Dirt Talk Podcast

In this episode, Aaron answers some questions from Instagram as follows.

-How do you find a mentor and do you/did you have one?

-Will BuildWitt ever make content for vertical construction?

-What Podcasts do you listen to?

-Will AI replace operators?

-What are your hobbies besides construction?

If you want to hear Aaron’s off-the-cuff option about a whole bunch of random stuff from people online that he doesn’t know about, this is the episode for you. Who knows, maybe your question will come up. Stay tuned to find out!

If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at [email protected].

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In this episode, Aaron delves into the world of asphalt paving in the Northeast. Josh, the vice president of American Paving Specialists, LLC, and Matt, the foreman/marketing specialist at American Paving Specialists, LLC and founder of Raised on Blacktop, are brothers whose extensive shared experience in the industry since childhood has cultivated their passion and expertise in asphalt paving.

The brothers began their journey and continue to work at their family's Connecticut-based paving company, American Paving Specialist Specialists, LLC. They discuss the significance of working and enjoying recreational activities together, reminiscing about their upbringing. Their father, Bill Stanley, whom they still work alongside, often showed up to coach their baseball practices wearing work boots and blue jeans with fresh asphalt still clinging to the bottoms.

In addition to their involvement in the family business, Matt's social media presence has flourished over the years. His online presence gained momentum with the success of his company, Raised on Blacktop, which offers a wide range of branded apparel and has established partnerships with brands like LeeBoy to provide customized machines. The Stanleys are the real deal in the paving industry, and if you share their passion for paving, you're sure to like what they have to say.

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In this episode, Aaron discusses, you guessed it, draglines. These Mammoth machines work 24/7 and are the heart of one of America's largest coal strip mining operations at North American Coal. Aaron and the gang have had the honor to go see these machines work in person in the coal fields at the NACCO Freedom mine just outside of Beulah, North Dakota.

That particular machine “Missouri Quest” works strip by strip to clear overburden using a 123-yard bucket! As the machine works to clear the overburden it reclaims the area it was just working. To learn more about this amazing dragline and others tune into this episode!

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In this episode, Aaron is joined by Tim Schurrer, CEO of David Novak Leadership, Author of "The Secret Society of Success” and Host of the "Build a Winning Team" podcast. Tim draws on his experience from being a creative manager to his time as COO of StoryBrand, to producing the How Leaders Leaders Lead podcast with David Novak, and through experiences on his podcast.

Tim has a wealth of knowledge on leadership and what it means to be at the helm of any business. That coupled with his electric outgoing personality and genuine care for people, makes for an exciting and thought-provoking episode. Don't miss this one y’all!

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In this episode, Aaron sat down with Dan and Randy to talk shop about BuildWitt. The Executive leadership team is in constant communication with each other and you might be wondering what the heck they talk about for all this time. Today you’re in luck because you get to be a fly on the wall for a pseudo-ELT meeting. 

They discuss what we did last year, what we are looking forward to next year, and things that are still in the planning stages. There is lots of talk about the summit and the amazing speakers lined up, as well as what you can expect next from our training product. If you are interested in what BuildWitt is up to this episode is for you.

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In this episode, Aaron is joined by Philip Sutton, a Lecturer at Ohio State University. Philip teaches three classes, estimating construction, heavy construction, and the program's capstone course. These courses cover a wide range of topics to prepare students to join the workforce as leaders in their respective fields. 

Philip draws his knowledge from years of experience in the field, both directly in the field and in the office as an estimator. Ultimately he decided that he could better serve his community in the classroom teaching others not just to do the work, but how to be leaders on the job site. If you want more insight on how you can get ahead in the construction industry, this lesson is a freebie!

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In this episode, Aaron cracks open one of the many books at our office to share something that many might not get the opportunity to read themselves.

For its 50th anniversary, Ames Construction had a wonderful coffee table book made. The book titled Persistence Creates Opportunity: Building America for 50 years and details their entire history with many retellings of projects they have completed. 

For this episode, Aaron focuses on the humble beginnings of Ames Construction which starts with the story of Dick Ames. If you like this format and want to hear more, or if you don’t let us know! We do hope you enjoy it though!

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A Growing Business and Media Presence with Taylor White – DT 222

In this episode, Aaron got a chance to sit down with Taylor White, Director at Ken White Construction to talk about what it takes to grow an earthmoving business. On top of all Taylor's responsibilities at the company, Taylor also runs a successful YouTube channel @KenWhiteConstruction where you might know him from. 

Aaron and Taylor cut it up about what it means to run a company and have almost every aspect of it on social media. They talk about the struggles and successes they’ve had in their endeavors to give us all a glimpse into the dirt world while keeping the business side buttoned up. Stay tuned and laugh along to this absolute full send of an episode!

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In this one, Aaron is Joined once again by Jason to talk about what it means to build a work environment that celebrates all different people. 

Just before this was recorded Women in Construction Week was taking place. During this week Jason had the opportunity to be a part of the Werk-Brau WIC Summit. As a result of reflecting on this experience, Jason and Aaron started to unpack what inclusion means for our business and the industry as a whole. 

Words and recognition are nice however at the end of the day the Dirt World is an action-based industry and it takes everyone firing on all cylinders to help solve our workforce challenges. Stay tuned to find out what you can do to better care for the folks that keep this great industry moving forward. 

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In this episode Aaron is Joined by Rob Seibert President of, Off The Road: North America at Bridgestone Americas. You may know bridgestone for their personal vehicle tires or maybe from racing, or if you’re from Nashville the Arena downtown. The average person might not think about the hundreds of thousands of tons of raw materials carried by haul trucks or moved by machines, all carried by air and rubber.

This is exactly what Rob is interested in, to him tires are more than just something cool you see transiently passing on the highway. Tires decide production time, tires decide how long a machine can keep running, and tires keep the industries essential to our nation and economy moving forward. To learn more about Bridgestone’s off road tires tune in!

If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at [email protected].

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