Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Veterans Business Radio, brought to you by ATL Vets, providing the tools and support that help veteran owned businesses thrive. For more information, go to atlvets.org. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor. Hear another episode of Veterans Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, ATL Vets. Inspiring veterans to build their foundation of success and empowering them to become the backbone of society after the uniform. For more information, go to atlvets.org. Today on the show, we have the Senior Manager of Operations with ServiceMaster Restore, Rocco Cironi. Welcome.

Rocco Cironi: Hi, Lee. Good to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about ServiceMaster Restore. How are you serving, folks?

Rocco Cironi: Yeah. So we’re one of the larger restoration and mitigation franchise organizations in the United States. And I guess our main responsibility is meeting our customers in their local areas. That could be residential or commercial. And if they have, let’s say, a water loss or a fire damage, our teams are going in and bringing our equipment and helping those clients out and to restore their property like, like it was prior. So a lot of our business focuses on that, obviously. Hurricane Ike was was big for us coming up. It’s been the first one in a couple years. So as I’m sure the coastal communities weren’t excited about it, we were provided some opportunities for us there. But it’s those large loss scenarios is where we thrive as a business.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you talk about the history of the Organization. What was the genesis of the idea? How did this thing come about?

Rocco Cironi: So ServiceMaster was started. God, we’re almost at our 100th year anniversary here in a couple of years in 2029. But it was started almost 100 years ago now by Moroni Wade again, as a as more of a service driven company helping clients out, um, with, with those restoration mitigation needs. And it’s just continued to thrive and grow over the years. And now we’re one of the larger organizations in the country, Canada and internationally as well.

Lee Kantor: So at what point did they turn into a franchise or was it always was franchise even around 100 years ago?

Rocco Cironi: No, that’s a great question. I am actually not sure how long ago we started franchising the business. I can say probably maybe 50, 60 years ago, but that’s a a guess on my end. But we’ve been that we’ve been a franchise organization for some time now, have a lot of great owner operators out there in in the different communities across the country. Some of them are actually veterans themselves, which has been great in the Higher Heroes partnership that we’re going to talk about here shortly. But just, you know, local grown businesses who want to serve their local communities and they thrive on that. So.

Lee Kantor: So let’s, uh, you brought it up. Let’s talk about it. The Higher Heroes USA partnership, uh, talk about how that came about.

Rocco Cironi: Yeah. So, uh, a few years ago, we, we really wanted to get more into the philanthropic efforts and, and help, you know, some type of organization, bring more awareness to their business, help them fundraise for their cause. Um, we, we vetted a few different organizations and landed on higher heroes USA. And obviously veterans are, are very important to us and, and really to everybody because of the sacrifice they make for our country and communities. But we landed on Higher Heroes back in 23 and started the partnership with them then, uh, and have continued to grow that over the years. Actually, this May, this past May, we had our fourth annual, uh, charity golf outing for them, uh, which, uh, eclipsed $1 million in total funds raised from our efforts to the higher heroes organization. And that goes back to them. And they can use that however they need to. And, and helping those veterans who are transitioning from active duty service back into, you know, the, uh, public or private sector, they’re trying to find their new job. You know, maybe they haven’t had a resume before. They don’t understand, uh, you know, different questions they might get in an interview. So hire heroes kind of helps them through that process, gets them set up and helps them find that next career, um, for them to, to, to fall into after they’re done serving.

Lee Kantor: Now, does ServiceMaster also have kind of a veterans program for if they’re interested in becoming franchisees?

Rocco Cironi: Yeah. So, so, uh, there’s, there’s two parts of that question I want to answer. So one part of the partnership with us and higher heroes is we’ve really leaned on them to help us, uh, expose more of our open jobs across the country so that the open jobs that we have in local communities at the franchise level are really good fits for veterans and their spouses. I don’t want the spouses to get lost in this. And we constantly talk about them because they’re, they’re part of, of the efforts as well, um, that the sacrifices that they make. But one, we wanted to bring more awareness to some of the open jobs because they’re good fits for, for veterans and their skill set. And that comes down to their leadership capabilities or working in a team making tough, tough decisions, uh, adapting to change quickly. Um, so we’ve worked with them to post more of our jobs on their career career page, uh, list more information about service master restore and ServiceMaster clean on their career page. Um, but trying to bring awareness to the opportunities that service master can provide to, to veterans in their different communities. We also have our franchise development team who, um, to, to go back to your question, has opportunities for veterans who are interested in, uh, franchise ownership. And so that process goes through them. They have different incentives that veterans are able to take advantage of if they’re interested in that. And that’s a different process that that they’ll go through with those veterans. But like I said, many veteran owners in the network, and it all goes back to the success that they can have because of the, the, the transferable skills that they bring from the military into the business life.

