Did you know ECS launched a podcast? Coffee Talk: From the Ground Up is meant to be educational, entertaining and encouraging with practical advice you can apply directly in your work and life. Listen and subscribe now on Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts.
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Intro
Steve Gosselin: Welcome to Coffee Talk: From the Ground Up, an ECS podcast, where we strive to provide a more personable way to communicate with employees. I’m Steve Gosselin, but you can call me “Goose,” and I’m part of our senior leadership team. And I’m joined here by Julie Smith, who is part of the marketing communications team and our resident chocoholic. Say hi, Julie.
Julie Smith: Thanks Steve. Hey everyone, I’m glad you’re joining us today. So, Steve, what are we doing here?
Steve Gosselin: Great question, Julie. One of the struggles with a company our size is getting a message to the masses without it being diluted along the way. From projects and people to services and career insight, we hope this podcast helps provide an avenue to communicate the stories that are worth sharing. It’s to learn about our culture and feel more connected and to have some fun along the way.
Julie Smith: So what you’re saying is we hope this podcast is educational, entertaining, and encouraging with practical advice you can apply directly to your work and life.
Steve Gosselin: Well said, Julie, and that’s why you’re in marketing.
Julie Smith: So grab a cup and settle in. Our attorney makes us say this: this podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only. Nothing here in shall be construed as providing professional engineering services or used to establish the standard of care. This podcast and the comments contained there in represent only the personal views of the participants and do not reflect those of ECS. While we make every effort to ensure that the information we are sharing is accurate, we welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors.
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Steve Gosselin: Good morning. Hope everybody’s doing well today. Welcome to Coffee Talk: From the Ground Up. Today, we’re going to be talking to Rey Ruiz. Rey’s been with ECS since 2013. Currently he’s the branch manager of the Tampa office. And Rey told me that before we jump in, I got to do a Safety Minute.
The Safety Minute today… and I’m in Charlotte, Julie and I are here in Charlotte and it’s a nasty day. It is 35 degrees. It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s rainy, it’s windy. So today we’re going to be talking about driving and driving safety, especially when wet roads… The main thing is slow down and take your time. It’s amazing when I drive now, especially on city roads, how much people are in a hurry, passing me on the right. I had somebody pass me the other day, stopped at a stoplight in the right-turn lane and cut in front of me and ran the red light because they’re in a hurry.
Just be aware, always be aware of your surroundings and especially when the conditions are bad on days like today, just slow down and take your time. Thanks Rey, for reminding me to give that Safety Minute.
When Rey’s not working, you can find Rey spending time with his family. He’s got a 10-year-old son. He’s got a newborn, a five-month-old daughter. They like to hang out at the house, spend a lot of family time. He says they like video games. They like to watch movies together. And when the weather’s good, they’ll be outside at the park or trying to entertain the kids and things like that. Welcome Rey. Good morning.
Rey Ruiz: Good morning.
Steve Gosselin: We’ll get started here with a few rapid fire questions to try to get everybody loose on this Monday morning. All right, Rey, hunting or fishing?
Rey Ruiz: Fishing.
Steve Gosselin: Nice. Good. Do you fish there in Tampa?
Rey Ruiz: I’ve been out on the waters a couple times now and it was my first ever time doing out here in Florida.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah, I would imagine the fishing’s pretty good in that area.
Rey Ruiz: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.
Steve Gosselin: All right. Dogs or cats?
Rey Ruiz: Dogs. Unfortunately I’m allergic to cats.
Steve Gosselin: Are you really? No kidding. Wow. Okay. Ford or Chevy?
Rey Ruiz: I just bought a Ford last year, so I would have to say Ford.
Steve Gosselin: No kidding. All right. Pickup?
Rey Ruiz: Yep. F150.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. There you go. All right. Football or hockey?
Rey Ruiz: I’d say hockey based on what Tampa’s doing recently.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. I’ll tell you what though. Tampa’s the city of champions right now, the Lightning, two years in a row.
Rey Ruiz: Two years in a row. And then Brady with last year’s win.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah, no kidding. And I know the Lightning took out the Hurricanes last year. So we Carolina Hurricanes fans, aren’t happy about that, but that really, really good hockey club and they play with a lot of speed. And I’ll tell you what, those are great game to watch. They’re they’re really fun to watch.
Rey Ruiz: For sure.
Steve Gosselin: Hamburgers or hot dogs?
