Two Flahertys, Work Ethic, and Pleasantry

Well, look at the time. It's a time. for another Wise Home Energy Show here on the Voice of Liberty. Pure energy. And today, for the price of none, we have two

Flahertys. And, uh, I'm gonna hand it' to Jeff here and let you do the introductions. Sure. Jeff Flaherty. Well, we, uh, we, you know, have my, uh, esteemed brother.

Uh, he's the closest in age to me. Uh, I am the youngest of four, and he also happens to be the, uh, town of Webster, uh, supervisor. So welcome, Tom Flaherty.

Well, thank you Bob and Jeff. And I gotta tell you, I, uh, was so excited when Jeff said, uh, "Would you ever consider coming on my radio show?" And I was like, "This would be fantastic." So thank you. I'm looking forward to this. It's been a long time. Yeah, yeah. And, uh- Are you all, all four of you guys? Uh, so three boys and a girl. Okay. So- All right. Yep. So, uh, yeah, me being the youngest, uh, we're, we're gonna talk about that a little bit later in the show.

How exciting is that? So you're, you're the kid, and, uh, is Tom the oldest, or is he in the middle, or? He's, he's the next oldest. I'm the next oldest, yeah. Yeah. All right. He's the closest in age, yeah. Yeah. So, uh, as kids we were, uh, you know, uh, uh, for better or worse, uh, you know, uh, seen in a lot of places, so. Mm-hmm. Uh, yeah.

So, uh, you know, getting to the Wise Home Energy Show, we've, we've had a little bit of a winter this year, and, uh, it's kind of funny, people always say to me, uh, "Hey, we're having a really difficult winter." And I'm thinking to myself, "This is just an average winter. The last two have been really kind of soft winters." Yeah. And, and the type of calls we're getting, we're getting, uh, you know, a, a lot of people have, have purchased these homes with- without any of, uh, the home inspections, and now they're, they're having uncomfortable homes. And, and we're quite busy, which is a good thing. We're, we're booked out because we have a, a skill set of being able to diagnose and fix homes. And, and I, I'm reminded of this story where, uh, somebody was emailing me and, and I said, you know, "We're booked out a little bit," but she said, "I, I recently bought a beautiful, very old home in Corn Hill." And it ... later in the email it said, "Thank you so much. Have a great day, and, an even better weekend." That was the intro email. And so I' told her, "You know, we're booking out a little ways and, uh, but we do get cancellations and, you know, we'll be, hopefully be able to speed that up." And she kind of responded and said, you know, "I'll leave baked goods too if brownie points- ... uh, help get a better spot." And I,

I was really enjoying this email interchange. Literally brownie points. Yeah. So, uh, I said, "You, you know, your emails are moving you up the list. We're gonna book you out, but we'll definitely keep you at the top of the list." And, and she responded and said, "I used to live in between a plumber and electrician, and my, old roommate and I would make so many cakes, we'd trade pans." And she sent me a picture of it. And she said, "Maybe baking less would help me to pay my, uh, RG&E bills more easily." "But then that takes the fun away from brightening up people's days." And, um, you know, I, I, I ... the, the emails were just quite entertaining for me and, and- Sounds like a fun lady. Yeah. And I, and I thought to myself, you know, there's all this talk of, of privilege and some people have it better off than other. people, and, you know, it's either, uh, race or. religion or location or where they were born. And, and in this email exchange, I realized, you know, there's a, there's the pl- the privilege of pleasantry, and this lady has this and, and it's something we can all choose, uh, to have the privilege of pleasantry or kindness. And we can, uh, affect our outcomes by the way we, uh, we interact with people. And, and it made me, think of, you know, having my brother Tom down, of, of the luck that I had growing up. Why sometimes when I was growing up, I didn't know

I was ... you know, s- I wasn't smart enough to recognize it, but our parents were, uh, w- very energetic people. Uh, uh, our father's, uh, p- since passed, but our mom is, is still alive and

