Inspiring Future Generations in Construction with Clyde King
Construction DisruptionFebruary 05, 2025
153
38:5553.44 MB

Inspiring Future Generations in Construction with Clyde King

In this episode of the Construction Disruption podcast, hosts Todd Miller and Ethan Young are joined by Clyde King, a seasoned Union Carpenter Foreman from West Virginia. Clyde shares his vast experience in the construction industry, spanning over 30 years. From his journey in the U.S. Marine Corps to his current role, Clyde dives into the importance of leadership, mentorship, and the evolving technologies in construction. He also highlights critical challenges like mental health issues and the necessity of proper training and safety in the industry. Join the conversation and gain insights into the passion and dedication that drive the construction world forward.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

01:15 Introducing Clyde King

02:17 Clyde's Military and Early Career

04:53 Transition to Construction and Career Growth

08:53 Leadership and Mentorship in Construction

12:57 Challenges in the Construction Industry

22:11 Mental Health in Construction

25:16 Engaging the Younger Generation

27:04 Clyde's Legacy and Final Thoughts

31:25 Rapid Fire Questions

36:45 Conclusion and Challenge Words Reveal



Connect with Clyde Online

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clyde-king-6a95a49b/



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This episode was produced by Isaiah Industries, Inc.

Construction Disruption was recently featured in this 15 Best Podcasts for Contractors list!



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Todd Miller:

I'm Todd Miller of Isaiah Industries, manufacturer

Todd Miller:

of specialty metal roofing and other building materials.

Todd Miller:

Today, my co host is Ethan Young.

Todd Miller:

Ethan, you haven't been on here in a while.

Todd Miller:

We've missed you.

Todd Miller:

How you

Ethan Young:

I've, uh, I'm doing good.

Ethan Young:

I've kind of avoided it, I guess.

Ethan Young:

Nah, I'm just kidding.

Todd Miller:

Avoided it.

Ethan Young:

No, we always have a, have a good time talking to a lot of

Ethan Young:

interesting people and, you know, hearing their stories and their perspectives.

Ethan Young:

So glad to be back.

Todd Miller:

Glad you're here.

Todd Miller:

Well, yeah, it's kind of like a life sentence being on the show.

Todd Miller:

So we're glad you're here.

Todd Miller:

So I do have a question for you.

Ethan Young:

Yeah.

Todd Miller:

Why did the pony ask for a glass of water?

Ethan Young:

Cause his throat was a little hoarse.

Todd Miller:

Because it was a little horse.

Todd Miller:

Good one.

Todd Miller:

I was going to be disappointed if you didn't get that, so I'm glad you got that.

Todd Miller:

So as a reminder to our audience, once again on this episode, we

Todd Miller:

are doing our challenge words.

Todd Miller:

And that means that each one of us on the show today has been given a special word

Todd Miller:

or phrase by one of the others that we are challenged to work into the conversation

Todd Miller:

somehow as seamlessly as possible.

Todd Miller:

And at the end of the show, we will Reveal what our words were and whether

Todd Miller:

we were successful or not, and you, the audience, all along can be guessing

Todd Miller:

what our challenge words might be.

Todd Miller:

So, Ethan, you ready to go?

Ethan Young:

Yeah, I'm ready.

Ethan Young:

Let's do it.

Todd Miller:

Okay.

Todd Miller:

So, how do you prepare an industry as wide and varied as construction for the future?

Todd Miller:

Um, that's a great question.

Todd Miller:

And our guest today is someone with years of leadership experience who is, who is

Todd Miller:

preparing our industry for the future.

Todd Miller:

And he sees that as his burning passion.

Todd Miller:

Today's guest is Mr. Clyde King of Buckhannon, West Virginia.

Todd Miller:

Clyde, I want to say, served in the U. S. Marine Corps for eight years.

Todd Miller:

Thanks so much for your service, Clyde.

Todd Miller:

And then he entered the AEC trades focused on commercial construction, where he has

Todd Miller:

built a career over the last 30 years.

Todd Miller:

Someone who loves a challenge, Clyde has spent his recent years focused on

Todd Miller:

mentoring and training younger folks in our industry, helping to continue the

Todd Miller:

legacy of those in construction of, you know, those great folks in construction

Todd Miller:

who have built and grown our nation.

Todd Miller:

Clyde, welcome to Construction Disruption.

Todd Miller:

Pleasure to have you today as our guest.

Clyde King:

Glad to be here.

Clyde King:

Thank you for having me.

Todd Miller:

Well, again, I want to thank you for your service to our country.

Todd Miller:

That means a great deal to us.

Todd Miller:

And, um, one thing I noted, I thought was really interesting was that you

Todd Miller:

were a drummer in the U. S. Marine Corps Field Drum and Bugle Corps.

Todd Miller:

Um, before we start talking about carpentry and construction, tell us a

Todd Miller:

little bit what that was like to be in the, uh, Field Drum and Bugle Corps.

Clyde King:

It was an honor.

Clyde King:

Um, we got music.

Clyde King:

I've been playing drums.

Clyde King:

Well, Probably since I was in first grade, so like seven, and I just turned 60.

