February 6, 2025 • 36 mins
Jim Rhodes, Chairman of ReGroup Carolinas, joins Trent and Patrick on “At Home with Roby”. Founded in 2019, ReGroup Carolinas’ mission is to increase economic mobility and decrease the skills gap across the construction industry. With a local chapter in Charlotte, NC, a second chapter was launched last fall in Asheville, NC in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Tune in to hear how both chapters are working together to get those in need back in stable living conditions through the ReGroup WNC Hurricane Relief Fund.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Three two one. Welcome to at Home with Roby.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Patrick mcaac from Roby Commercial and Services on with
Trent Hayson from the Roby Family of Companies.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
We are your hosts. We are feels a little bit different,
doesn't it trend?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
First show on a straight podcast. I heart radio. I
heeart media.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
You think some of this fancy equipment can take the
draw out of your voice.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I don't think I have much of an accent anymore.
You refine that, huh, I'm working on it.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I hear you. I take classes to dumb down my accent.
Can't you tell folks that is authentic Catawba river slang
that you're hearing right there? It says it's not to us.
You don't hear it very much anymore.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
It's a good conculction of West Side people. Well, I
figured you knew we're on this new from the eighties.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We're in this new, fancy studio with all this equipment
that where you know we're not used to the only
thing I am used to is making fun of you.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So I figured you can bring it right back at me,
and that'll make it a little more comfortable. You don't
bother me.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Go ahead, and tell you, and now we have a camera.
So when we started our radio show over eight years ago,
close to nine years ago, we were video in it
for the podcast side and we stopped because we were
so ugly.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
But I think we've aged well. I hope so.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
And we have Jim Rhodes as our guest today. He
is a good, handsome young man, one handsome man.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
The funny thing about that is, like I always I
feel like I look the same as I always have.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
And I came in andto my head shots had to
be updated.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So Christian and Vanessa got the lady set up and
they were pulling up my old headshot, which I still
think I look like that, and they're.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Like, look how you were a baby, Look how young
you were. I thought you looked young in that picture.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Man, you mean a little different. And then they take
the picture and I got all this gray hair.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I don't know what happened. I got a great beard,
all right, looks good. I was supposed to shave.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
This morning and uh, I didn't get to it. So
that is what it is.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
So this is this is what you're going out with here,
this is your look.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
I'm taking ford to get no for today I'm gonna
save here pretty soon. I'm taking Forward to get a haircut,
and Reagan needed some help.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I'm gonna go pick him up from school.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Him and Knots, which is great, his boy club and
uh and and I take him to Ballards. That's our
that's our new old school, new school, but old school.
Field Barbershop is downtown Belmont. Ford's guy, I mean Dustin.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
He's edgy.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
You know, he's got all the cool tattoo's doing it
all man, he's and he's cool.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
So that's Ford guy. And uh. Ford told me last night,
I said, your beard sure did grow a lot while
you were gone.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I wanted just on a YPO trip last week. I said,
you think so? You think I need to shave? He said,
uh yeah, maybe yeah. So this morning I was taking
him to school and he said, are you say take
you to get He said, are you getting.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Your beard trimmed at the barber? And I didn't ever,
I didn't think.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
I didn't think he ever realized that a barber trims
your beard. Uh huh, I'm gonna I said, I'm no,
I'm gonna trim it today and I haven't so I
might get called out. I don't know, but I don't
have an appointment, so I'm not definitely. Uh, you might
have to try that out. I'm not paying to get
my beer trimmed.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I'll bet you end up doing it.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
It's kind of.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Against my rule.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I've never paid for a beard trim I bet you're
going to my old boy, Ron God rest his soul
on Willomson Boulevard. Ron's barber over over sixty years in
the same spot. Besides Southern Hardware. He uh, he would
do it well just because he cared. He would use
like a straight, straight red too.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
He would.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
He did a lot of things. He's pretty was a
good one. He's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
So what do you think about all this? Man? I mean,
this is a different feel for us. I'm digging it.
It took me a little little getting used to.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
But uh, I will say one thing about Ron. Jim
Hilley owns Southern Hardware, all right, and he hit me
up a couple months ago. Ron passed away. We lost
Ron about a year and a half ago. Uh, And
I wasn't planned. He was definitely older gentleman in his uprades,
(04:29):
but he was awesome. And Reagan we had fallen in
so much love. Reestorns at Sedgefield Barber was our old
school barber. He aged up and then I went about
five years younger and got Ron and I kind of
knew Ron through my dad and he had just been
(04:49):
on Wilson Boulevard for years.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So so we built this my family.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
He did Knox's first hair cut and was cutting Forward's
hair and we built this relationationship with Ron that was very,
very very special. And Uh, Reagan, he really most of
these old men really like my wife. Reagan got some
pictures done and framed them like a collage, and then
(05:17):
one picture of me Ford knocks Uh and Ron and
framed him and gave him to him and put him
in his barbershop, sixty year old barbershop, and he hung
him proudly on the wall.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Well.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Well, then he passed away and it was busy time
in life. And so.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Jim calls me six months ago and says, hey, I
have these pictures because he ran into barbershop he owns
to Hardborones the building. He said, I have these pictures.
I'm pretty positive as you in these pictures, you want
to come get them. So I mean, man, it is
I'm running down Wilkinson. I'm never really like stopping in
so that so the other day, uh, I had Knocks
(05:59):
with me and I said, this is a good memory.
I need to buy him a pocket knife. Anyway, so
Reagan said, a write a passage. So we stopped in, asked,
I called. I called him from the parking lot and
we got the two frame pictures. One is me, Ford,
Knox and Ron, a big picture like eight x ten
(06:21):
and Ford proudly put it on his bookshelf. And last
night we got home from our trip, we ran there
and Knox looked at the pictures. They were having their
own conversation. Me and Ragan were on the other side
of the room trying to fix his dresser, and Knox goes,
who's that. He's four and a half years old, and
he pointed to himself as a baby, and Ford said,
(06:42):
that's you.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
That's Ron. He's the best barber ever. Said.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Then this morning I woke forward up for school and
I was like, you like having that picture here, don't you?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
He said, yeah? So what was k nots asking you
about it? He said, he asked me who he was?
Who Nots was?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
So I took the other one to my office and
hung it in my office. Uh so, now we got
ballards of the whole conversation. Try them out, Bellmont.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Well, the other thing I want to ask you about,
I want to follow up question on the pocket.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Now, how did that go with? Oh? Oh, you left
a big part of that story out. I've heard this one. Well, no,
I'll tell this story quickly.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
So during COVID, my buddy Charles Blevin's been on the radio,
calls us as asked me to go look at a
piece of property with him up up above Salisbury, Statesville,
up up north side of town.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
He says, meet me at this old hardware store.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
This one.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Everything's closed. So I meet him at the old hardware store.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
They have a humongous case billboard of an old case knife.
But the hardware store is closed because of COVID. So
I take forward with him and when I have you
wanna go knock around with dad?
Speaker 1 (07:51):
He's like yeah, yeah, yeah. So we go look at
this property.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
We were there walking around this field woods for five
six hours. Four was ready to roll, So I I
told I told Charles when we were leaving, I was like,
it'd be pretty cool if that store was open. I'd
buy a ford a case knife and we had bought
a non case but the similar knife at at at
(08:14):
Southern Hardware on Wilson.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
And uh, he says, I know the guy, I let
call him. So he makes a call. Boom boom boom.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
We go back to get my truck and old man
lets us in the back door. This guy's like eighty
years old. And this is before you knew what was
going to happen with COVID, and I'm like, whoa, who who?
I mean, you don't really go in buildings anymore for
a little while, you know. This is late spring of twenty,
I guess. So we walk in. They have all these
(08:43):
cases of case knives, and I asked the old fellow.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
I was like, hey, what.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
First off, I'm nervous because of COVID. This guy's eighty
years old. I'm like, what the what kind of knives
you got? I want to buy him his first case knife.