... But the, but the role models that they were for us, they had, uh, ... My mom was a stay-at-home mom, and our dad was, um, uh, uh, owned an insurance, uh, uh, business, but he also owned some apartments that he worked on, uh, nights and weekends. So we, one, has got to work a lot, uh, which I suppose kept us out of trouble, thank goodness. But we also got to see the interaction and the providing of value in a business atmosphere at a very, very young age. And, and like, I said, at the time. we' didn't really know it, but I, my father and, mother were, really, uh, quite squill- skilled at the privilege of, uh, pleasantry. And, and when I think of my brothers and, and sister, uh, they have those same skill sets, and they've all owned businesses over the years. I was the last one to join the, the club, and I got to learn a lot, uh, from my siblings and my parents, uh, about the proper way to interact with people and what to do when no one's looking. And, and fast-forward many years and, and was able to watch my brother

Tom, uh, run his business with, uh, those, uh, skill sets, and now, he's the town supervisor, which I can only imagine that these skills are, uh, even maybe even more important than in the business world because you're dealing with a lot of different clients, uh, uh, coworkers, uh, politicians, and things of that nature. And, uh, you know, I'm, I'm interested to hear how, um, you know, how, that's benefited you in your business life and, in, in, in your, uh, your, uh, political life as the Webster town supervisor.

Wow, what a, what a preface by, uh, Jeff on that. And I, and I gotta say that, um, adding on to what Jeff said,

I don't think when you're growing up, and Bob you probably could have similar stories of this, you, you don't know from what osmosis is affecting you when you're- In the middle of it' when you're 10, 15 years old,

20 years old. And sometimes you need that, uh, prism of, you know, looking back of w- what made you become the person you are and how you operate on a day-to-day basis. And

I, I, like Jeff, feel very fortunate now that, um, we' did grow up in that atmosphere. Now, without, uh... When Jeff said he was the last of our family, uh, members, uh, the kids at least, uh, to join the, um, business ownership, that's true, but I also think Jeff has probably been the most successful business owner.

Really? Yeah. You know, and it defi- it depends on how you define success. He does have that mogul kind of look about him. I... We' call him the mogul. That's our d- that's our j- I always thought it was a, ski reference when he said it. That's right. That's, you know. You know,

I... Yeah, we, we, we' go over him and hurt our knees as we' do. Um, but the interesting thing about that is that, um, you know, um,

Jeff and I are both St. Bonaventure graduates, all right? And, um, we' had an experience happen a couple years ago where, our older brother, Tim, who's also a St. Bonaventure graduate, and, uh, was a much better student than Jeff and, I as far as if you rank it based on your GPA, which is, I think, how they do rank. I think, I think they do, yes. You know? That's, uh- They still do that in some places. They still do that. We've lobbied for a different system. We' did.

We did. And we, we didn't make out so well on that. But, um, uh, Tim's daughter, uh, was in her Master's of, uh, Accounting, I think, or MBA program down at, uh, St. Bonaventure a few years ago. And, uh, Tim, Jeff, and I visited her to go see a basketball game, and she said, "Hey, uh, by the way, I came across, in the archives, uh, your GPAs from the m- early to mid-'80s when you guys went there." And Jeff and I looked at each other and we were like, "Uh-" Uh-oh. "Well, that's really not something that... " You know, the indiscretions of youth shouldn't be held- Really? ... against you, Bob. And, uh- What about security? W- Aren't there, like, HIPAA rules in universities? That's right. That's right. Well, yeah. Well, we won't get into that. But, uh, but, you know, there was an old saying back in the day that C+ students run the world, so, uh, Jeff, you and I should have higher positions.

We should be running the world right now. I think so. And, uh, you know. I think so. Um- I was under the impression we were supposed to add the GPAs together- Oh ... because we were at there at the same time. Well, if we added our GPAs together, we probably would've been summa cum laude. Um, but you know, the interesting thing about that is, you know, all jokes aside, is that, um... And it's something I s- I said, at my company, uh, many times to our employees, um, and it's certainly something

I've said, uh, during my time as Webster Town Supervisor. The things they don't teach you in college is people. And I, have seen so many ostensibly intelligent people.