Todd Miller:

Wow,

Clyde King:

um, but no, I mean, I was always loved, um, marching

Clyde King:

field shows in junior high.

Clyde King:

I believe we went to see eighth and I, um, for a Friday evening parade.

Clyde King:

And I was like, you know what, if I can do it.

Clyde King:

That's what I want to do.

Clyde King:

So my junior year, I took an audition and was accepted on a music guarantee.

Clyde King:

And then after graduation, um, I went to Parris Island, then

Clyde King:

went to the school, naval school of music at Norfolk, Virginia.

Clyde King:

It's Little Creek's, the, the base, Little Creek Amputee Base is where the school is.

Clyde King:

Then from there, um, back then, they kind of had different things with heighth,

Clyde King:

and me being on the short side, I didn't go to eighth and I. I went to 29 Palms,

Clyde King:

to the Field Drum Corps, and spent from, I was out there from 1984 through 1990.

Todd Miller:

that had to have been pretty interesting and cool because everyone is

Todd Miller:

just marveled whenever they see any of the USMC music groups and just amazing.

Todd Miller:

So thank you.

Todd Miller:

That's fantastic.

Todd Miller:

If I'm not mistaken Maybe I'm drawing off of memory wrong here West Virginia

Todd Miller:

kind of has a bit of a storied history with drum and bugle corps groups

Todd Miller:

Don't they aren't there a number of real solid ones that have come out

Todd Miller:

of West Virginia over the years?

Clyde King:

Back in the 70s, I believe, um, Pennsylvania, And like, uh, like the

Clyde King:

Garfield cadets were out of Garfield, New Jersey, Pennsylvania had to cross,

Clyde King:

been in a couple other smaller cores, but like you're a lot of your class A cores,

Clyde King:

your open class DCI cores were mainly Midwest, West coast, and then East coast.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, cool.

Todd Miller:

Neat stuff.

Todd Miller:

I always enjoy watching that.

Todd Miller:

I was never anywhere close to that level of a musician, but, uh, amazing.

Todd Miller:

So, throughout your career, um, you have worked on a lot of areas

Todd Miller:

including carpentry, estimating, quality control, being a foreman.

Todd Miller:

Um, can you give us kind of an overview of your career after

Todd Miller:

you left the Marine Corps?

Clyde King:

Well, after I had moved back home to PA and went to work for.

Clyde King:

A subcontractor that was doing, uh, metal studs and drywall, they happened to be

Clyde King:

subbing to a job for my dad's company.

Clyde King:

Dad left the architectural firm that he was with and became part

Clyde King:

owner of a general contractor.

Clyde King:

And then throughout those 14 years, I was with the non union side.

Clyde King:

Um, everybody kept saying, it's like, why don't you just go into the GC side and

Clyde King:

take over for your dad when he retires?

Clyde King:

Well, there's, there's a story there or why I didn't, because me and one of the

Clyde King:

other owners, we kind of grew up together and we'd, we'd have been button heads.

Clyde King:

So I was like, no.

Todd Miller:

Sometimes we know when a recipe is not made for something good.

Clyde King:

So I just kind of, but I went to work.

Clyde King:

For actually, it started out as a labor with them, but from my

Clyde King:

background with design and everything from dad and then plus working

Clyde King:

in the summers when I was home.

Clyde King:

Um, it's a Boy Scout camp and that we did be doing carpentry working at

Clyde King:

there on the camp for the Boy Scouts.

Clyde King:

Um, the foreman knew my background.

Clyde King:

I spent a week as a laborer and then I was in tools.

Clyde King:

And then within three years I was running, oh, an eight or nine hundred

Clyde King:

thousand dollar interior project.

Todd Miller:

And that was, uh, that was the start of what led to a whole lot more.

Clyde King:

Oh, yeah.

Clyde King:

Yeah, I was with that company for 14 years and finally had enough

Clyde King:

of a project manager and he wasn't giving, he wasn't supporting the

Clyde King:

field superintendents at all.

Clyde King:

And I had enough.

Clyde King:

I went to the owner.

Clyde King:

It's like, either he goes or I go.

Clyde King:

He was like, well, he just, I was like, he doesn't need to be in a position he's in.

Clyde King:

He doesn't know what he's doing.

Clyde King:

And I went to the foreman.

Clyde King:

I said, Friday's my last day.

Clyde King:

And he goes like, where are you going?

Clyde King:

Says, I don't know yet, but by Friday, I'll have another job.

Clyde King:

And I did.

Clyde King:

I went to work as a superintendent for another interior company.

Clyde King:

superintendent had

Clyde King:

a heart attack.

Clyde King:

So they just, I just finished up a million dollar project under them on another site.

Clyde King:

And I was like, well, you know everything that's going on because you

Clyde King:

handled all the subs on that project.

Clyde King:

So we'll just pay you 28 hours a week from us.

Clyde King:

You know, as a ticket, and then, you know, the company

Clyde King:

can cover your remaining hours.

Clyde King:

So, that, that project, I was kind of bouncing between

Clyde King:

the GC side and the sub side.

