191. Hero: Allie Donnelly - Apprentice Electrician and Panel Builder

00:00 Chris: 

Welcome to EECO Asks Why. Today we have a hero episode. I'm very excited to have with me, Allie Donnelly, and she is an apprentice electrician and panel builder at DCA Controls. And I'm looking forward to this interview because when I met Allie and we got to talk offline to get prepared for this, her energy is just through the roof. I'm excited. She's young, she's eager. She's excited to be in this industry, and this is what we're looking for. So Allie, how you doing? 

00:28 Allie: 

I am great. I thank you so much for having me. It is truly an honor to be on your show today. I am just over the moon. 

00:36 Chris: 

Well, we're over the moon to have you I'll tell you what. So when we thought about EECO Asks Why I'm putting it out there and telling the stories to the people that, that our listeners. Inspire the next generation, you were kind of the avatar where we were targeting, right? We want it to get, to reach your generation and so excited to have you all today and sharing your story. So I'm pumped up, I'm excited and you know, these hero episodes, Allie, we always kick them off with just hearing a little bit about your journey. So tell us how you got to where you are right now. 

01:06 Allie: 

Yeah, absolutely. So funny story, right out of high school I attended a law program. I thought what I wanted to do was be a lawyer and I had scoped my whole high school off being a lawyer. And the second I was in it, I realized, unfortunately it really wasn't what I wanted to do. So my mom is a nuclear operator and a power engineer. So she actually took me to Skills Ontario and women in trades events. And I'm not going to lie. It wasn't till two or three events until I really found what I wanted to do, but I thought that electrical would be challenging.

It would be fun. And I am terrified of electrical, which I feel like is a really good balance to have, because you have like that safe kind of respect for it. So I'm really thankful that I switched to trades because if you told me two years ago, I would be an apprentice electrician. I would tell you absolutely not. 

02:00 Chris: 

Now I am curious. So first of all, hats off to your mom for being intentional and taking you to some of these events, what was the event that triggered it? Like you said, you went to several and then all of a sudden that you had that aha moment. So was there a specific event or opportunity that you were like, oh, that's what I want to do.

02:16 Allie: 

Yeah, absolutely. So at Skills Ontario, what they have is you can go in and you can change a tire. You could solder a pipe, you could go in and do a little bit of welding. It wasn't until I actually started stripping and crimping the wires and putting them all together and seeing the aftermath like, wow, that is gorgeous. That looks amazing. And it's going to run a full factory. That is so neat. So I think that was the biggest taker for me was having, like I said, that safe kind of respect for it being scared of it, but at the same time, loving how it looks. 

02:47 Chris: 

Very cool. And, uh, how old were you when you were at those events? 

02:51 Allie: 

I was 18.

02:52 Chris: 

Okay. So you were, so you were just done school? 

02:56 Allie: 

So I actually graduated at 17. I took the law program for a year, dropped out when I was 18. And then from 18 to 20, I attended these events. Just kind of figuring out what I really wanted to do because I'm not going to lie. I did want to be a plumber and I chose not to be a plumber actually, because a lot of people in my family are in trades and nobody in my family is in electrical. So I was like, Hm, I'm going to do something different. 

03:23 Chris: 

Well, good for you. That, that is, that's really cool. So now you're at DCA control, so you're an apprentice and a panel builder. So, what's your day to day looking like now? 

03:34 Allie: 

So right now, like today I came in this morning and typically you would have like a customer layout come in, depending it could be one panel. It could be 12 panels. You never really know. So typically we get customer layouts since we make custom panels. So we start designing, like we get the back plate, we get the enclosure. So the back plate is just a big white board that you see on LinkedIn all the time that I post. And then you put on the Panduit, which the wire runs through. You put on the ding rail which the devices get mounted to, and then you'd start wiring.

04:06 Chris: 

So you, I mean, you literally, you're starting with a blank canvas and it sounds like in your eyes, you like the art aspect of it. You like to see it all come together. 

04:15 Allie: 

Absolutely. I find that women really like the fine details of things and that I can make it look a little bit prettier than the boys sometimes. 

04:23 Chris: 

You definitely can I tell you what, one thing that jumped out to me, Allie, once we connected is you are posting so many cool pictures out there that are connecting engineering topics, panel builder type of topics. So, you know, hats off to you. I mean, when did you start getting into that?

