We will be recording an episode of Hector's Shop Talk Radio Podcast LIVE at the Golf Industry Show 2020 in Orlando FL. 
Equipment Managers, asst Technicians, Superintendents, asst Superintendents and anyone else interested in an Open Forum Discussion on anything Shop Talk, Wrenches, Work/Life Balance etc... It will be an absolute blast 
Join us at Rosen Centre Salon 17 on Jan 28 at 7:00pm (right after the Opening Session)
We have a door prizes courtesy of Myle Kemp from ParBar Company
and from Romulus with Noracore EMBSX
                                          HUGE thank you to GCSAA and Shari K. with GCSAA for helping us out with a room!!

Well, here I am 4 am on a Sunday. Woke up this morning and could not go back to sleep. All of the sudden "worries" just started to engulf my mind.
Just recently my wife and I came to a big decision making moment! We have been doing Hector's Shop On Tour 4 years now! Got to visit so many facilities, we've helped other technicians, OTHER TECHNICIANS HAVE HELPED ME!! we have temporary filled in while in search for new technicians. We have helped clean and organize maintenance facilities. We executed the first ever in this industry an "Extreme Shop Makeover", and shared many other technicians ideas via Hector's Shop videos. Now, I am not saying all this to give myself a pat on the back, far from it.
I had a selfish motive in doing what we did. I wanted to spend more time with my family! My children were growing up so fast I felt like I was loosing out on so much! I wanted to do something crazy with them that they would never forget. We have been to so many places, have gotten to do so many things and built so many memories. And here we are 4 years on the road and now the time has come...It's time to park the RV and start establishing some roots.

It came down to either I get back to wrenching full time at a golf course and stop doing Hector's Shop. Or we stop turning wrenches at a golf course and do Hector's Shop full time. One thing we learned is we cannot give 100% to both! One thing I have always told my children is, Find something you love doing and you will never work a day in your life.
I love working at a Golf Course, I love seeing the sun rise, I love the challenges that it brings on a daily basis, I love grabbing old pieces of equipment and bringing it back to life. I love grabbing a stack of metal and making something useful out of it, so much about being a Golf Course Mechanic that I love.   
   But, there was one thing that Hector's Shop has taught me...I absolutely love helping other technicians.
I absolutely love helping other facilities realize the potential that their "Old" shop has. I love the looks you get when you help a young tech realize the potential they truly possess. I love creating these videos that help other techs, its so awesome when I get e mails saying how this vid helped them do this or that, how they have gain confidence to tackle what they thought was difficult.

Could I make a full time living from Hector's Shop? Could this actually work? One thing I am NOT and that is a "Business Man". Well, My Wife and I have decided that we are going to do this Hector's Shop thing full time what ever it is. I do not know what our future holds. One thing is for sure we are ready to park this RV. Where? dunno. So many unknowns...are we doing the right thing? I don't know...how is this going to work? So many questions...
But, you know what this is the kind of crazy stuff we do...I guess this is why my wife and I get along so well, she is just as crazy as I am. lol
I want to thank you all for the support through out the years! Thank you for your encouraging e mails.
Now, its time to find a place to call home and get this thing pumping!!
We have GIS to attend, then we are off to Idaho, then South Dakota, then Kansas, then Washington DC. So we are starting off with a busy year. Hopefully we can find a place to call home along the way.

    What an exciting year this is going to be at the Golf Industry Show in San Diego 2019!
Debuting this year will be a full blown maintenance facility 'Inside The Shop' at booth 5929. You will get to tour and see how we take this modest space and make it work.

    A day 'Inside The Shop' would not be complete without getting your hands dirty so we lined up an all time favorite, The Tactical Technician Hands-On Soldering Techniques where you will learn how to make proper electrical wire repairs and connections, all while creating a fused jumper wire that participants can take back to their shop.

    Brush up on your grease gun loading skills because we will have a "Remember Keep Those Zerks Greased" Contest. Here is your chance to take home a brand new Lock N Lube Grease Gun with a tube of Swepco Grease to go with it. You will have two opportunities to win. There will be one contest each day the trade floor is open. Check out the schedule for "Inside The Shop" here. You must show up on time! We only have room for 10 contestant per contest so it's first come first serve. 

    We will be giving away reserved spots for the contest on social media so make sure to follow us on Twitter @HectorsShop and on Instagram @hectors_shop. Turn on your notifications as these opportunities will randomly be announced on either social media. If you are not able to attend the Golf Industry Show, you will still  have a chance to win a Lock N Lube Grease Gun so be sure to follow us on social media!!