Clyde King:

And then, when we finished it up, is when I had moved down here to West Virginia,

Clyde King:

and Ended up joining the union in 2007 and have been literally doing anything and

Clyde King:

everything that carpenters do since then.

Todd Miller:

so all types of projects then you're involved with today.

Todd Miller:

I mean, commercial, residential,

Clyde King:

well, not, we don't really do much residential.

Todd Miller:

yeah.

Clyde King:

Um, we do have a couple of contractors that do some residential work.

Clyde King:

The scale's lower, and the benefit package is different.

Clyde King:

So I try to stay on the commercial and industrial side.

Todd Miller:

Well, during your time in all of that.

Todd Miller:

You know, one of the things you've really developed a passion for, and I know

Todd Miller:

you and I have spoke before, um, has been leadership and also for training

Todd Miller:

and encouraging others in our industry.

Todd Miller:

Kind of curious, where does that drive come from for you?

Todd Miller:

I mean, is that something you've had your whole life?

Todd Miller:

You like to bring others along, or did it sort of come out of your Marine

Todd Miller:

Corps experience, or maybe just because you saw a real need for it out there?

Todd Miller:

I'm kind of curious what brought that all to be.

Clyde King:

It came, the leadership I learned as a Marine when I

Clyde King:

became an NCO, I still apply to this day on different things.

Clyde King:

You know, trying to get everybody to work together, because even though

Clyde King:

I was in the music field, um, we still have to go out and train.

Clyde King:

Because during combat, our basic secondary MOS is the commanding general's

Clyde King:

perimeter guard and that for the base.

Todd Miller:

Oh, interesting.

Clyde King:

And when Saddam invaded Kuwait, we were up in Washington

Clyde King:

State and had our air transportation yanked out from under us, uh, because

Clyde King:

they were shipping everybody over.

Clyde King:

When we got back down to 29 Palms, we ended up not having

Clyde King:

to go over, but I spent my last few months as an MP on the base.

Clyde King:

And we had some kids that had never, you know, been in that situation, so

Clyde King:

we were trying to train and, um, so, so throughout, you know, their time,

Clyde King:

I had a bunch of friends that ended up going over eventually, and I've lost

Clyde King:

some friends over there the 1st time and this last time, but, you know, it's.

Clyde King:

One of those things, it's, you're always going to have evil in

Clyde King:

the world in one way or another.

Clyde King:

We all just kind of have to, you know, deal with it in our own way.

Clyde King:

Getting close to retirement, I started seeing different friends post on LinkedIn,

Clyde King:

you know, trying to pass knowledge on, and that's really what started it.

Clyde King:

It's like, you know, I'm 60 now, I just turned 60 in November.

Clyde King:

I can go at 62.

Clyde King:

Uh, because I'll have 20 years on the union side then, you know, it's like

Clyde King:

this knowledge has to get out there.

Clyde King:

So that's what started my random thoughts.

Clyde King:

And then my other 1, my construction talks unfiltered, which that 1

Clyde King:

actually started as to get some information out there about some.

Clyde King:

Companies that are, in my eyes, doing things wrong.

Clyde King:

Like, uh, my first couple posts wasn't naming any companies, and I won't.

Clyde King:

When you've got a superintendent that's playing favoritism at everything with

Clyde King:

guys, you know, that's absolutely wrong.

Clyde King:

When you've got guys that are outperforming these guys, and then

Clyde King:

they're getting laid off and you're keeping the guys that aren't performing

Clyde King:

because they're one of your favorites.

Clyde King:

Yeah, that's, that's for the talks unfiltered.

Clyde King:

That was like, you know, I'm just going to speak my mind.

Todd Miller:

Now, well, tell us a little bit more about your videos

Todd Miller:

and things you have out there.

Todd Miller:

I know you've been spending a lot of time on that.

Todd Miller:

They're, they're on YouTube.

Todd Miller:

Is that correct?

Clyde King:

Um, I'm trying to get some up on YouTube, but mainly

Clyde King:

I've just been keeping everything on the LinkedIn platform.

Clyde King:

Um, the construction talks unfiltered.

Clyde King:

They're like my video podcast, but they're normally broke down because LinkedIn

Clyde King:

will only let you upload 10 minutes.

Clyde King:

So, a 30 minute conversation gets broke down to 3 or 4 sessions.

Clyde King:

You know, even though I continue it, but I do all my own editing and, and everything.

Clyde King:

I use, um, software called Wondershare Filmora that I

Clyde King:

was using for the race team.

Clyde King:

And I was like, well, I could use the same thing here, bring

Clyde King:

the interview off a stream yard.

Clyde King:

Into it, but then start breaking down and adding music or doing different things.

Clyde King:

And that's where that came from.

Todd Miller:

encourage folks to check them out for sure.

Todd Miller:

Well, going back to your career, I mean, you know, you've been

Todd Miller:

in construction 30 or so years.

Todd Miller:

Um, what are some of the significant changes you've seen

Todd Miller:

in the industry over that time?

Clyde King:

One significant change that it's still being slow to be

Clyde King:

adopted is the switch to digital drawings and digital paperwork.

Clyde King:

I mean, I've got probably 15 or 20 of the old big green construction

Clyde King:

logbooks full of notes in that from over the years on projects where I ran.