Lee Kantor: So it’s, uh, so not only is there an opportunity if they want to pursue a franchise, but there’s also just if they want to work in their area, there’s opportunities for a career within the, um, service master kind of framework that exists already.

Rocco Cironi: 100%. Yeah. From anywhere from, you know, our, our technician level, uh, sales project managers, which, which are those, you know, which I think is, is the most glaring, uh, opportunity for a veteran because of the skill sets needed in that role. You’re out in the community working with clients or our insurance partners trying to, to solve, uh, an issue of some type an event that just happened at a business or a residential property and then working with the teams to get that cleaned up. But there’s general managers, operations managers, all, all those type of positions that are posted that hire heroes is helping us bring awareness to.

Lee Kantor: And I would imagine in those situations, like a hurricane or, um, one of these things where it’s very chaotic and it’s happening quickly and you got to make decisions quickly and you have to kind of assess situations that their skill set is just a hand in glove fit.

Rocco Cironi: Yeah. Listen, it’s obviously it’s, it’s a devastating scenario when something like that happens, a major storm or hurricane, it brings disruption to a lot of local communities. But it’s, it’s somewhat poetic to see the way our ServiceMaster team is able to organize, uh, and mobilize into that area, um, and provide support to, you know, residential or commercial properties and, and clients within the area. And a lot of our teams from across the country. I mean, when, when there’s a, um, an event, let’s say in Florida that just happened. I mean, we have franchises in Texas and California and all across the country, Ohio, New York, that mobilized their teams and come down to those those areas for weeks at a time to help with the cleanup and the restoration of, of whatever property that they’re working in. So a lot of that experience translates to what those veterans might have done during their active duty service. Right. You can you can correlate a lot of that experience back and forth. And that’s why when we partnered with our heroes, we had the conversation with them like, yes, we want to help you in your efforts to fundraise and bring awareness to your cause. But it’s such a, it’s such an easy skill set for us to, to, to help a veteran to transition in because of the different skills that they would have already brought with them.

Lee Kantor: Now, uh, do you have any stories you can share about, uh, don’t name the person, but maybe share the them coming to you getting an opportunity within service masters and then, you know, building a career or maybe even taking over a franchise.

Rocco Cironi: Yeah. So I can, I can bring up an example right off the top of my head. So we have, um, a young lady who we met back in 2023 at our very first event. We were in Carlsbad, California. Um, and we held our first, um, one of our first, uh, golf tournaments there, uh, charity golf tournaments to fundraise. And obviously that’s, um, a lot of our franchises come with their teams and they bring insurance partners. So we had about 100, 150 people there that day. Um, and I remember, uh, a veteran, a local veteran had come because he was connected to the higher heroes organization and he brought his wife, um, and through networking and, and, and meeting with them and getting to know the different veterans. Um, we met one of these veterans wives and hit it off. And based on her experience, We felt she would be a good fit within our marketing team, and so we hired her straight, straight from that event. We talked to her, and I think we hired her a couple weeks later and she worked, um, in our marketing team for a few years. And she actually now reports to me and she and I manage our Hire Heroes partnership and she oversees, uh, all of the local, uh, hire heroes, um, activations that are, are, um, are events that are franchise networks do in their local communities. And she helps, uh, a lot of our franchises with posting jobs or hiring veterans to, to their franchises. So she’s been a great asset to have, but that was like, we just started the partnership. We went, we met a veteran, met, met his spouse, thought she’d be a good fit, hired her immediately. And she’s been with us for what, going on 4 or 5 years now. And, um, she’s been great to have on the team and somebody that helps us continue to grow that Higher Heroes partnership.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a certain qualities or skills that a veteran has to have in order to make this work? Or is there training by service master like, like how, uh, how complete do they have to be when they come to you?

Rocco Cironi: Yeah. Not, I think what they would bring with within their military experience and background is enough for us to build on. Obviously, there’s, there’s different certifications and qualifications that they have. Uh, with some of the equipment they’d use or some of the different situations that they would find themselves in, in working here. And those are all things that they would go through training on. And we provide all that training to them. So nothing that they would have to worry about, there would just be, hey, having having an open mind, willing to learn, willing to grow and obviously tackling those, those issues that would not nearly be as as significant as, as what they’ve probably gone through in, within their military service. Um, but being able to adapt to change and work in a team environment, which we feel like they would have no issue issue doing so. And that’s why, like I keep saying, it’s such a good fit and something that we’ve continued to work on higher heroes doing, uh, with higher heroes through because, uh, those transferable skills fit so well into a lot of the positions that we have posted across the country.