So he says he shows me. He says, hey, young man,
I got these knives and it looked like stainless, still
more modern, got safeties on them. And I'm like, I'm
(09:09):
kind of looking for like a peanut texture, like a
burn orange like he got on a billboard outside. He's like, humm,
looks at me. He says, these these have safeties. They
don't have any safeties, and they're sharp. His son will
cut yourself. So uh, I said.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Nah, that's what I want.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Man, Leave me alone, let me go. Let me get
my man a knife. So he opens the case. I said, yeah,
one like to sign and gets look, gives me the knife.
I look at it has two blazer really sharp.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I open up.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
I give it to Ford. I said, for you want
to you who? I go get a you who. This
place has it all. I go get me a cheer
of wine. I go to come back, and I'm paying
the guy for the knives and Ford. The guy said
had got the knife back for the something about the
case and said, son, you want your knife and he
said huh huh, and he had his hands balled up
(10:00):
and they were in his pocket. He said huh. I'm like,
what wasn't the heck? So I paid the guy and
I said and when the guy took my cash and
was not paying attention to us, Ford opened his hand
and it was completely a handful of red blood. And
I'm like, oh, I'm like hey, I didn't say anything.
(10:24):
The guy gave me my money back. I said, sir,
you got a restroom. And this is COVID. Nobody had
been in the story. He's like, hey, this is going on.
I want you use my restroom during COVID. So he said, yeah,
over there, So I take Ford in there. He kept
his mouth shut. We closed the door, and he said
and he opens his hand and I said.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Uh, what, what the heck? He said, you know what
the heck? So I wrapped why sho it?
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Wrap a paper towel around it, and he says, stick
it in your pocket.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
We got to go.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
So I come out in the bathroom. I come out
in the bathroom and I'm like, thank you, sir, see
you later. We got to go. Charles Evans is like, yo,
you will stand a truck and drink your you and
cheer wine and chew to cut. I'm like, uh no.
We get out around the corner. I'm like, no, man,
look and Ford holds his hand out and he's.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Oh, good god, you need to go to the hospital.
I said no, no, no, no, no. We getting in
the troll. We got to roll. He's like, dang.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
So we're going down eighty five for an hour trying
to get towards home, and uh, Ford went to sleep
because he's been walking, walking all day, hiking, and uh
he was kind of pale.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
And Charles Charles.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Called me and FaceTime he says that boy all right,
I say he's sleeping and I showed him Ford.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
He's like he's gonna die. So for so Ford, uh.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Rag Reagan calls me about forty five minutes later and
I'm talking to her and Ford wakes up because he
hears his mama's voice and he goes, Mama, I caught
myself with the pocket knife.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
I'm like, you hit.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Busted? What is your problem?
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Man?
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Can have no secrets?
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Before we bring Jim on this show. Wasn't rigged out
of town when you bought Docks his knife?
Speaker 4 (12:16):
No?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Uh the other day, Yeah, wasn't she out of town?
I don't.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I don't know that before now has a knife collection.
That quote we keep in my safe. Uh but uh,
Charles is like, this guy is a true man.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
This seven year old's something else. Six five year old
I think that was five ten now.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
So uh so I'm like, no, you wanna you want
to pocka Knott got a little case at the Southern.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Hardware And then he didn't want to go in there.
I want him to know how cool this is.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
And uh, he said, oh yeah, how old a knife?
Speaker 1 (12:52):
He's four and a half.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
So I said, hey, I'll get one too, So you
get this old old Henry.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
I think. I said get a knife, I get a knife.
So he had his knife. It wasn't as sharp as
the case, but I gave it to himself.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Look good, you can't open unless I'm with it looked
like with you like and uh.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Reagan said, I went, I had to go to.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Something that evening. I came home and she said, oh yeah,
you got not the pocket knife. I guess it's a
right of passage. You cut his hand and poked a
hole in our autumn. That's the part I was put
it open.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I was like, are you serious?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Like dude, and uh, he's like a tail between his legs. Anyway,
now he has a knife collection. It is.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
It is a rite of passage. Jim Rose, did you
have pocket knife growing up?
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Oh? My whole life.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I'm just sitting here dying laughing this boys. Man, I
got three girls. It's totally different. Yeah. I could give
one of my daughters a knife, and they did. They
put it in there beside their best side table and
it stay save for ten years. You give a boy
a knife, he's got himself hand cut in fifteen seconds.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
We went to Canada one time on a family vacation
and I was like, Dad, I really want to buy
a knife. I bet that they got really good ones
in Canada. He was like, sure, O get what you
want to get. He said, I bought a Gerber knife,
cut the absolute crap out of my hand and returned it.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I was like, I don't, I don't. I'm not ready
for this. See, man, unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I mean, the first thing I think about when I
think of a Canadian as a gotta.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Have a great Pogget knife.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Just asked Brag Cameron, our GM of the Commercial Services. Yeah,
he's a good old Canadian.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Well, one more thing, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Jim Roads is a returning guest on the At Home
with Ruby show. I want you to talk give yourself
a little business story, talk about your business, and then
I also want to talk about you helping with your
hometown in that region on the aftermath of Helene. Uh
and and these storms that have affected so many But
(15:06):
uh speaking of kid boys will be boys on the
River one time, my brother was probably twelve and I
was eight, and I was bringing the lumber and my
other neighbor was helping, and they were chopping.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
We're gonna build. We were building a fort.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
And they had a little racks set up and he
was chopping these five inches you know trees.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I was carrying them.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
To him, and they started hollering, Tred, Tred, Trent, I'm
in the woods bringing this tree back. And uh, I'm like,
oh man, I'm good, bringing the best trees ever, like
this is.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
I'm on the top, top of the world. Good.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
So I'm too, probably younger than Forward by a couple
of years. And I come back and he had missed
the tree with the hatchet and hit his uh his calf,
and I mean he's just today has a has a
three inch scar on his head, asked him, Yeah, I
need to see that thing had chopped his calf between
his bone and his cattle hustle about three inches long.
(16:02):
I saw jelly. That's all I'm gonna say. I don't
know much about the medical world, but it wasn't pretty.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And they weren't proud of my trees. It was the
trees fault. And I don't think the clubhouse ever got built. Yeah,
Travis is out of commission for six months.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
So uh anyway, Jim, welcome, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
That's pretty cool new Yeah, Digs, y'all got going on here.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Yeah, it's definitely a little different, isn't it?
Speaker 4 (16:31):
Yeah? Yeah, this is nice.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
You are the analogy little guest.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Hey, Jim, Wow, Yeah, and all things certain things in life.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Do you remember the first time.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
First time I was here was clarify WHOA get a
little more edgy on the at Home with Ruby show?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Here now the word I know? But you are? We
we we you had come.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
We ran into each other at Trensponfire and you, uh
you said, I got really something important I want to
talk about.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Could I be a guest?
Speaker 2 (17:02):
And we thought nobody better to have on the very
first show with our Heart Radio to talk about something
that you have really championed. I know you won't take
any of the credits to your personality, but part of
Regroup and you have helped to expand that chapter Regroup
something that we do here in Charlotte into Asheville.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
And the response has been phenomenal.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Yeah, it really has been. It's cool to be with
you two to talk about it, because Patrick, you won't
mention it either. But you're part of Regroup and have
been instrumental in helping us raise funds and gain awareness
and be some social capital for the kids that we
work with here in Charlotte. But when Regroup was kind
of in its infancy, we were trying to find a
part in the organization to support and we found.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
The Rock Charlotte.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Yeah, and I was going, all right, I got to
figure out how to get tied into this organization. And
I go to the website and start looking through the
board members and who do I find but old Trent
over here. Shoot him a message and he.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Organized, that's my boys, big forehead.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
I was like, he can hook us up, and so
we know you and Darren and I went and grabbed
a breakfast and uh, and we've been partnered up with
It's been four years now. I would say we're going
into our fourth year now.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Of of that breakfast was like six years ago.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
It seems like it. Man alive. Everything seems like a
million years ago.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
I know, the booth at Skyland we ate.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
What's interesting is that we were talking about COVID and
one of the first people I remember talking to when
COVID really got bad was Darren ash We were on
the phone talking about something and I don't know if
you've heard it my voice, this is the level of fear.