Clyde King:

Um, so yeah, that switch over to digital bringing more of quality control.

Clyde King:

Into things to, you know, help try to alleviate rework and then just like on

Clyde King:

the carpentry side back when I first started when we were laying out talking

Clyde King:

lines, putting down bottom tracking that we'd be up at the deck with our

Clyde King:

thumb on a plumb bob dangling down to hit that line to mark for the top track.

Clyde King:

Well, now we've got rotating lasers and spot lasers and everything

Clyde King:

else that, you know, weren't around back in the early 90s.

Todd Miller:

Well, I mean, talking about that and technology and

Todd Miller:

things, how do you find that you keep yourself up with technology?

Todd Miller:

I mean, you, you kind of seem to have a natural bent that way

Todd Miller:

toward tech, but, um, how, how do you keep up with everything?

Clyde King:

One, I find it fascinating to a point.

Clyde King:

Um, and then two, my really dove into research and that for the tech through my

Clyde King:

Dirt track racing, the evolution of dirt late models from the mid nineties to now,

Clyde King:

and all the adjustments and everything that you can do to them, you have to stay

Clyde King:

on top of The mechanics and the physics of what flows where what weight transfers,

Clyde King:

otherwise, you're just going to be sitting around around the back of the pack.

Clyde King:

So that's where the drive to keep learning things kind of started.

Clyde King:

But then it's like, you know, I can better my career.

Clyde King:

I can hopefully get myself into position because, yeah,

Clyde King:

I might pull my pension at 62.

Clyde King:

I'll never walk away from construction until probably they put me in the ground.

Clyde King:

I'll be involved in one way or another, either going to start my own consulting

Clyde King:

business, or if somebody has me in as a superintendent project manager, where I'm

Clyde King:

completely out of my tools that I could mentor their younger ones, you know,

Clyde King:

that's, you know, all well and good.

Todd Miller:

Well, yeah, it becomes part of your DNA.

Todd Miller:

I mean, it's who you are at this point and that's, uh, that's cool.

Todd Miller:

So dirt track racing, I don't know a ton about that, but is that what they

Todd Miller:

do at Eldora Speedway here in Ohio?

Todd Miller:

Okay.

Clyde King:

that's one track.

Clyde King:

I've been there.

Clyde King:

We haven't had the car there, but we did have the, we did race at Bristol

Clyde King:

back in 2001 when they first put dirt on the high banks for the very first time.

Clyde King:

They did it in 2001 and 2002.

Clyde King:

We didn't go back down because we heard a motor the year before while we were there.

Clyde King:

So we ended up not actually getting to run the heat races and features.

Clyde King:

We heard the motor practice, but.

Clyde King:

That's, you know, that love, that passion of going fast and

Clyde King:

yeah, it's, it's still there.

Todd Miller:

Cool stuff.

Todd Miller:

Good, good deal.

Todd Miller:

So, you've been a member of the union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.

Todd Miller:

Um, I'm just kind of curious, uh, for our younger audience members out

Todd Miller:

there, what do you see as the key benefits or even challenges to union

Todd Miller:

membership, um, for our industry?

Clyde King:

One of the key benefits is the training, bar none.

Clyde King:

Um, if you go, actually, I didn't go through the apprenticeship because

Clyde King:

I had already had so many years.

Clyde King:

Experience, but for the younger ones coming in going through the

Clyde King:

apprenticeship, you'll get to learn each aspect about the carpentry

Clyde King:

trade just for the carpenters because we do for coverings.

Clyde King:

We do, uh, ceramic tile, um.

Clyde King:

metal studs, drywall, exterior framing, uh, scaffold building, you know,

Clyde King:

or what we do covers a wide gamut.

Clyde King:

And if you go through certain cities and that, because the apprenticeship

Clyde King:

and that is so big, they kind of try to make them specialize into

Clyde King:

like one area, either concrete or metal studs and drywall and that.

Clyde King:

But down here, since we only have two locals in the state now, since we kind

Clyde King:

of, Combine everything with the Eastern Atlantic States Council, um, we get

Clyde King:

the guys trained in everything that we do so they can go out, you know,

Clyde King:

and on the job and feel confident.

Clyde King:

Okay, I can perform, but then, like I said, you know, the advantage

Clyde King:

is the training and the safety.

Clyde King:

There's been way, way too many, unfortunately.

Clyde King:

In my first 14 to 16 years, I was on projects where three people were killed.

Clyde King:

Um, one was a ditch collapse, which they should have never been digging

Clyde King:

that day because I literally walked out of my boots and I wore lace up

Clyde King:

boots trying to get into the building.

Clyde King:

My boot got stuck down in In the mud, and I literally came

Clyde King:

up out of my laced up boots.

Clyde King:

Another one, they overloaded the scaffold with the masons, and

Clyde King:

the scaffold collapse killed two.

Clyde King:

And another one, they were, um, the backup alarm wasn't working on a dozer,

Clyde King:

and the operator didn't see the guy.

Clyde King:

So, yeah, I mean, safety wise is another big one.