Rey Ruiz: Hamburgers.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. All right. Good deal. So tell us a little bit about yourself. Before we got started, I was checking in and you’re from Brooklyn. So, tell us a little bit about growing up in Brooklyn, going to school, and how’d you get interested in the field of engineering?
Rey Ruiz: Gotcha. Yeah. I’m originally from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, born there and been there all of 22 years before I moved down here. My family still lives up there. It was a little bit different because it’s a concrete jungle. There’s not much trees up there, walked to school every day. And everything was more or less convenient because everybody was close to you in close quarters. It was easy to get to a restaurant or link up with a bunch of buddies because everything’s walking distance. It wasn’t really much of driving around like you do out here in Florida.
Diving into engineering, I originally wanted to be an architect. This started in middle school mainly because I became fascinated with the construction in the city. And I would say about eighth grade I met one of my buddies, I went out with his father and he was an architect. And he took me to a couple of projects that he had done and he’s like, “Well Rey, I hear you’re really good at math and science, have you ever expressed interest in civil engineering?” I’m like, I don’t even know what that is.
So he dived into it a bit more and he is like you get paid well, I’m like, I like money. So since then I changed the path and in high school I focused in on that. Did a couple STEM mentorship programs. And then I shot up to Clarkson University where I got my Bachelor’s of Science, Civil Engineering.
Steve Gosselin: Excellent. Yeah. So do you enjoy civil engineering? And I asked that question as compared to wanting to be an architect. You kind of had your mindset on being an architect and engineering and architecture are really two different things. So does being a civil engineer, does that satisfy that design side that the architect might have?
Rey Ruiz: It does in a way. Originally I wanted to have a focus in structural. So civil engineering with a focus in structural, which just more or less goes hand in hand with architectural work. When I graduated, I was looking for that at first, but it was a lot tougher to get my foot in the door.
Since I got exposed to the construction industry and getting more exposed to the field atmosphere, I really enjoy the hands on, meeting a bunch of different people, contractors, architect, engineers, even site contractors, you name it and building those relationships. I feel that’s a lot more better suited for me as opposed to just sitting behind a desk and designing the next building. So I’ve enjoyed the civil engineering path a lot more than I would’ve, I believe, as architect.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. Excellent. So it sounds like it’s a great fit and you’re exactly right. One of the benefits of our job is in most days we can get out and we can interact with folks. And to me that’s the beauty of being a consultant is that not only are you helping to solve problems and make the world better and help people get things done, but you’re just getting to develop relationships with folks. That to me is a big plus.
Rey Ruiz: For sure.
Steve Gosselin: So I got to ask you growing up in Brooklyn and then going upstate to Clarkson, was that like a culture shock? Was that like a big shock for you? Tell us about your experience at Clarkson.
Rey Ruiz: Day one, family drops me off and they leave, and I’m stuck to my family by the hip. So when they were gone, I was like this a bit surreal that I’m on my own and in an atmosphere that’s nothing what I’m used to. It’s a bunch of trees everywhere. It’s already cold and it’s the beginning of August, and it’s going to be 60 that day. It was definitely shocking.
I was extremely nervous. I was worried about not fitting in because I’m a city boy. And a lot of the folks that were at Clarkson were mainly from upstate New York, which got a little bit exposed to that country side of life where I didn’t. So I never fished, I never hunted; all we did was hang out outside. I didn’t play on the sidewalks.
So that’s what I was exposed to growing up so definitely a change. But I worked out, I found a group of guys that were from the New York City and from there I built my foundation, and then started getting exposed to the country side of things and went out shooting a couple times with a couple buddies, hang out in the middle of the woods, stuff that I never thought I would be doing.
So definitely a change for me, especially the weather. You’re talking about negative whatever from September to March, it’s the opposite of Florida. I would say up in Clarkson. It’s in Potsdam, New York, 30 minutes south of Canada, so stay warm.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. So it sounds like you managed to adapt pretty well. You found some friends; you got hooked in with a network. Obviously they had influence on you, you’re driving a pickup truck now. Did you ever see yourself driving a pickup when you were growing up in Brooklyn?
Rey Ruiz: Nope. I had an SUV, four-wheel drive and I always wanted an SUV, but it’s changed since then.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. Did you adapt okay? I mean, did you struggle or were the grades all right and the social aspect okay? Because I hear and read so much about nowadays when folks go to school and they talk about how tough it is to adapt. And I know all of us had that. I’m sure all of our listeners can somehow appreciate that and connect with that. But did you have an adaption time or did you just jump right in and say man, I’m going for it?
