Episode 3 – David Varner: Military Veteran Transitions to the Laundry Industry

Welcome to the TRSA podcast. Providing interviews and insights from the linen, uniform, and facility services industry. Most Americans might not realize it, but they benefit at least once per week from the cleanliness and safety of laundered, reusable linens, uniforms, towels, mats and other products provided by various businesses and organizations. TRSA represents the companies that supply, launder, and maintain linens and uniforms. And in this podcast, we will bring the thought leaders of the industry to you.

 

Thanks for tuning in to the TRSA podcast, interviews and insights from the linen, uniform and facility services industry. Hope you listened and enjoyed the first episode of the show with Josh Linkner, who gave a keynote address at TRSA’s inaugural leadership summit. If you haven’t heard it yet, make sure you check it out on Itunes. On today’s show, we’re going to talk with an executive at TRSA member company, Superior Linen Service, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. David Varner is the chief strategy and development officer at Superior Linen Service, and he has served in that role since 2014.

 

Before joining the Superior Linen Service staff, Varner served for 21 years in the US Navy, including a stint on the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels. With many companies in the linen uniform and facility services industry interested in hiring veterans, Varner talked about his military background and how it helped him transition successfully to a career in the laundry industry. If you like what you hear on today’s episode, make sure you give us a review on iTunes and subscribe to the show. Can you tell us some about your military background? Absolutely.

 

I went into the Naval Academy straight out of high school. Had my first military ID, at 17 years old, and, I think it said a £126 on it. So that was when it started, which enabled me in 1988, graduated class of 1992, and then I spent the next 21 plus years mostly as a naval aviator in various operational training and joint commands. And then my final tour was as the commanding officer of Naval Support Activity Washington, where I was responsible for, I think, at one time, 7 navy bases there in the National Capital region around Washington DC. And what made you decide at such an early age that you wanted to pursue a career in the military?

 

Well, I think, I was always a very patriotic, very, very disciplined young man even in in my high school years. But when any of us, I think, look back on our lives, I think I’d go, I was just lucky. I mean, I made some good choices there. I’m so happy that, that was a choice I made, was to pursue a career in the military. But some of the underlying factors were I very much wanted to be a part of something bigger, than myself.

 

I enjoyed structure. I enjoyed discipline. And, also, it was a pretty competitive selection process, and, I’m a competitive person. And, so all of those things kinda melded together once I realized that, there was some service academies. And I certainly wanted to go to college, the reality set in that I needed to go on a scholarship.

 

So as a as a young man in El Reno, Oklahoma, the process was was competitive, but not like it is today. I sit on some boards for for local congressmen, and we, interview folks who want to go to service academies. And every time I I sit in that process, I am just amazed and humbled and realized that I probably wouldn’t get in today. There were not that many applicants, I don’t think, in the late eighties there in in Oklahoma. And, my mom, she went and got a book about colleges.

 

And the United States Air Force Academy had 5 stars next to its engineering program, and I wanted to pursue something in engineering. And so I applied to the United States Air Force Academy, and I remember Don senator Don Nichols called me up and said he couldn’t make me a, a primary to that. He could make me an alternate to naval academy and a merchant marine academy. So I said, what does an alternate mean? He said, well, there’s 2 guys ahead of you.

 

And if they don’t want it, you you can have it. And so I went through that application process. I had a good a good mother who, made sure that I did that during my senior year. And, remember the day senator Nichols called me up and said, I’m gonna nominate you, appoint you to the United States Naval Academy. And that’s how that started.

 

So it sounds like it was perfect timing on your part. It was a need to go to college, a desire to go to college, a need to have it funded, and great parents who who guided me along and forced me to think long term. There’s a there’s a lot of things with a high school senior that tends to distract them, but I had great parents and always kept the future in the very much as part of our, our current mindset. And you touched on a little bit of the camaraderie that you had in the military. Do you find that the laundry industry is also similarly tight knit?

