OPE People

I need to talk with Tom Shay every so often to check myself and my priorities. And he’s a reminder of why the OPE People podcast exists. Tom is a power-equipment sales expert and he’s an interesting human. Tom and I talk sales, customers, employees, and people in general. Join us (until you get a chance to spend time with Tom Shay yourself!).

OPE People talks with George Houle about power equipment dealerships and their websites. How can they get better, what are the possibilities, how much work is required, and how can George help? He works for Dealer Spike, a digital services company in power equipment, powersports and more.

OPE People talks with Jay Gaskins, power equipment dealer, acquisition expert, father, son and all-around good guy. Business succession planning – whether you own a dealership, landscape business, or any other – begins immediately, actually yesterday! Gaskins has run and purchased power equipment shops, and he shares is expertise on the topic, with OPE+ editor Glenn Hansen.

Join Sara Hey, of Bob Clements International, as she and Glenn Hansen talk about family businesses. Her successful business was built on family, but it’s not for everyone. How did they make it work? And what’s the future of family dealerships? Sara knows that topic well, and she has insight on the power equipment dealer world – past, present, and future - that makes for an interesting discussion.

OPE People talks with Chris Regis of Suntek Lawn Care, a technology-focused lawn care business in Florida that is taking electrification to another level.

An event veteran and a relative newbie discuss the 2024 Equip Expo event. Who did what? And what does it mean for this industry? Join us as we discuss Equip '24.

OPE People talks with Amner Deleon, one charged up pro landscaper. Deleon and his team at Blue Sky Green Earth tend to residential lawns in New Jersey using just battery-powered equipment. How do they do it? And why? Listen in!   

The compact equipment market is a hot topic, with more manufacturers going big on small machines. We talk with Toro’s Sam Dando about the market and the evolution of its unique product.

For more than 25 years, Steve Uljua has been working on robots and autonomous mowers. We talked with Steve about his work with Kress today and about the future of lawn mowing in America. Hey, at least people don’t throw things at him anymore!  

OPE People introduces you to Kevin Sabourin, a digital marketing leader, fascinating father, and the industry’s leading ukelele artist – that we know of! Sabourin works for Rollick, a company that provides marketing tech services to equipment makers. He has some solid insights into lead generation for dealers. And he has a super interesting after-work life. Join us!   

OPE People catches up with Harold Redman, leader of Echo Tools, to talk about classic cars, e-commerce, big-box stores and how to balance it all. 

OPE People talks with Jake Segrin, business development manager for Wright Manufacturing and a passionate lawn mower. “That’s my me time!,” he said about cutting his own grass. Segrin, an OPE+ Mover & Shaker award winner, gives us the scoop on working at Wright, and his love of the Green Bay Packers. Join us!  

We talk with the CEO of OPEI about robots, dogs, comfy shoes and more. Join us for OPE People with Kris Kiser. 

On this OPE People podcast, we’re talking about connections, powerful connections. I spoke with Cheryl Mailloux, from Anderson Power. Anderson designs, engineers and manufactures the connectors that enable battery-powered equipment to work. The company works with equipment manufacturers on … well, I’ll let Cheryl explain it.  

Welcome to OPE People …