04:41 Allie: 

Thank you. Thank you so much for that. It was actually, I started on LinkedIn, probably about an April and I had maybe 20 followers. It really wasn't working well for me yet. And I didn't really know where to go from there. So I left for a little bit, started working in the field and then I tried it again because I kept hearing people say, LinkedIn, do you have LinkedIn? You should get on LinkedIn. So I was like, okay, it's being burned in my brain. Let's try it again. So I went back, we tried it again. And lo and behold, I'm at 2,500 followers. I'm here speaking to you. I met just the most amazing people. It was actually, Alicia Gilpin who really helped motivate me.

She is such an inspiration, just all the things that she shares that really benefit all the people that follow her. Like whether it be something like this is how you properly wire up a PLC to this is what I have built at my home right now. Like I just thought she was so cool. And I just wanted to get on board with her. See if I can keep up.

05:37 Chris: 

Now how did you find her?

05:38 Allie: 

I found her on LinkedIn, so it was actually, I worked fora bigger corporation before and a few people had followed her and re-posted her work. So that's actually how I found her. It was through some reshared posts. 

05:51 Chris: 

Oh, okay. Very cool. Very cool. So I'm curious, are you following her? And it sounds like, you know, she's providing you a lot of inspiration, which I think you're providing a lot of inspiration to people out there as well. How about the whole mentorship area? Had you, found a good mentor yet? And if so, you know, what are they doing to help you grow in your career?

06:12 Allie: 

Absolutely. So I have to give hats off to my mom. Like I would absolutely not be sitting in the position where I am without her today. She has worked her absolute butt off. She was a single mom who provided for two children, her whole life. And from the second that I was three years old, she was making sure that we were, she works for Ontario Power Generation and Bruce Power. We would go to parades, like literally from the second I was little, we would be going to parades for Ontario power generation. Like she was making sure that we were always at events. We were always around trades. And then my brother, he got into welding fitting. He's a mechanical engineer and a millwright. And he welded my mom a little stock car. So honestly, like my mom is just amazing. She is a go getter. She works extremely hard and she's a huge voice for women in trades and she just retired and she's a huge pressure is like all the boomers are retiring, Allie, you really got to get it out there. So I'm trying just as hard as she is to push it on me, to push it on others.

07:14 Chris: 

Absolutely. It sounds like you definitely have a phenomenal mentor with your mom. Hats off to her. Maybe we need to get her on EECO Asks Why, let her share some stuff. 

07:22 Allie: 

Great advice, she's like Aunt Karen to everyone. She's awesome. 

07:28 Chris: 

I love it. I love it so much. So you have the mentors going and I'm curious from the, from DCA Controls and what you're seeing, you know, what is challenging DCA controls right now that you're seeing, you know, cause industry's changing a lot, right? Supply chains impacting everybody. Just curious what's coming across your plate right now. 

07:48 Allie: 

So I'd say there's two massive things to touch on. I would say the part shortages that we're all kind of suffering and facing. And like I just mentioned before boomers retiring, like if we don't have people who are my age, the millennials really getting out there and wanting to work with their hands and taking the places of their parents. We're not going to have industrial or construction or anybody. We're not going to have, nobody's going to be able to build houses. We're not going to have any electricity. The only people that'll be fine will be Mennonites. 

08:20 Chris: 

So great point. I hear it all the time about the retirements, the skills gap, you know, and the workforce attrition. What do we do about it Allie? Cause I mean, you got excited. You're pumped up. You're out there. Thank goodness you didn't go the law path because you're here on this path now, what do we need to do to actually get some buzz going and get people excited?

08:42 Allie: 

I say, do more of like post your work post the before and after pictures, like you said, I got a blank canvas. And by the end of it, there could be anywhere from 500 to a thousand wires. And like I said, it was Alicia really posting her work or like these amazing women that I see welding, these sting rays and these dinosaurs and just these beautiful, beautiful things, or all of these amazing trades people who are working on all these Corvettes or these Denali's like. There's so much out there that over a hundred trades and like, you don't just have to pick one, pick two, pick three, like I think it's a really, really amazing feeling to take a step back and be like, wow, I did that. 

09:21 Chris: 

How about advice for the next generation? So say I'm a high schooler or maybe even a middle schooler right now. And you were going to give them advice to start following this, that's going to put them on a path that you feel will be, you know, fulfilling and successful. Like you're on right now. What are you telling them? 

