Dave Young with Command Wealth Management, Jon MacKenzie with Performance Plumbing and Kevin Harris with AIAO

Intro: [00:00:09] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta. It’s time for Charitable Georgia. Brought to you by B’s Charitable Pursuits and Resources. We put the fun in fund raising. For more information, go to B’s Charitable Pursuits. Dot com. That’s B’s Charitable Pursuits dot com. Now here’s your host, Brian Pruitt.

Brian Pruett: [00:00:47] Good, fabulous Friday morning. It’s another fabulous Friday with three more fabulous guests. For those of you listening in and it’s your first time listening, this is Charitable Georgia. This is about all positive things happening in your community. So I want to thank Sharon for stepping in for Stone.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:04] So sweet. Gotcha. I’m happy to do it. Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:07] So, you know, just thanks for being here, because I can’t run the board, so we’d be in real trouble if it was just me, so.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:14] Well, I’m happy to be here. Thank you.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:16] I’ve got, like I said, three fabulous guests that all have some great stories to share about what they’re doing in the community and what they’ve done in the community. And so we’re going to start this morning with a guy that I’ve known for about ten years, and he’s very patient because he puts up with me. So Dave Young with Command Wealth, thanks for being here. And for for for some what’s the word I’m looking for? Com. What is it? I have no idea. I have to read this for compliance. Compliance is the word I was looking for. So this is compliance for him. All securities through Money Concepts. Capital Corp member, FINRA, SIPC Command Wealth Management is independent and non affiliated with Money Concepts Capital Corps. So again, Dave, thanks for being here this morning.

Dave Young: [00:02:01] Yeah, thanks for having me.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:02] So like I said, you’re with Command Wealth, you’re a financial advisor, you’ve been my advisor for ten years. And like I said, he’s really patient for putting up with me for ten years. Wow. I’m surprised that he’s still still around.

Dave Young: [00:02:15] So I’m still here. Yeah. So are you.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:18] Well, yeah, that’s a good thing. So. So Dave is also a well, he still serves in the Army National Guard. He’s a major. So thank you for your service. He spent years in the Army as well. And so that’s great in itself. But you have a passion for helping people, obviously, and a passion for veterans. So give us your story and then you can talk about what you do with command wealth.

Dave Young: [00:02:41] Yeah, So as you said, I’m still in the National Guard. I got my 19 year notice last week, so that was great. So one more year and we’ll finally retire. Yeah, thanks. I know my wife’s ready for it, too. Yeah. So we spend a lot of time in an active military. I grew up in Columbus, Georgia, so at Fort Benning, I joined the Army to see the world. And I got stationed at Fort Benning.

Brian Pruett: [00:03:05] Well, some people, that is the world.

Dave Young: [00:03:07] Yeah, it is. We moved up here probably about ten, about 12, 13 years ago, and we were active duty guard at the time, which is what brought us back up here. And we had just my son had just been born and I was gone, came home, I was gone, came home, and my wife and I decided, let’s take a step back and just do kind of the traditional guard piece. And that’s when we started the financial planning business and when I met you.

Brian Pruett: [00:03:33] So I think it’s really cool because I won’t tell you who was with before, but he wasn’t happy with who he’s with, and he just thought that that the way the customers were being handled, he wanted to be better for those, for those clients. And so he went out on his own. So it’s just awesome the way you you treat those folks. So where is command wealth based?

Dave Young: [00:03:53] So we’re based in Cobb County, but it’s the pandemic was actually a great light of this is we’re all over the country so we have clients all over. We work obviously, we work a lot with veterans. So anytime one of them moves to a new base, we get licensed in a new state. So we’re all over, but we’re based here in Cobb.

Brian Pruett: [00:04:12] So what made you decide to get into financial planning? Because I know you’ve told me in Columbus you guys had a marketing business, right? And you help businesses grow with that as well. So how did you do go that into financial planning?

Dave Young: [00:04:25] Yeah, that’s a great question. So as you said, we had a business in Columbus. We had gotten out of active duty when I was stationed down at Benning and we had a small business start up, so we would help companies write their business plans, we’d write their marketing plans, we’d do financial projections, and we decided to start that in 2009. So if you remember what happened in 2008 to 2009, that’s a really hard business to have when no one’s starting businesses. So kind of with that background, when I was looking at getting out again and wanting to start something, my career in the military has been very heavy in operations and planning, so it was a natural fit to kind of take the corporate side because the army, a corporation taking the corporate side and then bringing that down to more of an individual level. So we do a lot with individuals and small business owners because of that.

Brian Pruett: [00:05:16] I know you enjoy helping small business owners and you’re very involved in the community and networking as well. And you also at one time were you’re a past president for the Marietta Business Association, correct?

Dave Young: [00:05:27] I am past president, yeah. 2020 was another time.

Brian Pruett: [00:05:30] Well, you like those years, don’t you?

Dave Young: [00:05:32] Yeah. I mean, you run a business association during the pandemic. It was, it was great. My job was just to make sure it didn’t go under.

Brian Pruett: [00:05:38] For those who don’t know about to marry the business Association, can you share about that and the purpose What what what you all do?

Dave Young: [00:05:43] Yeah, absolutely. So the Marietta Business Association, similar to other associations in the cities, is it’s it’s a group of business owners, like minded individuals that want to get together, share a business, refer business out and just build relationships in the community.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:00] Can you share your story as far as your military career, what you did before you got out of active duty?

Dave Young: [00:06:08] Man 19 years, Brian.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:11] You did a lot, right?

Dave Young: [00:06:12] We did a lot. So I was in the infantry. I was in the airborne. So we spent about ten years jumping out of airplanes, teaching people how to do that to a certain extent. When we came up here, I commissioned as an officer through there’s every state has their own program. So we commissioned as an officer here and then went to the cavalry. So I was a scout, a recon scout. Did that for a number of years. And now I’m actually at it’s called Officer Candidate School. So any student or any soldier that wants to become an officer in the Guard, we teach them, we teach and assess and evaluate their leadership abilities. So some go on, some don’t.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:54] That would explain why he puts up with me. Because he jumped out of airplanes.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:57] You’re not afraid of anything? Exactly.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:59] So I always got these confused. But like, for you to share the difference between the Army National Guard and the Reserves, because you know me, I keep getting confused. Will you share the difference? Yeah.

Dave Young: [00:07:10] The basic difference. So the Army Reserves is a part of the active army component, essentially. So when the army deploys, the reserves are there to backfill, more or less. And if anyone listening is in the reserves and I butchered that, I’m sorry, but the National Guard is a little bit different. So they have two missions, one for the state. So in this case the state of Georgia. So when there’s hurricanes or snowstorms or anything COVID, they did COVID response or the riots that happened, remember, we had the National Guard out. So you have the state mission, but then they’re also a deployable unit. So you’ll deploy overseas essentially backfill other active duty units there, too. So right now, the Guard is in multiple countries all over the world. People don’t really realize that.

Brian Pruett: [00:07:54] So I always like to ask this. Why is it important for you to be part of the community? Because you’re out networking. You’re also, again, still active with the reserves in your business. But why is it a part important to be part of the community? Because you are out doing a lot of things.

Dave Young: [00:08:09] Right. I mean, given what we do in financial planning, a lot of that is built on trust. So it’s being out in the community, building relationships, working with others and just being active and being seen. Because my business is here and my kids go to the same school as other kids and play sports with other kids. So it’s just important to be a part of that and build those relationships.

Brian Pruett: [00:08:31] The other thing I’d like to ask is because I know even I at one time there was always a stereotype and I guess there still is about financial planners. I know there’s good ones. I know there’s bad ones. Can you share something that might take away that stereotype?

Dave Young: [00:08:47] Yeah, it’s really just being willing to go and sit down and ask. Some people think that it’s going to cost money just to come and sit down across the table from us, and that’s not really true. I mean, everybody has their own unique goals. There is no one size fits all. So it’s really just the willingness to have an open conversation.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:03] That’s what I like because Dave will sit down with you and share and look at what you are as an individual or a family. What’s going to be best for you from now until you’re ready to even time you get into the grave, right? Because you also do life insurance. We do. So you’re taking care of all of that. And again, I also like the fact that you can go to him. You can he’ll come to you if need be. I’m sure you do things on Zoom if need be. So very accessible. So you said you’ve got your family, right? You have two kids now, right?

Dave Young: [00:09:38] I do have two kids.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:40] They keep you running, I’m sure.

Dave Young: [00:09:41] All the time. Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:43] You want to share about your family?