And he's like, calm down, tell everybody. The old man
says it's gonna be okay. Yeah, which which was which
was what I needed to hear at the time, obviously.
(18:44):
But what a wonderful guy in the rock. You've been
involved with the Rock since the beginning. Yeah, I've been
on the board since the beginning.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Yeah. So, And Darren's an angel to our industry and
to young people.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
He's an angel to a lot of endeavors. And Regroup
has done so much and jumping in the head first.
And and what's what's our boys named? Is the finance on.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
The board Matt Brewster.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Yeah, Matt Brewster me as smart match.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
The man works over at MSS and is the president
of our Charlotte chapter.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
And oh he's the president of Charlotte Redgroup Chapter. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
We we just recently did that going into this year,
just because we opened up the Charlotte or excise me,
the Ashville chapter, the Western North Carolina chapter, which John
Newman is heading up up there. With a bunch of
really good, solid people who were focused on for now
as Hurricane Helene relief. Right, that's our focus right now,
but over time we want to pivot and adopt the
(19:44):
exact same mission in western North Carolina that we have
here in Charlotte, which will be great.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
That is wonderful. So how did when did you start
that chapter?
Speaker 4 (19:56):
Man? It kind of just came together organically, right, So
what we've been in Charlot since twenty nineteen and the
mission here in Charlotte for those aren't aware of what
Regroup is is to it's a group of construction professionals
and our mission is to increase economic mobility and decrease
the skills gap and the construction trades. And there's just
a massive need for good, hard work and skilled people
(20:19):
who want to make a good living and raise a
good family in the construction industry and people don't realize it.
And so part of our goal was to help spread
that word and then partner with organizations they're going to
give people a vision of what life they can achieve,
like the Rock does, and then the skills hard and
soft skills to achieve it. And then what Regroup does
is support that monetarily, but also with some mentorship and
(20:41):
social capital and helping them bring some of those students
into the industry and into our organizations that really believe
in growing people organically and from within and promoting them.
So that's what Regroup in Charlotte's been about for a while.
But anybody that lives in North Carolina knows. You know,
in late September when Helene came through, it just gutted
(21:02):
western North Carolina. Yeah, and you know, you can argue
back and forth on whether we should have been prepared,
but I don't think you can. I mean, I grew
up in Ashville, and I can remember there are two
ways to get to I grew up in North Ashville.
When I went to Ashville High there were two ways
to get to school. You could either drive straight through
the middle of downtown and Merrimann Avenue, or if you
(21:23):
were worried about traffic or just didn't, you know, kind
of want to take the long way around. You go
Swanna know where River Road and that went right along
the river, and I can remember there's a bunch of
old manufacturing buildings there and there as we crossed over
the railroad tracks and went out towards the river. There
was one brick that was painted I mean, you know,
twenty feet up in the air, painted white, and that
(21:45):
was always you know my mom. I remember she would
tell us, you know, that was that was the brick
back and of course she wasn't alive then. But in
nineteen sixteen when the floods came.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And that was how high the floods got.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
That was how high the floods died back in nineteen sixteen,
which was it was I think just over twenty feet,
which was the record ever, right wow. And so to
put things into perspective, it was ten feet higher than that,
right this one hundred years later, one hundred years later,
when Helene came through, it was ten feet higher than
(22:18):
that man. And so I can just remember, you know,
looking at that brick and how could whatever be that high?
I mean, that was taller than most buildings down there
on the river. How could it ever be that high?
And then to think that it was ten feet higher,
and then you know, my like many people that had
family up there, you know, I lost touch with them
on Friday after the storm came through, either because towers
(22:41):
went down or some of the towers that were left
the emergency departments took offline because they needed that to
manage their own.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
People back and forth.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
Right, So, luckily I had some good friends on Saturday
who went over and checked on some of my family
and our other friend's family and for those of us
that weren't in Nashville when they got back to a
high ground and send us some text message of hey,
they're they're safe. And so we we loaded a bunch
of supplies up on Sunday and and went up there
and picked up my dad and we were down and
(23:10):
checked on people and had supplies off and fuel and
all that and and for the next week we just
started running supplies back and forth. Well, you know, back
to your question, how did how did it start? In
western North Carolina? John Newman, who who lives over in
Fairview and runs material sales companies up there. He runs
UH their quarries. He was so involved from the very
(23:32):
beginning because if you sell rock and you have a
natural disaster that washes out all the all the roads
and bridges, then obviously you're very involved with the with
the state and county UH emergency response team pretty quickly,
and so he was going to some of the worst
places and seeing what was happening and working his butt
off to try to get uh some stone on trucks
(23:53):
to get to areas so that they can get emergency
relief workers in there and and either rescue people. I mean,
at this point, we weren't trying to rebuild roads. It's
trying to people that check on them and then get
them to life safety.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
And so John just had a first hand experience that
he he got us all. You know, if I'm Peter Alannis,
was a group of our fantasy football team, right, our
fantasy football group of guys. There were fifteen to twenty
of us, and you knew John from your childhood. We
grew up together, Okay, Well.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Just happened to be in similar industries.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Yep, yep, went to school and is he state together?
He know all of us were either either farmers or
construction workers.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
One way. Yeah, yeah, I got cha. You're all city
slickers out of NC state.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Nah, I see Carolina boys. Yeah, but so so John.
He said, guys, let's just get on a call and
hang out with each other. You know, you could tell
he needed a little bit of a respite. He'd been
working twenty plus hours a day, and and we recorded
the call, not because we thought that it would be
(24:56):
something cool for posterity, but just uh, because it was
somebody on the on the little Zoom meeting we had
automatically recorded. And I'm glad we did because I've gone
back and looked to that a couple of times, and
you just see the emotion coming out of everybody, uh,
but especially John as he's sharing his experience. And about
an hour in, we go, man, we got to do something.
(25:17):
What can we do?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
What?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
You know, you just kind of feel helpless, especially those
of us that are that are in Charlotte. And and
you know, we had people that were across the country
in New Mexico and Washington State and California, and and
then some that were there around in this area. And
what can we do? And and John says, man, we
got to raise some money somehow. And and I said, well, guys,
(25:41):
I sent a text message out to some buddies on
Tuesday and just said I stopped by the Bunk County
Mercy Response and they didn't have enough gas for their
employees to get back and forth to work. You know,
if y'all want to donate through Regroup, Regroup's going to
go buy some fuel and provide it to that emergency
(26:02):
response UH center. And man, we raised ten grand wow,
and in two days just by sending out a text
message to thirty guys. Right, and so we said, if
we can, if we can do that, you know, maybe
we can just start a Western North Carolina chapter. And
eventually we do want to get to where we're focused.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
On workforce development.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Workforce development first and rebuilding Western North Carolina and showing people,
you know, you know there's not only is it a
good industry to be in, but now it's in very
necessary industry in West North Carolina. But right now, you know,
we need to focus on relief. And so we came
up with a mission of getting people back and stable
living conditions where their need falls in between their means
(26:48):
and the social safety net. And there's just so much
need up there.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
I mean, it's it's still real bad, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
It's amazing. I mean, there were you know, I think
over sixty billion dollars in damages they're estimating across West
North Carolina.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
They're sixty b B with a B.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
There was there over one hundred and twenty thousand homes
damaged by the storm, a thousand bridges washed out or
damaged one way or another, you know, six thousand miles
of road. And there there are people that are that
we still don't even in my mind know the full
extent of what they're dealing with. Right that, just because
the it's not an acute need where you can go
(27:25):
to one neighborhood and see what's going on.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
It's across everywhere.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
It's from ash County above Wilkes over to Heywood County,
you know, and in the far western part of the state.