Rey Ruiz: I would say freshman year was a bit unique coming from high school, especially in my neighborhood is Hispanics and blacks. And that was the majority of my high school class. And then going up there, it’s now 5% of that. That alone was a change in getting used to that type of change in races and whatnot. Since then, it was tough on the education part because in high school, I mean I crushed the classes. I felt like it was a breeze, didn’t have to study too much. And then you go to college just like this whole new advanced level where you actually got to read your textbook from the chapters they recommend and whatnot.
That transition during freshman year impacted my grades. I barely crossed the finish line to keep my scholarships and whatnot. And then since then, I knew sophomore year, had to reapply myself and really get into reading up on the books and the textbook language and staying a lot more focused and staying away more from the party life.
Because again, I was stuck to my family the whole time. And then being on your own, you hear about fraternity parties or hey, let’s go down to the bar, grab a couple of drinks and whatnot. First year, it was a lot of fun, but at the same instance, it was scary because there was a chance I could’ve messed up my career for that.
Second year round, I turned it around, focused on the books, got on the Dean’s List a couple times. And then that’s when I started hanging out with one of my fraternity where I met a bunch of different folks not just from New York City, but from all parts of the United States and brought in my… Where I tapped into that country lifestyle a bit more. And it was pretty cool. So I would say about junior year to senior year is where I really found my core group of guys and we stuck through it throughout the rest of the curriculum.
Steve Gosselin: Excellent, great. That’s an excellent story. And I really appreciate you sharing that with us and our listeners because a lot of folks they’re not successful in making that transition in college, and it’s not as easy as you think. And most folks don’t realize that you kind of have to go to elementary, middle school and high school, it’s a law. I mean you really need to be going. You go to college, they don’t care if you’re there or not. You got one thing and one thing only, and that’s to a study and make good grades. And like in your case, keep your scholarship and advance the next semester because they really don’t. And that’s a great story. Appreciate that.
So speaking of stories. We’ll transition a little bit here and tell us a little bit about your ECS story. Like when did you join, where’d you start out, how’d you end up in Tampa. And now you’re the branch manager, so that stuff just doesn’t happen overnight. So tell us a little bit about your journey here too and through ECS.
Rey Ruiz: So as I mentioned, I got a wife and a 10 year old son. So while I was in school, she gave birth to my baby boy during my junior year. Once I graduated, I moved down to Florida, start my life. And the only unfortunate thing I didn’t have was experience in my resume.
So the first couple months were tough to get my foot in the door. Then I got my results back from my FE exam to where I was in the IT, and then that’s when the phone started ringing. They wanted to get me in the door. So I had a couple interviews lined up. ECS was one of them and ECS was the first one to put an offer on the table and pull me in and get me started in November of 2013.
Started out as a field technician, didn’t know nothing about materials testing, never got exposed to it during my college curriculum. Like I said, I focused on structural engineering, never thought I’d be doing this kind of stuff. And I would say the labor was tough. It was something I wasn’t used to, moving around concrete, carrying a nuclear gauge device that weighs, I don’t know, 40, 50 pounds, and then 70 pounds considering the case. So a lot of muscle memory I had to get used to there.
Doing the field work for about, I would say a solid year before transitioning to the next step as a field engineer and followed by a project manager and so on. And I remember it too. It, it was, I was working at Domino’s cause I had to make some money to keep the food on the table. It was after 2:00 AM shift, I get a phone call from Mike Santiago, used to work here and he called me about 9:00 that morning. I’m rubbing the crust from my eyes. And he is like, hey, I’d like you to come in for an interview. I’m like, sure, when? I’ll be there, whenever it is. And it was probably a week later. And then since then they pulled me on board. So yeah, never thought I’d be where I’m at today.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. That’s a great story. I love it. We all have somewhat similar journeys, but to think starting out in the streets of Brooklyn, going up to Clarkson, which like you said, is almost in Canada and ended up now in Tampa, Florida. Could you ever have imagined when you were like a junior or senior in high school that you’d be a branch manager in Tampa, Florida now?
Rey Ruiz: Nope. I saw myself as a design engineer in a condominium looking over the city.
Steve Gosselin: There you go. Good for you, man. What a wonderful story. Julie, I’ll let you jump in now because I’m seeing both Rey and Julie on the screen here and Julie, I can tell she’s champing at the bit. She’s got a lot of questions she wants to ask.
Julie Smith: Yeah, Rey, I know when we were talking earlier, and you kind of touched on it, but I’d love for you to expand. You started off as a field technician and obviously you kind of grew from there, but I know when we were chatting earlier, you were talking about how David Bearce pulled you aside, gave you some hard tips of how to move along. Can you share about that experience and what that relationship looks like for you guys?