Dave Young: [00:09:44] Yeah. So married for 20 years. Two kids. My wife was with me before we joined the Army, and it’s definitely a we thing. So she’s been along for the. For the whole ride. So I have a nine year old son and a five year old daughter. They’ll both be turning ten and six here soon.

Brian Pruett: [00:10:02] So they’re the ones running the family?

Dave Young: [00:10:05] Yeah. The littlest one thing she is.

Brian Pruett: [00:10:07] Yeah. There you go. There you go. Is there any advice? You know, I don’t know if you can do this with compliance or not, but is there anything that you can share with somebody just just thinking about the financial stuff? Can can you maybe somebody who’s thinking about it, who’s never worked with somebody in your industry? Just something for them to be prepared about and think about for their. Basically their future.

Dave Young: [00:10:29] Yeah, great question. So there’s so much noise in the markets whether, you know, regardless of whatever news channel you listen to or what you may read on the Internet or you hear from friends or family, there’s so much information out there. It’s really just focusing on what you can control at the end of the day. Money is just the tool. It’s not the end game. So just being to sit down with someone and help put those pieces together is really the key kind of control. What you are focused on, what you can control. I mean.

Brian Pruett: [00:11:01] Are there differences? I’d like for you to share this difference because I know there are differences and somebody may be thinking there’s an IRA and a Roth IRA. Can you share the difference from those two?

Dave Young: [00:11:12] Yeah. So a traditional IRA is a retirement account. It’s a pretax retirement account. So the money that you put into that goes in pretax. So you get essentially a tax deduction for the year. So I’m just making a number up. So you put $3,000 in, that’s a $3,000 tax deduction that you get. And then in retirement, when you pull the money out, then you pay ordinary income tax. Roth is actually the opposite. So it’s post tax. You don’t get a tax deduction this year, But that 3000 has grown to whatever. And when you come into retirement, you pull it out. It’s tax free.

Brian Pruett: [00:11:44] Is there a specific a specific age that you think people should start with a plan? Yes. Any age. Any age.

Dave Young: [00:11:52] It’s never too early. It’s never too late.

Brian Pruett: [00:11:55] So I’m guessing obviously it’d be 18 and up, right, Because a 15 year old probably is not. I don’t know. Do you? You can’t work with a minor, can you?

Dave Young: [00:12:03] Actually, there are ways to do it if a minor has income. I mean, my first job was at a grocery store when I was 13. So there are there are options out there.

Brian Pruett: [00:12:12] Okay. Good to know. I need to get my kids to you. And you said there’s no age too old to start. So I’m guessing you can, you know, if somebody’s, you know, 80, 90 years old and they don’t have a plan, you can still do something. It’s not going to be tough.

Dave Young: [00:12:28] Yeah. So the earlier you start, the better.

Brian Pruett: [00:12:30] But at least at that.

Dave Young: [00:12:32] Point, to your to your point, if you’re in the 80s or 90s, it’s just knowing what the next step looks like.

Brian Pruett: [00:12:37] You probably have to know what you’re asking too when you’re that age. So I know sometimes I don’t know what I’m asking. So all right. If somebody wants to get a hold of you for your service, how can they do that? Yeah, great.

Dave Young: [00:12:48] Question. So you can go to command wealth management.com is our website. We’re on LinkedIn. So David Young on LinkedIn and on Facebook as well. We have the command and wealth management page is a good way to get there.

Brian Pruett: [00:13:00] All right. So again, for compliance purposes, all securities through Money concepts, Capital Corp member, FINRA, SIPC Command Wealth Management is independent and not affiliated with Money Concepts Capital Corps. So Dave, thanks for coming and sharing a little bit of your story and you mind sticking around for these next two stories? Yeah, absolutely. Awesome. Well, thank you. And now we’re moving over to Jon MacKenzie, who owns Performance Plumbing at a Ball Ground. John, thanks for coming this morning.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:13:25] My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Brian Pruett: [00:13:26] So you and I sat down and I learned some things about you. And it’s an incredible story as well, that you don’t have a plumbing background and something you chose to get into. And then you really, really do try to help people, not just here, but we’ll get into that for a second in a minute. But share your story, how you got into into plumbing.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:13:44] So yeah, we I started my career in the motorcycle industry doing various things from motorcycle repairs and running parts departments and stuff like that at some local dealerships and then kind of just decided that we wanted to go and try it on our own, me and my wife. And so we branched off and started our own little shop here in Woodstock. And that was a lot of fun for a time period. And then it was got where it was not as much fun for us anymore. And we saw an opportunity to kind of liquidate some of the company and buy into part of a plumbing company that actually belonged to a regular customer of ours. And he was in the plumbing business. He said, Why don’t you just get into the plumbing business and never even thought of it, Never would have considered it. I’d done a little DIY stuff at my house, but I never would consider going into that business. But with a little nudge, I said, You know, I was looking for anything different. And so that’s what we did. So we bought into the company that was here in town and a couple of years of that and kind of figured out that the partnership wasn’t the best relationship either. Sometimes you can be really good friends, but not very good business partners.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:14:56] And so we decided to then take it just all out on our own. So we took that leap of faith and started performance plumbing with just me and my wife doing being the owners and running the show ourselves. And at that time we did just commercial builds, so we would build restaurants and doctor’s offices and that sort of thing to do the plumbing aspect of that. And, and, you know, churned along. That was our that was our growth into the industry. And then when COVID hit we had a number of large. On tracks that got canceled. And so we kind of had to switch gears yet again. We kind of thought we were established, you know, all the tough parts of running a business. We’d been in business since 2015, and so we were like, you know, we we worked those long hours. We did all that. And and that was all over with. And then all of a sudden, the next three years worth of work is dissolved and, you know, a month time period. And so that’s when we knew we had to make some changes. So we started doing residential service work and commercial service work as well. We had to change trucks. We had to change guys. We had to change policy.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:16:01] We had to get computer changes. You know, it was a huge, huge change in how we do business. But it’s been it’s been like starting our third business because we, you know, we did the motorcycle shop on our own and then we did the plumbing and then it was like, All right, well, everything we know about plumbing, we threw out the window and started over after COVID. And so so, you know, we count that as extra experience under our belt. And, you know, we feel very blessed that we’ve been able to kind of weather the storm thus far and and make those changes that we’ve had. We’ve been incredibly blessed by, you know, some great help from local sources, great customer bases. And and, you know, I wouldn’t want to do anything like that in any other area than than Cherokee County. You know, it’s the kind of people that we that we want to, you know, count on the kind of community we wanted to be a part of. So, you know, for us, that’s been the the journey all the way from, you know, a 15 year old kid washing bikes at a motorcycle dealership all the way here to, you know, a service plumbing business, you know, So, yeah, that’s that’s how we did it.

Brian Pruett: [00:17:07] So how did you come up with the name Performance Plumbing?

Jon MacKenzie: [00:17:10] I don’t think I don’t I don’t think I could say it on air necessarily. But another company that’s not in the plumbing business was when I was deciding we were going to start our our business. Coming up with a name is the hardest part. You know, it’s like, what do you call yourself? And I was sitting in traffic and another company pulled up next to me and they were performance and their industry, you know, written right on the side of their truck. And and I thought, that’s it, That looks perfect, you know. And so we kind of proceeded on from there. It’s like as soon as I saw it, it was like like naming your child. It was like, you know, you can’t come up with anything. But then when you hear the right one, that’s it, right? So that’s what we went with and and we’ve loved it. And once we came up with the American flag logo, it was like it just settled right in to exactly what we you know, I couldn’t picture it in my mind, but once we saw it, we knew that was it.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:00] So this will lead into part of the story that I want to bring in. But the question is, do you just service Cherokee County or do you go other places?

Jon MacKenzie: [00:18:08] We go outside of Cherokee County. We try to stay 30 to 40 miles from our office. For the most part. It depends on the type of project and what’s needed just so that we can we want to spend more time fixing plumbing than we do sitting in traffic. And so we have to kind of organize that way. But no, we go all the way out to Johns Creek and come down into Marietta and and Milton and Alpharetta and stuff like that as well. We go further north as well, up into like Blue Ridge. And so it’s not really a circle of a service area as much as it is just kind of dependent on the roads that get us there and the traffic that we can anticipate and stuff like that. But, you know, we want to be as we grow, we want to be available to more people. You know, we think we bring a good quality product at a at a value to customers. We bring a down home community relationship. And so we want to offer that to everybody. And so, you know, as we grow, we want to continue to branch out to the people that we can offer that to and and we look forward to that.

