Podcast and GMS Podcast. We hope that this Podcastalypse will be the first of many continued video, audio, and physical collaborations. GMS and BCN will be in Las Vegas for The Experience in September 2021, back at it with their live shenanigans. We hope to assemble the team for our first combined live event at Restoration Industry Association (RIA) in Reno on April 13-17, 2022.

Most of you know that following the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) 75th Annual Convention and Expo this year in Florida, Pete "The Global Watchdog" Consigli and I took a road trip further South. We discussed restoration history and meet some amazing people along our journey. We share a clip of Pete bestowing to me something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. We had a lot of fun, ate really well, and shared some great moments together. As Pete says, quoting Jimmy V, "We laughed, we thought, we cried, today was a heck of a day," and we had many heckin good days on the road together.

Michelle Blevins, the new owner of C & R Magazine also dropped by to share her exciting news. We will be releasing more content related to my trip with Pete as well as my conversation with Michelle. This was a fun break from our current series, The Xactimate Sessions. We have released File 001 Learning Xactimate from Scratch (TDP 65) and File 002 Learning to XM8 with all the Resources from Xactimate (TDP 66). More to come from Blue Collar Nation, GMS Podcast, and The DYOJO Podcast. ​

Last year, in the third quarter of the year that will live in infamy (2020), we hatched a hair-brained idea to start an annual competitive NEW sock raising competition. We called it The DYOJO SOCKTember. We wanted a simple way to help people have some fun, stay connected, and do some good. Our friends, peers, clients, partners, vendors, and community members saw the vision and rolled up their sleeves to get involved. With short notice and minimal traditional fan-faire or media coverage, we were able to raise over 5,500 NEW socks and donate those to local charities. 

What is a NEW Sock Raising Competition?

Why socks you may ask? Well, if the golden rule tells us to treat others the way we would want to be treated, who doesn’t love a NEW pair of socks? Everyone loves a NEW pair of socks. It turns out that NEW socks are also among the highest requested items of need for local charities. Every team reported that when they delivered their haul of socks to the local organization that their team chose to support, the reception was heartwarming and energized them to return this year to compete again. 

The DYOJO SOCKTember 2021 is a great opportunity for client outreach, employee engagement, and community goodwill. 

Even during the pandemic, people from around the world safely contributed NEW socks in-person and remotely. 2020 SOCKTember teams included:

• Sock Agents led by Kelsey Isaacson - Home with Kelsey Isaacson (Puyallup, WA)
• Sock Hawks led by Tammy Birklid - Merit Construction (Tacoma, WA) 
• Sisters for Socks led by Lindsey Ward - The Contents Specialists (Seattle, WA) 
• Sock Kings led by Jon Isaacson - 3 Kings Environmental (Sumner, WA) 
• 2020 Sponsors: Aramsco of Seattle, Home with Kelsey Isaacson, and 3 Kings Environmental

How do I get involved with SOCKTember 2021? 

If you are wondering how you can get involved with The DYOJO SOCKTember 2021 Annual NEW Sock Raising Competition, you are asking the right question. There are four ways to be involved in SOCKTember 2021 (see our website for more details):

• Lead a local NEW sock raising team
• Join a local NEW sock raising team 
• Donate NEW socks to a local NEW sock raising team
• Sponsor SOCKTember 

The idea really is simple, we want to do some good and have some fun. If you decide to be a team leader, you will gather a local team of 3-5 core members, engage your local clients, partners, vendors, etc and raise as many NEW socks as you can, which you will then donate to local charities of your choosing. 

When does SOCKTember 2021 start and how do I win?

We all start gathering NEW socks the first day of September 2021 until the last day of September 2021. Last year, with the pandemic, we learned it is simple to set up an Amazon link that will send socks to an address that you designate. This is competitive sock raising, think March Madness without the elimination of teams. Thanks to our 2020 sponsors, we have created an annual trophy, which currently is proudly displayed in the halls of The Contents Specialists (TCS) office in Seattle, WA.  Last year's winner was Sisters for Socks, led by Lindsey Ward of TCS, their team raised over 2,400 NEW socks and the 2020 event raised over 5,500 NEW socks total (see the video). ​

By building something bigger than yourself, you grow, and in turn elevate those around you. Sounds easy, but some ceilings have to be broken first. ​

Josh Stearns, a local writer for South Sound Business Magazine based in Tacoma, Washington, contacted us in early 2021 as he was researching what local businesses were doing to maintain workplace culture. We are honored that he found portions of our conversation to be of value and included us in an article with local business leaders who are being intentional in these areas as well. 

