Chelsea Oesch & Steven Carmichael - K-9s for Warriors and Blu - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Chelsea Oesch from Beacon and Steven Carmichael from K9 For Warriors. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro/Outro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a longterm professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews, and exciting news in the roofing industry today.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from RoofersCoffeeShop. This is Heidi Ellsworth. And we're here today to talk about everyone's favorite topic, and that is our furry friends, our best friends, canines. But we are also really here to talk about what Beacon is working on and what they're doing with TRI-BUILT to bring special people and canines together.

So I've invited my friend Chelsea Oesch and Steven Carmichael to join us today to talk about this cool program that is going on. So let's start, first of all, with some introductions. So Chelsea, can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about Beacon and TRI-BUILT?

Chelsea Oesch: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So I am Chelsea Oesch, the marketing director for Beacon, specifically focused on the TRI-BUILT brand. But Beacon Building Products is the distributor of roofing materials and complimentary building products. And we now have over 550 locations across the United States and Canada.

So when people buy from Beacon, they get this exclusive access to the TRI-BUILT brand, which is our private label brand of roofing products. When we look at TRI-BUILT as a brand, we offer more products and more categories than any other supplier, and we have products that are residential, commercial, and complimentary-focus, so across all sides of the business.

We think of it as we're helping our customers to build more by offering this extensive catalog that has over 7,000 products across 30 different categories. We're offering the highest quality products that help our customers deliver first-class work, but on a real-world budget. And then, ultimately, our products are just built to work. So that's a little bit about us.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, I love it. I love it. It means such a great reputation. And what you're doing with TRI-BUILT has just been amazing, Chelsea. I love watching it. I love what's happening. And I really love the sponsorship and the partnership that you have with K9 For Warriors, which is why we invited Steven to be here with us today. Steven, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your organization?

Steven Carmichael: Yeah, my name's Steven Carmichael. I have worked for K9 For Warriors for about 16 months now. Before being a development manager here with our corporate partners, I was a teacher for 10 years. So I wanted to leave one very passionate industry to come to another one.
Here at K9s, we exist for one reason, and that is to end veteran suicide. Right now, we estimate about 22 veterans take their lives a day, so almost one an hour.

So our goal is to go out into our communities here in Florida and Texas, rescue dogs from high kill shelters, train those dogs and pair them with veterans suffering from PTSD, veterans that have traumatic brain injuries, or veterans that might be suffering from military sexual trauma. And I'm happy to announce, as of last month, we have graduated over 900 veterans with their service dogs.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. Oh, my gosh. That is so awesome. I'm so excited to hear more about this because what an important cause. I mean, I can't believe 22 suicides every day, that just is heartbreaking.

Steven Carmichael: Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. Okay, so this all started, Chelsea, when you and Beacon and TRI-BUILT came out with Blu. Talk a little bit about Blu, the mascot, and how this has kind of led you to really be involved with K9s For Warriors.

Chelsea Oesch: Yeah, absolutely. So in 2022, we unveiled this new look to TRI-BUILT, but the biggest thing was we had this introduction of our mascot, Blu. And when choosing a mascot, we wanted something that our contractors could connect with, and an amazing amount of contractors have dogs, so we just felt naturally inclined to go the dog route. And then, we created our Blu character. And then, ultimately, Blu embodies all the qualities we want our customers to feel when they use the TRI-BUILT product, so protection, trust, loyalty, all those things that people think about their dog. So with the introduction of Blu, it's allowed us to create this really unique partnership like the one we have with K9 For Warriors today, just finding more ways to connect with our contractors and good organizations like K9 For Warriors.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is excellent. So tell us a little bit how this sponsorship started. Yeah, just give us the whole backstory.

Chelsea Oesch: So we knew we wanted to find an organization that we could really connect with, and we feel so fortunate to have found an organization like K9 For Warriors that really aligns with our company values, but also my own personal passion for rescue dogs. So it kind of meant two different things for me because there's a lot of other rescue organizations out there, but I don't think a lot do what K9 For Warriors does.