Clyde King:

And then, of course, The benefits, a lot of your non union companies are

Clyde King:

paying great wages, real comparable to what we make on the hour.

Clyde King:

But then they're asking the guys to take money out of that, to help them cover the

Clyde King:

cost of their health insurance or their 401k, you know, even though the employer's

Clyde King:

matching a little bit with us, with the benefit package, my healthcare, my pension

Clyde King:

and everything is completely part, it doesn't come out of my hourly check.

Clyde King:

That's a separate part of the package.

Todd Miller:

Gotcha.

Todd Miller:

Makes a lot of sense.

Todd Miller:

Oh, thank you for that.

Todd Miller:

It's good stuff.

Todd Miller:

So, you were part of helping to write a book, um, that was called

Todd Miller:

Elevating Construction Foreman.

Todd Miller:

Tell us a little bit about that and why that's important to you.

Clyde King:

Again, it goes back to being able to pass the knowledge on to help

Clyde King:

leaders, um, today learn to be able to, one, handle the guys, you know,

Clyde King:

two, be able to keep track of things.

Clyde King:

That was, I forget how many was in that conglomeration,

Clyde King:

collaboration, but it was through Jason Schroeder with, um, Elevating

Clyde King:

the trades or elevate construction.

Clyde King:

It is the main thing he does.

Clyde King:

He's got books and elevating construction superintendents, um, lean, tact and

Clyde King:

everything else that being able to bring the foreman up to speed and how they

Clyde King:

talk to people and talk to their crews in today's day and age when I came in,

Clyde King:

we were still screaming and yelling at each other to go get things done.

Clyde King:

Well, you know, that doesn't work all the time.

Clyde King:

Some guys you still have to do that with, I will say, though, but most of

Clyde King:

the time, if you talk to some of these younger kids like that now, they're

Clyde King:

just going to blow you off and say, I don't care, and that's the other reason.

Clyde King:

It's like, you know, we're out here building a legacy for future generations.

Clyde King:

What we do now affects years from now.

Clyde King:

As far as building,

Todd Miller:

Absolutely.

Todd Miller:

Now, and, and the, you know, you brought up the safety aspect and even

Todd Miller:

the building safety aspect, making sure the construction is done well.

Todd Miller:

So, um, it is long term safe as well.

Todd Miller:

So, so one of the things that caught my eye at the top of your LinkedIn

Todd Miller:

profile, and I know Clyde would be happy to connect with anyone on there,

Todd Miller:

but on top of your profile, it says, believe in yourself and your patience.

Todd Miller:

Um, where's that come from?

Todd Miller:

And what do you hope people take from that?

Clyde King:

just to get people to realize that they have the power

Clyde King:

within themselves, you know, believe in your abilities, believe in your

Clyde King:

passions, you know, show your leadership skills, let the world know that,

Clyde King:

hey, you know, this is what I've done or not being braggy about it.

Clyde King:

But this is what I've done.

Clyde King:

This is what I can bring to the table.

Todd Miller:

What are some of the challenges that you're seeing

Todd Miller:

emerging in construction right now?

Todd Miller:

And, um, that you see maybe, you know, things we need to be really trying

Todd Miller:

to address here in coming years.

Clyde King:

One of the biggest challenges, and I've been taking a bunch of webinars

Clyde King:

and that about, is mental health.

Clyde King:

Mental health in the construction industry is a major problem.

Clyde King:

Um, one forefront out of Washington does different webinars and that

Clyde King:

that I've sat in on and taken.

Clyde King:

Well, the one was dealing about the social studies and of

Clyde King:

the Dave Dunn as far as data.

Clyde King:

And everything else on how mental health affects communities, well,

Clyde King:

that translate right translates big time right into mental health and

Clyde King:

construction and it's, you know, for years, it was always in the shadows.

Clyde King:

I mean, it's been around mental health problems in the construction

Clyde King:

industry had been around since the 70s.

Clyde King:

I mean, you get hurt on a job, you're going to go, doctor's going to prescribe

Clyde King:

you pain pills, you're going to go back to work, you're going to keep popping pills

Clyde King:

because it helps you get through that day, well then you start to get anxiety because

Clyde King:

you're hurting, you know, it, it gets to be a great big downward spiral, and kind

Clyde King:

of gets, you know, it's gotten out of hand, and that's one reason why, um, yeah.

Clyde King:

For those of you out there that have seen some of my random thoughts,

Clyde King:

you'll see that I have an alter ego, my Blues Brothers hat, and my dark

Clyde King:

glasses, and I go under the synonym of Clyde Blues, and we're talking about

Clyde King:

mental health, you know, things like alcohol, opioids, and things of that

Clyde King:

nature, to just keep it Everybody aware of it and what it does affect.

Clyde King:

I've seen way too many people go down a very bad path with, you

Clyde King:

know, a mental health problem.

Clyde King:

We had one worker that I had worked with, but he thought

Clyde King:

his wife was cheating on him.

Clyde King:

She wasn't.

Clyde King:

Well, he called her one day and to come home, he needed

Clyde King:

her at the house right now.

Clyde King:

She pulled in the driveway and walked up to the barn.

Clyde King:

He blew his head off right in front of her.

