Well, hello, everyone. Thank you for joining
us once again on Did You Know, the ESCO HVAC
podcast. This episode brought to you by UEI Test
Instruments. Louise Kellar, how are you doing
today? I am doing great. I mean, how can you
be going wrong? We are in Las Vegas at the 2025
Educators Conference. on St. Patrick's Day. I
know. So like when Howard and Eugene were mentioning
that, you know, we're going to have, Monday is
going to be on St. Patrick's Day. I'm like, oh
yeah. I mean, I guess I can put it on for this
one too. Let me see. Might actually be able to
get this in camera. I got the whole hat and everything.
That's a little too big. But yeah. So having
fun on St. Patrick's Day in Las Vegas with, I
don't even know how many. people we ended up
actually having in registration. I haven't even
went over to check what the phone numbers were.
A lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of people here. It's
been an amazing time so far, right? Like we've
made it through the opening ceremonies last night.
and today bright and early if uh if you haven't
gotten to attend by the way they start their
breakfast at 5 30 this morning so and session
started at six so it's already been a jam -packed
day and we aren't till noon yet yeah and that's
like 10 30 so yeah so much going on but you brought
up a great point like how do we find our like
our voice or our place in the industry and that
is such an interesting question you know like
when i step back and think about like my own
place like had like how did i get where i'm at
uh it was i think i just i kind of ended up here
it was definitely not the plan to be here you
know i i guess when i think back about it like
you know because i i started as a young man you
know TV, radio, film was what I thought I was
interested in. So I had my own little mobile
DJ business. Went to school for that for a year.
Decided it wasn't me. Got into the trades. And
then 25 years later, 7 years later, then I'm
going, oh, I can actually use some of those skills
that I had early in life that go hand in hand
with this experience that I had in HVAC. And
now I'm doing this crazy thing that's a combination
of them. And I'm like... It's a very different
place than I thought I'd be a technician my entire
life. And that didn't happen. And that seems
to be very, very common in our industry. And
so tell me about yours. Tell me about your venture.
Well, you know, I didn't come from the HVAC industry.
I didn't ever think this was the industry that
I personally would get into. I didn't even think
I would probably even be tangential to a skilled
trade. But my background was a lot of retail.
retail management, and then optical before I
came to UEI test instruments. And so my origin
story of how I got here was dumb luck, maybe
a little bit. Like UEI opened up in Indianapolis.
I was able to interview with them, join the team.
And almost 10 years later, I am still here because
I don't think there's another industry that I
will enjoy nearly as much. not coming from that
industry. And over the years, getting to experience
all of the different shows, getting to learn
the contractors and getting to know how many
facets there really are to this industry. And
I think people really miss that. And so like
when we're at Educators Conference here, there
are so many different classes. Yeah, almost a
hundred. A hundred, right, right. and so you
know i specialize in test instruments but i have
passions within those test instruments right
i spend a lot of my time talking about the dangers
of co and how to do combustion analysis i found
out that through the years though i truly have
a passion because there was something that finally
sparked there was that connection of when i talk
about the dangers of co it's colorless it's tasteless
it's odorless For most people, if you say the
words carbon monoxide or CO, there's something
that registers for them, but they don't necessarily
really understand all of those dangers. So for
me, I became really passionate about that because
I don't want to have people who could be sick
or, you know... Suffering the consequences. Exactly.
And then you go to a show like this, right? And
there's people that specialize just specifically
in... airflow they're specifically in you know
refrigeration there there's so many different
facets of this industry and i think when you
find your voice or you find what you're passionate
about run with that yeah exactly because it is
it is amazing when you get to see those light
bulbs go off for people And who knew? Even though
HVACR, that is such a broad range of things.
Oh, yeah, it's incredibly wide. So wide, but
there's so much crossover through it. But go
with what you're really passionate about, what
really sparks you. Because I've also found that
when you're talking about the things that really
get you motivated, it's much easier to motivate
other people. Isn't it, though? It is. Yeah.
And when you're able to motivate other people,
you're going to spur them to want to learn more,
right? Like there are so many things like I've
had, you know, a few things that have kind of
started off as like we've joked about, you know,
wanting to be able to do something. And then...
We're going to make it happen. And then I learned,
oh, my gosh, there's a whole other side to this
that I didn't even know was going to happen.
Well, now I got to go do some more research.
