Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:05 Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast, brought to you by pg t I University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sherry Connor and I am your host. Well, good afternoon. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast. And actually it's sort of good morning because today we are talking with Melissa Minor, who is in Phoenix at Western Window Systems, one of our sister brands. And Melissa was unable to record with me when we were in Phoenix last fall. And finally we've been able to connect on our calendars. And so we are gonna chat today. And so Melissa, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 00:00:48 Thank you, Sherry. I'm excited to be here with you today.
Speaker 1 00:00:51 Yeah, it's almost like you're here, but close. It's close <laugh>. So I wanted to make sure that our audience gets a chance to meet you. And so tell us about yourself. Tell us about what you do and how you landed there.
Speaker 2 00:01:07 Sure. So I started my career in Human Resources about 17 years ago, and I started with Enterprise Holdings in the enterprise, rent a car segment. I started as a recruiter for some reason. That was something that I felt passionate about and I really wanted to, to learn about, you know, bringing talent into the organization and had the opportunity to do that with Enterprise. From there, I was able to work my way up with Enterprise into more of like a generalist type of role. The company was great. I, you know, I had no intention at the time of ever leaving, uh, enterprise, but, you know, due to family reasons and my son Jacob was born, I needed to find an opportunity closer to home. I can tell you I was really fortunate to land at T G T Custom Windows and Doors, and that was back in 2012.
Speaker 2 00:01:55 T G T's the company, the culture and what they stood for, you know, truly resonated with me. And when I found the company, I knew that I found home. I knew this was the place I wanted to be and I wanted to stay with till I retired. It just connected so much. It's really a culture of caring and servant leadership that was truly authentic and came through and how we care for people. So I knew I landed in the right place and to today, when people ask me, you know, why do you stay with the company? I always come back to that, the heart of the company and who we are and how we care for people. Then, you know, you combine that with opportunities that PGT affords team members, and that's what's helped me grow and develop into the role that I have today.
Speaker 2 00:02:37 Today I am the Vice President of Human Resources for the Western Division. I was able to get here through different experiences and leading different disciplines of HR throughout my career, including services. At one point I was over workforce development, worked my way up to a director in the, uh, southeast business unit over in Florida. And from there I was approached about this opportunity and take on the vice president role for Western Window Systems. Mm. And I'll tell you, it was a big move, right? It was cross country for me, going from Florida to Phoenix. And I had never been out west, but never say no to opportunity and was excited for the challenge. So I got to, uh, come out here. I joined Western Window Systems, uh, learned about their culture and how much it aligned with PG t's culture and how I was able to continue integrating the two cultures and strengthening them was amazing. Now, today, you know, when I first joined, the whole entire Western division was Western Window Systems. Today that has expanded and my role has expanded over the Western division that now includes not only Western Windows systems, but c r i Lin. And then of course, our latest acquisition with is Martin Garage doors.
Speaker 1 00:03:47 Wow, that's impressive. I love that you're like a billboard for our company, <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:03:53 Thank
Speaker 1 00:03:54 You. That's awesome. Well, I know that we've had a chance to connect on a couple of occasions. When we were out there, we actually didn't get a chance to record, but we did connect. And then I've seen you, we had some time together at a leading ladies event last summer, and so you're just a ray of sunshine and they are blessed to have you for sure.
Speaker 2 00:04:12 Oh, thank you, Sherry. I
Speaker 1 00:04:13 Appreciate that. We, we are blessed to have you, but the people that you get to interact with on a regular basis, they're the lucky ones. So, um,
Speaker 2 00:04:20 That goes both ways. I definitely feel, feel blessed as well. Aw, it's a great team both in Florida and here, and it's, like I said, it's been an amazing, amazing journey and a lot of truly amazing people.
Speaker 1 00:04:31 Yeah, I agree. Well said. So one of the things I love to poke around with is around advice. And so whenever I meet with executives or people who've just been influential, been successful in their careers, I'd love to know what kinds of advice they have really latched onto. And so what is a great piece of advice that you've received?
Speaker 2 00:04:54 Wow. So it is really tough to pick one piece of advice, right? I've, again, been blessed to have amazing leaders and mentors throughout my career. But, you know, thinking about it, one thing that really stands out in my mind is one of my mentors once told me, stay true and authentic to who you are. It's okay to watch others learn from others, incorporate some of what they do into who you are, but own your brand. Be who you are, make it you. And I've applied this in everything that I do. From making sure that for me, putting faith and family first and then seeing people for who they truly are has really led me in a great direction and has helped me stay authentic and grounded in everything. You know, I also have to mention one other piece of advice. I know, sure. I know you asked the one thing, but Sure.