Josh also interviewed: 

• Adam West, Tacoma Comedy Club and Grit City Breakfast, whom we had on South Sound Connection XXX
• Brian Forth, Site Crafting, Inc. 
• Don Morrison, TractionSpace
• Tolena Thorburn, Milgard Windows & Doors
• Nancy Johnson, Metro Parks Tacoma

In a segment of the article Josh titled, "Creating a Positive Impact Internally, Externally," he said:

• Socktember

Jon Isaacson, vice president of operations for All American Restoration Services in Tacoma, which repairs homes and businesses after fire or water damage, said he and fellow employees are fortunate to work in an essential business and take pride helping people recover in the safest way possible. They’re dedicated to that mission, and that’s rewarding. They’ve also tried to be involved in positive community efforts, including a sock drive in September to help people in the community who are less fortunate. The business reached out to companies it works with, plus some competitors, to see who could collect the most new socks, part of a drive called “Socktember.” Collectively, the teams — including The Contents Specialists, Merit Construction, 3 Kings Environmental, and Home with Kelsey Isaacson — collected more than 5,500 pairs, he said. Socks were delivered to the Tacoma Rescue Mission and other organizations, and recipients’ gratitude was rewarding for teams who collaborated, he said. “
We did something good, and it made an impact, a very positive impact,” Isaacson said. More broadly, he noted Pierce County’s community efforts to unite during hard times and noted hashtags like #supportlocal and #lovelocal to support local businesses and keep people working. Isaacson tries to promote that through his The DYOJO podcast at thedyojo.com. Socktember represented the idea that, “It only takes a small spark to get a fire going,” Isaacson said.

• South Sound Connection

Similarly, Isaacson has a podcast called South Sound Connection to highlight local entrepreneurs, businesses, and community efforts, and serves as a sounding board for other positive efforts in the community that people can rally around.  “We want Tacoma to thrive; if Tacoma does well, I think all of our businesses will do well, collectively, and as we continue to support local companies,” he said.

On Tuesday, May 4, 2021, we will be discussing "Made in the South Sound" Premier Media Group, with president Josh Dunn. You can participate LIVE via YouTube at 9am PST. 

South Sound Connection (SSC) LIVE launched Season 2 on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 9am PST 

SSC LIVE is brought to you by:

• The DYOJO Podcast (Tacoma, WA)
• All American Restoration Services (Tacoma, WA)

Secret Sauce for Keeping Good Employees - Made in Tacoma, Rite in the Rain - SSC LIVE 015

GUEST
Ryan McDonald, Rite in the Rain (Tacoma, WA)

Ryan joins us to discuss:

• What it means to be "Made in the South Sound"
• How Rite in the Rain (RITR) has grown a thriving local business in Tacoma, WA
• The value of taking care of your employees - RITR has several employees with 20-30 plus years of service in the organization
• Taking on new challenges and adapting to the market. As we discussed with Lisa Lavender in part 1 of 6 of our series Benchmarks in Growth, "More is not always more." Rapid growth can be dangerous for a company if the right mindset and habits are not implemented. 
• Lessons learned from 2020 that the RITR team is applying moving forward.

​
READ MORE on the history of Rite in the Rain in an article published by The DYOJO following a tour of the RITR facility and an interview in early 2020 with Ryan. 

South Sound Connection (SSC) presented by The DYOJO Podcast and All American Restoration Services (AARES).

• All American Restoration Services is a general contractor based in Tacoma, WA that provides insurance repairs services for clients throughout the South Sound.
• The DYOJO is a business coaching service based in Tacoma, WA and produces The DYOJO Podcast - helping you shorten your DANG learning curve for professional development.

See our past episodes as well as our roster of local guests for SSC LIVE Season 2 "Made in the South Sound".