Dirt Talk Podcast

Jennifer Todd has quite a varied background, but saying it that way doesn’t really do her story justice. She is the Founder and President of LMS Contractors (with offices in FL and GA), graduated from law school while starting a business, was the youngest Black woman to acquire California’s CSLB General Engineering (A) license, multiple college degrees… AND was a contestant on NBC’s The Weakest Link (watch a clip here). And that’s just getting started.

So obviously, the Dirt Talk crew was thrilled when she agreed to come to BuildWitt HQ in Nashville, TN to do a podcast. It only took a few minutes of podcasting for host Aaron Witt to mutter “whoa…” as Jennifer was describing what she’s working on and how she got to where she is. HUGE thanks to Jennifer Todd for the educational and inspiring conversation. 

On this episode of Dirt Talk, Aaron Witt and Jennifer Todd dig into why Jennifer got a law degree while starting a construction business, the challenges of starting and growing a minority business, and why she has such a passion for “the advancement of women in construction and minority inclusivity into the skilled trades workforce.” 

If you want to follow along with Jennifer Todd’s story, she is on LinkedIn and on IG as @constructionlawgal

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DirtWorld.com

Without the Dirt World, we wouldn’t have the food, clean water, electricity, roads, or shelter required for survival. Demand for the industry is growing, yet over 40% of our workforce will retire by 2031. We must add hundreds of thousands of people every year only to keep up...

So let’s fix that.

What if society viewed our profession as noble? What if parents were proud when their kids declared they wanted to be in the Dirt World? What if a workforce shortage was no longer a worry?

Now is the time for us all to work together to build a movement. We need to tell our industry's story, further care for and train our existing workforce, and create clear pathways for people to join and succeed in the Dirt World. It's all possible, but only together, and time is of the essence. Help us secure the future of the Dirt World.

Listen to Dirt Talk:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2GK5UWkulNJ6tNFXvWngMt?si=2332acb8e2954301 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirt-talk-by-buildwitt/id1494235724 

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnV6enNwcm91dC5jb20vNzc5NjAz

Stay Dirty!

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This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron lays out the trip itinerary to Europe for late October 2022. He and Chase Lyons (Field Producer at BuildWitt) will be spending a few days at bauma 2022 in Munich, Germany, before a 2 day break in Austria. After the Austrian weekend, the guys will head back to Germany for a few days with the folks from Zeppelin Caterpillar.

Stay tuned for the update podcast about bauma (it’s been nuts over there!) as well as a breakdown of the trip in a few weeks.

Listen to Dirt Talk:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2GK5UWkulNJ6tNFXvWngMt?si=2332acb8e2954301 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirt-talk-by-buildwitt/id1494235724 

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnV6enNwcm91dC5jb20vNzc5NjAz

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This week on Dirt Talk, we were delighted to host Aric Smith, Safety Manager at Achen-Gardner Construction out of Chandler, AZ. Aric has done it all in the Dirt World: he started running tractors in high school, pouring concrete, digging ponds, pipelayer… and this was before even becoming an operator! Also to note: Aric used to run a crew that included none other than 18-year-old (and future Dirt Talk host) Aaron Witt himself. 

Aaron and Aric dig into Aric’s background cutting his teeth on farm equipment on his grandparent’s hobby farm before jumping into a career in the Dirt World. He recounts stories of past road work projects, his affinity for strong unions, and the frustration that comes when people don’t respect construction zones on the highway. This episode is particularly technical, so for the folks who ask for these types of convos: we got you.

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Let’s build a BETTER DIRT WORLD

DirtWorld.com

Without the Dirt World, we wouldn’t have food, clean water, electricity, roads, or shelter required for survival. Demand for the industry is growing, yet over 40% of our workforce will retire by 2031. We must add hundreds of thousands of people every year only to keep up...

So let’s fix that.

What if society viewed our profession as noble? What if parents were proud when their kids declared they wanted to be in the Dirt World? What if a workforce shortage was no longer a worry?

Now is the time for us all to work together to build a movement. We need to tell our industry's story, further care for and train our existing workforce, and create clear pathways for people to join and succeed in the Dirt World. It's all possible, but only together, and time is of the essence. Help us secure the future of the Dirt World.

Stay Dirty!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aron Nick was recommended to us with a simple message: “He has been kicking ass trying to make the Dirt World a better place.” 

Since that is about as good of an intro as any:

Aron Nick is an Equipment Trainer at Strack, Inc out of Fairburn, GA. He’s been around the block in the industry: shoveled fly ash at a coal power plant, helped build the 5th runway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and has built a reputation as an elite operator. He’s spent time as a supervisor, thought he wasn’t cut out for leadership and tried to stay out of leader, but was immediately identified over and over again as someone who knows their stuff and has the patience to teach that to others. In the last few years, Aron has dived head-first into developing effective training programs to bring new folks into the industry and train them to become highly valuable team members. With a background like that, what’s not to like?