 

Absolutely. I, when I transitioned out of the military, I actually took a year off. And there it’s a different obviously, it’s a different type of an environment, and that was my work family for for 20 years. And, well, I had just a amazing relationships with folks, and you’re doing different things. But certainly throughout my career, I I had heard, and folks say you’re you’re never gonna find this sort of camaraderie outside.

 

And to an extent, I believe that that’s that’s true. There’s a certain amount of of life and and death and risk that is is part of the daily event in in your military career that doesn’t typically present itself out here in the civilian world. But I just wasn’t about to to say I’m not gonna be able to find a a second family, and something that I love doing. And so in that respect, I wasn’t rushing out to find a job. I took a year off and took the opportunity to make wise choices and not rush into it and find that that team that I wanted to be a part of.

 

And did that year off really help you process? Number 1, I just wanted to take that time off, and I was blessed to be able to do that. It was a it was a goal of mine. I certainly got batteries recharged, and I don’t know there was as much of processing as it was taking my time to make wise decisions. I have been blessed to have been on some great teams.

 

I have been blessed to, work, live, fight with amazing, leaders and colleagues, And I didn’t wanna rush out and leave all that behind, not have an expectation that I could find something that I loved doing with people I loved doing it with on the civilian side of my career. And so that was the real reason behind it is to just pause and take time to pick my boss and pick my team. And going back to your military career, what inspired you to become a pilot? Well, like I said, I’ve been blessed with very wonderful, godly parents who were very deliberate about, what they what they poured into me, what they taught me. They taught me taught me about integrity, accountability, the difference between right and wrong.

 

They taught me how to be a, I guess I would say, a a good person, and I think that’s what most parents will try and do. But, there’s a there’s an adage that says more has caught than taught. And I certainly believe, that that is true. And I was fortunate enough to have my parents who, not only said and tried to instill in me the right things with their deliberate teaching of of excellent life skills and good solid character traits, but there was no gap between what they said and what they did. And so in that regard, I caught a lot of things.

 

And when when you have parents who I think are so, involved and so deliberate, who take the time to do that sort of thing. What kid doesn’t wanna catch things that their parents are interested in? And and my dad was interested in aviation. And so he flew he flew model airplanes. And I remember back in the early seventies, he was he was flying those little wire controlled airplanes.

 

They’re not remote controlled. They’re wire controlled. And and he would sit us kids at his feet, and he would, stand there and and go around in circles, and we would watch that that airplane fly. And then as we became a little bit older and the remote control airplanes, came around and became affordable, He transitioned to that, and and I caught that with him. And we flew remote control airplanes.

 

My brother did as well, and that became a a love of aviation. And, I think I just kinda took that to a to a certain extreme, so to speak, and that’s what I wanted to pursue. So it sounds like you were able to really bond over the shared love of flying. Absolutely. And what’s the most difficult aspect of flying a fighter jet?

 

Landing. Landing a fighter jet. Making sure that all your takeoffs equal, equal in landing. Certainly in the navy, I think that is especially true. All of it to somebody who has never done it before is certainly difficult and worthy of respect, you scrap that jet on, you are certainly qualified to do it, but you have to maintain the respect for that airplane.

 

And, certainly, in the navy, the last 15 to 18 seconds of the flight, whether it’s a 45 minute flight or whether it’s a, you know, 8 hour mission, those last 15 to 18 seconds of landing an aircraft on an aircraft carrier in whatever conditions they might be day or night is certainly something that gets your respect. It’s the most difficult thing. It’s, it’s the most important thing, I believe. So you could be in the air for 8 hours sometimes during these missions? There were some missions where you could be.

 

And can you tell us a little bit about who the Blue Angels are and, talk a little bit about your time as a member of that team? Absolutely. The, Blue Angels have been around since 1946. They are the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron. I saw them back in well, growing up, my dad would take us over to the air shows in Oklahoma City, and, I saw him there at the Naval Academy.