So you just it's brutal. It really is brutal. But
there there's so many good people there.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I'll tell you this.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
The one one loss of life is way too much.
I think it's one hundred plus loss of lives.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
But work force development wise, if the government can do
the right thing and put the money up and help
folks rebuild, there's going to be a lot of construction
opportunity for people that want jobs and want to go
work in the next decade or two.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
So it's not going to be a year long rebound.
It's going to be a five or two long term.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
You know what's crazy, I say this, I go to
boon a lot that area of that region of the mountains,
and even being in Ashville over the years, you see
these old steel, big humongous cars in the creek beds
and down in ravines and you're like, man, these crazy
mountain people just.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Drop cars down in a hole.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
And then you realize you live this and like all
the wise old fellas say, you don't know till you know,
you know, you got to My dad used to do
this where everything goes in cycles and circles. They didn't
put a there, God put them there. So it's crazy,
(29:06):
it really is. And you think about the people that
need help. We were in a community Beacon Village last
week talking with some of those homeowners and this is
if our office at Wayne Brothers is up in Davidson,
Kannapolis area, and so most people or everybody in that
area is hurt of Canon Mills, right, most people even
(29:26):
down here in Charlotte hurdc Canon Mills and so around
Canon Mills. During the nineteen hundreds, they built a bunch
of these mill homes, right, and that was the workers
that worked at Cannon lived in those mill homes. The
same thing for Beacon Mill in Swana Nooa and so
Beacon Village is right off a Highway seventy and Swanaoah.
They're five hundred feet away from the Swananoa River and
(29:51):
they had water not just come across Highway seventy but
into their yard. And then you hear just harrowing stories
of within an hour it went from coming into their
house to them climbing up into their attic and it
coming into their attic and people hashting themselves out of
their attic into the roof.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Right.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
I mean you hear people that talk. They grab their
kids and their pets and they're swimming to trees to
try to you know, get out of their home. Right.
So yeah, it's I mean it's tough to put yourself
in that situation, in that moment, in that harrowing moment.
But then once you survive it. You don't have flood insurance.
Why would you ever have flood in shirts it. You're
(30:30):
five hundred feet away from any source of water that
could ever flood you. But when when water comes up,
you know, thirty feet and in an hourbelievable, what are
you going to do? So back to what you were
talking about, Trent, Yeah, cars got put in rivers a
bunch of them. We've seen bridges that had been there
for one hundred years get twisted up like they were nothing.
I mean, big steel beam and concrete bridges just get
(30:52):
twisted and chucked down river a few hundred feet. You know.
There's big sprinter vans that we've seen just with their
axles ripped off. You think about the force of what
all came through, and it's just been brutal, and those
of us are just living here in Charlotte and other places.
Life just goes on right. You kind of forget about it.
(31:14):
But when you go back up there like we've been doing,
it's still a war zone everywhere. On the top of mountains,
there's trees down everywhere. Down in the valleys, everything's washed out.
In between. It's just constant dragging mud and dirt across
the town. Is amazing. People, if you haven't had a
chance to go and visit and just kind of talk
(31:36):
to the people and let them know you're still thinking
about them, go up to West North Carolina and see
what it looks like. Because they still need the tourism
money that's sustained them forever.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
People to go spend money, but that's one way to help.
That's one way to help me that immediately every day.
How Yeah, it's gonna I'm going the same place you are.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
How can people help, I mean from your perspective, can
they give the re Group? We're recording this early February
twenty twenty five, so this was three months ago when
these hurricanes came through, three four months ago.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Tell us how people can help.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Yeah. Regroup Carolinas dot org is our website and we've
got links there on how you can give. Regroup's been around,
like we said, since twenty nineteen. We fouled a tax
return every single year, very very well run and reputable organization.
All of the money, outside of the cost of filing
that tax return goes straight back out into the community.
(32:32):
And we got a nice account and good accountant Jim if.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
If I can add to that too.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
There are other ways to get involved with Regroup outside
of simply done any money. The one wonderful thing that
Regroup does is these events every year. Yeah, a lot
of people have been to early concert that we put on,
well received.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
You can get involved there.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
That money is also transferred over clay shoots, all kinds
of things and I'm sure I'm forgetting some of them.
But there's tons of ways to get involved with the
regroup outside of simply donating money. I know money is
a big need at the moment for sure as we
sit here in February, but just keep an eye out for.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Could you say regroup dot org.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
Regroup Carolina Carolinas dot org. Okay, I don't want yep.
And we tried to be real careful to keep the
two missions separate right now, right So, what we're doing
in Charlotte, that still goes to sustain the uh original
mission of increasingnock mobility and decreasing the skills gap in
construt strange. Any dollars that you give, any events like
what you were just talking about, Patrick, that still goes
(33:30):
to support that mission. But if you want, don't feel
like you have to know how to or can figure
out how to support those in West North Carolina, we
have a still through that same website, you can you
can pick how you want to give and you can
give to the West North Carolina relief Effort. And we've
done everything from buying jackets and meals and beds and
(33:54):
furniture to help and rebuild homes rebuilding private bridges that
got washed out. Some of the local PTA's that are
affiliated with the local high schools have been awesome and
we partnered up with them. Kids need therapy because they've
just seen some really horrific stuff. Wow, and whether they
need medicine or or just anything people need to get
(34:16):
back in a stable living condition. Regroup's been able to help.
And we've raised over a half million dollars so far
and uh and and have a pretty big bridge project
that will likely double that that. We're looking to partner
with New Core and a couple of other big organizations
on But we've been really blessed people like United Infrastructure Group,
(34:37):
Holston Gas just a number of really awesome organizations that
have some connection to western North Carolina have come in
and said, hey, we'd like to help. Eblin Charities, Evelin
Foundations an awesome. They gave us one hundred thousand dollars
last week. Goodness and just because they say, we see
you guys are out there in the community and and
(35:00):
uh and we want to give to organizations that are
that are getting our putting our dollars to work with
the people who need it most in the quickest fashion.
And that's really what we're trying to do.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Well, man, God, God bless you, God bless all these people. Now,
you know, I mean there's always something that's tragic, fires
out out out west.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
And and lift those up, you know.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
Help.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
We're gonna have to have Jim back to talk about
his day job. How can people find you? God, Almighty
buit out of time? How can they find you?
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Wayne Brothers Companies is awesome. If you go to Waynebrothers
dot com, you can you can find everything you know
about our wonderful organization. We work across the South. You
are awesome it Well, we're blessed. We're all blessed to
have really awesome people to work within the construction industry.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
Right.
Speaker 4 (35:51):
And Wayne Brothers is uh. You know, I've been there
twenty years now, and I can't imagine where I'd be
if I hadn't found that wonderful company that Keith Wayne
at a Career Fair didn't state back in two thousand
and five.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
Go back and and google uh podcast on that yeah
Gym Roads and he'll tell you'll hear that story, but
we'll have you back. We'll freshen that story up. I
thank you, Thank you a man of high places. You
at least the best sweeper in the room.
Speaker 4 (36:19):
So y'all are good to have me on. I appreciate
being the inaugural guests.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
This is a thank you.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
For being here and uh you the mission that you
wanted to talk about is a blessing.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Thank you, Thank you Patrick. What are we supposed to
go out and do?