This week on Dirt Talk, Aron joins host Aaron Witt in the Dirt Talk Studio for a vulnerable and transparent conversation about his winding road through the Dirt World, what he’s discovered many people miss when it comes to training new people, and how leadership doesn’t just come from your job title — everyone can be a leader.

Follow the Strack Inc story at strackinc.com or @strack_inc on IG.

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Although social media has been almost universally adopted for personal use worldwide, it can still sometimes be a polarizing topic when it comes to its use in business. This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron and Alex discuss the value that comes from using social media to tell the world who your business is and what you’re all about. A majority of this week's conversation centers around the idea that treating social media as a way to get more clients misses tons of its value and only scratches the surface of the idea that building and engaging online communities can make us all better. Aaron and Alex also have some equipment talk at the beginning of the episode.

Stay Dirty!

Listen to Dirt Talk:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2GK5UWkulNJ6tNFXvWngMt?si=2332acb8e2954301 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirt-talk-by-buildwitt/id1494235724 

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnV6enNwcm91dC5jb20vNzc5NjAz

Stay Dirty!

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When Aaron Witt found out that Priestly Demolition’s VP of Operations Brian Priestly & President Ryan Priestly would travel south to Nashville from Ontario, Canada, Aaron immediately reached out to the rest of the Dirt Talk crew with a simple message: “get these guys on the podcast.” Fortunately for us, they came down to the BuildWitt HQ, and we had a ball talking demolition… because who doesn’t enjoy a little demo, now and then?!

After a quick tour of the office, the guys settled into the studio, and the conversation was off to the races. We’ll say this: this episode features a LOT of conversation about demolition. Ryan and Brian have over 50 years of combined experience in the industry, and not only do they know their stuff, they clearly have a heart for the work and the folks that do the work. 

This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron Witt chats with Ryan Priestly and Brian Priestly of Priestly Demolition about how the demo business got started, the humbling nature of doing demolition work, and their plans to grow internationally. They also touch on their experience with having their company be featured on the History Channel’s “Salvage Kings” for 2 years.

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Aaron and Alex are back in the studio, but this Monday the audience members are the ones truly in the driver's seat. That’s right we are doing another question-and-answer episode and touching on some great submissions from our amazing Dirt Talk fans. The questions touch on recognizable iron, how rewarding a career in the Dirt World can be, running one-hundred miles, our core values, and lessons from starting a company. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. Keep on sending them to [email protected] and you just might hear them on the next Q&A episode. 

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This week, we bring you the very first edition of Dirt Talk: LIVE where Aaron, Alex, and Eric take the Dirt Talk show on the road. Aaron lays out the story below:

“Months ago, organizers from the ECC (The Association for the Capital Projects Engineering and Construction Community) asked us to speak to 200 of their future leaders at their annual conference in San Antonio. Think key future leaders from companies like Chevron, Shell, Fluor, and Kiewit.

While I figured I’d prepare another speech about workforce development and what everyone can do to help solve the problem, the event organizers had a different idea… They wanted us to take the Dirt Talk Podcast on the road.

After hundreds of podcast episodes, Alex, Eric, and I are pretty damn comfortable talking dirt, but we always do it within our small Nashville studio. To do it on stage in front of 200 important people? That’s a different ballgame.

And one more detail… The speaker before us was a retired U.S. Army general. What the heck were they thinking of inviting us?

We gave it the ol’ college try, and I’m happy with how we did. We talked about our travels, explained the importance of storytelling, and answered audience questions. We debriefed at the airport after and have a long list of lessons learned, but we may be onto something. Stay tuned… the Dirt Talk Podcast might be coming soon to a conference near you!”

Thanks for listening and following along on the BuildWitt journey.

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On today’s episode of Dirt Talk, Aaron and Alex are joined by Eric Jumper. The guys are coming right off of a full company BuildWitt meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, and they examine why it makes sense to spend money on a company meeting when you’re in growth mode. They discuss the value of educating each person in the company understanding how each team works and why each piece is important to the larger mission to make the Dirt World a better place.

Enjoy this Behind the Scenes peek into #buildingbuildwitt.

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Today’s episode is a special treat for Dirt Talk listeners (and maybe especially the Dirt Talk host): Aaron’s mother Carolyn MacDonald is the guest! She gives the dirt (pun intended?) on Aaron’s obsession with construction and its equipment from a very young age as well as gives context (and corroboration) for many of the memories that Aaron has shared over the years about his earliest memories of the Dirt World.

This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt and guest (and mother of the host) Carolyn MacDonald reminisce on Aaron’s earliest Dirt World experiences, contextualize some of Aaron’s more common stories he tells from when he was young, and explain the incredible opportunities Aaron had to learn from smart people as a child.

Thanks to Carolyn for coming on the podcast (and to Aaron for allowing it!).

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