 

And so as I pursued naval aviation, became a normal navy aviator, did my fleet tours, I learned a little bit about the Blue Angels and and how you become a part of it and decided that was something that I wanted to pursue. And so when I was an instructor pilot, out in Lemoore, California, I put in for it 1 year. And basically, what you do is you go and you get to know them a little bit. We call it rushing. But, really, it is an opportunity for them to get to know you and you to get to know a little bit about about the team.

 

There’s a there’s a whole lot more that that goes on, outside of a cockpit, whether you’re in a blue cockpit or whether you’re in a a gray cockpit. It might be a 45 minute, flight, but there are hours of preparation involved, and it’s very much the same for the Blue Angels. The mission is, different. Mission of the Blue Angels is to showcase naval aviation and marine corps aviation to the next generation. And so I was proud to be a part of that team from 2,003 to 2,004.

 

And what was the most memorable experience from your time as a member of that team? I get a lot of folks will ask me, hey. Do you miss the flying? And my answer to that is, well, yeah. I don’t I don’t think anybody who has ever experienced being inside of a an f 18 wouldn’t wanna go out and strap another f 18 on and go fly around for an hour.

 

I can’t imagine anybody who just wouldn’t wanna do that to begin with. But, I don’t miss the flying as much as I miss some of the other things, particularly that went on in the Blue Angels, but even out in the fleet. From a very early time in the military, I think at my winging, even made the comment, you know, I was happy to get my wings. It certainly meant that I was qualified to go and fly, but it it was always more about the people and not the planes for me. And I think you’ll find that most most veterans, most military folks would do the same thing.

 

It’s not really about the platform. It’s the amazing people that you’re gonna be associated with. And so as much fun as it was and hard work as it was to be on on the Blue Angels, my most memorable times were things that happened, at the crowd line with with folks that you would meet there, things that would happen on Fridays when we would go visit schools and and hospitals and, you know, getting a note from somebody that, that you met just for a brief moment who, who later you here joined the navy and is now a naval aviator, Those are the things that were most memorable. Those are the things I probably missed because those had the most impact. So you did a lot of work in the community as a member of that team?

 

Absolutely. We we do that not just in our community. They’re in Pensacola, Florida. Those guys love the Blue Angels. It’s a it’s a great place, for that organization to be.

 

But we would be traveling the majority of the year, and we would be part of other communities for, you know, a few days. And so every time we would go to a different show site, we’d push ourselves out, go to hospitals, go to schools. We would do, Make A Wish mostly, every Thursday, and those were some of the sweetest times. And because of my background, because I felt so lucky to be where I was, because I feel like I lucked into all this. I didn’t know anything about service academies.

 

I had, grandfathers served in World War 2 who didn’t talk much about it. And so I felt I lucked into this. And when I got an opportunity to stand in front of high schoolers and and tell them about what great opportunities were out there for them in the military, it’s it’s something that I just cherished. I I took advantage of it. And you tried out for the Blue Angels three times before making the team.

 

How were you able to persevere after not making the team initially? Well, I think most people in the military, when you set your mind to something, you had a mission, you’re not gonna run back and and tell somebody, well, that was too hard. I didn’t get that done. And so I didn’t make it the first time. Tried again.

 

I made a finalist my 2nd year, and that was the year that we were getting ready to have our first child. And so I paused for a little bit and made sure that all of that was was well. And I had folks say, well, you’re a little bit too senior. I don’t think you’re gonna you’re gonna make it. But I was not gonna remove myself from the batter box with 2 strikes.

 

Somebody was gonna have to strike me out. And so that was very much my mindset. You you can’t win if you don’t enter. My goal hadn’t changed. And so I gave it a a try for the 3rd time, and, then I made it.

 

Has that mindset of never quitting helped you in any other areas of your life or in business? Absolutely. I’m, I talked earlier about training. The navy has such a great training program, and then you get exposed to, things that really are different from what you might have been exactly trained to. But it is those mindset, those other things that are caught in the military while you’re being taught very specific things that allow military folks to be resilient, to be adaptable.