Brian Pruett: [00:19:05] So what I think is cool, the reason I wanted to ask that question, too, is you shared with me a story that you actually went to Texas. You know, you hear stories when natural disasters happen of tree companies and roofers and the like, the the companies that do the mold and fire people like that go to the other states. But I’ve never heard of a plumber going to another state to help out. So share that story, if you don’t mind.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:19:27] Yeah. So. A number of times in my career, including I was in the motorcycle business when Katrina hit, and the owner of that company donated jet skis and and some other things so that for the relief efforts to Katrina. And I saw that and I kind of felt the same way then I was like, we need you know, I’ve always wanted to be part of some kind of effort like that. I think it’s an amazing thing to do. And so as I, you know, as I kept growing and became a plumber and got into that business, there was Hurricane Sandy and stuff like that, and it was like, how can I help? What can we do to help? I could pack up, I could go, but I’d just be in the way. They don’t do they need plumbers? Do they need anything like that so often with these, you know. Natural disasters. There was times when we would feel like, how do we go help? And we couldn’t come up with it. And then this time, when the freeze happened in Texas in 2021, we same deal. It was like felt like we wanted to help, but we didn’t know what to do. And thankfully, we just got to kind of surprise phone call from a guy named Dominic that’s with a company called Plumbers Without Borders Organization. He runs just himself and his wife. And they called me up and he said, hey, you know, I’ve talked to some people that are on the ground here in Texas and and he’s out of Oregon, I believe.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:20:46] And he said, Would you be able to send anybody to come help? You know, they they have real need for plumbing. That’s what they have a need for right now. And so we made a couple of phone calls, talked to some of our guys and me and my wife discussed it and and we said, you know, we’ll give you whatever you want. You know, you want us to load up trucks and trailers and excavators. You know what what’s the failure? What is what’s the fix? And we’ll go. And he was able to put together a plan for the city. We went to Austin, and so the city of Austin put together a plan for us to stay in a hotel in Austin. We went to some of our local suppliers who were kind enough to supply us with just truckloads of material. We loaded vans until they were dragging the ground and made the 14 hour trek out there with these just poor vans getting eight miles to the gallon just strapped down. I mean, pipe as high as we could, stack it on the roof and everything. And and so we rolled out there and like I said, the city of Austin was kind enough to put us up in a hotel. And there was another organization, Water Mission, that was on the ground there. And they generally focus on getting water to like desolate areas and like the Sahara Desert and things like that. They work on communities that have no water, but they’re based out of Austin, Texas.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:22:01] So they kind of immediately took that call and they organized getting us in contact with people who had no water at all. So we were out there for 13 days. We went through almost 1500 feet of pipe repiping houses and patching frozen pipes and and just everything under the sun. Crawl spaces with animals that live in Texas that, you know, had never seen before and would be happy to never see again. And and some really, really great people, some people that were incredibly gracious for the work that we were doing. We saw a number of situations in which without that, there was there was no path. I saw that they would ever have running water again. They had no method to pay and no, in some cases drive. They were they were kind of beat down by the whole thing. And so it was just a really great opportunity. And and we were so blessed to be a part of it because for so long we sought how to make that connection. And Plumbers Without Borders really facilitated that and got us where we wanted to be. And so, you know, so we went out there and did that. Our longest customer that had not had water, we had a lady in a really rural area that had not had water for 28 days. When we turned her water on and she just lived out there, she made a couple of times a week a trek back to the city where they would give her cases of bottled water and baby wipes to stay clean.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:23:25] And for 28 days, that was her entire life. So. Wow. You know, the the noise that she made when she first heard water coming out of the you know, we turned the faucets on after and we had to repipe the whole house had frozen top to bottom. And so, you know, it was like eight of us that we had organized to go to this house. And when we first turned that tap on and water was coming out and it’s like the shower is on and the water is. And she was just she was just screaming. She was a an older woman, but she was just screaming like a schoolgirl. You know, She was so excited to finally see water. And and it was like, if you’re wondering why we’re here, I told my guys, if you’re wondering why we’re here, that’s why we’re here, you know, because that’s there was local news agencies that wanted to meet with us and do that sort of thing. It’s like, that’s not why we’re here. We have a job to do and and that’s what we want to do. And and so that was, you know, we didn’t we didn’t make any money off of that trip. Thankfully, they were able to cover a lot of our expenses. So it wasn’t an expensive trip other than the cost of not being here working. We took everybody that we had, but it was one of the most, you know, most rewarding things that we’ve ever done, for sure.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:34] Well, for those of you who can’t see in the room, but Sharon, you can see just by him sharing his story of the globe.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:38] I am, too. I get choked up because I’ve talked we’ve talked about this like that joy that you experienced. You cannot put a price on that. And if more people felt that joy, they would do more of those things. Exactly. I just I really believe that. I agree with.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:24:52] That. I agree 100%. And you can’t you know, money’s nice, but they didn’t need money in Austin. Austin, the city was helping. They just ran out of physical people. And so, you know, it feels nice to give money and help causes. But when you can take your talent, your thing that you do and, you know, we say like we’re a good plumber in the. A good steward in our community and then have an opportunity to take that all the way to a completely foreign land as far as we were concerned and and apply it and really see results. We got 25 houses that didn’t have water. We got water turned on. And and, you know, it was it was just a blast. And we got to meet some people that did the same thing that came from I think people came from about 50 different cities that were in our group, that water mission organized. And we still still know those guys. I went to New York last year for one of them’s wedding and got to see her. And so, you know, those connections, those things, you can’t replicate them, you can’t recreate them. And so we were just blessed that the timing worked out, that we could make it work.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:56] That’s a good point that you bring up about you know, it’s nice to be able to give money and help that way, but that’s one of the reasons I started B’s Charitable Pursuits and Resources because I’m not going to be able to one to hand a nonprofit a check for right now, 100 bucks, but 25,000, $50,000. But what I can do is use my experiences and connections and help them with connections, events and educate people of why they’re doing, which will. We got one here in a minute we’ll hear from. But I love being able to do that. And you’re right, it brings a joy, you know, to be able to to see it all coming together and work. So you you and I talked as well, that obviously you’re a believer and it’s not easy to find plumbers at network. But you hired a young lady to do that for you because you guys stay busy in the field. And I’m sure Christmas time, you guys were extremely busy around here with that same problem. But it’s also not hard or easy to find businesses that, let’s say, profess the Christianity, but just the example, you know, and living that and the way you treat your customers, I think is important because I don’t care what industry you’re in, if you’re not treating your customers right, you know you’re not going to last as a business. But then also those customers are going to be out whatever as well. So it’s awesome that you guys do that. Share a little bit about your family.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:27:22] Yeah, So me and my wife first got together in the eighth grade and we will be married for 20 years in September of this year. Congrats. Thank you. And we have a 13 year old son and a nine year old daughter, both of them in school here in Cherokee County. And and we, you know, really enjoy the community. We try to do all of the festivals that we can and fall festivals. We are partners in education with several of the schools here in the county. And and you know, our kids take on my daughter probably more than my son takes on the company role. She loves to wear apparel for us. She loves to hawk us. She draws ads for us all the time. I mean, she’s very artistic and and very good with it. And and so it’s a it’s a real, you know, family endeavor. Our kids go to our office on weekends. We have a lot of times that we need to do work on a truck or we need to reorganize something or we need to put something together. And they come right along and they’re they’re part of it. And so, you know, that’s hopefully going to be a legacy that we can pass along.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:28:32] And, you know, that’ll be something that they won’t have to go through some of what we went through to get to that point. But yeah, it’s it’s been it’s been a blast with all of the challenges, you know, obviously being what they are. But to have a family that, you know, every night, you know these people are going to stand behind you. They’re going to be there. They’re not going anywhere. They’re not scared to go into the void with you and and see how it is through, you know, leaving a dependable job where I got a every day paycheck to starting my own motorcycle shop, to getting out of that and getting into plumbing that, you know, it’s like, how are you going to go be a plumber? You know nothing about being a plumber. And it’s like, I’m just going to go do it. And that’s how that’s how we’re going to do it. And all right. Go, you know? And so that was it’s a real blessing to be able for me to be able to know that, you know, win or lose. And and that’s all going to be there. And and so I’m really blessed in that.

Brian Pruett: [00:29:28] Why is it important? I mean, even much you just why you shared your why are you doing with your business but why is it important for you to be a part of the community?