Wow, where has the time gone?! Here we are in Provo, Utah which has been our longest stay since we took Hector's Shop on Tour almost 4 yrs ago. At the end of this year, we will be leaving Provo, Utah where we have been working for Eric Gifford GCS at Riverside Country Club. It's always nice to work with a super that truly supports and understands what a tech goes through in the shop. I will miss this place. The whole crew is an awesome group of guys.

We went as Far East as Daufuskie Island, off of South Carolina to as far west in Carlsbad Beach, CA. There have been many places in between. My family and I experienced so much along the way. We built so many memories that our children will never forget. I've had the awesome pleasure of meeting so many awesome people in the Turf Industry that I pretty much now consider family. 

How did we do this? Well, many of you hired us for tech training, shop renovation, at times when you did not have a technician, you hired us to help fill in the gap. I am so grateful to all who supported us in this way!

From the first-ever Extreme Shop Make Over to even producing 50 Hector's Shop Educational Videos for a Big (Orange) Box DIY store (wink wink). Man, what a ride it has been! Thank you all so much! SERIOUSLY!! THANK YOU!!!! Thank you TurfNet and Peter McCormick for putting Hector's Shop on TurfNet! This whole experience has been incredible and to be able to do this with my awesome supportive wife and our awesome children. 

So, what's next for Hector's Shop? We are temporarily on the road again until we find a place to call home! The West is absolutely incredible, but you know my wife and I are from the East and we are looking forward to going back. We are wanting to buy property to build our dream log home. Nothing fancy, nothing "Big" just a little nice humble Log Home. It would be nice if it had a shop already there with some land. We are excited to finally start growing some roots and taking Hector's Shop to the next level! 

Even after finding home, we will still be doing speaking engagements, educational seminars, tech training and hands on classes so contact me through this link for more info if you are interested in hiring Hector's Shop. Thank you again everyone for supporting Hector's Shop in so many ways!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

What an exciting moment for us here at Hector's Shop, Our first Podcast just debut on TurfNet.
I had it all figured out, its going to be about this and that etc... then as I was editing this episode this whole thing took a turn. To make a long story short, I thought it would be awesome if I had my wife as the Co-Host. NOW, here is the tricky part, my wife is not one to put herself out there, it took a lot to get her to do this one episode with me. For those of you who know her personally KNOW WHAT I MEAN!
SO...I think it would be cool for these podcasts yes to be "shop talk" but also a family thing! How cool would it be to hear from other Techs BUT also to get their wives perspective on this.
   My whole thing is to bring awareness to Work & Family Balance! How do we do that? Well, what better way than to give the wife a voice. Hence the term #WrenchWife a wife who has a Technician (Wrench) for a husband.  What are your thoughts? We would like to hear both from the Wrench, and the wife and in some cases the wife is the Wrench and that is awesome! We love to hear from Hubbies who have a Wrench for a wife. Please comment below your thoughts!

OK now, here is where I also need your help!! I need yall to convince my wife this is a GOOD IDEA!! LOLOL Seriously lol Listen to the Podcast let us know what You think.  Thank you all so much for your support!
Listen to podcast here

So today I was scrolling thru YouTube playing music when I came across Phil Driscoll - I exalt Thee. I remembered right away the first time I heard of this guy. Simply an amazing Trumpet player.
I was in a really really dark place in my life, We all have been there. The feeling that there is no way out. Like, this is it!
I was young early 20's and in a place that I thought you just can't get any lower than this, How did I end up here? Never EVER did I thought I would end up here. I remember when I first heard this song it took me away! AWAY from this darkness, away from this fear. I would just close my eyes and off I went.
   Listening to this today just brought back a flood of emotions.
I know we all have been there. Some of us are going thru such a moment. At a time in my life when I thought there was no hope when all I saw was chaos when I thought this is it. This song would give me hope if not just for a moment.
   For just one moment I felt free.
I share this because at that time this song brought me some kind of hope, some kind of relief some kind of escape from that dark place I was in.
If you told me at that time that one day I was going to have an
Amazing Wife and awesome children I would have thought You was crazy! But here I am laying on my bed typing this out, putting my weakness out there for all to see and maybe just MAYBE someone is out there in the same place I was in and just maybe they will hear this song and It will bring them a little hope. Just maybe they will see there is a light at the end of this tunnel.
I know this is not my "normal" post yall get from me, but I really thought I should share just a little of this. Trust me I don't just go sharing things like this. But, we as men think we have to BE STRONG!! And many of us "Look" strong from the outside. We look like we have it together! When deep down we are broken, we are crying out for help.
we all go thru these moments and at these moments we really have a hard time seeing clearly. There is hope, there is a purpose for your life, may not look like much right now things may look like its falling apart. And they may be...
BUT, It was in that Darkest Hour of my life that He had my attention.
If you love the Trumpet, google this guy absolutely one of the best player of all time!

Here is a little peek into the next episode of Hector's Shop Coming Soon!