A man wearing a mask putting a furnace filter in.

Look Who’s Still Working

Those of you who have most of your life ahead of you will long remember the year 2020 as when the world turned upside down. Millions of people in our country have gotten sick and tens of thousands have died. Those of us who haven’t

Read More »
Pendulum with the words "self determination" and "success".

True Grit

One of the reasons why trade workers are in short supply is because the trades have a reputation as being “gritty” work. The word gritty in this context gets interpreted as hard and dirty. I won’t sugarcoat it. To some extent, this is true. Trade

Read More »
Tax forms.

Did You Know College Scholarships Are Taxable?

I didn’t, not until reading an article that appeared in the May 23, 2020 edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The U.S. Tax Code runs to tens of thousands of pages in volumes that occupy an entire bookshelf in tax accountant offices. Even the

Read More »
A large monitor showcasing graphs and charts.

Numbers Tell A Story

I read a lot, always have. Much of my reading is to satisfy personal interests and has little application to my professional life, but I always have my eyes peeled for bits of information that are relevant to the things I write about for trade

Read More »
A black and white picture of a man.

Charlie Horton’s Legacy

The name Charlie Horton means nothing to most of you reading this. But he meant a lot to me, and he was a great friend of the trades, so I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce him to you. Charlie was the founder of

Read More »
Woman standing next to pipes.

STEM is Plumbing

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are the essential building blocks of careers that cross industries and impact our daily lives in different ways. STEM is the foundation of technical careers that advances the next generation of a skilled workforce. STEM is the skilled trades

Read More »
Man fixing wires.

STEM is HVAC

STEM is HVAC (Heating and Cooling) Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are the essential building blocks of careers that cross industries and impact our daily lives in different ways. STEM is the foundation of technical careers that advances the next generation of a skilled

Read More »
Man fixing lighting wires.

STEM is Electrical

STEM and the Skilled Trades Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are the essential building blocks of careers that cross industries and impact our daily lives in different ways. STEM is the foundation of technical careers that advances the next generation of a skilled workforce.

Read More »