Jon MacKenzie: [00:29:35] You know, I’ve always just felt like, you know, there’s there’s a burden put on you when you have talents to to use those talents. Well, and I think that it’s easy to get see a modicum of success and start feeling like, oh, I did that or I did, you know, I grew that or I made that. And that’s often not the case, at least not completely the case. And so I’ve always felt like anything that we get belongs to the community. You know, it belongs to some extent, at least to the the people around. And that’s the. The way that it works. You know, I’m not a huge proponent of government intervention. I like for a community to come together. You know, that was one thing we loved about being in ball ground during COVID was that community just itself kind of they didn’t need intervention of any kind. It was everybody pulled together. Businesses helped other businesses that were failing because they weren’t you know, we had barbershops closed and we had all of this stuff and people stepped up and did what I consider to be the right thing. And so it was, you know, my whole life just kind of part of it that, you know, I think you can be really, really successful and still be a really good member of the community that people trust and people believe in and new businesses that come in look at you as a, you know, a light on the hill to chase instead of being that guy that just man, you don’t you don’t want to deal with him if you don’t have to.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:31:03] And you might can make a really successful business doing that, you know, But but at the same time, if you can’t be successful and be a good member of the community, then you just be a good member of the community and don’t be successful. So it’s got to come first. And that’s kind of the philosophy that we have. We live here. We, you know, we’re going to bump into you in the grocery store and everything else. We want you to say, Hey, that’s the guy that takes care of us, not, hey, that’s that guy that, you know, got us for this and that. So it’s it’s a combination of all those things. I think that if everybody did it that way, then we’d be better off. And so that’s kind of the philosophy that I try to teach my kids that any time you’re doing something, it’s not about whether you get away with it or not. Picture If everybody did it the way you’re doing it, would the world be a better place or would it be a worse place? And if the world wouldn’t be a better place, then just change what you’re doing to where you know. It doesn’t matter if everybody else is getting away with it. Do the right thing on your own. And so that’s how we try to do it.

Brian Pruett: [00:31:59] So, you know, growing up I’m old, right? So but growing up there was, I think, a stereotype for plumbers as well. And it was the crack, right? Yeah. It’s accurate. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:32:11] That’s an accurate stereotype I’ve started. We’re trying to start getting some social media stuff going with some video footage. And so I’ve started setting up a GoPro when I go to work and it’s like, Well, we can’t use that because it’s just too stereotypical, you know? Right. Just too yeah, it’s accurate. Now, I will say that if you’re fortunate enough to find skinny plumbers, you get less of that. But if you’re going to limit it to skinny plumbers, you’re going to really that’s going to narrow your your options down pretty far.

Brian Pruett: [00:32:42] There you go. Can you give anybody any plumbing tips? What what do they need to do other than. Yeah. Other than call you. Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:51] Don’t YouTube things. I’ve heard some horror stories about people thinking they can handle something.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:32:55] Yeah. You know, Google Fu is a tactic that you only should use if you have the skills for it. And so, you know, searching up how to fix something can be a double edged sword. There’s plenty of stuff out there that will lead you in the wrong direction. But what I normally tell people, if they just ask me for advice, like just relax, like we’re going to we’re going to get it. You know, like I said, we went to Texas and fixed somebody’s water who had been off for 28 days. And she wasn’t even that stressed. You know, she was she was hurting, but she wasn’t that stressed. It’s like whatever it is, it’s flooding. You’re going to have insurance. We’re going to get it stopped. We’re going to get it like six months from now. This is all going to be over 24 hours from now. It’s all going to be over, whatever it is. And so if you slow the pace down a little bit, think things through. We always offer that technical advice for free subject to our availability. If I normally I’m the one doing it, if I’m called into the field or whatever, I’m not available. But we’re happy to. You know, if you have a question, ask us a question or anything like that. We’d rather see you do it right than than you do it wrong because you didn’t want to talk to us. We’d rather it get fixed right. And we’ll be your guy when it gets out of your hands, you know? And so that’s, um, you know, the best advice with it is that, you know, from early on when I was in this industry, learning just a young pup being taught how to do it, I was very stressed.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:34:16] Everything. What if it leaks? What if that drips? What if that. What if we don’t get it unclogged? What if we don’t? And and the fact of it was that, you know, it’s going to be everything we’ve ever done got finished one way or the other. And so it helped me a lot. Just slow the pace down, think about what you’re doing and and make better decisions. And and I would say to build a relationship with us, you know, we’ve we’ve told people before, you don’t have to hire us to build a relationship with us if you stop by our festival stuff and and, you know, tell your friends. And when somebody asks for a plumber on Facebook, you’re referring us and stuff like that. That’s plenty good enough. If you need free advice or whatever. Like you don’t have to feel guilty that, Oh, I don’t hire them. And then I do this, just build that relationship and keep that relationship. So if we can help you, we’ll be happy to help you. If we can’t, then, you know, we’ll let you know who you need. Why? Why it is that we’re not the right person for it, but build that relationship before you need it is usually a better way to handle it. But.

Brian Pruett: [00:35:12] Well, I am going to ask you one question on the plumbing side. So why is it they tell you when the weather is about to be below freezing, you keep your faucets dripping and you open the cupboard doors?

Jon MacKenzie: [00:35:23] So we went through a lot of this. Obviously, at Christmas time, we did several videos on what to do to get ready, and that’s very generic information that doesn’t fit every house. So the reason you would leave the faucets dripping, the water coming out of the ground in the winter time here in Cherokee County is about 64 degrees. So by dripping, the new water coming in 64 degrees. So even if the house was 32 degrees inside, which it wouldn’t be unless your heat wasn’t working, then you have new warm water coming right up out of the ground, relatively warm. None of us want to swim in 64 degree water, but it won’t freeze. And so by leaving it dripping both hot and cold, you constantly feed that warmer water through the lines. It helps them keep freezing. Plus the water moving is harder to freeze. Just like in freezing temperatures, a creek will still run because that water is just moving. It can’t freeze. So and then opening the cabinet doors would be only applicable if that cabinet was up against an outside wall. And all you want is that warm air from your house to get up against that outside wall to keep it from freezing. So the cabinets just kind of an insulator. So if you open those cabinet doors or put a space heater where it’s blowing in under there, then then that will take care of it. But there are so many things that I wish people would do when the temperature is getting really, really low. And we’ve worked on that. I think we did a really bad job this year. We tried kind of last minute to put together some Facebook videos and stuff. We’re going to work really hard this year to develop some some already made right in the pipeline videos, pipeline, so to speak, videos that are just ready for us to say, here’s here’s YouTube videos with detailed instructions of what you need to do because we don’t want people to pay us to go out and turn their hose bibs off or anything like that.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:37:03] We want to you can handle that. Most people can handle that. But I guess to go back to with the freeze, the number one advice I would tell anyone that’s in their house is learn where your shut off is. Learn how to turn the water off when you have to turn the water off. Because if you wait until it’s 2:00 in the morning and it’s spraying in the middle of the kitchen floor, you’ll never find it. You’ll just run around like a chicken with your head cut off. We’re sliding across the floor. Yeah. You swim, you get a raft and raft over to it. So learning where it is, how to turn it off, does it work? You know, those sorts of things in the heat of the moment, knowing right where to go. That’s the first thing we do when we get on site for almost any repair. Where do we shut this house off if things go? You know, sometimes you’re just changing an icemaker and all of a sudden it breaks in the wall. Now and again for us, we’re scurrying around. And so knowing right where I can just go, shut it off before there’s any flood, there’s any anything. Now we can just fix the problem, turn the water back on. It makes a really big difference. So I wish that every single customer I had knew exactly where to go to turn their water off. That would be a fantastic help for us.

Brian Pruett: [00:38:09] What about wrapping the the faucets outside? I know my wife took a washcloth and then a Kroger bag and put them over the faucets on the house outside.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:38:16] It doesn’t hurt the insulated covers that you couldn’t get at Home Depot when that was all happening. Those are a great option, too. They do the same thing. They just reflect the house’s heat. The house is warm and so they just keep that what we call in the envelope. They keep the the hose bib inside that envelope to help it from freezing. But they should have a shut off, too. That’s a second thing you can learn. The first thing is your main shut off. The second thing is the shut offs for any outdoor spigots. They’ll have a shut off and you turn them off and drain them down. Then they can’t freeze. There’s no water in them. So that’s more effective to turn them off and drain them down. But second to that, trying to insulate them absolutely is the next step. But certainly disconnect the hose from them no matter what you do, because about 40% of the fixes that we did during the freeze still had garden hoses hooked to them. And that’s the biggest cause of it, is that that freezes really fast and that water just chases right up into the into the house. And, you know, it’s it’s a common occurrence just to fix them.

Brian Pruett: [00:39:14] All right. So if somebody’s out there listening and wants to get a hold of you for your services, how can they do that? Yeah.