Rey Ruiz: Sure. David Bearce, when he first started, I was walking by in the hallway and I was heading to my next job and he says, hey, you come here. And so I walk in and he introduces himself. And the first thing he says, he said, hey, the way you dress offends me. I Had a T-shirt on dirty jeans. And he is like, you’re an engineer, I want you to dress like an engineer starting tomorrow, wear a polo.
And then I did that, some folks make fun of me and whatnot, but he pulled me into the office, and then since then he started teaching me how to write proposals, how to handle the materials testing operations regarding schedule, how to review reports, the financial aspect of it.
And I never thought I’d get exposed to that stuff, and I came with an open mind. I’m like, all right. Yes, I got an opportunity here. I’ve been doing tech work for about a year, and I’m getting a chance to really tap into my skillset. So since then, he really took the time over the months to cultivate me in and ultimately make me the manager I am today because of him giving me the opportunity.
Julie Smith: Yeah, that’s awesome. And kind of tying along with that, I think there were some skills that you learned along the way as a technician. You were telling me earlier about an experience on a job site when you were kind of taking the brunt of some people’s anger and you were able to remain calm and I’m guessing that David Bearce probably taught you some skills, or maybe there’s some other folks or other resources, but like how did you learn how to handle yourself on the job site when you were going through some tough situations like that?
Rey Ruiz: Gotcha. I definitely saw Dave handle himself in a lot of those situations. He could tap dances way out of anything. He would go on a meeting where people were pissed; they’re ready to get rid of us off the job and he’s coming out of it and winning the next three jobs.
So obviously watching him has integrated to my skillset, as well as just I’ve always wanted to work through the project. I always saw a project like I want to see this thing go from start to finish. So when I was involved with a project and I have folks that are pissed, because they don’t like to hear bad results. Contractors want a perfect world. They go from A to B, that’s it. They finish a job and they move on.
But unfortunately there are some hiccups that happen along the way and it’s my job to make sure that we document it correctly, we follow the plans, the specifications and build a building correctly. So there were instances where I’ve given them noncompliances for rebar not being placed correctly or them placing water in concrete that was not authorized. And they get in my face and say, you don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’ve read up on the plans and specs night and day got familiar with the project to where I was confident enough to carry out those conversations and more or less put them in their place. “No, this is the way we got to do it. This is what we need to follow. This is the corrective action that’s needed.”
And I knew I was representing the ECS and you I took that with pride. You’re a company that brought you on I want to make sure I’m doing the best for that. So whenever I was dealt with those hot, heavy situations, I did my best to consult it to where we could find a resolution move on to next step. Obviously, if those are further roadblocks, then at that given points is when I reached out to Dave for the next course of action. But that’s typically how I dealt with those situations and you pretty much put the plans in their face and say, hey, this is what’s written. I didn’t create these rules. This is what needs to be done.
Steve Gosselin: That’s when you can fall back on the architect and say, hey, this is what the architect said. Obviously Dave’s had a big impact on you and your career. Let me ask you this, who in your new role, who are you met entering, how you passing it on, how you passing it back to the folks that you’re working with now?
Rey Ruiz: Gotcha. Well, I’ve got several department managers under me. I got Aaron Gambrel, Sidney [Holtsa 00:19:44] and a young engineer by the name of Steven Forrest [0:00:19:47]. I would say if anything, I’m leading the most towards Steven Forrest as far as mentorship goes, because I see him as myself when I started out with ECS. And every challenge we’re give him, he knocks it out the, park and it almost mimics the relationship me and Dave had.
And going to Aaron and Sidney, Aaron’s a bit older than me, so it’s a unique relationship there, but he recognizes the hard work I do and tries to mimic that with the staff he has. He’s not used to the management role as far as managing 20-plus folks in his team. So trying to teach him and help him recognize some mid-level guys that can help assist with the management that he wants to implement, as well as taking what I learned from Dave, giving folks an opportunity, taking the time to sit with them, to teach them new things, and it works.
And I had the experience when I started out with ECS of working with a manager that didn’t do those things, and he is no longer with us today. And it reflected it, technicians quit regularly. It was a revolving door in that materials testing department, where if you got a good manager that sits, gets to learn about his team personally and work wise that they want to stay on board longer. Dave implemented a unique culture here. And so I’ve taken that and want to do the same, but with my own little twist to it.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. Excellent. That’s a great response and really good advice for our listeners. And one thing that I’ll share with you and I know working with Dave, you’ve learned this, but just always remember that it’s really an honor to privilege to work in this capacity to mentor and lead and manage folks. Always be humble, always be modest, engage with your people, get to know them, understand their needs and concerns, do your best to be a compassionate leader.