I've had, uh, people that have worked for me at my company that were MBA students from Simon School at U of R, which is irrefutably one of the best MBA programs in the country, and they could not translate that academia into, uh, the real world. And it, and some of that's because they just didn't know how to handle their interactions with people.

And those soft skills, as Jeff kind of led into this, I never really understood it and gave value to it until I got a little later, uh, in my life. I say later, as I was running and building my business. I saw where people who might be

4.0 students were failing, uh, in the real world, where people that maybe were more like Jeff and I that weren't 4.0 students were, were starting to kind of get a leg up. And it really came down to what you just described, Jeff, of the interaction of that woman in how she approached you. Uh, and then you being a human being, how you all of a sudden now are...

We, you know, she's getting what she gives, and she's giving off good, you know, vibes in the universe. And, you know, not all people out there are gonna take her vibes, but the people that do take her vibes, she's gonna have good interactions in her, uh, life as far as being a customer, which she's a customer of your company. And I know my brother Jeff, uh, runs a company that is based on a compass of let's do the right thing. If we do the right thing and we treat people right, the money will come. All right? We have the business degrees, and we know how to make, you know, budgets and all that. That's somewhat easy to do, Bob. What is tough to do is coach your employees and my employees,

Jeff, to, you know, just do right by the person. And if you do, you build a business that way. Your reputation becomes such that people will refer you and all that. And it's kind of one of those things I say it's hard to teach and coach. Either people get it, and they were brought up that way, and they've learned from things, or they just don't, uh, uh, Bob. And I mean, if they don't, it's, uh, it's kind of like convincing a blind man what it's like to see, so- Yeah. Uh, anyway. Explaining wet, wet to a fish. Let me ask you.

Yeah. Uh, uh, Wise Home Energy Show here on the, uh, Voice of Liberty, guys, and thanks so much. for joining us. Uh, we have, uh, uh, Tom Flaherty, Webster Town supervisor, Jeff Flaherty from Wise Home Energy on the Wise Home Energy

Show. Let me just toss this out for discussion here. W- Talk about, if you would, the value that you see in, um, probably young, maybe, uh, high school to, uh, high school to college-age kids working in the actual workforce, having jobs. Uh, which is, uh, uh-

R- relatively speaking to, you know, compared to when I was growing up. I'm a little bit older than you guys. Uh, pretty rare these days.

What do you think? I ho- I hope Jeff takes this one first. Yeah. Well, I, you know, I... When, in going back to that, uh, youth, uh, it, it, we had what I call a family paper route. So, uh, back when there was newspapers being delivered, uh, I believe Tim, our oldest brother, had the paper route, and then, uh, as we grew up, you would help on the Sunday route 'cause the Sunday got real big and, uh- That was a tough paper to deliver. Yeah. Yeah. All that stuff you had to put together, right? Oh, that must be like a week's worth now, right? Mm-hmm. Maybe two weeks in that Sunday paper. A month's worth.

And, uh, and then, you know, it, it got passed down to Tom and, and so, uh, you know, begrudgingly, I don't think I wanted a paper route when I was, uh, eight, 10 or 12, but we suddenly, we, we worked it and, uh, it, it taught you those lessons of, um, responsibility every day, and if you made mistakes with your, your bookkeeping, you were in trouble.

And, and at that time I didn't, I didn't really understand it and, um, but it was a valuable, uh, lesson, uh, that we were, you know, kinda somewhat, uh, you know, in my opinion, being the youngest, was forced. I didn't understand it and in looking back, like it was phenomenal. And then from there, you know, myself,

I went to, to Wegmans and, and, you know, I, I'm sure I w- begrudgingly was saying, "I don't wanna do all these shifts," but it was, it was mandated of me that I was gonna, I was gonna work. If I wanted money to do, uh, things then, then I was gonna work. And I wanted to play sports, and I wanted to buy, uh, sporting equipment.