So in 2022, we tried one Warrior pair. And to keep our customers involved with the partnership, we opened a naming contest for the dog that we sponsored, and ultimately, we landed on the name Dakota, which was actually suggested by one of our contractors. And the reason why that one ended up winning is it means friendly companion to the Native American Sioux tribe. So we felt like that was just kind of the perfect name if someone was going to get their dog and if they could know the meaning behind it that maybe that would help them as well.

And Dakota was paired with a veteran named Eddie, which I actually had the opportunity to watch the pair graduate this past January. So it was just really a cool experience to get to see it from the very beginning of working with Steven and the sponsorship, to seeing the Warrior Pair actually graduate and get to do all the normal things that we should be able to do.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. Well, Steven, tell us a little bit more about that. Tell us about how you select. And I have to tell you, I did not know this is from high kill centers that you rescued the dogs too, with the veterans. So talk a little bit more about that and then about Dakota and Eddie.

Steven Carmichael: Yeah, absolutely. So our goal, again, is to go out to shelters, high kill shelters, humane societies, and rescue great dogs to give them a new leash on life is what we call it. So last year about 67% of our dogs came from shelters. The rest of those dogs that we graduated or that were in our program last year either came from puppies that were donated or owner surrenders. And then, we do have a program where we work with some other providers who gives us some pretty well-trained dogs, and it cuts down some of our training time.

But because we are majority rescue, once we go out and get these dogs, we have a whole team that travels, well, they say they travel the globe, but within the United States, last year, they put enough miles on our vehicles to go around the world twice.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Steven Carmichael: And we went as far as Canada to get dogs last year. But once we get those dogs here to our campus, they spend 10 days in our wellness center to make sure that they are healthy and ready to be with all of our other dogs. And then, we spend six to eight to 12 months training these dogs. So shelter dogs come with a lot of their own quirks and funnies, so we untrain all of that, and then, we retrain just the basic skills. We do public access training.

And then, the hardest part of their training would be the service training, and that could be from the command, look, where they turn around and they face the opposite direction so nobody can approach our Warrior and startle them, so those Warriors who suffer from PTSD.

We do one command called brace, which is where our dogs can be used to help any of our veterans, but mostly veterans with TBI, if they were to fall, they could put 25% of their weight on the dog's hips and shoulders and use it as a standing point to help them get back up.

And then, of course, our dogs, they do tons of things that we don't even train them on. They get to know their veteran or their Warrior very quickly. So if their Warrior's having a nightmare, often they'll jump up on the Warrior themselves and wake them up.

And then, we also teach kind of a pressure therapy. One of the commands is called lap, where the dog will put their front paws on one leg and their elbows on another leg of the Warrior and put pressure on that Warrior to help them ease their stress or tension or whatever is going on in that moment.

One thing that we pride ourself on is, obviously, we will never put a dog back in a shelter and we will never put a dog down. So that means we have a lot of dogs that don't make it to be service dogs, and we still continue to take care of them. We have another wonderful program called our Station Dog program. So these dogs that are like, "Hey, listen, service dog life isn't for me," we will pair those dogs with therapy training to be put in a 911 communication center, a police department or a fire department. Recently, we've placed a dog in a women's center. We have some dogs that are going to local bases to help just current, active military men and women deal with the daily stress.

And then, we even have some dogs like, "Just find me a forever family because I just want to lay on a couch and go swimming all day." So any of our dogs that don't make it to a veteran or to our service dog program, we adopt them out in our Northeast Florida community or our San Antonio community in Texas. And all of our adoptions are absolutely free.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow, that is so cool. So Chelsea, you said a little bit that you personally... on the sponsorships, but this year you're now sponsoring two Warrior-K9 pairs. Tell us kind of how this has all started to come about.

Chelsea Oesch: Yeah. Well, we knew that we weren't going to stop at one and that it was too good of a program and too rewarding for all involved that we wanted to do more. And so, really, what one of my goals is is to continue to grow the amount of pairs year-over-year that we're able to support. So this year, we are supporting two Warrior pairs. So once that commitment is made to the K9s' team, we're put on a list to be paired with the K9 Warrior team.