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Were supposed to go smile? Always two people and treat
others the way you want to be treated, but carryus
smile around on your face, think about others all the time,
not just when it's easy, but when it's hard.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Thanks for listening to add home with Ruby
Three two one. Welcome to at Home with Roby.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Patrick mcaac from Roby Commercial and Services on with
Trent Hayson from the Roby Family of Companies.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
We are your hosts. We are feels a little bit different,
doesn't it trend?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
First show on a straight podcast. I heart radio. I
heeart media.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
You think some of this fancy equipment can take the
draw out of your voice.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
I don't think I have much of an accent anymore.
You refine that, huh, I'm working on it.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I hear you. I take classes to dumb down my accent.
Can't you tell folks that is authentic Catawba river slang
that you're hearing right there? It says it's not to us.
You don't hear it very much anymore.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
It's a good conculction of West Side people. Well, I
figured you knew we're on this new from the eighties.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We're in this new, fancy studio with all this equipment
that where you know we're not used to the only
thing I am used to is making fun of you.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So I figured you can bring it right back at me,
and that'll make it a little more comfortable. You don't
bother me.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Go ahead, and tell you, and now we have a camera.
So when we started our radio show over eight years ago,
close to nine years ago, we were video in it
for the podcast side and we stopped because we were
so ugly.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
But I think we've aged well. I hope so.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
And we have Jim Rhodes as our guest today. He
is a good, handsome young man, one handsome man.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
The funny thing about that is, like I always I
feel like I look the same as I always have.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
And I came in andto my head shots had to
be updated.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So Christian and Vanessa got the lady set up and
they were pulling up my old headshot, which I still
think I look like that, and they're.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Like, look how you were a baby, Look how young
you were. I thought you looked young in that picture.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Man, you mean a little different. And then they take
the picture and I got all this gray hair.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I don't know what happened. I got a great beard,
all right, looks good. I was supposed to shave.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
This morning and uh, I didn't get to it. So
that is what it is.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
So this is this is what you're going out with here,
this is your look.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
I'm taking ford to get no for today I'm gonna
save here pretty soon. I'm taking Forward to get a haircut,
and Reagan needed some help.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I'm gonna go pick him up from school.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Him and Knots, which is great, his boy club and
uh and and I take him to Ballards. That's our
that's our new old school, new school, but old school.
Field Barbershop is downtown Belmont. Ford's guy, I mean Dustin.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
He's edgy.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
You know, he's got all the cool tattoo's doing it
all man, he's and he's cool.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
So that's Ford guy. And uh. Ford told me last night,
I said, your beard sure did grow a lot while
you were gone.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I wanted just on a YPO trip last week. I said,
you think so? You think I need to shave? He said,
uh yeah, maybe yeah. So this morning I was taking
him to school and he said, are you say take
you to get He said, are you getting.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Your beard trimmed at the barber? And I didn't ever,
I didn't think.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
I didn't think he ever realized that a barber trims
your beard. Uh huh, I'm gonna I said, I'm no,
I'm gonna trim it today and I haven't so I
might get called out. I don't know, but I don't
have an appointment, so I'm not definitely. Uh, you might
have to try that out. I'm not paying to get
my beer trimmed.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I'll bet you end up doing it.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
It's kind of.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Against my rule.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
I've never paid for a beard trim I bet you're
going to my old boy, Ron God rest his soul
on Willomson Boulevard. Ron's barber over over sixty years in
the same spot. Besides Southern Hardware. He uh, he would
do it well just because he cared. He would use
like a straight, straight red too.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
He would.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
He did a lot of things. He's pretty was a
good one. He's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
So what do you think about all this? Man? I mean,
this is a different feel for us. I'm digging it.
It took me a little little getting used to.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
But uh, I will say one thing about Ron. Jim
Hilley owns Southern Hardware, all right, and he hit me
up a couple months ago. Ron passed away. We lost
Ron about a year and a half ago. Uh, And
I wasn't planned. He was definitely older gentleman in his uprades,
(04:29):
but he was awesome. And Reagan we had fallen in
so much love. Reestorns at Sedgefield Barber was our old
school barber. He aged up and then I went about
five years younger and got Ron and I kind of
knew Ron through my dad and he had just been
(04:49):
on Wilson Boulevard for years.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So so we built this my family.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
He did Knox's first hair cut and was cutting Forward's
hair and we built this relationationship with Ron that was very,
very very special. And Uh, Reagan, he really most of
these old men really like my wife. Reagan got some
pictures done and framed them like a collage, and then
(05:17):
one picture of me Ford knocks Uh and Ron and
framed him and gave him to him and put him
in his barbershop, sixty year old barbershop, and he hung
him proudly on the wall.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Well.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Well, then he passed away and it was busy time
in life. And so.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Jim calls me six months ago and says, hey, I
have these pictures because he ran into barbershop he owns
to Hardborones the building. He said, I have these pictures.
I'm pretty positive as you in these pictures, you want
to come get them. So I mean, man, it is
I'm running down Wilkinson. I'm never really like stopping in
so that so the other day, uh, I had Knocks
(05:59):
with me and I said, this is a good memory.
I need to buy him a pocket knife. Anyway, so
Reagan said, a write a passage. So we stopped in, asked,
I called. I called him from the parking lot and
we got the two frame pictures. One is me, Ford,
Knox and Ron, a big picture like eight x ten
(06:21):
and Ford proudly put it on his bookshelf. And last
night we got home from our trip, we ran there
and Knox looked at the pictures. They were having their
own conversation. Me and Ragan were on the other side
of the room trying to fix his dresser, and Knox goes,
who's that. He's four and a half years old, and
he pointed to himself as a baby, and Ford said,
(06:42):
that's you.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
That's Ron. He's the best barber ever. Said.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Then this morning I woke forward up for school and
I was like, you like having that picture here, don't you?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
He said, yeah? So what was k nots asking you
about it? He said, he asked me who he was?
Who Nots was?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
So I took the other one to my office and
hung it in my office. Uh so, now we got
ballards of the whole conversation. Try them out, Bellmont.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Well, the other thing I want to ask you about,
I want to follow up question on the pocket.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Now, how did that go with? Oh? Oh, you left
a big part of that story out. I've heard this one. Well, no,
I'll tell this story quickly.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
So during COVID, my buddy Charles Blevin's been on the radio,
calls us as asked me to go look at a
piece of property with him up up above Salisbury, Statesville,
up up north side of town.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
He says, meet me at this old hardware store.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
This one.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Everything's closed. So I meet him at the old hardware store.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
They have a humongous case billboard of an old case knife.
But the hardware store is closed because of COVID. So
I take forward with him and when I have you
wanna go knock around with dad?
Speaker 1 (07:51):
He's like yeah, yeah, yeah. So we go look at
this property.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
We were there walking around this field woods for five
six hours. Four was ready to roll, So I I
told I told Charles when we were leaving, I was like,
it'd be pretty cool if that store was open. I'd
buy a ford a case knife and we had bought
a non case but the similar knife at at at
(08:14):
Southern Hardware on Wilson.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
And uh, he says, I know the guy, I let
call him. So he makes a call. Boom boom boom.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
We go back to get my truck and old man
lets us in the back door. This guy's like eighty
years old. And this is before you knew what was
going to happen with COVID, and I'm like, whoa, who who?
I mean, you don't really go in buildings anymore for
a little while, you know. This is late spring of twenty,
I guess. So we walk in. They have all these
(08:43):
cases of case knives, and I asked the old fellow.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
I was like, hey, what.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
First off, I'm nervous because of COVID. This guy's eighty
years old. I'm like, what the what kind of knives
you got? I want to buy him his first case knife.