Speaker 2 00:05:44 You know, my father has ingrained something in me my whole life, and he was a really humble man. He worked for the US Postal Service his whole life, and he would always tell me growing up, just never be late. Now that, that was challenging as a teenager and when I was young in my career, but it definitely stuck with me. He always said, no matter what you do on time is five minutes early. So, you know, no matter how busy my day gets or what's going on when I'm late to a meeting, I may not show it, but it internally I hear his voice and it beats me up till this day that I need to be early to be on time to meetings or to anything that I'm
Speaker 1 00:06:19 Doing. That is a great advice. And I have two daughters, and my joke was, how do you make a teenage girl late for something? You put a mirror in front of her, that's all.
Speaker 2 00:06:29 Oh, absolutely <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:06:30 Absolutely <laugh>. Yeah. But it is, I think around that, it's a respect of other people's time is why. Yes. And just a respect of your own time.
Speaker 2 00:06:39 Absolutely.
Speaker 1 00:06:40 That's a great piece of advice. I love that. And so, one last question. We have been putting out the Western content on our education system, our L m s, and we're still working on the videos. They're not quite finished yet, but we'll have that training content available. And then of course the internal system as well is geared towards everybody at Western. But how do you see specifically the external portion as becoming an asset to the Western brands?
Speaker 2 00:07:08 You know, personally for me, I feel fortunate cause coming from Florida, I've had the opportunity, Sherry, to work with the, the workforce development team and the PG T I University externally facing and understanding what they've done and the return on what they've done. And it's been amazing what they've done with the dealer base and those external customers in Florida. So knowing that that this in incredibly talented team that that you work with and yourself and how it's expanding into the Western division, taking that and what the team out here is already doing to another level is gonna be a huge value add to our customers and our external dealers, if you will, out here. And I have to say, you know, I know that you're doing a lot of internal work as well, and that's not the focus of your question, but I'm excited for that piece as well.
Speaker 2 00:07:54 Through your lms, being able to give opportunity to our internal team members who, who wanna learn and grow that now will have some resources and tools at their fingertips, it's really gonna make a difference in people's lives, right? Whatever it is that they wanna do. From leadership development all the way down to those basic excels that you're offering the university, I feel like you meet people where they're at and they have the road in front of 'em to their personal development and whatever that needs to look like, as well as being able to see our product, right, and learn more about our product and connect our team members to that. So I'm perfectly excited as I know many of our team members and customers will be as well.
Speaker 1 00:08:31 Yeah, we're excited to just learn more. I mean, I thought the Florida regulations were tricky until I started looking at some of the California stuff and Oh yes. I was like, oh wow, title 24, that's kind of a monster.
Speaker 2 00:08:44 Yeah. You always hear California as its own world. It really is. It's like another country with some of the stuff out there.
Speaker 1 00:08:49 It totally is. And I've been working with Amlin some on their content, so we're in pilot with that, that, and Kevin Billauer has stepped up and said, I can help you with any title 24 questions you have. And I was like, yay. I feel like it's truly a partnership that we can work together because I don't know what they know, and I wanna be able to put it in a nice package and put a bow on it and make it available to the people that need it. So I'm grateful for the collaboration and truly it is a team, and so I feel so fortunate to be part of this organization as well. Wonderful. All right, Melissa. Well, we will keep this short and sweet. I so appreciate your time and I'm sure we'll cross paths again soon enough. And in the meantime, have a great afternoon and a great weekend. You
Speaker 2 00:09:34 Too, Sherry, thank you so much. It's
Speaker 1 00:09:35 Been my pleasure. Okay, take care. P G T I University is the customer education team for an entire family of brands. We began with the original Easy Breeze, porch, and closure line, then became P G T, America's leading brand of impact resistant windows and doors. We then added C G I C G I C Window, Western Window Systems, new South Windows, echo windows and doors, and lend windows and doors, and our latest acquisition, Martin Garage doors. We create products built to withstand major storms, keeping people safe, secure, and prepared. Our exceptional brands give you the protection you need without compromising design or functionality. PPG t I University is here to educate you, our listener, so that you can be a more informed consumer of window and door products.