 

I don’t know that I ever had a job that I was qualified to do when I first got the job in the navy, but I never left a job in the military that I hadn’t I hadn’t felt like I had mastered it and was ready to move on to something else. And I think that mindset, not afraid of a challenge most military folks are. Just give them a mission, and they’ll go out there. They’ll have a lot of initiative. They’ll ask questions if they need to.

 

And there are so many transferable skills that are going to serve them well in, really, whatever opportunity that that maybe a civilian employee would give them. And speaking of challenges, I read in your bio that you’re afraid of heights. So how were you able to overcome that fear to become a fighter pilot? You know, growing up, I I would always say I’m afraid of heights. I’m I’m afraid of water, but it never stopped me.

 

I’ve never not jumped in a pool or in a lake or in the ocean. Obviously, love love flying. The goal was to become a pilot. So anything else that was between me and the goal, that was just in the way. So go over it, around it, under it.

 

Yeah. That’s just what it was. And, you know, I realized later, I mean, even though it didn’t make sense to me, what do you mean you’re at great heights? I kinda knew the feeling. But really, it was a it’s kind of a fear of stationary heights, standing on the edge of a building or a cliff or something like that, not really moving.

 

That’s not really an issue when you’re flying at the speeds and you’re at low altitudes and things like that in a in a fighter jet. So that made it easier to overcome it. And you’re so busy when you’re in that cockpit doing things that you really don’t have time to, even think about a height aspect of it. So you served as the commanding officer at the Navy Yard in DC, you mentioned earlier. Can you describe what you did in this role?

 

Sure. In that role, as the CEO of NSA Washington, basically responsible for all aspects of operating, securing what was basically 7 small cities there in the DC area. I think there were about a 150 different entities that worked on those bases. Nearly over 20,000 folks who would come on and off of those different bases. There were large budgets, $1,000,000,000, you know, I think about $5,000,000,000 in assets.

 

So and that’s what I did. And that was a struggle, I think, coming from a from a cockpit, into that. But I’m I’m so glad that I had that opportunity. I certainly learned so much in the in the way of transferable skills, but also in leadership. So glad that I that I had that opportunity to aid me in transitioning from, you know, a fighting force type of the military to civilian role.

 

That was a great bridge that allowed me to, hopefully, become a better leader. Hopefully, I’m doing that even still. But there were there were a lot of civilians who the majority of the people that I worked with and who worked for me were civilians. So it was absolutely a different type of leadership. And, so grateful for that opportunity.

 

So is that a little bit where that adaptability came into play? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I remember I had just moved to DC. It was snowmageddon.

 

I was supposed to do my household goods. They were coming on the truck that day. We were gonna move in, and then I was about ready to trek off and do whatever it was, a couple months of training on how to be a a commanding officer. And, phone rang, and it was a detailer saying, hey. Everything has changed.

 

We need you in there now, so you’re gonna get a week of training here. And then we had a quick change of command ceremony, and that was it. I was in the seat. And then about 2 months later, they merged that role with a with another role and basically merged 2 commands and made them to 1. And I don’t think it in I don’t know that that would happen very much out in the civilian world.

 

But because everybody making those decisions knows, that the kind of person, that typically is gonna be in that role, who is gonna be able to adapt and just make it happen. And that’s really what we did. We made it happen. So the military is very good about that. You get a lot of great training, and then whatever comes your way, adapt, improvise, overcome, but we’ll get through it.

 

And after you retired from the military, you said you took that year off. And then what was appealing to you about working in the laundry industry? All the corporate jets. No. Okay.

 

We don’t have one of those yet. Working on it. Right? Yeah. I mean, to be honest, that that wasn’t an industry that I said I’m going to pursue it.

 

I told you I took a year off, got involved in the community, and I was sitting on a board for our local congressman with a guy who is now my boss, Doug Waldman, and we were interviewing young men and women who wanted to go to Naval Academy and to the Merchant Marine Academy. He’s a 1983 graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy. And, it was a couple months after that. He called me and said he was thinking about some challenges. He was at a, a convention, I think, in Saint Louis and, thinking about some challenges in the industry.

