ForConstructionPros.com

Teaching for a living can be tremendously rewarding, especially when you hear about your students' success stories and learn about the ways they use the skills you taught them. We have a very diverse group of students attending our courses from virtually every walk of life. It is great to interact with our students, and on occasion it's especially nice to draw attention to the people who attend our classes. This is the case with Michael Emma and Kurt Ziegler of Safari Decorative Concrete in Miami who recently attended a course on skim coating.

The first day of class we have opening introductions. This is when Mike and Kurt informed the group that just four days prior they had returned home from serving our country in Iraq. I made it a point to shake their hands and say "thank you" and the class gave a very deserving applause for Mike and Kurt. (On a side note, you should do the same when you see our military service men and women in a public setting. A simple hand shake and "thank you" really does make a difference.)

I was so intrigued with Mike and Kurt's story, I want to share it with you. Here are some questions I asked them:

Bob Harris: What were you doing before you enlisted in the Army?

Michael Emma: Kurt Ziegler and I are currently both Officers in the Florida National Guard. I am a Captain, the Company Commander of a Quartermaster Company, and Kurt is one of my Lieutenants. Kurt ran a warehouse in Iraq that saw $1 billion worth of material come and go over a one-year span. I had four of these warehouses that my company was responsible for.

Before we were deployed Kurt was a student at Florida International University in Miami and I was a Firefighter/EMT for Brevard County Fire Rescue in Florida.