And, I can tell that’s why you’re doing so well, and you’re so successful, because that seems to be part of your DNA. Just never forget that. I know you know already, but as you progress, there are going to be days when it’s challenging and things aren’t going to go right. Something’s not going to go right in the field or somebody’s going to make questionable decision, and it’s real easy to get mad or lose your temper, things like that, but just do your best to engage with your folks and make sure that when you engage, you’re engaging on their terms at their level and you have a conversation about, okay, well what happened?
And then the same thing when you’re dealing with clients in the field, especially contractors, sometimes they’re just challenging you. It’s like, okay, you really know the plans spec or do you really feel strongly about this? Or is there some middle ground, some way we can compromise on this. And sometimes there is, and sometimes there isn’t. So as a branch manager, you’re always kind of in between a rock and a hard place. You’re always in that spot where you’re getting challenged, just be humble and be honest and be modest with your folks.
Rey Ruiz: Yep. Agree.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. The other thing you have a benefit of, especially in Florida, y’all have a great team down there. Not only in Tampa, but the leadership there, Joe Champion, Joey Broussard. You’re working directly with Dave, Cliff Hendrickson, Mike Gruber, John Hicks, a lot of really great people down to here to work with. And I know that y’all are spending a lot of time together, so make sure you’re picking their brain and finding out how they’ve become so successful as well too. A little bit envious, you being in Tampa and working with that team… and I know you know this, not everybody gets that opportunity. You’re really in a great spot and it shows in the results you’re producing. So good work.
Rey Ruiz: Thank you.
Steve Gosselin: What else, Julie, you got anything else in your mind?
Julie Smith: Yeah. We talked a little bit about your rise through ECS and moving from project manager to department manager and some of those skills that you acquired through a mentorship and through working with some great leaders that Steve alluded to. Can you talk to us a little bit more about like what you did with your department to kind of build in that culture and some of those very practical things that you learned and then implemented with your team?
Rey Ruiz: Yeah. When I first took over as the D4 department manager, it was previously ran by a manager who… A great guy, but wasn’t too keen on the operations. Where I was a big fan with, of making things work automatically to where it was easy to work with. And I took the time to sit with a lot of my project managers and the ECS systems and whatnot while implementing the culture that Dave has established.
And again, with my own little twist. I’m a big operations guy. I love seeing things work effectively and efficiently. I don’t like to see things that are disorganized and whatnot. And I spend that time with the folks and understanding the lost time to get captured, to make them more efficient, to make us more profitable to where we can knock it out the park for a given year, make bonuses and whatnot and recognize the hard work and get rewarded for our hard work.
It was definitely tough. The D4 manager position is no easy position. First taking over, I was point of contact. You’re getting these calls in the morning at 2:00 AM where the contractor’s pissed off, “Where the hell’s your technician? It’s 2:15. I got second truck down,” and you’re rubbing the crushing guys and calling folks and figuring it out. And it’s been a couple times where, you got to put your pants on and got on the field and take care of the client. It’s happened to me several times happened, Dave, we want to make sure the client, the game taken care of and these hiccups do occur, but it also helps folks recognize like, wow, he’s in the trenches with us. He’s not just sitting behind his desk, pointing his finger and telling you what to do. Showing that type of management style, showing the guys like, hey, I’m in it with you guys. I want to make sure we’re taking care of our clients from start to finish. They take note of that and they mimic it as well with their jobs and whatnot.
And not only that, you want to train for your replacement someday? So, and that’s what Dave always preached on. So I’ve got a army of project managers who are heading to being mid-level guys and constantly teaching them because you never know what positions become available and what are the opportunities they may face. Florida’s a very young subsidiary and it’s growing fast. And the leadership we got here is strong and I’m excited to see what it’s going to be in the next five years.
Steve Gosselin: So are we, and you summed it up very succinctly there. I mean the recipe for success and leadership, especially in this company, taking care of your folks, taking care of your people and taking care of your clients. We got to be good technically. We got to have certifications. We have to have licenses. We have to have continuing education. We got to have experience, all that stuff’s important. But at the end of the day, if you’re taking care of your folks, you’re taking care of your clients, it’s really not that difficult an industry and a job.