 

And they were talking about some potential solutions, and he said, hey. I met a guy who who I think might be able to help us out with that. And so he called me up, and I came down. I took a look at the team. And and as I said before, it wasn’t that I said I’m gonna go work in the commercial laundry industry.

 

I was waiting for the right boss and the right team. And because of that time off and because I waited, it was it was the best decision. I don’t I don’t look for other jobs right now. If there’s one thing I think the military can teach you how to do is is make a decision. And so I very much took my time in doing that, and picked a great team.

 

And you mentioned Doug Waldman, the former, chair of TRSA. How would you describe his leadership style? I mean, he’s a great leader. He is, And I think in any any leader that I’ve ever worked for, you ought to learn something from him. And, certainly, I’ve had some great leaders.

 

And, Doug, I’ve learned from him as well. He’s, he’s super smart, smart enough to where he probably could just sit there and say, do this, do this, and, and really drive what everybody does. But Doug certainly learned himself in the Merchant Marine Academy as well. I think he’s a great leader in that. He we talk about we want people to have ownership, and Doug does a great job about really enabling that.

 

And we talk about leadership and, Canadian fire rep leadership within one word, it is it is influence. And I think a lot of times in the military and when folks think leadership, they think of a hierarchical, you know, rank structure, and you’ll do as I say. If there’s any question, well, we have rank here, and I’ll flip you for it, and and I’ll win. Doug enables people and empowers them to own what they’re supposed to own, and he’s an expert influencer even as the president and owner of the company in influencing instead of saying, this is what I want you to do. What I love about the this company and and about Doug is that good ideas get traction very easily here.

 

It’s very easy to maneuver within our organization, and I think that is because it’s a it’s a good family, that’s also very people first. What I love about Superior Land Service is when I look around and I see folks in leadership positions here, I’m I’m an oddity. I’m the new guy. We have folks in leadership positions who have been in here for, you know, 30, 40 plus years starting off in route positions. And that doesn’t happen, unless you have a company and you have leadership in a company that appreciates their their biggest asset, which is their people.

 

And Doug very much has that mentality, and that has trickled down into our culture. So it sounds like it’s a really collaborative environment there at Superior Linen Service. It’s great. I love, my job. I love the the autonomy.

 

I love the fact that I just get to influence wherever I’m needed and wherever I feel I can, add value, and that’s exactly what I was looking for, in a transition. It wasn’t that I was on Indeed or anything, looking for a specific industry. I was looking for a team and someplace that that I thought I could add value and where you feel appreciated. And I think that’s that’s really all anybody would would want. And that’s, again, that’s probably why I don’t look anywhere else for for jobs.

 

Love what I do, love my team, and love working with and, and for the folks in Spirit Line of Service. And it goes back to what I said earlier. If I was just looking to transition, well, I would have I would have landed anywhere. We talked about takeoffs and landings. Well, the landing is important.

 

And it was important for enough for me to take my time to make sure I just didn’t land somewhere, but I landed where I was supposed to. Sounds like you found the right place. Absolutely. And do you have any mentors that have helped you along the way, either in the military or in your current career? Wow.

 

You can’t, you can’t spend that long in one career without having, mentors. And to start naming them would mean to forget them, so at least somebody. You know what? I think one of the most influential people in my military career was a woman by the name of Maxine Lovell. And when it came out in the El Reno Tribune in 1988 that I was getting an appointment to the Naval Academy, this, this woman called my parents up and said, hey.

 

I would like to meet your son. And so I went over there. And as a senior in high school, you’re getting ready to graduate, and you got a lot of things pulling at your time. Missus Lovell sat me down, and she said that her husband was a 1936 graduate of the Naval Academy, and, he had passed 11 years before, meeting missus Lovell in 1988. And, she said she just kinda wanted to follow me along in my career.

