Eric Lothrop, VP at Benoure Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, takes us through his 17-year journey from roughing in houses to overseeing custom residential construction. Eric opens up about finding his passion for mechanicals, climbing inside 2.5 million BTU boilers before transitioning to small residential systems, and discovering his true calling: building something from nothing using just blueprints and 2x4s. He explains the four pillars of sustainable success in the trades—quality, accountability, honesty, and dependability—and shares his advice for young people entering the field and what it takes to be a good student in the skilled trades (willingness to be uncomfortable tops the list). Plus, learn why Eric loves to coach, something he learned from his incredible parents, who are still volunteering as adaptive skiing coaches in their late-70s.

Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

Not many people have stewarded century-old companies. We're lucky that Mike Jablonski, former owner-operator of Whitney Brothers, is one of them. He takes us through 121 years of American manufacturing—from making wooden toys with hydro-powered equipment to today's manufacturing methods. Mike shares the remarkable story of how Whitney Brothers survived the Great Depression, world wars, devastating fires, and the declaration of pine as a "strategic wartime material" that forced a permanent pivot to hardwoods. He opens up about the weight of stewarding a century-old legacy and the influence of technical tours to Germany and Italy. Mike reveals how Whitney Brothers reinvented itself from commodity toys to institutional-grade furniture, explains the company's unique "Whitney-ize it" product development process, and shares an emotional moment with a founder's descendent. Whether you're interested in manufacturing, family business succession, or what it really takes to make a company last over a century, Mike's insights on teamwork, innovation, and pride in workmanship offer timeless lessons.

Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

Meet Grace Talamini, the multi-talented coordinator at Benoure Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning. She manages social media, schedules service, and is one of Benoure's leading ESOP enthusiasts. After realizing she wasn't "a school person," Grace moved from Massachusetts to Vermont, landing at Benoure, where she found a company with better benefits than most in the trades. From being so nervous she couldn't order pizza to confidently leading biweekly ESOP meetings, Grace opens up about the challenges and rewards of stewarding employee ownership in year one, why high standards in craftsmanship naturally translate to ownership mindset, and how she's using TikTok to recruit the next generation of technicians. Plus, hear about the ESOP barbecue featuring ax throwing, the power of that second annual statement, dressage (think: horse ballet meets Roman cavalry), and Grace's Mount Rushmore of Taylor Swift albums.

Edited by Mateusz Złakowski