And I’m not trying to make light of what we do every day because I know how challenging it is. You’ve alluded to it as well. Having to get up early in the morning and take those calls and disgruntled clients, but really you take care of your folks. You take care of your clients, so you’re going to be very successful and it shows in what you’re doing and where you are right now.
Rey Ruiz: For sure. Yep.
Steve Gosselin: Rey, let’s ask this question. What fills your cup? What makes you happy and what brings you joy?
Rey Ruiz: When it comes to work? We love winning, and I love bringing the team in when we have those victories, whether it’s the next big job or we had an awesome month or a great profitable year, then we go out, grab drinks and just celebrate with each other. That’s something I love doing. I love the team, we work with the culture we have here, so I would say winning for sure.
When it comes to my home life, it’s just the family, social events, connecting where everybody seeing how everybody’s doing. Like I said, I really enjoy family time. That’s how was how I was raised, always having Thanksgiving with the family, spending holidays with the family birthdays and whatnot, setting up weekly dinners, all that stuff. So family time, that’s what makes me truly happy.
For my own selfish reasons, I like to kick back with the lights off and game out all night if I could. But I don’t get that luxury because I got two little ones and whatnot, so it’s tough for me to put that in my schedule nowadays.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. So speaking of family, you still have family back in Brooklyn?
Rey Ruiz: I do. I actually just spent the weekend with my sister who was down here for the weekend. So yep. Still got my family that live in the same old house. They’re actually putting it up for the market and looking to move down here. So I’m a bit excited because a chunk of my family’s moving down here to Tampa with me so that way I don’t have to travel back up north to see them anymore.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah, yeah.
Rey Ruiz: But yeah, I still got quite a bit up there, and that’s the main reason I go back home. It’s just to see them. It’s not for New York City, the city life. I moved past that. I’m looking forward to making Tampa the new big city for me.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. So when you take your kids there, especially your 10-year-old son, what’s the reaction like, going to Brooklyn?
Rey Ruiz: He loves it.
Steve Gosselin: No kidding.
Rey Ruiz: When he sees… He loves snow, he loves seeing snow, but he hasn’t lived in it. When he lives day in and day out and you wake up shivering and your water pipes are frozen and you can’t take a bath. So when he learns those true tough obstacles, I think he’ll feel a different way, but he gets to see it in bits and pieces. So he loves the way the city looks, the atmosphere, the way everything’s right there. You don’t have to drive everywhere. And like I said, the snow component to it.
Steve Gosselin: Yeah. And then getting to spend time with the family too. I bet he loves that.
Rey Ruiz: Yeah, of course. Yeah, for sure.
Steve Gosselin: That’s cool. That’s great. All right. Anything else, Julie, for when we sign off?
Julie Smith: No, I think this has been a great conversation. We appreciate hearing your story and rise to leadership, if you will, Rey, and the importance and value that mentorship has played in your career. And yeah, I think this has been a great conversation. Thanks.
Steve Gosselin: It’s a tremendous story, it really is. And I know you and your family, immediate family, your extended family are proud, proud of you. And I know that you sometimes might want to blow it off, but don’t take that for granted. What you’ve done and where you’re at right now is a big deal. And so make sure that every once in a while you pat yourself on the back.
That’s hard for all of us to do being folks that want to win, folks that are engaged all the time, folks that are working hard in their career and taking care of your family. And yeah, you might get a chance, every once in a while to get some alone time and maybe do some gaming or stuff like that, but really take some time and just acknowledge all the gifts that you have, all the things that have come to you and make sure you fill yourself up with gratitude, because you really are. It’s a great story. We’re excited to have you where you’re at, and I know there’s nothing but great things for you and your family as you move forward in your career.
So thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule. I know exactly how busy you guys are in Florida. I talk with them all the time, so we really appreciate you sharing your story with us. And I look forward to meeting you face to face some day too.
Rey Ruiz: Cool. Well, I appreciate it, Julie and Steve, I enjoyed this very much.
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Outro
Steve Gosselin: Thank you for listening to Coffee Talk: From the Ground Up. We hope you enjoy today’s episode. If you have an idea on future topics, guests, or are up for round of golf, you can call me, text me, email me, just get in touch with me, and I’ll get it to Julie, and we’ll get it set up.
Julie Smith: And for those of you that don’t want to play golf and you may hate talking on the phone. That’s okay. You can send us an email at ecsmarketing@ecslimited.com. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode.
Steve Gosselin: Thanks Julie, here’s to having a great day.