Clyde King:

I mean, you know, it's mental health is a big time problem in the industry.

Todd Miller:

No, it is.

Todd Miller:

And I'm glad you brought that up.

Todd Miller:

We did have a previous guest on a number of episodes ago, a gentleman

Todd Miller:

by the name of Chad Dunlap.

Todd Miller:

And, uh, Chad works for a large commercial roofing firm, but mental health in

Todd Miller:

our industry is a passion of his.

Todd Miller:

And he goes around and speaks with students and so forth and really

Todd Miller:

trying to raise awareness and also to help with suicide prevention,

Todd Miller:

being another passion of his.

Todd Miller:

Thanks, Peter.

Todd Miller:

No, I'm glad you're addressing that as well, because it, it

Todd Miller:

does seem to affect our industry disproportionately, no doubt about it.

Ethan Young:

While we're on the topic of challenges, one thing I wanted to ask you,

Ethan Young:

Clyde, especially you mentioned a couple of times through the interview about, you

Ethan Young:

know, talking to younger generations and that's something that we've heard from a

Ethan Young:

lot of different people we've interviewed and, you know, including a guy that helps

Ethan Young:

run a trade school is just how can we get this younger generation more involved?

Ethan Young:

How can we kind of, you know, keep this tradition going and not, you know, not

Ethan Young:

just, you know, a lot of people get.

Ethan Young:

Oh, you know, kids don't want to do manual labor.

Ethan Young:

They don't want to, you know, it's like chopping firewood or whatever.

Ethan Young:

They don't, you know, they didn't grow up doing any of that.

Ethan Young:

So they don't want to do construction, but what's your opinion on all that?

Ethan Young:

What do you think we could, we could do to improve it?

Clyde King:

One of the main things is when they took the shop classes

Clyde King:

and that out of the schools.

Clyde King:

And when the schools and the public school system kept promoting college,

Clyde King:

kept promoting college, that deterred a lot of young talent away from the trades.

Clyde King:

And now they're finding out that, hey, we can make a lot of money into trades.

Clyde King:

So we're starting to see more and more come back.

Clyde King:

But, you know, I mean, it's still a problem.

Clyde King:

But one place to start, um, there's an instructor in a school in New Jersey.

Clyde King:

That I follow on LinkedIn that he works with middle school kids, teaching

Clyde King:

them how to, um, for doing plumbing and carpentry and everything else.

Clyde King:

And, you know, that's a great program.

Clyde King:

I wish that most school districts would start trying

Clyde King:

to bring things like that back.

Todd Miller:

Absolutely.

Todd Miller:

It seems like, you know, trying to get people interested, kids interested

Todd Miller:

when they're younger and just exposed to things so that they know the

Todd Miller:

opportunities are out there, uh, seems to be a real positive thing.

Clyde King:

Yeah,

Todd Miller:

So we've talked a lot about, you know, where you are today, and,

Todd Miller:

um, I know that, you know, you've got this burning passion for the industry.

Todd Miller:

Um, What, you know, looking out a little bit, you said, you know, you may go into

Todd Miller:

consulting or who knows, but what is the impact you would like to say, uh, have

Todd Miller:

folks later say you left on the industry?

Clyde King:

just the fact that, you know, I helped pass knowledge on and help.

Clyde King:

Young, younger ones realize that passion in themselves to help continue

Clyde King:

that legacy, which is another thing that I've tried to do with a couple

Clyde King:

of our apprentices that I've had working with me the last couple of

Clyde King:

years, you know, being with the union, you get so many different guys for

Clyde King:

a job and then they might move on.

Clyde King:

Well, when I have an apprentice with me, being in the trades for so many

Clyde King:

years, I've got Doubles, triples, and quadruples of so many of the hand tools

Clyde King:

that, you know, we're supposed to carry.

Clyde King:

Um, you know, power tools and that are technically up to the contractor,

Clyde King:

but our hand tools, you know, your hammer, your saw, square, framing

Clyde King:

square, you know, things of that nature, we're supposed to have all the time.

Clyde King:

So, when a young apprentice, especially a first year, comes along and works with me,

Clyde King:

before he leaves me, I give him one of my tools that I've got doubles or triples of.

Clyde King:

You know, I've passed on a handsaw to him to keep in his toolbox from then on,

Clyde King:

uh, framing square, um, one youngster I had, we were doing some door hardware.

Clyde King:

And trying to replace some doors, I had to get my impact screwdriver out

Clyde King:

that has a great big number three tip.

Clyde King:

Then you smack with a hammer to get that screw to loosen up.

Clyde King:

I showed him how to use that.

Clyde King:

Well, when he left me, that went in his toolbox for him

Clyde King:

to carry with him for future.

Todd Miller:

That's cool.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, they'll certainly remember you for that as well.

Todd Miller:

That's good stuff.

Todd Miller:

Well, Clyde, this has been a great discussion.

Todd Miller:

We're thankful for your time today.

Todd Miller:

Um, we're close to wrapping up kind of what we call the business end of things.

Todd Miller:

Is there anything we haven't covered yet today that you wanted to be

Todd Miller:

sure to share with our audience?