And then, once we're matched, the K9 For Warriors team starts to send us updates of the training progress and really just how everything is going. "And here's what they learned this week. And guess what? Now they've been paired with a veteran."

And then, at the end, we get the opportunity to go to the graduation, which is just so rewarding to get to see what you're actually doing. And K9 For Warriors has also joined us at several different conferences, and the Armed Forces Bowl. And every veteran that I speak to kind of has the same story that, truly, these dogs are changing and saving their lives. And it doesn't matter who you talk to, they really all have the same feeling. So it's just so nice to know that we're truly having an impact and we're able to do that through the TRI-BUILT brand and fulfill, not only that, but my own passion on the side.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: It is just amazing. I love it. So Steven, how important is sponsorships like this to your organization?

Steven Carmichael: It is the lifeblood to our organization. So there are very few dogs that go unsponsored. As Chelsea was saying, throughout the training process, we share updates about twice a month. Our trainers, we have about 20 to 30 trainers that work Monday through Friday training up to five dogs at a time.

And they also are the most creative people on the planet because these updates that Chelsea is speaking about, they're actually written from the dog's perspective. So there are days that I sit at my desk and either laugh or bawl my eyes out because to hear what these trainers have been going through and hear how they put it in their dog's perspective, it's great. So that is one thing that we love to use as our appreciation for dog sponsorship. It is a great gift that has got us to where we are at.

And without partners like Chelsea and Beacon, we would not be at the 900 number we are at. And Chelsea, I don't think I've even told her this, but in February, we plan to graduate our 1000th Warrior. So it's people like Chelsea and everybody that uses the TRI-BUILT brand that really help keep this program going and who have also helped us go from just this location here in Florida to our San Antonio location. And then, now in Florida, we have two locations. So we built, in 2021, we built our mega kennel, and currently, it holds up to 92 dogs, and when it's a hundred percent complete, it'll hold over 200 dogs.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's amazing. I mean, I just can't imagine what it takes to train and take care of all those dogs. And then, tell us a little bit too then, how does that training go? Because at some point you bring the veteran in, right-

Steven Carmichael: Yeah.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: ... who trains with them also? So can you give us a little bit of a timeline of how that works?

Steven Carmichael: Yeah, so dogs take about, like I said, average, six to eight months. We have an amazing Warrior team. It's a whole nother part of our team that is strictly in communication with the Warriors that have graduated and then the Warriors that are on our wait list. So right now, I think we're at about 322 Warriors waiting for their dog. So we're at about a 24-month timeframe. So if a veteran calls us and is approved into our program, they're waiting about 24 months to actually come to our Florida location or our Texas location.

But once they get here, to one of those locations, it's actually a 21-day residential program. So they arrive on a Sunday, kind of get the law of the land here. In Florida, we can hold 16 Warriors. We have apartments for 16 Warriors. And then, in Texas, we have room for six, which we plan to grow.

And then, during that 21 days, they get here, like I said, on Sunday, and Monday, they get paired with their dog. And we give them Monday through Friday to really make sure that bond is there. That bond, we hope is there because our trainers and then our Warrior team, the trainers obviously have all of the dog's quirks and personalities, and then, the Warrior team has all the Warrior quirks and personalities. So if we have a Warrior that's going to run 12 miles a day, we're going to make sure we give them a dog that wants to run 12 miles a day. But if we have a Warrior that might be older, one of our Vietnam Warriors who's just staying home and relaxing, we're going to give them a couch potato. So we've tried to pair the dogs as best we can, so we give them that first week.

And then, that's how Chelsea got to meet Eddie. Like after one week of training, we then say, "Hey, your dog has met their Warrior." And during the next two weeks while they're with us, we go everywhere from the airport to the zoo. So they go. We try to put them in every possible situation, so when they go home, they've already experienced every quirk or situation that might arise that they might be unfamiliar with.