 

And, I said absolutely. And I got letters from her, and I would call her when I would come home for a week or so, for whatever leave I had, whatever holiday it was. I would always go see missus Lovell. And, you know, most folks are coming back to their hometown. They’re, got a lot of trends that you wanna see.

 

And she was such a beautiful woman in all aspects and so savvy that there wasn’t a single time when missus Lovell, you know, didn’t just kick me out, you know, and say, okay, that’s that’s good. We’ll we’ll do it next time. She was so savvy and aware of, of the other things that were going on with my time. And I always wanted to sit there and talk to her more about it. I always learned so much from her.

 

And, she passed away during one of my deployments. And, missus Lovell, actually, before I graduated the academy, as I was about to leave her house one day, she said, just a second. And she went back into the bathroom, and she came out. And she had her husband’s Naval Academy sword that she had pulled off the wall that she wanted to give to me. Just an amazing woman on she was on Ford Island at the Battle of Pearl Harbor and just learned so much from her, about traditions in the navy.

 

She was just a consummate navy’s wife. And her friends called her Max. And so my first son’s name is Max, named after Maxine, and she had a huge influence, on my life. Well, it sounds like you had a really special connection with her. And you’re the chief strategy and development officer at Superior Linen Service, and you work out of the company’s Springdale, Arkansas facility.

 

Can you describe what you do in this role? Absolutely. Most of the things that I’m involved in have been in the areas of leadership and development. Obviously, very early on, had a lot to learn about the specifics of the laundry industry, And I got a lot of folks here who, have just been willing to to teach me the ins and outs of it. But some of the transferable skills, that I’m bringing with me are in areas of leadership, development, training.

 

We have been trying to use some systems, a little bit better, systems that we have have purchased. And so I’ve been able to since I’m not in operations, a lot of times folks want to do all this, but, you know, the daily operations get in the way. And so it’s been, great for me to be able to just dedicate the time to training some folks, on supervisor duties, how to be a good super how to hire better, how to retain better, how to find talent, how to set some goals, how to do some some coaching, and, some discipline when, you know, if we have to. And, really, the military part of me, I love some standardization in those areas. In our industry where we can benefit from standardization.

 

That’s my goal. But when I you know, we’re not gonna force it. If it doesn’t make sense, then, then we won’t. I’ve done, we have a learning management system right now that we are building out. So Doug has been great about providing us with those tools to enable that kind of ownership.

 

So, really, wherever wherever the boss directs me, which really isn’t that often or wherever I think I can add the value, I’ve kinda been able to go in there and and help out where I where the family needs it. And, everything else that I talked about, Superior Lending Service, because of the great culture that we have, I’m really able to go in and out of various aspects, and I think that’s why I like it. The the ability to adapt, not go into work and having to do the same thing every day. I get to be strategic. But another thing I love about this industry and and this job is you also get a little bit of a tactical there.

 

So quickly, you can see the fruits of your labor. And I don’t know that in in many other companies and industries, you you get to see that. I love that, there’s long term strategy. And then you, in most family owned businesses, you really do get to see the impact of your efforts. I think you touched on some of the similarities, but, are there any differences you find between working in a privately owned business and the military?

 

Well, yes. One is, family life. So we always talk about work life balance, and, certainly, that was a a goal of mine in making a transition from military to civilian. And so I love the fact that, I spend a lot of time with my family now. Kids are resilient.

 

When I was on deployment, my kids were little. And sometimes when I travel, I’m gonna be gone for a few days. My kids are like, oh, wow. You gotta you gotta be gone. And and they so easily forget, you know, the the months months away.

 

That’s a testament to my wife and how good of her, how good she was at keeping the family together and taking care of the kids. So that’s one obvious benefit. One thing that is different is and I’ve had to I’ve had to learn. And and sometimes I’ll go to Doug, and I’ll say, hey, Doug. Is this moving fast enough for you?