Jon MacKenzie: [00:39:19] So you can call us or text us at 404 6379017. Or you can visit us at our website, which is w-w-w dot performance.plumbing. There’s no.com or anything. We’re just performance.plumbing. Leading the charge into a new way to do internet site locations. Nice. And that’s what they sold me on years ago when I got that and it hasn’t quite yet happened. I was told.com was going to go away and that hasn’t exactly been the way it is. But yeah, we’re performance.plumbing is our website so it’s easy to get to. And like I said, we take calls or texts on our main line, so we’re happy to chat back and forth that way if it’s easier or more convenient or just antisocial or shy, you can just shoot us a text and we’ll be happy to respond to it that way.

Brian Pruett: [00:40:04] Awesome. Well, John, thanks for coming and sharing a little bit of your story and your business. You mind sticking around and listen to this next guest? It’ll be my pleasure. So you guys just heard two stories of different ways of people getting involved in community and their passions of helping people in different ways. This next story, I’m going to let him speak the entire time. But this next story is not only about community, but it’s perseverance. It’s overcoming, it’s grace, it’s passion. And anyway, Kevin Harris from All in All Out Ministry, thank you for being here this morning.

Kevin Harris: [00:40:34] Thank you.

Brian Pruett: [00:40:34] And you will share about your ministry and why you’re doing it and after you share your story, because it leads into why you’re doing. But just go ahead and share your story because it’s you may want to share and get you some tissues. Oh, gosh. So, no, it’s it’s incredible. Yeah. So if you don’t mind, please share your story.

Kevin Harris: [00:40:52] All right. Absolutely. So growing up, I was very fortunate, grew up in a home where, you know, I grew up in a kind of a big family. There were four boys. I was the youngest of four boys. There’s a lot to that down the road. But growing up, we were very fortunate. Mom and dad loved us. We prayed at dinner table. Dad when I was born was superintendent of of the schools in the county. Then he went on to be a principal, but also through that he became a preacher on the weekends. So he was pastoring a church and, you know, and being a principal. So growing up, that was my my dad. And growing up, I learned that I had an identity problem because trying to figure out, you know, in the town we grew up in, it wasn’t a huge town at the time. Now it is. It’s grown very big in Cartersville, Georgia. But everybody knew everybody and everybody knew my dad. So I was always like Doug Son or Gail son. And and then as my brother brothers got older and being the youngest, you know, I was Ron’s little brother, Jeffrey’s little brother, Craig’s little brother. And so nobody just said, Hey, Kevin, you know, it was always something else. So I struggled with that, not knowing, you know, And I tried to do things to get attention. Of course, being the youngest, despite what everybody says, we are spoiled and we do get our way a lot more. But as I was growing up, you know, you know, my dad was a very honest guy.

Kevin Harris: [00:42:31] And, you know, being the principal, he did paddle me twice when that was a thing. You could do that. So it still needs to be a thing. Well, no comment. But, you know, so it wasn’t like that. I had any special treatment or anything. So he treated me just like everybody else. And and growing up, you know, trying to figure that out. And as I got to high school when I was a freshman, it was a cross town. So I kind of got away from my dad because elementary middle school was attached. And in middle school, if I got in trouble, they would, you know, they’d take me to my dad’s office instead of, you know, I can remember in my art class I had these little fake ear rings in my ear, and she’s like, grabs me by the arm and says, Come on, we’re going to the office. And I’m like, okay. We pass the the middle school office and go straight to the elementary school office. I’m like, okay, So but I’ll never forget my dad sitting there. He said, Son, if you want to put earrings in your ear, we can put a dress on you and let you go to the girls bathroom. I’m like, All right. But I showed him later. I got him pierced when I got to college. So but anyway, so it was like I couldn’t get away from him.

Kevin Harris: [00:43:35] So when I got to high school, I’m like, yes, I’m away. And and then the first day of school, they’re going through the roll. You know, they get to my name. They’re like, Oh, you Jeffrey’s little brother or Craig’s little brother? I’m like, Yeah. They’re like, Well, we’re going to need you to move to the front of the class, because if you’re anything like them, we’re in trouble. I’m like, Great. So, so I just started just trying to find who I was and and doing that, I ended up with the wrong crowd, the wrong people. As a freshman in high school, I started drinking and we were drinking at school weekends, wherever, whenever. And as I progressed through high school, I was able to maintain playing sports. Basketball was my thing. I enjoyed doing that. And and but as I as I got older as a senior and graduated, man, I just wasn’t drinking. But I was, you know, it was pills. It was, you know, pot, those kind of things. And and then as I got out of high school, I kind of found meth, which ended up being my drug of choice. I did try college, didn’t go too well. I probably picked the worst school to go to as far as back then. I can’t speak for them now. I don’t look at it. But Georgia Southern was one of the top party schools in the country, so I went there my first semester, got in trouble a couple of times sitting before the dean.

Kevin Harris: [00:44:55] He’s like, Man, if we have A33 strike rule and you’re out here and you said, This is your second strike, I really don’t think you’re going to make it three and a half more years. So he’s like, You should probably go home. I’m like, okay, So so that’s what I did. I go back home. But nothing changed. Can still run in the streets, you know, trying to do my own thing. You know, getting involved in some incidents of a shooting, some other things. And then I’m like, well, I’ll settle down. And for, you know, 20 year old guy, then settle down meant finding a girl, you know. So that’s what I did. She ends up getting pregnant. We weren’t married. And being a Baptist preacher kid, you’re supposed to be married when those things happen. So we ended up getting married despite our religious differences. Her being Mormon and me being Baptist was a pretty big clash. But, you know, so we got married, had my little boy a year later, we had my little girl. She was born premature, lungs weren’t fully developed. She had problems breathing on her own. They put her on a heart monitor. She’d been in and out with. With I forget what it’s called now. The why. Can I not think of the what kids normally get when they go into the hospital? The. Holy cow, I’m drawing a blank. There it goes. And nobody’s helping me.

Sharon Cline: [00:46:25] It’s an incubator. No.

Kevin Harris: [00:46:27] It’s just there’s a word for it. It’s pretty common that kids get a lot, and I can’t even think of what it is now. But anyway, it was like a respiratory. Is it RSV? Yes. Thank you. Yes, thank you. She bailed me out. Leave it up to.

Brian Pruett: [00:46:41] A mom to know that.

Kevin Harris: [00:46:42] Or it was RSV and she was about two months old. And for the two months, she’d been in a hospital for about a month of that. And and like I said, they sent us home with a heart monitor. Quit working one day. So it’s going to be the next day for they get us another one. So that night when I’m home, my son won’t have anything to do with anybody else but me. So. And I usually work nights. Well, I did work nights at that time, and so I took him to bed. She said she’d stay up with him and she wakes me up in the middle of the night, you know, screaming, She’s not breathing, she’s not breathing. And so she hands me, my daughter, and I do everything I can at the time, but she ends up passing away in my arms. So. So that was difficult. I was 21 at the time, so for any kid or anybody to suffer, the loss of a child is very devastating. And for me, at the time, I did what I knew how to deal with it, and that was drugs and alcohol. So it just fueled that she turned to religion, to her religion, and but we ended up separating, getting divorced. And so I went many more years of drinking drugs getting worse, you know. And then I thought at one point in zero two, I decided I was going to get clean. And I did. And I’m not sure it’s for any of the right reasons or anything, but I got clean, stayed clean for a while and then ended up relapsing over really just being around the wrong people situations.

Kevin Harris: [00:48:20] As I look back, what I found out was when things don’t go my way or big, I guess events that happen in people’s life, which happens in all of us and everybody has their way of dealing with them. But for me, for whatever reason, I always turn to the drugs and alcohol to deal with them. I wasn’t very good at facing any problems that I had, so that’s what I did. Ended up relapsing, you know, used for a while again, got clean again and 0809 and about then I started feeling, you know, well, and when I got clean in zero two, I felt like God was calling me to something, to do something in ministry or whatever. And and there was no doubt. I just didn’t know what that looked like. But as time went, that faded. And as things happened, that faded. Especially I started using again. Zero eight. I started getting clean again and I actually felt like, you know, everybody I’d share my story and everybody was like, Well, you should write a book. So I’m like, All right, I’ll start it or I’ll write it. But I started it. But it wasn’t until ten years later for I finished it or really longer than that. But anyway, I started it got clean, man. I started working for this ministry, doing, helping others that, that, that, that had been through what I’ve been through.