We try to take them to a sporting event because that is one of the biggest requests from our Warriors is, "I either want to go to a football game of my favorite team, or I want to go to my kids' football, baseball, volleyball, softball." So we try to go to some sort of sporting event. So over the summer we have a minor league baseball team here in town, so we take them to minor league baseball games. And then, when we don't have a sporting event weekly here, we might go to a high school baseball or basketball or football game to help with that experience.

And then, graduation comes. And if you want to see grown men and women cry, it's graduation. And it's not only the Warrior, but our training team is the team that has the hardest time because it's the last time that they get to see their dog. So there's a lot of tears shed, happy tears shed on graduation.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And Chelsea, as you're looking at this, last year you did one, now this year you're doing two, what are kind of some of the timelines in your mind for being able to connect like you have been, and with the contractors too, your TRI-BUILT family?

Chelsea Oesch: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So our first dog of this year, we're on the waiting list for that, so hopefully, it'll get assigned very soon. But like I said, so one dog, two dogs, I'm hopeful for 2024 that brings us three dogs. So just however we can continue to grow and foster this and continue to connect with our veteran community, I think, just hits on all levels for us. So the more we can grow this, and I hope one day we can say we are up to 10 or 20 dogs a year, that would just be absolutely amazing.

We also, as they're building on in their Florida facility, we have pledged commitment to provide roofing materials to the K9s team so that we can just find really all the different ways that we can help and support them, even if it isn't through sponsoring additional dogs.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow, that's great. I just love the partnership and it's so unique and so special. Wow. So okay, let's talk a little bit about Blu, because this Blu was really who, and your passion Chelsea for dogs and for really bringing all this together, has made such a big difference. And you've really brought your contractors in to this through. So tell us a little bit. I'm not going to say it, but tell us a little bit about the contest, about Instagram, how you're really letting everybody know not only about K9 For Warriors, but also about everything else that's going on.

Chelsea Oesch: Yeah. So I mean, who doesn't love to see dog pictures? Who doesn't love telling people about their dog? I think you ask anyone about their pets, and they can just go on and on and on forever and show you pictures. Everyone's always so excited to talk about their dogs.

So we wanted to find a way for our customers to get their dog featured on Beacon's Instagram and so, we started Blu's Friends on Instagram, and it was really simple way for customers just to submit a picture of their dog for a spotlight on our Instagram. So various Tuesdays throughout the month, we'll feature a group of dogs that have been submitted, and it's really just to give everyone's dog a kind of a shining moment on our Instagram page. And we've gotten quite a few submissions over the months, and it's just been really fun to see all the dogs and see everyone's relationship with the dogs.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, well, we do Roofing Pets, and we did that in our newsletter, and oh, my gosh, we got so many pictures and so many different things, but dogs are definitely the most popular, no question whatsoever.

So how can contractors get more involved, and I'm going to say both with Blu, and I know you have your Top Dog contest coming up? But then I also want to just say, is there a way to follow K9 For Warriors to really see the connections and the training and all that kind of stuff for the contractors? Chelsea, let's start with you.

Chelsea Oesch: Yeah, absolutely. So last year, TRI-BUILT launched our very first annual TRI-BUILT Top Dogs calendar contest. So we offered contractors the opportunity to win a thousand dollars towards their favorite rescue mission, at the same time, have their pups photo featured in our print calendar.

And the contest was such a success that we decided, hey, we've got to bring it back for this next year. So actually, starting on September 5th, customers are going to be able to submit their dog's photo online by going to go.becn.com/topdog. So we are very excited to see all of the dogs that are submitted. Everyone that does submit a picture of their dog will get a calendar, and we have a really cool building set that is also going to be sent to them. So that's a little bit of a surprise there, but-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Awesome.

Chelsea Oesch: Yeah, so no matter if your dog wins or not, you get that. So you still get a little something back for spending the time to make that submission. But it's really just nice to be able to connect with our contractors on a shared love of our dogs.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And the top 12 will also get a thousand dollars towards their favorite rescue organization.

Chelsea Oesch: Yes. Yes. So-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is so cool.

