I’m Tom Hailey and this is The Break Out Session Podcast.
Last week I talked about the husband and wife heroes who helped me get started on my career path. They got me involved working for a start-up civil engineering firm when I was a High School Senior in Louisville.
That resulted in me working for two engineering firms while I attended the University of Kentucky.
Those experiences led me to a career in business development, sales, and marketing at four precast/prestressed concrete businesses.
Working with architects, engineers, contractors, and developers and promoting precast/prestressed concrete became the career I retired from in 2019 at age 70.
Here’s how that came about.
I had taken a break from college, because I was out of money, and was working at Parrot Ely and Hurt Engineers.
I enjoyed the work doing drafting and surveying.
But I began to notice something.
From my drafting table I would see sales reps meeting with the engineers educating them about their products related to infrastructure construction. They talked about equipment such as pumps for sewage treatment plants, and products related to highway and bridge construction. They were working to get their products specified.
I would also see the very professional business development guy for Parrot Ely and Hurt coming and going.
I had managed a retail store for awhile and I loved talking with people and moving about. I was beginning to feel trapped at my drafting table thinking this was not the working lifestyle I wanted.
Also, these sales reps had really nice company cars.
The senior owner of Parrott, Ely, and Hurt was George Ely.
In one conversation I had with him, he asked me what I wanted out of my career. I was frank and told him I thought that long term I wanted to be calling on firms such as the guys calling on his engineers.
Mr. Ely was a true leader who believed in developing his people, even if he lost them. He loaned me a six cassette tape set by Earl Nightingale named Lead the Field. I listened to those tapes and it changed my life.
I began to believe that I could become one of those industry reps, and that I should. And Soon.
Within six months I began my career at Featherlite Precast Company calling on architects, engineers, contractors, and developers promoting the use of precast/prestressed concrete.
When I interviewed for that job, they called my references, including Mr. Ely, and I was told that he recommended me very highly.
Having Mr. Ely loan me those tapes, having his firm’s name on my resume, and having his high praise recommendation changed my life. I was twenty-five years old.
I retired from that industry at age 70 1/2 having spent the last five years providing continuing education programs to architects and engineers.
Mr. George Ely is truly an amazing Unsung Hero in my life. I wish I had told him that.
Go thank your unsung hero.
Thanks for listening.