Clyde King:

Just the fact that for companies out there, you

Clyde King:

know, look to your older workers.

Clyde King:

Lean on them for advice at times if they need, you know, take them into

Clyde King:

the office if you need to let them come in and learn a little bit about that.

Clyde King:

And if they haven't had that experience, but they can also pass their knowledge

Clyde King:

down like for superintendents, you got a young superintendent sticking with

Clyde King:

one that's been around for a while.

Clyde King:

Let him learn from them on, because every building, it doesn't matter

Clyde King:

if it's retail, um, a hospital, yeah, the codes might change.

Clyde King:

You might have different fire rating things that you have to deal with.

Clyde King:

But still, the basic principle of any building has a step by step process

Clyde King:

from the underground, clear through to hanging the curtains, and, you

Clyde King:

know, lean on the older generation to show you all some shortcuts.

Clyde King:

Um, like, one of the things I pride myself on is my ability to think

Clyde King:

on my feet sometimes on a project.

Clyde King:

The One theater that I ran, they started me three months behind because of design

Clyde King:

changes, and then they kept pushing the timeline, pushing the time frame.

Clyde King:

Well, I kind of looked at the superintendent and was like, stay

Clyde King:

in your trailer, you know, if it's something important, come get me.

Clyde King:

Let me bounce the trades around, because the only way we're going to get this done

Clyde King:

is if everybody works together, and it's going to mean bouncing around because

Clyde King:

you're missing material for something.

Clyde King:

Well, let them get in here and get their work done.

Clyde King:

And, you know, that ability has served me well, and it's also shot

Clyde King:

me in the foot a couple times, but, you know, things happen.

Clyde King:

You, you learn and grow.

Clyde King:

Above all, keep learning.

Todd Miller:

Love it.

Todd Miller:

Good advice.

Todd Miller:

Great stuff.

Todd Miller:

So, um, one of the things that we always do here at the end of the show

Todd Miller:

is what we call rapid fire questions.

Todd Miller:

So these are 7 questions.

Todd Miller:

We will ask you.

Todd Miller:

You have no idea.

Todd Miller:

We're going to ask.

Todd Miller:

Um, some are serious, some are silly.

Todd Miller:

Um, all you have to do is give a response.

Todd Miller:

So you want to give it a try for rapid challenge, rapid fire?

Clyde King:

Yeah, why not?

Todd Miller:

Awesome.

Todd Miller:

Um, Ethan, you want to ask question number one?

Ethan Young:

Yeah, I can get us started.

Ethan Young:

Um, oh, this is always a fun one.

Ethan Young:

Uh, what's a product or service that you bought recently that

Ethan Young:

was a game changer for you?

Clyde King:

I'd say product was one of my, um, stair tread tools

Clyde King:

for measuring stair treads.

Clyde King:

I used to do it the old fashioned way.

Clyde King:

Yeah, that little tool saves a lot of time.

Ethan Young:

Nice.

Todd Miller:

Good stuff, good answer.

Todd Miller:

Um, question number two.

Todd Miller:

What is your favorite meal?

Clyde King:

Manicotti.

Todd Miller:

Manicotti.

Todd Miller:

See, now I think that and I think Manicotti with a tangerine for dessert.

Todd Miller:

I'm good to go.

Todd Miller:

So, good one.

Ethan Young:

Uh, question number three.

Ethan Young:

I guess we already kind of talked about this, but what did the eight year old

Ethan Young:

Clyde dream of being when he grew up?

Clyde King:

The eight year old me, definitely wanted to be a

Clyde King:

drummer or an architect with dad.

Todd Miller:

So is this going to be a drummer in a rock band

Todd Miller:

or what was this going to be?

Clyde King:

More than likely, probably rock band.

Clyde King:

I, I've got a diverse music back style.

Clyde King:

I mean, I listen to club music, I listen to some country, but I do

Clyde King:

like my heavy metal, heavier rock.

Todd Miller:

good stuff.

Todd Miller:

Okay, next question.

Todd Miller:

Oh, if you had to eat a crayon, what color of crayon would you choose to eat, Clyde?

Clyde King:

Uh, probably a red one to go with my blood stripes on my uniform.

Todd Miller:

Okay, gotcha.

Todd Miller:

Good one.

Clyde King:

I honestly don't know where the crayon thing started with the marines.

Ethan Young:

Oh, yeah.

Clyde King:

That's an inside joke with a lot of marines about, you

Clyde King:

know, we're crayoneating lunatics.

Todd Miller:

Oh my, I did not even know that.

Todd Miller:

Oh, that's interesting.

Todd Miller:

Had no idea of that when I asked that question.

Clyde King:

but yeah, it's probably be a red one to go with

Clyde King:

the blood stripes on my uniform.

Ethan Young:

Oh, this is a fun question.

Ethan Young:

Okay.

Ethan Young:

Um, would you rather have to shout all the time or only whisper?

Clyde King:

Only whisper when I shout.

Clyde King:

You can hear me across the job site.

Todd Miller:

You know it.

Todd Miller:

Oh, good answer.

Todd Miller:

Next to last question.

Todd Miller:

So, um, what historical figure, dead or alive, would you like to have dinner with?

