Still Building America

Emily Soloby and Kelly Franko of AWSAM (Alliance of Women's Safety Apparel Manufacturers) join Darla Welton on the Still Building America Podcast to talk about awareness, access, and advocacy for women's PPE across all sectors of manufacturing and the skilled trades.

AWSAM was founded in 2024 with the mission of elevating women in the workplace while supporting safe and appropriate protection for them on the job.

Soloby is also the founder of Juno Jones Safety Boots, co-owner of AA School of Trucking, and host of the Hazard Girls Podcast. Franko is the founder of Seraphina Safety Apparel, which manufactures garments for heat, fire, and molten metal protection.

Find the Equity in Safety report from The Safety Rack here.

Forrest Davis, the shop foreman of Griot's Motors, joins Darla and Josh Welton to talk about his nontraditional journey into the automotive restoration industry.

He shares how he began working at Griot's Garage as a retail employee and eventually transitioning to work on the owner's car collection in in Tacoma, Wash., which led to the creation of Griot's Motors, a full-service restoration shop that specializes in restoring a wide variety of vehicles.

Davis emphasizes the importance of developing a systematic restoration process, thorough documentation, and comprehensive testing to ensure a high-quality final product for customers. He also discusses the challenges of building a skilled workforce and the apprenticeship program he is establishing to mentor the next generation of automotive restoration technicians.

He also talks about his love of Volkswagen, photography, travel, and expanding his worldview.

Davis hopes his passion for cars, creativity, and commitment to training the next generation of fabricators and metal workers exemplify the innovative spirit of the American manufacturing industry.

Peyton Rey, a 23-year-old lead fabricator at America's Most Wanted 4x4, shares her inspiring journey into welding and fabrication.

After discovering her passion for hands-on work at a young age, Peyton attended WyoTech's motorsports chassis fabrication program and quickly excelled at TIG welding. Despite being the only female fabricator in her shop, Peyton has taken on challenging projects like customizing Jeep beds and coilovers, and even built a roll cage for her own Jeep. Peyton's advice to younger people, especially girls, is to never give up and always give new skills a chance, as one may discover an unexpected talent. Her portfolio of hands-on projects from school helped her land her current position, where she continues to push the boundaries and inspire others in the industry.

Still Building America is back! This time in a podcast format. In this reintroduction episode, Darla and Josh Welton talk about the origin behind Still Building America and what's in store for upcoming episodes.

They reiterate the mission behind SBA, which launched in October 2014 and aims to share stories of the diverse range of individuals in the skilled trades, from welders to entrepreneurs to metal artists.

Stay tuned to future episode and check out previous interviews on thefabricator.com.