That was- Teaches you- ... that was gonna happen ... teaches you the value of money. Yes. How, how long you have to work. A- and when I started, the minimum wage was like a dollar five. Yeah. You know, to, to, to accumulate any money. Yeah.

Yeah. Tom's like- Think about that ... "This, this, this guy is really ancient." No, no, no. Um, but it was, it, it was, it was interesting and, uh, you know, the same thing with the apartments. We would go over to the apartments and just not understanding the interactions of, "Hey, you've rented an apartment.

You pay the rent, and you, we offer you the apartment." It was more, there was more value-driven. The joke was, uh, in our family, my mom would clean that apartment. It was cleaner than most people's houses, and my dad was constantly taking care of those punch lists. People had little things they wanted repaired, and that was his nights and weekends and, and we got to see it. And at the time

I didn't understand it, and, uh, it took many probably decades before I, I understood it. And, you know, I'm sure for Tom in his current position it, it has to be invaluable. He has to have people coming at him from all different facets in the town, from the constituents to the town employees to outside, uh, forces that are, are, are putting pressure on him to make decisions, and he has that experience of, of, uh, doing the right thing and treating everybody with respect.

Uh, so it, it, you know... I- in regards to energy, I think of the, the, the large project of the Fairlife being built in, um, in Webster and, and what a, what a process that must have been to get that approved and still go through building it, and I think of the energy. You know, we think of energy, and I'm in residential energy, but they really had identified, if I'm not mistaken, this location because the distribution channel got them to so many millions of people. So there was a big energy savings by choosing a good location, uh, which is something we don't think about. I, um, there's a salt shortage, uh, and we have a salt mine right on 390, and I hear that we're bringing in salt from overseas.

Like, that's hard to fathom what the cost is of that. But you, uh, you've meandered a, a pretty big project there and, uh, it, it's, uh, any tips and tricks on what someone has, can go through on a project like that? Well, if I can go back, if you don't mind, to Bob's original question about the younger workforce.

Um, and it's interesting. I've had two, uh, events that have happened in my, uh, I'll call it adult professional life that made me think, uh, you know, "Am I becoming a dinosaur? Am I becoming that, uh, person who is the old guy saying, 'Get off my lawn. This younger generation, they don't have what we had.'"

Uh, one was when I owned my mortgage company, and it, it was a revelation to me, uh, at about 45 to 50 years old that I did not understand our customer base like I did 15 years ago because our customer base was that 30-year-old young couple buying a house, and now, all of a sudden I'm 50 and, h- it's arrogant of me to think that I would understand what that 30 to 35-year-old person wants when I don't walk in those shoes now, and, the world has changed in those 20 years. So that was a great experience for me because I went out and I worked with RIT on getting some of the gamer people in there to c- basically create our online application by the cell phone, where the industry was saying, "Ah, you don't need that. You do a paper application. You meet with people."

And I'm like, "Well, we're gonna... The industry's gonna pass us by if we' don't, you know, stay, uh, in touch with the way the world is today." And a lot of that, going back, Jeff, to our upbringing, uh, like Jeff said, our father passed away a few years ago, but even up. until he was in his early 80s, he always was kinda cutting edge and had the antithesis of that, like, well, you know... He, he stayed in the loop of the world, uh, getting, you know, more technologically advanced, and he would, he would try to stay up with that stuff- Yeah ... which I think is part of his, you know, personality that was passed down to us.

And- I, that, that helped me in my experience in my company. But when I came in as the supervisor at the town of Webster, I looked around and I said, "Well, we got an interesting situation here because we have we have a bunch of 55 to 70-year-old people that are running the town and, or the, uh, department heads that whatever." And I know, you're not supposed to say this as HR, but I'm like, "We need to get younger."