So he says he shows me. He says, hey, young man,
I got these knives and it looked like stainless, still
more modern, got safeties on them. And I'm like, I'm
(09:09):
kind of looking for like a peanut texture, like a
burn orange like he got on a billboard outside. He's like, humm,
looks at me. He says, these these have safeties. They
don't have any safeties, and they're sharp. His son will
cut yourself. So uh, I said.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Nah, that's what I want.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Man, Leave me alone, let me go. Let me get
my man a knife. So he opens the case. I said, yeah,
one like to sign and gets look, gives me the knife.
I look at it has two blazer really sharp.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I open up.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
I give it to Ford. I said, for you want
to you who? I go get a you who. This
place has it all. I go get me a cheer
of wine. I go to come back, and I'm paying
the guy for the knives and Ford. The guy said
had got the knife back for the something about the
case and said, son, you want your knife and he
said huh huh, and he had his hands balled up
(10:00):
and they were in his pocket. He said huh. I'm like,
what wasn't the heck? So I paid the guy and
I said and when the guy took my cash and
was not paying attention to us, Ford opened his hand
and it was completely a handful of red blood. And
I'm like, oh, I'm like hey, I didn't say anything.
(10:24):
The guy gave me my money back. I said, sir,
you got a restroom. And this is COVID. Nobody had
been in the story. He's like, hey, this is going on.
I want you use my restroom during COVID. So he said, yeah,
over there, So I take Ford in there. He kept
his mouth shut. We closed the door, and he said
and he opens his hand and I said.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Uh, what, what the heck? He said, you know what
the heck? So I wrapped why sho it?
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Wrap a paper towel around it, and he says, stick
it in your pocket.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
We got to go.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
So I come out in the bathroom. I come out
in the bathroom and I'm like, thank you, sir, see
you later. We got to go. Charles Evans is like, yo,
you will stand a truck and drink your you and
cheer wine and chew to cut. I'm like, uh no.
We get out around the corner. I'm like, no, man,
look and Ford holds his hand out and he's.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Oh, good god, you need to go to the hospital.
I said no, no, no, no, no. We getting in
the troll. We got to roll. He's like, dang.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
So we're going down eighty five for an hour trying
to get towards home, and uh, Ford went to sleep
because he's been walking, walking all day, hiking, and uh
he was kind of pale.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
And Charles Charles.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Called me and FaceTime he says that boy all right,
I say he's sleeping and I showed him Ford.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
He's like he's gonna die. So for so Ford, uh.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Rag Reagan calls me about forty five minutes later and
I'm talking to her and Ford wakes up because he
hears his mama's voice and he goes, Mama, I caught
myself with the pocket knife.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
I'm like, you hit.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Busted? What is your problem?
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Man?
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Can have no secrets?
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Before we bring Jim on this show. Wasn't rigged out
of town when you bought Docks his knife?
Speaker 4 (12:16):
No?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Uh the other day, Yeah, wasn't she out of town?
I don't.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I don't know that before now has a knife collection.
That quote we keep in my safe. Uh but uh,
Charles is like, this guy is a true man.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
This seven year old's something else. Six five year old
I think that was five ten now.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
So uh so I'm like, no, you wanna you want
to pocka Knott got a little case at the Southern.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Hardware And then he didn't want to go in there.
I want him to know how cool this is.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
And uh, he said, oh yeah, how old a knife?
Speaker 1 (12:52):
He's four and a half.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
So I said, hey, I'll get one too, So you
get this old old Henry.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
I think. I said get a knife, I get a knife.
So he had his knife. It wasn't as sharp as
the case, but I gave it to himself.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Look good, you can't open unless I'm with it looked
like with you like and uh.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Reagan said, I went, I had to go to.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Something that evening. I came home and she said, oh yeah,
you got not the pocket knife. I guess it's a
right of passage. You cut his hand and poked a
hole in our autumn. That's the part I was put
it open.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I was like, are you serious?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Like dude, and uh, he's like a tail between his legs. Anyway,
now he has a knife collection. It is.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
It is a rite of passage. Jim Rose, did you
have pocket knife growing up?
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Oh? My whole life.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I'm just sitting here dying laughing this boys. Man, I
got three girls. It's totally different. Yeah. I could give
one of my daughters a knife, and they did. They
put it in there beside their best side table and
it stay save for ten years. You give a boy
a knife, he's got himself hand cut in fifteen seconds.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
We went to Canada one time on a family vacation
and I was like, Dad, I really want to buy
a knife. I bet that they got really good ones
in Canada. He was like, sure, O get what you
want to get. He said, I bought a Gerber knife,
cut the absolute crap out of my hand and returned it.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
I was like, I don't, I don't. I'm not ready
for this. See, man, unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I mean, the first thing I think about when I
think of a Canadian as a gotta.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Have a great Pogget knife.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Just asked Brag Cameron, our GM of the Commercial Services. Yeah,
he's a good old Canadian.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Well, one more thing, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Jim Roads is a returning guest on the At Home
with Ruby show. I want you to talk give yourself
a little business story, talk about your business, and then
I also want to talk about you helping with your
hometown in that region on the aftermath of Helene. Uh
and and these storms that have affected so many But
(15:06):
uh speaking of kid boys will be boys on the
River one time, my brother was probably twelve and I
was eight, and I was bringing the lumber and my
other neighbor was helping, and they were chopping.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
We're gonna build. We were building a fort.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
And they had a little racks set up and he
was chopping these five inches you know trees.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I was carrying them.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
To him, and they started hollering, Tred, Tred, Trent, I'm
in the woods bringing this tree back. And uh, I'm like,
oh man, I'm good, bringing the best trees ever, like
this is.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
I'm on the top, top of the world. Good.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
So I'm too, probably younger than Forward by a couple
of years. And I come back and he had missed
the tree with the hatchet and hit his uh his calf,
and I mean he's just today has a has a
three inch scar on his head, asked him, Yeah, I
need to see that thing had chopped his calf between
his bone and his cattle hustle about three inches long.
(16:02):
I saw jelly. That's all I'm gonna say. I don't
know much about the medical world, but it wasn't pretty.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And they weren't proud of my trees. It was the
trees fault. And I don't think the clubhouse ever got built. Yeah,
Travis is out of commission for six months.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
So uh anyway, Jim, welcome, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
That's pretty cool new Yeah, Digs, y'all got going on here.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Yeah, it's definitely a little different, isn't it?
Speaker 4 (16:31):
Yeah? Yeah, this is nice.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
You are the analogy little guest.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Hey, Jim, Wow, Yeah, and all things certain things in life.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Do you remember the first time.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
First time I was here was clarify WHOA get a
little more edgy on the at Home with Ruby show?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Here now the word I know? But you are? We
we we you had come.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
We ran into each other at Trensponfire and you, uh
you said, I got really something important I want to
talk about.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Could I be a guest?
Speaker 2 (17:02):
And we thought nobody better to have on the very
first show with our Heart Radio to talk about something
that you have really championed. I know you won't take
any of the credits to your personality, but part of
Regroup and you have helped to expand that chapter Regroup
something that we do here in Charlotte into Asheville.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
And the response has been phenomenal.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Yeah, it really has been. It's cool to be with
you two to talk about it, because Patrick, you won't
mention it either. But you're part of Regroup and have
been instrumental in helping us raise funds and gain awareness
and be some social capital for the kids that we
work with here in Charlotte. But when Regroup was kind
of in its infancy, we were trying to find a
part in the organization to support and we found.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
The Rock Charlotte.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Yeah, and I was going, all right, I got to
figure out how to get tied into this organization. And
I go to the website and start looking through the
board members and who do I find but old Trent
over here. Shoot him a message and he.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Organized, that's my boys, big forehead.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
I was like, he can hook us up, and so
we know you and Darren and I went and grabbed
a breakfast and uh, and we've been partnered up with
It's been four years now. I would say we're going
into our fourth year now.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Of of that breakfast was like six years ago.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
It seems like it. Man alive. Everything seems like a
million years ago.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
I know, the booth at Skyland we ate.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
What's interesting is that we were talking about COVID and
one of the first people I remember talking to when
COVID really got bad was Darren ash We were on
the phone talking about something and I don't know if
you've heard it my voice, this is the level of fear.