 

And, we have such a great relationship there. I’m used to flying around literally in Afterburner, and sometimes I will expect some things to move maybe a little bit faster. And Doug and I will just talk about it, and I’ll say, hey, it’s moving fast enough for you. Just know it’s not fast enough for me, but it’s if it’s fast enough for you, then it’s good for me. And I just always wanna be pushing it, you know, the edge of the envelope there and and and trying to add value.

 

And so that’s that is a little bit of a difference, not certainly in any negative. It’s different in that you can really get your arms around this organization. I think the higher up that you get in the in the military, you know, the organization expands, and it can take a a long time to to have a good idea and get traction. I think so. Those are those are some of the differences.

 

And were there any challenges for you in navigating from serving in the military to working in the business world? I think I there’s 2 things that probably prevented some of those challenges, and I think I’ll separate them in into 2 different challenges. One’s a mindset. Am I taking some time off in my approach to just making sure that I made the the right decision and I landed deliberately, prevented, I think, a lot of those challenges that could have been. The other type of challenge is one where where I think PRSA is even even helping out with the veterans task force that they’ve that they’ve established.

 

But actually finding a job, for a lot of our veterans can be a challenge, especially if they’re just looking, hey. I need I need a job right now. And there’s a stigma that that the military has has gotten that, you know, we talk about post traumatic stress. And I refer to it earlier just as as post traumatic stress. And I think a lot of times when people say that, we’d say PTSD.

 

We call it a disorder. People’s mindsets go right to military. And and if you actually do some research and bear it out, everybody, there’s more PTS in the civilian side than there is in the military. Because if you really look at what PTS is and if you have a traumatic in your life, you have a car wreck. I mean, folks are gonna go through that kind of stress.

 

We got all kinds of folks who are working on Wall Street who believe me are are feeling PTS. And, there are a lot of great companies now who are very focused on finding or at least saying, we’re gonna hire so many military over the next few years. We can look at big companies. I mean, Starbucks and Walmart, and there are plenty of of companies who are doing it. I think that’s great.

 

Verizon, I think. And I remember when I got hired, and Doug and I were first meeting, you know, Doug had said, you know, he hears about all these veterans who need jobs, and they can’t find them. But here, we have companies, like, are all a part of TRSA, and they understand that the transferable skills that folks have coming out of the military are exactly what we say we want in employees. And what what Doug was saying is we have 2 folks who are desiring to dance, you know, but they can’t find a way to partner up. And so I think what what TRSA is doing there is really helping educate transitioning veterans about the industry because I didn’t know anything about it.

 

Most folks coming out don’t know anything about it, and helping them match candidates to our needs. And, I think a lot of times when folks are transitioning out of the military, a lot of companies don’t know what to do with them or think they don’t have anything to offer them. And so in that regard, it can be a difficult transition for some. I think I avoided that by by just the approach that I took towards it. And you talked some about TRSAs Veterans Task Force.

 

Is there anything more that you think the association can do to reach out to former members of the military and educate them on the opportunities within this industry? Yeah. I think that TRSA, especially where you’re located, if TRSA were to get into some of the transition assistance programs that happen there in the the DC area, That is extremely helpful to those transitioning veterans to at least educate them about industries that, frankly, they’re probably not gonna pop up on their radar. As soon as you start going to some of the job fairs, in DC, and I went to a few of them, You can rattle off all the folks that are there. It’s just a ton of of, government contracting jobs, a ton of defense jobs.

 

Amazon’s are there and a lot of IT, and that’s naturally where people are gonna start looking, because that’s what they were exposed to when they went through their transition assistance, program. And so I think that would be a great way. What a unique opportunity that TRSA has just by the fact that they’re located there, would really help transitioning veterans in that area understand the opportunities that are available in our industry. And then what those folks are gonna do is they’re gonna go out, and they’re gonna move all over the country. And they’re gonna take that message to those companies and to that community.

 

And, I think it’s a great way to echo what you guys would be doing there in the, in the DC area. And are there any skills that you learned in the military that have helped you in your current job? Absolutely. I think most veterans, have been caught or been taught or or caught those skills that that companies and employers say that they would look for in in your employees. And most times, you’re not gonna have to send that that veteran off to be trained on some things.