And now I've spurred more learning. And it's
just absolutely fascinating. And so, like, I
think for me, finding that voice within this
industry was hugely important. Because, again,
your passion helps teach others. We all, at the
end of the day, want to be able to elevate the
entire industry and make it better. You know,
that's so crazy when you mention that, because
like what I do now, I feel like I spend a lot
of time talking about like new technologies.
But when you say that, like when you find your
voice, now that I look back. i can remember my
voice right i i can remember back when i was
excited when a new controller would come out
for you know a new reach in freezer and you know
some kind of a new electronic control came out
and i was like oh that's interesting and but
then i'd have other people that i worked with
were like you really like working on that stuff
i'm like yeah this is interesting isn't this
interesting to you and many times it's like no
that's like challenging and i'm like no no no
it's not it's interesting And then now, you know,
fast forward, that was like the beginning of
my voice. I didn't know that, though, at the
time. And so you're 100 % right. If we can recognize
that voice, that little thing that we actually
care about, that we have passion for, that one
thing can take us through an entire career in
many different places. And it keeps helping you
be motivated, right? It does. Because you didn't
realize that was your voice, but... Now you're
all about new technology all of the time, right?
And it makes you really excited. And your excitement
is contagious. Yeah, exactly. You're able to
share that with other people and be able to get
to a broader range. And you might find that student,
that teacher that suddenly found their passion.
Because you energize them. And it's fantastic.
I love coming to this conference. I have always
said that I've always enjoyed coming to the Educators
Conference. But, you know, this is the first
year that I've been on our training site. A hundred
percent for the first year. And, you know, last
night we were both up there as a congratulations.
Congratulations. You were able to use all of
your skills from your previous and energize and
just make this show possible to make your Did
You Know podcast, which I love listening to,
possible. And that was where your passion, you
found what sparked and what worked really well
for you. And I think this conference also allows
us to find what motivates us or where our sparks
might come from. I can go to all of the class.
Well, I can't go to all of them. I don't think
they're, they're, they're butted up against each
other a little bit. So I can't go to all of them,
but you know, I can see a little bit of maybe
some of the sides of the industry that I don't
know as much about. Exactly. So I think sparking
that, finding what it is and then being able
to pass that along because it will just continuously
help spur the education of the next generation.
That's so crazy because you're right. Like when
I came here that first year, I started teaching.
I can't remember if it was 18 or 19. I think
it was 19. I think I started teaching at Johnstone
in 18. And then March of 19, they sent me to
this conference as a new instructor. And I was
so green. Like I was, I didn't know. Greener
than you are right now. That's a great point.
I might've been green in the face. Oh, okay.
Not green in the outfit. All right. But coming
here. I was able to see all, you're right, see
all those different passionate people that were
incredibly good at what they do, but it's because
they were passionate about those things and realized
that it's not just like a piece that you become
good at. It's like you can find your own piece
to become good because there's so many things.
But all of those pieces, they come together to
make an amazing industry. And it's a beautiful
industry. almost an unseen industry though because
if you did your job all very very well you don't
really see it you know you're gonna feel it right
but people don't necessarily think about that
um but i'm just i'm really passionate like i'm
really glad that i found what motivated me in
this industry because it has only helped to not
only craft better presentations to be able to
do more education but to branch out and find
out that there are other things within this industry
that are just mind -blowing to me and that's
why i was like when we can take that energy and
what sparks us we're going to be able to motivate
more people and we know that we need more people
yeah so i guess the moral of the story is whatever
that thing is even if it's not interesting to
the people around you it could be your thing
and hone in on that. Learn as much about that
one thing, that one part, that one procedure.
Learn as much as you can because there's a really
good chance that down the road you might be the
person for that that everyone comes to. Yeah,
and we see it. We see it. We see it with some
of the influencers in the industry, right? Like
if you really think about it, most of the people
that were on that stage in the top 25, they have
a specialty yeah oh you're right sure that's
wow and thought of it from that way but you're
right they all yeah huh so that specialty has
actually been the driving force to become a great
educator now we're getting somewhere yeah it's
it's that that passion right and then you put
all of those pieces together And one of the things
that I always say, and again, another part of
all of the people that I've been fortunate enough
to meet is, I don't think you can be an expert
on everything all of the time. Absolutely not.