And he's like, calm down, tell everybody. The old man
says it's gonna be okay. Yeah, which which was which
was what I needed to hear at the time, obviously.
(18:44):
But what a wonderful guy in the rock. You've been
involved with the Rock since the beginning. Yeah, I've been
on the board since the beginning.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Yeah. So, And Darren's an angel to our industry and
to young people.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
He's an angel to a lot of endeavors. And Regroup
has done so much and jumping in the head first.
And and what's what's our boys named? Is the finance on.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
The board Matt Brewster.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Yeah, Matt Brewster me as smart match.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
The man works over at MSS and is the president
of our Charlotte chapter.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
And oh he's the president of Charlotte Redgroup Chapter. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
We we just recently did that going into this year,
just because we opened up the Charlotte or excise me,
the Ashville chapter, the Western North Carolina chapter, which John
Newman is heading up up there. With a bunch of
really good, solid people who were focused on for now
as Hurricane Helene relief. Right, that's our focus right now,
but over time we want to pivot and adopt the
(19:44):
exact same mission in western North Carolina that we have
here in Charlotte, which will be great.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
That is wonderful. So how did when did you start
that chapter?
Speaker 4 (19:56):
Man? It kind of just came together organically, right, So
what we've been in Charlot since twenty nineteen and the
mission here in Charlotte for those aren't aware of what
Regroup is is to it's a group of construction professionals
and our mission is to increase economic mobility and decrease
the skills gap and the construction trades. And there's just
a massive need for good, hard work and skilled people
(20:19):
who want to make a good living and raise a
good family in the construction industry and people don't realize it.
And so part of our goal was to help spread
that word and then partner with organizations they're going to
give people a vision of what life they can achieve,
like the Rock does, and then the skills hard and
soft skills to achieve it. And then what Regroup does
is support that monetarily, but also with some mentorship and
(20:41):
social capital and helping them bring some of those students
into the industry and into our organizations that really believe
in growing people organically and from within and promoting them.
So that's what Regroup in Charlotte's been about for a while.
But anybody that lives in North Carolina knows. You know,
in late September when Helene came through, it just gutted
(21:02):
western North Carolina. Yeah, and you know, you can argue
back and forth on whether we should have been prepared,
but I don't think you can. I mean, I grew
up in Ashville, and I can remember there are two
ways to get to I grew up in North Ashville.
When I went to Ashville High there were two ways
to get to school. You could either drive straight through
the middle of downtown and Merrimann Avenue, or if you
(21:23):
were worried about traffic or just didn't, you know, kind
of want to take the long way around. You go
Swanna know where River Road and that went right along
the river, and I can remember there's a bunch of
old manufacturing buildings there and there as we crossed over
the railroad tracks and went out towards the river. There
was one brick that was painted I mean, you know,
twenty feet up in the air, painted white, and that
(21:45):
was always you know my mom. I remember she would
tell us, you know, that was that was the brick
back and of course she wasn't alive then. But in
nineteen sixteen when the floods came.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And that was how high the floods got.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
That was how high the floods died back in nineteen sixteen,
which was it was I think just over twenty feet,
which was the record ever, right wow. And so to
put things into perspective, it was ten feet higher than that,
right this one hundred years later, one hundred years later,
when Helene came through, it was ten feet higher than
(22:18):
that man. And so I can just remember, you know,
looking at that brick and how could whatever be that high?
I mean, that was taller than most buildings down there
on the river. How could it ever be that high?
And then to think that it was ten feet higher,
and then you know, my like many people that had
family up there, you know, I lost touch with them
on Friday after the storm came through, either because towers
(22:41):
went down or some of the towers that were left
the emergency departments took offline because they needed that to
manage their own.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
People back and forth.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
Right, So, luckily I had some good friends on Saturday
who went over and checked on some of my family
and our other friend's family and for those of us
that weren't in Nashville when they got back to a
high ground and send us some text message of hey,
they're they're safe. And so we we loaded a bunch
of supplies up on Sunday and and went up there
and picked up my dad and we were down and
(23:10):
checked on people and had supplies off and fuel and
all that and and for the next week we just
started running supplies back and forth. Well, you know, back
to your question, how did how did it start? In
western North Carolina? John Newman, who who lives over in
Fairview and runs material sales companies up there. He runs
UH their quarries. He was so involved from the very
(23:32):
beginning because if you sell rock and you have a
natural disaster that washes out all the all the roads
and bridges, then obviously you're very involved with the with
the state and county UH emergency response team pretty quickly,
and so he was going to some of the worst
places and seeing what was happening and working his butt
off to try to get uh some stone on trucks
(23:53):
to get to areas so that they can get emergency
relief workers in there and and either rescue people. I mean,
at this point, we weren't trying to rebuild roads. It's
trying to people that check on them and then get
them to life safety.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
And so John just had a first hand experience that
he he got us all. You know, if I'm Peter Alannis,
was a group of our fantasy football team, right, our
fantasy football group of guys. There were fifteen to twenty
of us, and you knew John from your childhood. We
grew up together, Okay, Well.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Just happened to be in similar industries.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Yep, yep, went to school and is he state together?
He know all of us were either either farmers or
construction workers.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
One way. Yeah, yeah, I got cha. You're all city
slickers out of NC state.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Nah, I see Carolina boys. Yeah, but so so John.
He said, guys, let's just get on a call and
hang out with each other. You know, you could tell
he needed a little bit of a respite. He'd been
working twenty plus hours a day, and and we recorded
the call, not because we thought that it would be
(24:56):
something cool for posterity, but just uh, because it was
somebody on the on the little Zoom meeting we had
automatically recorded. And I'm glad we did because I've gone
back and looked to that a couple of times, and
you just see the emotion coming out of everybody, uh,
but especially John as he's sharing his experience. And about
an hour in, we go, man, we got to do something.
(25:17):
What can we do?
Speaker 3 (25:18):
What?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
You know, you just kind of feel helpless, especially those
of us that are that are in Charlotte. And and
you know, we had people that were across the country
in New Mexico and Washington State and California, and and
then some that were there around in this area. And
what can we do? And and John says, man, we
got to raise some money somehow. And and I said, well, guys,
(25:41):
I sent a text message out to some buddies on
Tuesday and just said I stopped by the Bunk County
Mercy Response and they didn't have enough gas for their
employees to get back and forth to work. You know,
if y'all want to donate through Regroup, Regroup's going to
go buy some fuel and provide it to that emergency
(26:02):
response UH center. And man, we raised ten grand wow,
and in two days just by sending out a text
message to thirty guys. Right, and so we said, if
we can, if we can do that, you know, maybe
we can just start a Western North Carolina chapter. And
eventually we do want to get to where we're focused.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
On workforce development.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Workforce development first and rebuilding Western North Carolina and showing people,
you know, you know there's not only is it a
good industry to be in, but now it's in very
necessary industry in West North Carolina. But right now, you know,
we need to focus on relief. And so we came
up with a mission of getting people back and stable
living conditions where their need falls in between their means
(26:48):
and the social safety net. And there's just so much
need up there.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
I mean, it's it's still real bad, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
It's amazing. I mean, there were you know, I think
over sixty billion dollars in damages they're estimating across West
North Carolina.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
They're sixty b B with a B.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
There was there over one hundred and twenty thousand homes
damaged by the storm, a thousand bridges washed out or
damaged one way or another, you know, six thousand miles
of road. And there there are people that are that
we still don't even in my mind know the full
extent of what they're dealing with. Right that, just because
the it's not an acute need where you can go
(27:25):
to one neighborhood and see what's going on.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
It's across everywhere.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
It's from ash County above Wilkes over to Heywood County,
you know, and in the far western part of the state.