Kevin Harris: [00:49:40] And so it really drove my passion to helping them doing that. And everything was going great. And then one day I get confronted by one of the board members of the ministry telling me that I’m a liar, that I’m stealing from God and all this stuff. And it’s like out of nowhere. And the accusations weren’t true, but for whatever reason, somebody had told them some stuff I had. I have no clue why. But either way it came. They asked me to resign and I did. But man, I just felt like, wow, like I’m doing what I’m loving. Why would this happen? Like, why would a ministry do something like this to someone? So I ended up relapsing again back to where I was. But this time, man, I really I mean, I went into shooting up meth and really getting deep into it, stealing, breaking into places, just doing all kinds of dumb, dumb stuff. And. And then I did something that I thought I would never do, and and I broke into a church. I just didn’t break into any church. I broke into a church that my dad had pastored for 19 years. Church that I grew up in church, that, like these people, consider me as their kids. And man, it was just it crazy. Never, never thought. And then me being in the position that I was thinking, well, nobody ever know who this was. I have a key, the alarm code and all this stuff, but you know it well, you know, most addicts, they realize that nobody thinks they’re doing anything.

Kevin Harris: [00:51:19] But it was pretty it took them a week. So that just shows you how terrible I was. And it took them a week to figure out that it was me. Warrant was issued for my arrest. I made the 6:00 news back when that was a thing. I guess it still is. I don’t know. I don’t have a regular TV anymore. I try not to watch those anymore. Yeah, right. But anyway, made the news, wanted had a warrant issued for my arrest. And man, my first thought was I’ll run and, and then after a night of just bombarded with phone calls and people trying to get me to turn myself in, I, you know, I eventually next day cave let my parents call him and say, hey, I’ll turn myself in, let’s go. And so they come pick me up on the way there. I’m talking to them and I’m like, All right, so here’s what we do. We get a bail bondsman, we do this, we do that. So I’m thinking like, I’m going to go in, you know, turn myself in and I’ll be out by the end of the day and was what I was wanting because I just wanted to get this over with and move on with what I was doing. And. And I get there and do all that and then, well, they populate me with the rest of everybody else. I’m like, I don’t think this is supposed to be happening.

Kevin Harris: [00:52:33] Like we had a plan here. And so a week later, I get this little care package in jail and it’s got like socks and toothbrush and deodorant and stuff, and I’m like, I think I’m going to be here a while. And so and looking back, my parents, they they said, you know, that was probably one of the hardest decisions they ever had to do. But it was the best decision I ever made, which is so true, looking back on it. But by leaving me in there, let me deal with it, face the consequences and those kind of things. And so, you know, growing up and one reason my ministry is all in or all out is because I’m one of those people. I’m either all in or all out. I’ve never been able to find, you know, hang out on the fence and be that person in the middle. So whatever I do, you know, that set. So I had this battle back and forth of, you know, I’m in church, I’m out of church. You know, if I’m not in church, it’s probably not a good thing. You should probably go looking for me. But so that was my life. And so at this ministry that I worked at, I’d send my resignation letter and but and I ended it with a verse. And so while I was in jail, I was walking back to my cell. There’s a group of guys in this one cell, and they were just I didn’t know what was going on.

Kevin Harris: [00:53:48] So I’m like, I’m new to this. I’m like stuck my head in like, come on in. We’re reading the Bible. And I’m like, okay. And and they picked up reading where they left off. And it was Romans 828 All things come together for good for those who love the Lord. And and that’s what I ended my resignation letter with, with this ministry. And so, man, it just it just hit me like a ton of bricks. Like, I just start crying. And I remember God saying, Son, I’m not done with you yet. And so it just hit me. And even though I was still clean, like I knew that’s what I needed to be doing. But there’s still this other, you know, demon enemy inside of you fighting like, no, you go back to what you were doing. And. And so I spent 119 days in jail before I finally got an opportunity. And while I was in there, man, the love from this church of letters and support and and visitors and stuff was just very overwhelming. And so go to the judge and, and when we’re doing this, there’s a thing called drug court. I know it’s in Bartow where I was. I know most of the other counties have it. Not everybody knows about it, but it’s a program where they let you out. But like you have to and you have to get a job, work so many hours, you have curfew, you have surveillance officers that check on you, random drug tests.

Kevin Harris: [00:55:09] You go to court every week. And as you get through it, it kind of gets every other week to once a month. But you had to stand before the judge and give an account for your actions for the week. And and so it’s a really good program. And but while I was in jail, I’m asking people about it because they said because I was facing 16 years in prison is what I was facing. And and so they said drug court could be an option. So when I’m asking people about it, they’re like, you know, everybody in jail is like, no, don’t do it. They’re setting you up for failure or whatever. But I was wanting to take my chances versus 16 years. But I stood before the judge man, and he was letting me have it, and rightfully so. I mean, he’s telling me, you know, you you know, you broke into a place where people go for safety and, you know, go to, you know, to be, you know, in comfort and know that they get away from all of that. And he said, you violated that. And I mean, he was just hammer me. And he said, normally I put people away for a very, very, very long time for this. He said, But because of the church going to bat for you and because I think you need help versus putting you in jail, we’re going to do drug court. And he said, we’ll do six months rehab and the drug court is a two year thing and ten years probation.

Kevin Harris: [00:56:26] And so that’s what I ended up with, made it through drug court. But, you know, you still have this this battle going on of, you know, am I going to do this? Am I not going to do this? And when you have to on the they’ll surprise you with some drug tests. You have to call a phone number every night and figure out if you got to be there the next day. And and it was on a weekend and I forgot to call. I hadn’t done anything. I just didn’t call. So I missed a drug test. And to them, miss drug test is a failed drug test. So so I told them, hey, I didn’t mean to like this is a deal. And so I ended up having to spend a weekend in jail as my punishment. That’s the thing with drug court, your punishment is back to jail. So it ain’t just a slap on the wrist. So spent it was I was in the weekend in jail and I realized, man, this is my one year anniversary of being clean. I’m here. I you know, I just forgot to call a number, but. See some of the same people. And it kind of clicked for me. You know, this is this is not the life that I want to be. I don’t want this to be a revolving door. And that’s when I, you know, really felt like I’ve got to do something different.

Kevin Harris: [00:57:37] And so from that point forward, I really started fighting, surrounded myself with a great support group, started kind of following God and his lead and what he’s leading me to do. And and as I graduated drug court, I had one of my biggest test. I mean, it was I graduated in July of 2014 and then September of 2014, my brother was out cutting the grass and a lady swerved, hit him. He bounced off the windshield. He ended up dying. But the other part, like she went off the road and when she went out, got out of her car, we assumed to check on him. She forgot to put it in park the door, pinned her up against a tree, killed her. So it was just a freak accident all the way around. And so that was one of my biggest trials going through that. And but kind of because of what I’ve been through, the support group that I got, you know, I was able to get through that. And and so I made it through that. And since then and it’s been good, my dad passed away two years. So that was a challenge. But but I’m still clean. It’s June, the June the 2nd. I’ll celebrate 11 years this year. Awesome. So congratulations. So that’s kind of my story. And through all that, that’s kind of the short version. I ended up finishing my book last year, beginning last year. That’s out. You said you.

Brian Pruett: [00:59:05] Finished that in the hospital bed, right?

Kevin Harris: [00:59:06] Well, yeah. So I went in the hospital, but I was at home, but I was I was riding a four wheeler, you know, thinking that I was 16 again and flipped it on top of myself and broke my collarbone. And so, like, I’m laying up in my bed with my arm in a brace, and I’m like, I felt like, you know, God’s leading me to finish this thing. I’m like, all right. So I’m like, got my knee propped up, I’m on my phone. And I finished 80% of it on my phone trying to type it with my arm in a sling. So so, yeah, I was able to finish it finally. And through all this, one of the things that I’ve found is the passion that God’s given me to help other people who have suffered what I, what I have. Because a lot of people, one, they don’t get a chance. A lot of people don’t realize that when they do get clean or try to get clean, they end up going back to, you know, the old jobs, the old people, and it ends up being a vicious cycle for them. And so I started feeling like God promised me that I needed to do something to try and break that. The other thing that I’m learning is there are not just with the addict, there are people on the other side of that. That’s family, a wife, a parent or somebody who is suffering. And and I saw that later on after I got clean and talked with my parents and stuff and seeing there’s a side there that they’re going through that that they’re suffering.

Kevin Harris: [01:00:33] And so that’s something else that through this process, I’m trying to figure out how to address and how to help and do to walk both sides of people through this process, because it can be tough for the addict, for the family and everything. And so with that, that’s what I felt like, that God was leading me to open up a recovery residence to help people. And that’s where all in all Out Ministries were birthed last year, put a board together. And and the first thing that I told the board when we got together, we meet once a month trying to figure all this out. And the first thing I told them, I said, I just want I shared my passion, what I felt like God was leading me to do. And I told him, I said, You know what? I feel like the vision that God’s given me is something that can only happen with him. I said, It can be nothing I can do because like, I have these huge visions. I’m like, I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I know that apart from him, it’s not going to happen. And so that’s kind of the mantra, that kind of thing. We feel it on and trying to figure this out. And what I feel like is I’m at the stage where I’m raising money right now.