 

They’re going to default to dedication, ownership. They’re certainly gonna be mission minded. They’re certainly gonna have initiative. They’re gonna have a a can do mentality. They’re going to have a a do it right mentality.

 

You know, in my in my job, it was, you know, bombs on target on time, first pass, every time. And I think our veterans who are coming out and trying to, land in the civilian workforce Certainly have that, do it right the first time, every time, and they’re gonna have the they’re gonna have the skills to be resilient, to be adaptable, and, accomplish the mission. And while they’re doing that, I don’t think they’re gonna be easily shaken or frustrated. They’re gonna be extremely loyal, and that’s why I think PRSA is thankful that they they have this initiative. I’m thankful that you turn, you know, the news on, and there are many companies who have programs to hire veterans.

 

And, even though our numbers, for veterans who are unemployed are going down, Certainly, it’s something that we still need to focus on, and, and I’m happy that that you see a lot of that going on in the industry today. So it sounds like the laundry industry is a really good place for veterans to work and can really be a beneficial relationship for both them and the business. That’s been my experience. I think we have done since I’ve been at Spearman Service, I think we’ve done 4 or 5 big recruit military events. We’ve done some smaller ones as well, and then we like to get local and and work with the local workforce and Salvation Army and and things like that.

 

I certainly see areas in our industry that absolutely, would be a match for the skills that, veterans are coming out with. I think about most times I’m recruiting for our our RSRs, our route service representatives. And and I think about most folks that I knew, in the military. And you give them an opportunity to have to own something, to own a route, and they’re gonna be home, every night. And we say, like, you are empowered.

 

You are empowered to be a problem solver. You are empowered to make your relationships. That’s what I’m looking for when I go to a to a military recruit event. I think about the RSRs out there. Most of my most of our customers, they’re not gonna know me.

 

They’re gonna know the tip of the spear, so to speak, is what we say in the military. And that is a touch point for where where our customers know who we are, and that’s at that that point of delivery. It’s that relationship, to be honest, our mates. I I think that is a perfect landing spot for so many folks coming out of the military looking to transition, and they are absolutely skilled in all of the areas that we want them and move them to be to make our customers happy and make the company look great. Aside from RSRs, do you find that there’s any other roles that are a good fit for veterans?

 

Absolutely. I think maintenance. I certainly I think in in some of those skills, the it’s getting very hard to find folks who are skilled in maintenance, who who also have that ownership. We have so many folks who, come out of the military, and that is their skill set. And then what you have is you have all of those non tangibles that you’ll have to teach them.

 

Somebody who wants to wake up early and come in and own his plant, that is a sweet landing spot for so many folks coming out of the military. And, you know, as I keep talking about individual ones, I do that with a little bit of caution because I couldn’t run the maintenance shop. But I think what I love about what PRSA is trying to do and so many others is in recognition of what soft skills, maybe combined with some hard technical skills that a veteran has, is just give them a chance. Just give them a chance, and I think you’re gonna be, pleased that you’ll find yourself looking looking to hire a lot more veterans. All they need is that opportunity, it sounds like.

 

Absolutely. I had, 2 folks in front of me somewhere in Oklahoma who were who were ahead of me for the Naval Academy. And so I don’t know who they are, but I thank them for giving me the opportunity. I wanna thank you so much for talking with me today about your military background and sharing some of your insights about transitioning to a career in the laundry industry. Oh, it’s been my pleasure.

 

Jason, thanks for being so interested in it, and thanks for TRSA for, again, being involved and concerned about veterans. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the TRSA podcast, interviews and insights from the linen, uniform, and facility services industry. Special thanks to today’s guest, David Varner, for talking about his transition from a military career to his current role at Superior Linen Service. TRSA has a veterans task force for former members of the military now employed in the laundry industry.

 

For more information on the task force, visit us on the web at www.trsa.org.