A Story About Mike Rowe

At Auto Glass Week this year in San Antonio, we had the true pleasure of meeting Mike Rowe, one of our special guest speakers! I unfortunately wasn't able to make in the picture as I was the photographer but it was super cool to meet and chat with him.See below for a neat post one of my closest mentors in the glass industry sent him:

Hi Mike,Hope you see this. As a fan and consumer of all (known) things Mike Rowe (and mom), and your weekly two hour podcast companion, I thought I would share the story of the pic that you were so kind to allow after your Friday talk to the kids.I am on the left. The guy to the right is Jon, the guy taking the picture is John. These are important later in the story… kind of.Myself and Jon run large privately held glass businesses. John (camera dude) owns his own glass shop in Billings Montana. We all started ground up – myself as a warehouse guy and Jon a a chip repair guy and John as a 16 year old that had to provide for his pregnant girlfriend after he was thrown out of the house, and since he was homeschooled, school as well. Over time, Jon and I worked our way up to eventually become vice presidents at the largest glass company in the world and later found ourselves back in the private sector (and much happier) after discovering the pitfalls of corporate garbage versus actually building businesses. John worked his way up from being an apprentice to owning one of the finest glass shops in the US – no exaggeration.I have mentored John because I love his enthusiasm – he is a true Dirty Jobs guy and is the backbone of what makes our country great. All of us were speaking at the career day panel – we had them in the afternoon and had to get a little direct to get their attention, but I think we won a few…which is all that matters really. So, we went on at noon, but we wanted to see your talk. As we were walking to the room, I saw the access hallway and after watching you leave the keynote the prior day (and nearly bust ass in the process), I told John, that is where Mike will come out after he speaks. We should watch him, and then bounce back over here and say hi. They readily agreed. Keep in mind, we hire and train people constantly – you are a huge deal to us simply for what you stand for.Fast forward – you spoke, we bounced, and I’ll be damned if we didn’t hit that door some 600 yards away at the same time you were coming out. John looked at me like I was a magician…. I’m not one to do the “hey Mike…” thing, just maybe a “hi”, but Jon (East coast guy, aggressive), had no issue with the ask. John, who really wanted a pic, did what true heroes do – and took the picture without complaint. I had no idea he wasn’t in it until I saw it. It dawned on me that little event was an exercise in team work. I am a strategy guy – (figure out where Mike will emerge); Jon is an ops guy (make the ask)….and John is the guy that brings it home – (take the picture). My only regret is John got screwed.Again, thanks for the pic. Thanks Mike. We truly appreciate what you do.Dave Leach