
Hosted by Bill Gallagher · EN

Hear Bill's interview with Brian Turmail, Vice President, Public Affairs & Workforce, Associated General Contractors of America. (AGC). Brian's role is to develop and oversee all public, member, and chapter communications activities for the 27,000 member construction trade association. He also helps oversee the implementation of the association's Centennial "Future Focus" plan designed to position the association to help member firms thrive amid significant technological, process, and labor transformations taking place within the industry. Brian has been a guest on our show before and he does an excellent job of outlining the challenges America faces in regards to hiring and training a workforce to keep pace with the construction industry demands. As an example, according to a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America, 80% of construction companies in Florida say they are having a hard time finding workers. This poses a serious issue as our state is experiencing explosive growth and we need workers for every facet of the construction industry, including infrastructure improvements, roads, bridges, homes, condos, and office buildings, manufacturing plants, and more. Brian and Bill discuss the return of vocational education in our schools to further develop a "home grown" workforce, as well as an H-2B program to help provide workers to meet employment demands. The construction industry offers amazing opportunities for individuals who wish to earn an earnest living...and perhaps one day, start and run their own business.Support the show

Hear Bill's conversation with Mats Larsson, founder of Global Energy Transformation Institute (GETI). Mats has become a recognized leader and visionary in the fields of energy transformation, electrification, and sustainable development. He joined us on the phone from his hometown in Sweden for the interview and shared a lot of interesting information about his mission to drive the widespread adoption of clean renewable energy solutions.Mats is also a noted author of many books that are now available on Amazon. We have included one here that is a great read. Thanks again, Mats, for the education and the very cool information about Sweden. It sounds like a beautiful location to call home...or for a vacation holiday visitSupport the show

Hear Bill chat with two of Solar-Fit's newest team members, Scott Jamieson and Jason Ruona. These two amazing individuals will be helping homeowners with the design of renewable energy systems that best fit their families' needs...and their budgets. Scott is a local fellow that comes to us from the world of professional golfing. It is not surprising that our team members are getting in line for lessons to prepare for our next golf outing. Jason hails from Minnesota, and he has fallen in love with our beautiful Florida weather. Both Scott and Jason are consummate professionals, and staunch advocates of energy freedom. They are ideally suited to share the economic and environmental benefits of solar power and solar storage with homeowners who wish to save money and increase the value of their property. Thanks for the excellent interview, guys. We are glad to have you on board to help our friends and neighbors "Plug into the Sun"!Support the show

Hear Bill's conversation with his friend, and American patriot, Chris Heaven. Chris is the CEO of Survival Dispatch, one of the most trusted sources for information on preparation methods in the event of natural disasters, (such as hurricanes here in Florida), or other anomalies that threaten to disrupt our lives. Chris does an amazing job of detailing measures that we can take to protect ourselves, and our families, in the event that things "go sideways". Survival Dispatch currently touches over 1.7 million people through their various channels and the content is incredible. Subjects include everything from power outages, water shortages, cyber issues, and many more areas of our life that we all take for granted. This is a subject that we should all take to heart and Survival Dispatch provides the content to guide the way. Support the show

Hear Bill, Gloria, and Joe having a great time talking about solar power and the upcoming Solar-Fit Solar Forum events. These Forum's are a chance for people who are interested in solar power to ask questions about everything from tax credits, to net metering, to measuring solar performance, and even solar storage technology. Please watch for the event dates if you would like to attend, and RSVP to Kim@solar-fit.com. It is so much fun to visit with Gloria and Joe. Gloria has a green thumb...and loves to work in her garden, and Joe is our in-house digital tech guru...and Pickleball aficionado. They are both so knowledgeable and dedicated to helping others, just like the rest of the Solar-Fit Team. So proud to have such great friends and partners committed to helping folks in our community and beyond"Plug Into the Sun".Support the show