Kevin Harris: [01:01:48] We’ve kind of the board and everything. We’ve kind of put some things in place to get us to where we’re at and we’re getting ready to start raising or we are raising money, having a fundraiser, doing things like that. And what I feel like God’s vision is, is having something with some land, 20 acres. We’re wanting to put like animals on there to where one, to help teach responsibilities, get up, feed them, whatever. And then my wife’s like, well, you know, you can, you know, eat those animals too. Like, I’m like, Well, that’s good because we could help us be self-sufficient. So we’ll cross that bridge when it comes. But first, feeding them, taking care of them, you know, have a garden. Help me, Self-efficient. I want to get the community involved. I just want to be able to, especially businesses and stuff, to help teach these guys trades. So like I said, like, you know, they don’t have nothing to fall back on, so I want to be able to set them up so when they get out, they’ve got something that they can do and and they can help provide for themselves and their family because, you know, that’s tough for especially men when they feel like they can’t provide. So, you know, that’s a big deal. And this facility is going to be for men who are struggling with the substance abuse disorder, and we’re just trying to get them back into the mainstream of society. We want people in the community to come in.

Kevin Harris: [01:03:01] You know, they can serve meals. You know, there’s things for them to get involved. They can teach like budgeting classes, teach how to do a job interview, how to dress for a job interview, like you were talking with the veterans. I mean, teach them stuff that they may not know. And, you know, to help them, you know, set them up for success. So that’s one of the things. And also for the ones, you know, there’s always everybody’s like, what about those that are just, you know, tattooed from head to toe and nobody’s going to want them. They got so many felonies. I’m like, Well, then we’ll do teach them how to do oil changes and open it up to the community or do landscaping help, you know, give them some responsibility, something if they don’t feel like they can, that nobody wants to give them a chance, that we can do something to help and that’ll help generate money. So the hardest part is the beginning. I feel like once it’s up and going and when they’re there, they’ll put money, like they’ll pay fees, which they never cover, which that’s the plan just to so they got skin in the game. But to help generate revenue or or money for the for the ministry and so that I’m not fully dependent on donations once we’re up and going. And so that’s kind of the vision, the plan and and where God’s got me right now.

Brian Pruett: [01:04:12] So, I mean, this whole thing is amazing. The story and incredible is in itself. But several other things that I find out that the way God works and everything. But one of the things I wanted to touch on when you and I talked, I think one of the reasons you felt compelled to also do the the facility is that your times in rehab to you felt most of these places were just concerned about the money. They didn’t care about the person. And this is where you want to make that change.

Kevin Harris: [01:04:36] Yes, absolutely. You know, any time you go to one and they roll up in a Cadillac and they’re loaded down with gold necklace and stuff, you know that it’s just them generating money and you’ll get there and you’ll see. And there are places where one people are using in there to you’ll have ten people in a room sleeping on the floor and stuff. And it’s just about that. And and my goal is to change that stereotype, to change that. You know, this isn’t about the money. And that’s why, you know, I’m not getting into this to be rich. It’s to truly help people that need help and give them an opportunity that maybe somebody else wouldn’t and give them the attention they need. Like while they’re there, you know, we’ll do classes. I’m working on some other resources to help them, like put places and put things in place to like, help them when they’re out, like hanging around people, certain people, like with family, coworkers, you know, putting, putting things what I call guardrails in place to prevent you from going over the cliff with that or going into places like, I don’t go to a restaurant and sit down and, you know, they’re like, oh, it’s an hour wait, but you can sit at the bar. Well, I’m not going to sit there and eat my food staring at liquor bottles, knowing that, you know, that might not have been my problem, but it will take me to my drug of choice. And so, like, I don’t I don’t set myself up for failure. And so that’s what I want to be able to teach these guys that and you know, and know that this ain’t and it may be a place that, you know, I’m not going to we don’t want to just take people to fill beds. We want somebody who, you know. Yes. Even if they’re on the fence. Yes, I think I do. But maybe not. Well, come on. Let’s give it a shot. Let’s see. And you know, and if we’re full, we’re full. Hopefully God will provide and we can have unlimited beds, whatever that looks like. But anyway, the.

Brian Pruett: [01:06:22] Other thing that I find incredible and if you will tell people how they can find your book here in a second, but the way that that book ended in your story ended in in that in the book, it’s amazing to me that that you talked about the church coming and supporting and visiting you. But the way they welcomed you back into the church with the grace and mercy that they did not everybody gets that. You and I have talked about certain people that still get that, you know, well, they’re still bad people. And and you were showing that. And I think that’s incredible.

Kevin Harris: [01:06:50] Yeah. So. Probably about a year and a half after. After it happened, I had the opportunity to go make amends to the church. I felt like God was leading me to go ask for forgiveness. And so I talked to the pastor at the time. He was open to it. And so he gave me a Sunday where I was able to go and share and apologize. It was crazy. The same Fox five that was there to do that. They were there for for that. I didn’t know they were going to be there, but I have a clipping of that just where, you know, they, they showed that of where I was just able to just tell them, you know, ask them to forgive me. You know, I not only stole from God, but I stole from you. And they were very welcoming. I mean, they opened their arms, you know, they surrounded me, prayed over me. And it was just amazing because, you know, I was scared to death. I mean, you just never know how people are going to react. And but but they did. They truly showed forgiveness, you know, you know, showing that people can have transformation and and everything. So it truly showed the church what the church should be like and forgiving people and opening their arms no matter what.

Brian Pruett: [01:08:08] So if somebody is listening right now who are experiencing some of the things you went through, what advice can you give them?

Kevin Harris: [01:08:15] And find somebody to talk to. Find somebody to talk to. That’s one thing that I learned through these years is when I hold on to things, man, I can talk myself into anything. But it wasn’t until I started learning to share, to speak out loud, even if it sounded stupid, or just telling people, Hey, look, this is what I feel like I’m wanting to go do, and and you’ll find that people can listen, get it verbally. Speaking out loud takes a grip off of it that doesn’t keep you down and hold you down because people experience a lot of shame and guilt with this. And and so that’s the biggest thing. I remember a time when I was in drug court, man. I remember I’d go straight to class to work and home. Like I dreaded stopping to get gas because I’m like, I’ll be pumping gas. And somebody recognized me, man, I was shameful of what I’d done and afraid of what somebody might say. So just being able to find somebody to talk to and and then, you know, next Steps is finding someone who’s been there. I found that’s the easiest. But I’ve also found that people who hadn’t been there, it’s good to talk to and they can have some wisdom and advice that somebody who has been there that, you know, a different spin on, a different take from their point of view.

Brian Pruett: [01:09:30] If somebody wanted to find your book and read it, tell them the name of the book and where they can find it.

Kevin Harris: [01:09:35] It’s pretty the name of the book. You know, you probably got to read it, but I want you to read it. But you ain’t got to read it. But it’s preacher’s Kid breaks into Dad’s church. So that’s the name of it is on Amazon and paperback and it’s on Barnes and Noble’s hardback.

Brian Pruett: [01:09:50] You also have a podcast, correct?

Kevin Harris: [01:09:52] I do. It’s called All In or All Out with Kevin. It releases every Wednesday when I remember sometimes I get I get so busy and I’m like, It’s Wednesday at lunch. I’m like, Oh, no. So yeah, it releases every Wednesday.

Brian Pruett: [01:10:07] So do you have a facility already? You’re looking for property, is that right?

Kevin Harris: [01:10:11] Yes, I’m currently looking for property. Whether we build new or remodel existing, I’m open to what God has because I have nothing at this moment. But I do know we’re just looking to get the doors open and start, you know, whatever that looks like.

Brian Pruett: [01:10:31] And you want it to be in Bartow County.

Kevin Harris: [01:10:32] Well, that’s what I was sharing that asked earlier. And when I first started this thing, I’m like, Yes. But then I got to thinking, man, I don’t want to put limitations on what God may have. I do know, like I’m most familiar with Bartow County, the people in it and stuff like that, But sometimes it’s hard to get clean in your own backyard. So, you know, so I’m open to to what God may have. So I’m not narrowing that down. I don’t want to put limitations on God.