Todd Miller:

And what is one question you'd want to ask them?

Clyde King:

I'm gonna throw this one out there.

Clyde King:

Be Frank Lloyd Wright

Todd Miller:

Oh,

Clyde King:

to go with my architectural 'cause I love architecture and the

Clyde King:

one question I would ask him was what prompted him to do designs

Clyde King:

like falling water, which is 13 miles from my parents' house in pa.

Todd Miller:

oh, wow.

Clyde King:

And to bring nature in to that design, the way he did there.

Todd Miller:

That would be a fascinating discussion.

Todd Miller:

Good stuff.

Ethan Young:

Alrighty.

Ethan Young:

Last question.

Ethan Young:

I am going to change it up a little.

Ethan Young:

Um, what do you think the most important tool a contractor can have is?

Clyde King:

Honestly, his brain, you use your brain as a

Clyde King:

contractor, more than anything.

Clyde King:

If you don't have the proper tool for a particular thing, there is so many

Clyde King:

different ways to do it without that tool.

Clyde King:

Yeah.

Clyde King:

The tool is there to make life easier, make production come, but being able

Clyde King:

to think, And think that process through and see the big picture.

Clyde King:

Otherwise, it's definitely your brain.

Ethan Young:

Makes sense to me.

Todd Miller:

Great answer.

Todd Miller:

I know I grew up with the saying, there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Todd Miller:

And I always wondered who these cat skinners were out there, but, uh, there

Todd Miller:

is more than one way to do things.

Todd Miller:

Good, good stuff.

Todd Miller:

So Clyde, thank you again so much for being with us today.

Todd Miller:

Um, for folks who want to get in touch with you, uh, what's, or

Todd Miller:

to, to watch your videos, what's the best ways for them to do that

Clyde King:

Right now, the best place to get a hold of me is on LinkedIn.

Clyde King:

And, um, like I said, things are crazy right now because I'm kind of off.

Clyde King:

I'm waiting on badging for a job.

Clyde King:

And then probably going to end up back up in PA, but the easiest place, because I'm

Clyde King:

checking in on LinkedIn a couple of times a day, normally, even when I'm working

Clyde King:

lunchtime, I'll check, see what's going on and when I get home and, uh, for those

Clyde King:

out there also that are on LinkedIn, if you're not on a LinkedIn premium package,

Clyde King:

I would suggest to try it out and look into the LinkedIn learning library.

Clyde King:

If you get down through.

Clyde King:

My profile in the last three years, I've completed probably 190 different

Clyde King:

classes and have certifications for them all through LinkedIn learning.

Clyde King:

So there's a wealth of knowledge out there on many different things.

Todd Miller:

good advice.

Todd Miller:

And, uh, yeah, folks can find Clyde King pretty easily on, uh, LinkedIn I

Todd Miller:

found so encourage folks to, uh, join up with you, hook up with you that

Todd Miller:

way and connect and see where it goes.

Todd Miller:

So good stuff.

Todd Miller:

So guys, uh, we were all successful working in our challenge words.

Todd Miller:

Um, I didn't think I was going to get mine in there to be honest.

Todd Miller:

Um,

Clyde King:

about yours for a minute.

Todd Miller:

That I kind of cheated, I always try to get it in before

Todd Miller:

the rapid fire because she usually can figure out a way to sneak it

Todd Miller:

in the rapid fire, but I couldn't.

Todd Miller:

So, so my word was tangerine that I worked in there.

Todd Miller:

Ethan, you had,

Ethan Young:

I had firewood, which is a little bit iffy, but I got it in there.

Todd Miller:

got her in there and Clyde, you had,

Clyde King:

Social studies.

Todd Miller:

I don't think any, you worked it in there so smoothly.

Todd Miller:

I don't think anyone would have ever dreamed.

Todd Miller:

That was what you were challenged to say.

Todd Miller:

So that was good job.

Todd Miller:

Good job.

Todd Miller:

Well, thank you again so much, uh, Clyde, for being with us today.

Todd Miller:

We've enjoyed this time together and appreciate it.

Clyde King:

I had fun.

Todd Miller:

Well, and thank you to our audience for tuning into this episode

Todd Miller:

of Construction Disruption, uh, with Union Carpenter Foreman, um, now we're

Todd Miller:

talking social media extraordinaire, uh, Clyde King of Buckhannon, West Virginia.

Todd Miller:

He's a great industry veteran, and he just wants to give it

Todd Miller:

back and teach at this point.

Todd Miller:

So, uh, kudos to him.

Todd Miller:

Uh, and please watch for future episodes of our podcast.

Todd Miller:

We always have great guests.

Todd Miller:

Don't forget to leave a review.

Todd Miller:

Um, we appreciate those.

Todd Miller:

Until the next time we're together, keep on disrupting, keep on looking

Todd Miller:

for better ways of doing things.

Todd Miller:

And most importantly, don't forget to have a positive impact

Todd Miller:

on everyone you encounter.

Todd Miller:

So God bless and take care.

Todd Miller:

This is Isaiah Industry signing off until the next episode

Todd Miller:

of Construction Disruption.