And, you know, there was a, a bit of a feeling of, "Well, this younger generation, whatever they don't." And I' said, "Well, I, I don't buy into that." I, I think that, you, know, certainly there are some things societal and, political in what we've done that I think have hurt the teenager to mid-20s generation from breaking away and becoming an adult.

And I, you know, Bob, not to... The fact that you're on your parents', uh, health insurance to 26 still- That's crazy ... is mind-boggling to me. It. is, yeah. Because I can understand how they sell you on the economic aspect and whatever, but this is a crutch to stunt the growth and the breaking away from the nest that, that is a natural progression that has to happen for a teenager and into your 20s.

And to the point Jeff said, when we were doing these jobs when we were in our teens, to sit there and think that we enjoyed this, come on.

But- ... as I say to my, kids, and, I, I, have seven of, them, and I've gone through this with each one of them, Bob, and we have one left at home, and he's a junior in high school, and he just got his first job,

16 years old. Excellent. And you're gonna love this, Bob, 'cause it's something you said earlier. So he gets his paycheck, and the first thing, he's like,

"Ugh, this isn't that much money for what I did." And I said, "Buddy, you make 15.50 an hour. Guys like Bob Savage were making a dollar five an hour." You know? So- Right ... you know, be, be happy with that. But I took him to get the gas in my car, which he drives, filled.

And he filled it up, and it was $45, and I said, "CJ, now, you have a point of reference. You have to work three hours to put that $45 in your tank." And, the kid turned ashen white and was like, "Well, this stinks. I didn't realize it." I'm like,

"Well, guess what? This is part of the progression of growing up, and your work ethic is built little by little." And I said to him, "One of our kids, who is now, 26 years old and is a, a, doctor of pharmacy in Nashville, uh, she often works 80-hour weeks, Bob. She's

26. When she was 16 and had her first job, she was in tears the first time she had to work a six-hour shift, and told my wife and I, 'This is impossible,' and this and that. Well, you need to go through that at 16, 17,

18, to be able to then progress to being, like, 80-hour shift for her at 26 is, is not that crazy." And she has said, Bob, that she feels as though she is rising up at her hospital in Nashville, Tennessee because she is willing and okay to work those hours, where people in her peer group are kinda complaining incessantly about it. And so some of it' is how you're raised. Yep.

And it certainly doesn't help that we've done some things socioeconomically, politically, whatever, like the health insurance till you're 26.

Um, but I g- I guess, you know, call me an eternal optimist. I still think, you know, it's important for Jeff and his business, and it's important for me, what, whether I'm the supervisor or I'm running a business, go in with an open mind that this kid... And to us, Bob, they are kids. All right?

Do they have what it takes to... Can we-- Do they have-- They're going to work hard. They're not--

Don't look at them like, "Ah, this generation doesn't have what we had," right? Because you know, Bob, when you were 20, 60-year-olds were looking at your generation saying, "These kids don't work as hard as us." And you might've been looking at it from a standpoint that those 60-year-olds came from the Greatest Generation, and they were probably right.

So I don't know. Yeah. It's, it's all a matter of perspective. Yep. But it, uh, it's just the, uh, it's the, the great skills that you acquire when you're a young person and you're figuring out how the world works. And you learn how to deal with people. You learn about team building. You learn about responsibility. You learn, and this is a really critical point, is humility. You know? Yes. That, that the world does not revolve around me. You know, we have the

Sesame Street, uh, uh, uh, Mr. Rogers, uh, uh, perspective, which is, uh, you know, you're special just because you exist, which is a big lie. And y- those kids need to be disabused of that, I think. Yeah. Uh, you're special because of your accomplishments, because of what you do in the world, and that's, that's what really defines you. But we're talking to, uh, this is not my show. We're talking to the Flahertys here, the Flaherty brothers. Tom, the supervisor.

Mm-hmm. Jeff, the, uh, Wise Home Energy. Both, uh, entrepreneurs. Probably helped that your dad was an entrepreneur because it, that's that huge role model for you guys. He had the insurance agency, right?