Chelsea Oesch: Yeah. And it's really just cool to see what our contractors are passionate about and finding a little bit more about their local rescue mission. And a thousand dollars ends up really meaning a lot to these local rescue missions to where it could help them save 10 dogs from a high kill shelter. So it really ends up being impactful for the local community too.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, that's excellent. So I know we're going to have a lot of contractors who are listening to this and they're going to be saying, "How can we be involved with K9 For Warriors?" Whether they know some veterans who might want to get on the waiting list or just overall, to be able to follow. So Steven, can you kind of share, how can they follow and how can they be involved if they want to be?

Steven Carmichael: Yeah, absolutely. So Chelsea is our perfect salesperson for this. As you can see, sponsoring a dog and saving a Warrior's life is, I would say, addicting, especially with Chelsea's and TRI-BUILT's commitment to sponsoring more dogs every year. That's absolutely amazing.

So to apply for our program, if you go to our website, just k9sforWarriors.org, there's an apply button in the top right-hand corner. It's about a 30-day application process, but we urge all veterans who might be suffering to check it out. We have some great statistics. 92% of our Warriors who graduate our program show a reduction in medication within the first 30 days after going home. And then, 82% of our Warriors that graduate our program show a reduction in suicide thoughts and ideology. So those are two very impressive numbers. Cannot do that without people like TRI-BUILT.

And then, again, dog sponsorships are addicting because you get all of these cute pictures and it is, like Chelsea said, it's a full circle. You give the gift of the sponsorship, you see the dog training, then you get to see the Warrior training with their dog. And then, at the end of that, if you can, you get to come to graduation and actually meet your dog and the Warrior that your dog's going home with and potentially, their family. And that can also be done by going to our website and looking under Ways to Support under Sponsorship, or I'm happy to share my information with you, Heidi, for you to give out later.

I do also want to just mention too, especially for the Warriors out there and even advocates that are wanting to get help for maybe somebody in their life, last month we had a Warrior graduate, and oftentimes, because of the distance they come, we don't get to meet their families that often, but we did have a family come down, so one of our Warriors, his wife and his three kids came down. And I was talking to his wife and I said, "Have you noticed a difference?" And she goes, "On day four." She goes, "On the fourth day he was here," she goes, "the man that I met 20 years ago called me," and I was killed.

So John and Henry, one of our local Warriors and dogs, John says it the best, he goes, "These guys do magic." And I'm like, "John, you have to use a better term. It's just not magic." But at the end of the day, what these dogs do for our veterans, it is magic because it's fast and there's nothing to see, I mean, it just happens. And you're like, "Oh, wow." So it's magic.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, it's magic. And you made me teary because I mean, talk about going straight to the heart. That is so beautiful. Well, thank you so much for being here today, and we will get your information. We're going to have that on the TRI-BUILT directory along with everything that Chelsea's doing. We'll get all this out there, and I think we've already done a little bit, but I think we'll be seeing a lot more articles and different things coming around on this too, we want to follow. And so, thank you, Steven, thank you so much for being on.

Steven Carmichael: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And Chelsea, wow, thank you for bringing K9 For Warriors to the roofing industry. What a gift you're giving to the industry. Really, this is the kind of stuff that just melts your heart and it's so important and it's making such a big difference. So you and Blu and all the Beacon folks on, wow, great job.

Steven Carmichael: Yeah, thank you, Chelsea.

Chelsea Oesch: Thank you very much for having us.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Thank you so much for being on. Please, everybody, check this out on the TRI-BUILT directory. You can get more information about K9 For Warriors and Blu and Top Dog and the Instagram and everything else that's going on from the brilliant mind of Chelsea and the team. I've got to get the whole team there, but Chelsea, I know you're leading this. It's very cool. So both of you, thank you again for being here, and thank you to everybody for listening. This is the kind of stuff that just makes my day. I hope it's making your day. And be sure to check out all the podcasts under the Relist and Watch navigation under Roofing Road Trips or on your favorite podcast channel. Be sure to subscribe and get those notifications so you don't miss a single episode. We'll be seeing you next time on Roofing Road Trips.

Intro/Outro: Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from the rooferscoffeeshop.com.