Lee Kantor: Now, are there certain regions that, uh, you need more kind of help with right now? Or is this something that it’s, you know, nationwide and there’s always opportunity no matter where you know, what town you’re in.

Rocco Cironi: Yeah, that’s a great listen. It’s, it’s, it’s nationwide. And, and like any business, we’re continuing to grow and, and open new franchises across the country. I mean, if you went to our careers page, you, you, you would be able to find multiple opportunities within 20 to 25 miles of your location. I mean, we have franchises all over the place. I think we’re around 700 locations right now. Um, obviously very, very heavy on the East Coast, very heavy on the West Coast and central United States. But, um, there are different positions all over that veterans and their spouses would, would be a good fit with.

Lee Kantor: So, um, for the public out there, what, how can they kind of participate in this? Is this something that they should be recommending their family members or friends about hire heroes USA? Um, like what, what do you need? How can we help you?

Rocco Cironi: Yeah. So obviously if you’re a veteran or a spouse, hire heroes would be a great resource for them to reach out to and, and their team can connect them with us and we can explore different opportunities within their local area. Um, or they could hop on our careers page. Um, and look at the different opportunities around them as well. So either of those are great avenues. Um, we have our, I have to plug our, our fifth annual, uh, golf tournament coming up in April, uh, April 6th at TPC Scottsdale. So we try and have them at different bucket list courses across the country each year. So in May we were at TPC Sawgrass, which was amazing. And April, we’re going to be at TPC Scottsdale. So we, we obviously want people to come and play and, and enjoy the day of golf and, and live music. And we have great food and, and auction items there to continue to help raise money for higher heroes. Um, so that’s another opportunity for, uh, your listeners or local community members to get involved in that event. But really just if you’re a veteran, I think higher heroes is probably your, your first avenue to get connected with. And then if service Mastery Store is something that they’re interested in, obviously let them know or they can reach out directly to us, and we’re more than happy to help them find that next opportunity to build a career in.

Lee Kantor: Now, if somebody is interested in participating in the golf tournament, is that something that you’re looking for? Sponsors? Like how does somebody get involved if they want to kind of, you know, be there and experience it?

Rocco Cironi: Yeah. So 100% and I can share this with you as well. Our sponsorship guide or more information about that event. If you have listeners that are interested, um, I can also share a registration link with you if you’re able to post that as well. Um, but there’s opportunities there for the public to get involved in this event. If you’re an avid golfer and want to come play a great course. Um, uh, Scottsdale is an amazing, amazing area for, for those, uh, for those avid golfers to come and play. Um, but I can share all that information with you or, or if you want to share my information, they can reach directly out to me and I’d be happy to talk with them about the opportunity of getting involved in our event.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. Let’s start with the Some Coordinates website for ServiceMaster Restore and or Hire Heroes USA. Maybe let’s start there. And then if there’s other ways for folks to connect with you, you know, share what you’re comfortable with.

Rocco Cironi: Yeah, yeah, that’d be great. I can, I can share all those with you and, and we can, I’m sure you have a way for your listeners to find that information as well.

Lee Kantor: So yeah, so the website is servicemasterrestore.com. Is that kind of a place to go for people to, if they want to at least kind of learn about your situation and your, your wants and needs and services and, and from there, can they find the hire hero stuff?

Rocco Cironi: They can. So we’ve on our ServiceMaster Restore page, we have, um, uh, our careers drop down where there’s a veteran option. And, and, and there is, we have our, our, we serve veterans kind of initiative where it talks about a little bit more about what we do with the higher heroes network and, and, and the veteran community and, and lift some of our events and how much we’ve raised, obviously with them in the past as well. So they can find all that information on our service master restore website.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Well, Rocco, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Rocco Cironi: Thank you. Lee. Listen, I again, I want to emphasize this. Can’t thank our veteran community enough for the sacrifices that they make, uh, that their families make in protecting our, our country and our communities. And, uh, we are happy, um, to, to be able to provide any opportunities we can for them, um, moving forward. So thank you for your time. I appreciate it being here.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Veterans Business Radio.