It would be overwhelming. And I know there are
some people who are amazing and have super high
levels, but you don't have to always be the expert,
but you need to know who you can... reach out
to like you want to talk about the dangers of
carbon monoxide poisoning and how to do combustion
analysis i will talk to you all day long about
that but that's where my passion lies and that's
what i want to spread and that's what i want
to talk about you know i also uh tomorrow i'll
be doing the presentation on just the basics
getting back to the basics and understanding
why all of these symbols on your meter are important
because With new changing technologies, there's
features that may have been on your meter, but
you never used them because you didn't necessarily
need to use them. And now you need to use them.
So even revisiting back to some of those basics
to get people excited about things. Yeah, no,
so true. Man, I mean, really now. Oh, yeah. I'm
sitting here thinking about like. Really, because
you think about like when we become passionate
about something and we start getting better at
understanding that one thing, like that thing
that becomes ours. And then that passion in return
drives us to be even better because we start
becoming more comfortable with it. And as we
become more comfortable, we become more confident
in it. And as we become more confident, now we
become more willing to share that information.
And then all of a sudden we're sharing that information
with everyone. and we've created a place in the
industry for ourselves. Yeah. It's amazing. That's
a simple roadmap if we think about that. Yeah.
So that's the encouragement. Everyone listening,
think about that thing that you like to do because
there are things within our jobs that we do not
like. I don't care what part of our industry
you work in. There's things that you don't like
to do. I can tell you. I cannot stand to crawl
in a crawl space and find dead animals. It's
like the worst thing ever to have to dig your
way through a crawl space with a shovel. That
ain't fun. But there's things about it that are
really cool and really fun and really interesting.
And so if you hone in those things that you enjoy
and you surround yourself with education and
like -minded people and you start sharing that
information, you're on the right path. Yeah.
I'm a big fan of being a cheerleader. Yeah. Because
if you can cheer somebody on, you can elevate
the industry, make everybody better, share the
knowledge that you have. Because right now, we've
talked about it for years, a deficit in the industry.
Absolutely. Don't hold that information. Share
it out freely. Give it back. give it back because
the the experience that's out there the things
and you might be also sparking the next generation
to find what their passion is and you said there's
things that you don't like right you don't want
to go in that crawl space and neither do i and
this is why i'm where i'm at right and that's
okay yeah but if you've gotten to fix something
that was broken for somebody did it make it that
joy on their face when it's you know when they're
in a comfortable temperature, that look on their
face, right? You've solved their problem, created
that solution. That helps motivate you, I bet,
right? That satisfaction of getting that job
done. That's right. So you can even turn some
of the things you don't love into a little bit
of things that kind of spark you a little bit.
Yeah, because we've got classes this year. that
are nowhere near being technical they're very
much like communication skills and they come
from people who have learned to be good communicators
and they've made that their passion and they're
here in the industry sharing their knowledge
sharing their experiences all because they had
an interest in communicating with people or doing
something so that's it that's your mission as
you're listening to this podcast i want you to
find that one thing And if you're finding that
one thing, let me know. Share it. I'd love to
hear it too. Absolutely. Put it in the comments.
Let us know if you have found that thing. And
if you're looking for any of those resources,
you reach out to us and we will see if we can't
connect you to the right people that we know
because we want you all to grow along with us.
Dang, how'd we get here, Luis? This is like deep
conversation. Well, you're welcome. I thought
we needed to change it up a little bit, right?
Like I thought, you know, there's something,
there is something about that though, because
I was thinking about that a lot before the top
25 ceremony. Yeah. Oh, you're right. And it was,
how did I get here? Where in the heck am I up
here? Do I know Lake? Do they really know me?
Right, Lake? But no, I think that was good. I
think it was a little change of pace. Yeah, absolutely.
So for everyone listening, how do we learn more
about UEI test instruments and what's going on
with UEI? Well, you can visit our website, ueitest
.com. You can give us a call. We have an 800
number, 800 -547 -5740, and brace yourself for
this. We have real people. Humans? We have humans
that answer the phone. In fact, you know what?
Even we have a chat now. We have now a chat feature
on our website. it's actually manned by real
people. Oh, wow. Like, it's not auto responses.
Not all AI. Right, it is not. Very cool. So for
those of you who like talking to real people,
I obviously like talking. You know, you can reach
out to us. The 800 number can get you connected
to us. We'll be happy to answer any questions
that you might have about ueitest .com. And if
you still can't find me, you can find me on the
social medias, a lot on LinkedIn and on Facebook.
Louise Keller. And if you still can't find me
through all of that, call the fine folks at ESCO
and they'll get you in touch with me. You bet
we will. All right, everyone. Thanks for joining
us. Thank you, Louise. Thank you.