Yeah. He had the apartments. Well, we... Yeah. When we would, uh, you know, very fortunate, we were able to get, uh, these golf trips with, uh, uh, the three s- brothers and, uh, our father, and we would get these golf trips going. And, uh, it was not uncommon to see him on the cell phone, uh, taking calls from customers. So there wa- there wasn't really vacation days, uh, from his, uh, mindset because he needed to take care of that customer.

So, uh, I'm, I'm certain that, uh, all the siblings, uh, uh, got to see that and see that that's the way, um, you treat customers. And I think of my, my general manager, um, uh, he's probably, uh, you know, 35, 36 years old, and he was the person who just kept taking, um, tasks off my plate. And it wasn't about clocking out at, uh, 4:00. He kept taking tasks off my plate, and, uh, the responsibility grew because he kept handling more stuff and, and went to operations manager, went to sales manager, or went to, and then went to general manager and Uh, it was really, um, you know, it's a great role model within the company because it's not... He was not handed anything. He really would say, "Well, I can take that off your plate." He would see me struggling with too many things and, and so there are people. out there that, um, you know, have that, uh, work ethic and, can see beyond. Because nowadays with the kids in the sports, we- we've made them, uh, you know, s- every day we... When we played hockey, we had three practices a week. We could have part-time jobs. It's probably harder for kids now, because they're so entrenched in, in any school activity. It, it, doesn't leave a lot of time to build these, um, uh, you know, work, uh, habits that they're gonna need the rest of their lives, so. Yeah, absolutely. To their detriment, I think. I, I mean- Yeah ... school is, great, but school should not be the, center of your existence. Right. I- in my humble opinion. Right. That's just me. That's not the Flahertys talking here, folks. So, uh, s- so, so Tom, uh, you're the Webster town supervisor. We understand that you're not w- continuing, right?

You're not gonna run again? That's correct, Bob, and I, I announced in, in December of '24 that I would not seek, uh, re-election in November of '25 for my fourth term.

And, um, that's very commensurate with everything I said back in 2019 when I initially ran for the position. I am paraphrasing, but I said it, it feels like a four to six-year position. Uh, I'm a true believer that somewhere along the lines, if you're in leadership too long, especially in politics, an elected official,

I don't want to say that, you know, absolute power corrupts absolutely, 'cause believe me, the supervisor doesn't have absolute power. But somewhere along the lines, I think those positions, even if you go into it with the best of intentions, somewhere along the line, doing it for the good of the community will start to seep into, "Well, I just wanna continue to be in this position."

You know, it's, it's comfortable. I, you know, gonna build, uh, time to my pension, and then it's not good for the community. And I, and I gotta tell you something, and I think Jeff would agree with this.

I- I've never been an advocate of people that are, um, career politicians. Sinecures is the- Yeah ... I think is the word. Yeah. Well, we know, and I don't want to get overly philosophical, but, I mean, it- it'd be interesting to see if the

Founding Fathers looked today and said, "Wait a minute. You got people that come out of college at 22, and their whole career is politics until they retire?" Read the- That was not what they envisioned. Read, read The Federalist Papers. It'll, that'll reveal what they thought about that. Mm-hmm. Hey, you know what? We're flat out of time here, but, uh, real quick before we go, Jeff, tell us, a little bit about Wise Home Energy. Sure. Wise Home Energy. Call us for no-cost diagnostics, and, uh, we'll improve your home. It's 585-270-5836. Don't be cold in your home. Pick up the phone. Two Flahertys for the price of none here in, uh, uh... Appreciate both of you guys coming down and, uh, and, uh, philosophizing with us here on, the Wise

Home Energy Show. Here on the Voice of Liberty, uh, in Rochester, it's 27000-watt AM 1040, FM 92.1 and 95.5 out west, and in Hornell, AM 1480, 92.1,

106.9. Get the podcast always on at wysl1040.com. See you next time.