Hear Bill G. having a fun discussion with two of Solar-Fit's rockstar team members, Gloria Eidson, VP of Sales, and Joe Giordano, our in-house tech guru and designer of the Solar-Fit Sales Academy training guide. Gloria is celebrating her 30th year with Solar-Fit helping our friends and neighbors "Plug Into the Sun"... and Joe has just surpassed his 12th year with our team. Imagine, if you will, over 42 years' experience between these two stellar solar advocates... and they are gearing up for another outstanding year guiding our customers on their journey to energy independence. We have to admit, this edition had a lot of playful chat, but you will find some great information embedded in the interview as well. Joe goes into detail about the opportunities for honest, dedicated individuals to join our team, while sharing some details about our Sales Academy and the training our new awesome recruits will receive. Gloria talks about having over 100 Solar-Fit customers...in just one development! Wow...that is beyond impressive! (Gloria actually has thousands of customers that love her energy and enthusiasm. We hope that a few hundred Solar-Fit customers are listening in today so they can send along a thumbs up! Renewable energy is our future, for sure. Solar power plays an important role in our nation's energy supply... and we can help you harvest the sun's free energy today, if you wish to become energy independent. Join us in our mission to help American homeowners and business owners become self-reliant and keep their hard-earned dollars... in their personal piggy banks. Thanks Gloria and Joe for the fun Sun Trip! Support the show

Hear Bill chat with Sebastiaan Lang, Regional Sales Manager-Southeast for REC Americas. REC Group, founded in 1996, has been a trusted solar panel manufacturer, and a true pioneer in the solar industry for nearly three decades. Their principal focus is on producing high quality, high performance solar panels, (modules), for both residential and commercial applications. An example of their dedication to excellence is the fact that their solar panels will retain 92% of its power, even after 25 years of exposure to the extreme heat here in Florida...and the freezing conditions that our friends "up north" sometimes enjoy. The residential solar panel that is extremely popular today is the REC Alpha Pure-RX Series. This all black solar panel not only looks beautiful on the roof of homes across the land, it also utilizes the latest heterojunction technology. These panels are now available in sizes up to 470 dc watts. (To provide perspective, just a few short years ago, a typical solar panel might have been about 250 dc watts in size).On the commercial side, the REC Alpha Pro M Series and is available in sizes up to 640 dc watts. (WOW)! This is ideal for large scale installations allowing businesses to take control of their overhead, lock in their energy costs, and provide an environmental footprint that reflects the sustainability goals of the company. Both the residential and the commercial solar panels carry a "World Class" REC 25 year ProTrust Warranty.It was fun to hear of Sebastiaan's travels abroad and the journey that brought him to REC. We hope you can join us as Sebastiaan shares examples of the popularity of solar power around the world and some of the unique features that make REC solar panels so unique and popular.Support the show

Listen to an exciting conversation with Ryan Longhurst, Business Development Manager at Home Grid Energy! We’ll be discussing the importance of solar + storage and how Home Grid’s stackable energy storage solutions can protect your home and family during power outages. With hurricanes and grid failures becoming more frequent, now is the time to ensure your home stays powered! Support the show

Listen to this insightful conversation with Don Worthington, Division President of Lowtility, and entrepreneur Bob Harrington! This is part one of an exciting two-part series where we dive into cost-effective ways to reduce your monthly expenses by combining existing debt with renewable energy home improvements. Learn from the experts about financing solutions that help you save money, hedge against rising energy costs, and keep more of your hard-earned cash in your pocket! Plus, we'll cover how Lowtility makes it easier to tackle essential upgrades like roof replacements, especially for Florida homeowners. Be sure to mark your calendars for next week's episode—there's even more valuable information on the way!Support the show

Hear Bill's conversation with his famous and beautiful guests, Kim Brooks, President of Solar-Fit, and Meghan McDonald, Marketing & Media Executive for Solar-Fit. If these names sound familiar to any of our long-time listeners, it is because Kim is Bill's daughter...and Meghan is Kim's daughter...and you guessed it...Bill's granddaughter! Talk about a family based company! And oh yes...Jeff Brooks, our awesome lead service technician is Kim's husband! On a broadcast coming soon, we will have Kim's other daughter's, Marissa, (our Permit Coordinator), and Lily join us for some more family fun! It is truly wonderful to come to work each day surrounded by some of the most wonderful people on the planet and the family as well. We are so blessed. This was a fun episode as it is the first show of the New Year...and 2025 marks our 50th year helping our friends and neighbors "Plug into the Sun". During the show, we recalled several decades of memories including the first bag phone, phone booths, beepers... (even leisure suits), and moved all the way forward to the newest technologies driving commerce and our individual habits today. These inventions and creations would seem foreign to most of us, even ten short years ago. Today, they are commonplace and they are most certainly changing the way we live, and even the way we think, with AI just starting to take root. To be honest, it has been challenging, but rewarding, to keep up with the changes. The younger generation today has become so adept at navigating the media sites that it is amazing just to watch them work their magic. Join us for some fun and if you are serious about making a difference in the world and saving energy dollars...Give Kim or Meghan a call and let them know that you heard about their adventures on WNZF Talk Radio.Support the show