Brian Pruett: [01:11:02] So if you’re listening out there and you know of a place, either property or a building that they can remodel for that, he’s also looking for a 12 to 15 passenger bus as well. So you can help out in that way. You and I are working on a fundraiser, as you mentioned earlier, in July on the 26th. You’re part of a great church out there, Crosspoint City Church, who graciously donated the facility. We’re having a locker room chat the day in the life of an athlete and right now and guest are subject to change. But right now we’ve got six former NFL football players, two of which are Cartersville High School graduates Ronnie Brown and Robert LaVette. We also have a former professional soccer player coming, as well as a rodeo rider. And so that night, it’s just going to be fun. Fun as well as a night. You can come and just talk to athletes, hang out with them. But the most important thing is help raise money for all in or all out ministry. So more details to come on that. We’ll get the ticket link up here soon. And but businesses we’re looking for sponsors for that as well. And we can you can get a hold of Kevin or myself. My email address is Brian at B’s and that’s B’s Charitable Pursuits dot com. And Kevin, if they want to get a hold of you, how can they do that?

Kevin Harris: [01:12:14] It’s all in with Kevin at gmail.com.

Brian Pruett: [01:12:17] So reach out to one of us, learn about that, how you can get involved and help Kevin with his ministry and helping other men get back into society and overcome these these addictions. So I got a couple of questions that I want to ask the three of you again about before we wrap this up. Kevin, first of all, thank you for coming and sharing that. That’s like I said, man, wow. It’s just awesome. So you all three are entrepreneurs with a non profit with your own businesses. So I’d like for each of you to share. And Dave, we’ll start back with you. Some give somebody advice who’s wanting to start a business, especially somebody with a family, because all three of you and I didn’t even ask you, but you, before we go to that share about your family right now.

Kevin Harris: [01:13:04] Yeah. So I’m a blended family with addiction. A lot of times come divorce. I’ve had my fair share of those. You can read the book to figure out how many, but. Uh, but yeah, so me and my wife, we currently have five kids together. The oldest is 24, which I just found out Sunday that I’m going to be a granddad. Awesome. Congratulations. Thank you. So. And then her four are 18, 17, 15 and 14. So the youngest three are girls. And the 18 year old just moved out with my son. So I’m in a house full of teenage girls and my wife, so yay!

Brian Pruett: [01:13:49] We may need to get him some more help. All right. So go back, Dave, you start because you all have young kids. Give somebody advice who’s thinking about starting a business and how they can balance starting a business and being a dad or a mom with a family.

Dave Young: [01:14:07] Yeah, great question and thanks for having me. Follow Kevin. I appreciate that. Um, so, so it’s a lot, right? There’s a couple of things I would say. Regardless of what you’re going into, you need to be a student of your craft is you never stop learning. And once you think you know everything, that’s the moment you become ineffective. So consistently try to learn and better yourself in whatever career it is. But there’s a lot of rejection, and I’m sure that all of us have probably seen that building a business, there’s a lot of rejection, there’s a lot of negative thoughts. And when you focus on that instead of what you’re doing right, you you take the business back or it takes you much, much longer to reach your goals. So focus on the positive and whatever I said.

Brian Pruett: [01:14:54] First student of your craft. There you go. John.

Jon MacKenzie: [01:14:58] Yeah, I think kind of play to that, too. You got to you got to play both sides of the rejection. You’re certainly going to get a lot of things that don’t go the way you think. But you also have to learn when it’s time for you to reject things. I made a lot of mistakes early on that we were kind of take all comers and it was like, you know, we were doing a good job. We were doing it for a good price. We were building buildings, we were doing all this. And so there was a line out my door, you know, in that version of the industry that I was in. And next thing you know, I’m doing, you know, 18 hour days back to back. I’m working every Saturday and Sunday. You know, it’s like I’m having to reintroduce myself to the wife and kids when I see them. If it’s a daytime hour that I come walking in the house like, hey, you know, I’m allowed in this house, I’m the guy that goes and pays the bills, you know, So you have to learn to to say, you know, set, set pretty, pretty reasonable parameters for the business gets this much time and it just can’t take any more than that because if you don’t, you know, as an entrepreneur, it occupies you.

Jon MacKenzie: [01:15:56] It’s the thing that’s your newest project. And so, so easy to get sucked into it and say, you know, I’m putting everything I got into this, but you owe you owe some of what you got to someone else. And so that was the hardest lesson for me. I handled getting rejection from others pretty well, you know, sending out a bid and they don’t like it. Fine. Don’t like it, don’t do it. That’s fine. It didn’t really just bug me that much, but had a much harder time with me saying no. When it was time for me to say, Hey, it’s time for me to go home. And so, you know, your project is your project, but it’s not, you know, that’s not my baby. My baby is at home. And so that’s where I’m going. So that would be the thing if I could go back and do it again that I wish I had done better. And so that would be my advice to new people. Make sure you set the set your boundaries so that that your home life doesn’t have to suffer, even if the business does have to suffer.

Brian Pruett: [01:16:44] Right? Kevin Along with your answering that question, I’m going to throw in the second part of that for you. If somebody is thinking about starting a nonprofit, if they have a passion like you had, what advice would you give them both on being balanced with the family and then starting a nonprofit? Um.

Kevin Harris: [01:17:01] Probably the biggest thing is don’t don’t be scared to fail forward is what I call it. You can’t be scared of failure. You just got to learn from them, you know, regroup and do something different. So don’t don’t be scared to try something. You know, it may or may not work. You don’t know till you try it. So. So don’t be scared from that aspect and and trying to balance the home life. Man, I’m horrible at this. But one thing that always sticks in my mind, even though I’m not good at it, is, you know, when you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else. And most of the time you’re saying no to your family. And so that’s something that I’m still trying to find a balance in and do. I’m good at listening and taking advice, but putting it into practice is difficult. But yeah, so just just don’t be scared to to go, man. Follow, follow your, your passion, your heart and, and whatever that looks like. You know, some people are good at just jumping off the cliff and going and you may have to do it a little bit at a time. And that’s what I’ve learned is, you know, it’s been a little bit at a time and God keeps opening up a door, you know, here and there and and you’re able to but just don’t be afraid to go for it. And, you know, if you fail, learn from it and go again.

Brian Pruett: [01:18:18] How long did it take you to set your nonprofit up?

Kevin Harris: [01:18:21] Oh, let’s see. I started last June, I think when I started the process of of trying to figure out how to set it up and do all of that. So it took, you know, to actually get the 500 and 1C3 and everything. It probably took 4 or 5 months. But I mean, here I am. I’m not very I am good at math, but figuring out what month it is. But I mean, it’s been almost a year. I mean, June is coming soon, so it’s been almost a year. And, you know, I’m I’m I’m not where I thought I would be and what I’d like. And so you just got to be patient and know that it’s not your timing, you know, it’s God’s timing. And so learning that is also difficult. So, you know, I really thought I’d be full time running at this thing and. Doing it. But but you just got to be patient and know that it does take time and and timing is right. Man, I have a clock at home and it goes reverse. So when people look at it like it looks like they’re like, your clock’s broken. I’m like, No. I said I said, The thing about that clock is it’s right on time. I said, It’s the exact time. I said, Sometimes we feel like we’re going backwards. Sometimes we feel like we’re late or early. I said, But it’s right on time and it’s God’s timing and not our timing.

Brian Pruett: [01:19:39] So awesome. All right. Last question before we wrap this up for the three of you. I’d like for you guys to share other than what you just shared about the business part aspect in the balance, one nugget phrase, quote, Something positive to leave our listeners with for living today and the rest of this year and on with. So, Dave, what you got?

Dave Young: [01:19:58] Yeah, kind of going back to what we’ve all said, there’s a lot of negative news and negative thoughts. It’s focused on people because people makes the difference.

Jon MacKenzie: [01:20:12] John Yeah, I would say that I always tell people just no matter what happens 24 hours from now, it’s going to be tomorrow. Just, you know, take it at the pace that’s coming. You can’t, you know, you rushing around. It’s not going to make things happen faster or slower. Just relax and let it happen and and keep your mind and, you know, on on the goals that you have.

Brian Pruett: [01:20:32] Kevin.

Kevin Harris: [01:20:33] I was trying to pull up my list. I have a list of quotes, man. I don’t know which one to go with because I don’t know. One of my favorite quotes is from Greg Cosell is people are willing to follow someone who is real and someone who is right. I may have butchered that, but that’s the gist of it. And so I just try to be very transparent, very open and honest because, you know, it’s just people would rather see that and hear that and believe in that than to someone who’s, you know, just looking to say the right things or do the right, you know, feel like they’re, you know, the status quo or whatever, I don’t know. So.

Brian Pruett: [01:21:16] Awesome. Well, Dave, John, Kevin, thanks for coming and sharing your stories. Everybody out there listening. Let’s remember, let’s be positive. Let’s be charitable.