So you just it's brutal. It really is brutal. But
there there's so many good people there.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
I'll tell you this.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
The one one loss of life is way too much.
I think it's one hundred plus loss of lives.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
But work force development wise, if the government can do
the right thing and put the money up and help
folks rebuild, there's going to be a lot of construction
opportunity for people that want jobs and want to go
work in the next decade or two.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
So it's not going to be a year long rebound.
It's going to be a five or two long term.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
You know what's crazy, I say this, I go to
boon a lot that area of that region of the mountains,
and even being in Ashville over the years, you see
these old steel, big humongous cars in the creek beds
and down in ravines and you're like, man, these crazy
mountain people just.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Drop cars down in a hole.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
And then you realize you live this and like all
the wise old fellas say, you don't know till you know,
you know, you got to My dad used to do
this where everything goes in cycles and circles. They didn't
put a there, God put them there. So it's crazy,
(29:06):
it really is. And you think about the people that
need help. We were in a community Beacon Village last
week talking with some of those homeowners and this is
if our office at Wayne Brothers is up in Davidson,
Kannapolis area, and so most people or everybody in that
area is hurt of Canon Mills, right, most people even
(29:26):
down here in Charlotte hurdc Canon Mills and so around
Canon Mills. During the nineteen hundreds, they built a bunch
of these mill homes, right, and that was the workers
that worked at Cannon lived in those mill homes. The
same thing for Beacon Mill in Swana Nooa and so
Beacon Village is right off a Highway seventy and Swanaoah.
They're five hundred feet away from the Swananoa River and
(29:51):
they had water not just come across Highway seventy but
into their yard. And then you hear just harrowing stories
of within an hour it went from coming into their
house to them climbing up into their attic and it
coming into their attic and people hashting themselves out of
their attic into the roof.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Right.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
I mean you hear people that talk. They grab their
kids and their pets and they're swimming to trees to
try to you know, get out of their home. Right.
So yeah, it's I mean it's tough to put yourself
in that situation, in that moment, in that harrowing moment.
But then once you survive it. You don't have flood insurance.
Why would you ever have flood in shirts it. You're
(30:30):
five hundred feet away from any source of water that
could ever flood you. But when when water comes up,
you know, thirty feet and in an hourbelievable, what are
you going to do? So back to what you were
talking about, Trent, Yeah, cars got put in rivers a
bunch of them. We've seen bridges that had been there
for one hundred years get twisted up like they were nothing.
I mean, big steel beam and concrete bridges just get
(30:52):
twisted and chucked down river a few hundred feet. You know.
There's big sprinter vans that we've seen just with their
axles ripped off. You think about the force of what
all came through, and it's just been brutal, and those
of us are just living here in Charlotte and other places.
Life just goes on right. You kind of forget about it.
(31:14):
But when you go back up there like we've been doing,
it's still a war zone everywhere. On the top of mountains,
there's trees down everywhere. Down in the valleys, everything's washed out.
In between. It's just constant dragging mud and dirt across
the town. Is amazing. People, if you haven't had a
chance to go and visit and just kind of talk
(31:36):
to the people and let them know you're still thinking
about them, go up to West North Carolina and see
what it looks like. Because they still need the tourism
money that's sustained them forever.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
People to go spend money, but that's one way to help.
That's one way to help me that immediately every day.
How Yeah, it's gonna I'm going the same place you are.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
How can people help, I mean from your perspective, can
they give the re Group? We're recording this early February
twenty twenty five, so this was three months ago when
these hurricanes came through, three four months ago.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Tell us how people can help.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Yeah. Regroup Carolinas dot org is our website and we've
got links there on how you can give. Regroup's been around,
like we said, since twenty nineteen. We fouled a tax
return every single year, very very well run and reputable organization.
All of the money, outside of the cost of filing
that tax return goes straight back out into the community.
(32:32):
And we got a nice account and good accountant Jim if.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
If I can add to that too.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
There are other ways to get involved with Regroup outside
of simply done any money. The one wonderful thing that
Regroup does is these events every year. Yeah, a lot
of people have been to early concert that we put on,
well received.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
You can get involved there.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
That money is also transferred over clay shoots, all kinds
of things and I'm sure I'm forgetting some of them.
But there's tons of ways to get involved with the
regroup outside of simply donating money. I know money is
a big need at the moment for sure as we
sit here in February, but just keep an eye out for.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Could you say regroup dot org.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
Regroup Carolina Carolinas dot org. Okay, I don't want yep.
And we tried to be real careful to keep the
two missions separate right now, right So, what we're doing
in Charlotte, that still goes to sustain the uh original
mission of increasingnock mobility and decreasing the skills gap in
construt strange. Any dollars that you give, any events like
what you were just talking about, Patrick, that still goes
(33:30):
to support that mission. But if you want, don't feel
like you have to know how to or can figure
out how to support those in West North Carolina, we
have a still through that same website, you can you
can pick how you want to give and you can
give to the West North Carolina relief Effort. And we've
done everything from buying jackets and meals and beds and
(33:54):
furniture to help and rebuild homes rebuilding private bridges that
got washed out. Some of the local PTA's that are
affiliated with the local high schools have been awesome and
we partnered up with them. Kids need therapy because they've
just seen some really horrific stuff. Wow, and whether they
need medicine or or just anything people need to get
(34:16):
back in a stable living condition. Regroup's been able to help.
And we've raised over a half million dollars so far
and uh and and have a pretty big bridge project
that will likely double that that. We're looking to partner
with New Core and a couple of other big organizations
on But we've been really blessed people like United Infrastructure Group,
(34:37):
Holston Gas just a number of really awesome organizations that
have some connection to western North Carolina have come in
and said, hey, we'd like to help. Eblin Charities, Evelin
Foundations an awesome. They gave us one hundred thousand dollars
last week. Goodness and just because they say, we see
you guys are out there in the community and and
(35:00):
uh and we want to give to organizations that are
that are getting our putting our dollars to work with
the people who need it most in the quickest fashion.
And that's really what we're trying to do.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Well, man, God, God bless you, God bless all these people. Now,
you know, I mean there's always something that's tragic, fires
out out out west.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
And and lift those up, you know.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
Help.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
We're gonna have to have Jim back to talk about
his day job. How can people find you? God, Almighty
buit out of time? How can they find you?
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Wayne Brothers Companies is awesome. If you go to Waynebrothers
dot com, you can you can find everything you know
about our wonderful organization. We work across the South. You
are awesome it Well, we're blessed. We're all blessed to
have really awesome people to work within the construction industry.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
Right.
Speaker 4 (35:51):
And Wayne Brothers is uh. You know, I've been there
twenty years now, and I can't imagine where I'd be
if I hadn't found that wonderful company that Keith Wayne
at a Career Fair didn't state back in two thousand
and five.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
Go back and and google uh podcast on that yeah
Gym Roads and he'll tell you'll hear that story, but
we'll have you back. We'll freshen that story up. I
thank you, Thank you a man of high places. You
at least the best sweeper in the room.
Speaker 4 (36:19):
So y'all are good to have me on. I appreciate
being the inaugural guests.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
This is a thank you.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
For being here and uh you the mission that you
wanted to talk about is a blessing.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Thank you, Thank you Patrick. What are we supposed to
go out and do?
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Were supposed to go smile? Always two people and treat
others the way you want to be treated, but carryus
smile around on your face, think about others all the time,
not just when it's easy, but when it's hard.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Thanks for listening to add home with Ruby
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