09:38 Allie: 

Make sure that you choose something that makes you happy. In a trade, you have to work towards a certificate. There's a lot of hours. So it's not just, you're picking a trade and that's that your licensed. So persevere, don't be discouraged. Never give up, like you're going to be in this for the next 30 to 40 years of your life. So make sure it's something that you like and male, female, big, small, green or purple. There's a fit for everybody here. Believe it or not. And I find like doing a lot of the posting that I've been doing of my work and just showing people how amazing trades actually are. I've had an outpour of people reach out and just be like, look, I don't like nursing. I don't like what I'm doing. What advice can you give me? And that would be the best advice I could give is to just go for it. You might take a tree that you don't like so go and find another. 

10:29 Chris: 

That's true. That's true. So, I mean, that's great advice. I mean, where should they be following? Do they need to, so if you're a high schooler, do you need to be getting on LinkedIn to follow people like you? I mean, where, where should they start really investing time to get better?

10:46 Allie: 

Absolutely. I think you should be building an image from the second you get out of high school for yourself, because that's really going to help you in your career. And knowing people is huge. Knowing people in trades. Like once I got into trades, I found like it was a huge, huge family. Like I could go and wire someone's basement and they're going to come and help me with my toilet or they're going to come and help me with my shower. Not only build an image for yourself and get out there, but to also make lots of connections because there's people out there who want you to do good too.

11:17 Chris: 

You're speaking to the power of connections and I mean, you're, you're all over it. Cause I've seen it so many heroes we've talked to Allie, including you, when they started walking through the success that they've had in their careers and what's got them to where they're at. It's so many times it's funny. It comes back to and then I met this one person at lunch and we started talking. It was just those ones, those single relationships, one at a time, meaningful connections. Cause it's great to have, you know, thousands of followers, but the ones that you truly had those relationships with, from what I seen from the heroes, I've talked to, that's the connections that actually, you know, build us up and make us the people we are.

11:56 Allie: 

Wow. You put that so perfectly like that is exactly how I feel like that was just spot on Chris. Absolutely. 

12:04 Chris: 

Well, you know, that's what we're here for. We're here to serve. So that was awesome. So I am curious to, you know, around things that you enjoy doing at work, like you always have this smile on your face, I love it. So I'm curious, what makes you the happiest at work? When do you have that moment of joy? What are you doing?

12:22 Allie: 

Like not only making sure that you're doing something you love, but making sure that you're at a company that you love as well. If I do something and I messed up the boys that I work with are here to help show me a way that's not only going to work for me, but going to make it more efficient in the future. Like, thankfully we kind of have a nice split here. There's some apprentices and then some journeymen. So there's a lot of guidance here and I think that's what you really need is not someone to take your hand and spoonfeed you necessarily, but to just show you there's a thousand different ways to do this. You don't need to throw a screwdriver after one. 

12:59 Chris:

 That's right now. I am curious from, from your standpoint, you've never, it doesn't sound like you were ever turned off by the electrical world, but there are some people that are, they may think, you know, they have these perceptions in their brain of what an apprentice, electrician and panel builder is, you know, is there any stigmas out there that are just wrong that you just want to just say, you know what? You guys may think this is what we do, but this is what we actually do. So just curious on your take. 

13:25 Allie: 

Well, I mean, I think it's funny because being an electrician, we control the power, right? So as much as people want to knock us. We're really the reason that your wifi is running, your bathroom, fans are running. The reason all your lights are running in your house. The reason that your kitchen light isn't turning on is that same time as your room light. So I get it. And I know that a lot of people like to knock electricians for not cleaning up after themselves, but I think that's what the good thing about all of us apprentices coming in is that we can change this image of, oh, you're a panel builder. Oh, you're an electrician. Like, yeah, I'm an electrician, but I'm working with live electricity to make sure that you can be safe. So I think there's a lot more to it. It's kind of like how people look at landscape. Oh, they're just cutting grass. No, that's an art. That isn't absolute art and it takes skill to do that. So I think everybody wants to judge until they're in your shoes. And if any of those people had to come in and read a 52 page schematic, they'd be out the door faster than they walked in. 

14:27 Chris: 

I tell you what Allie, you are preaching girl. I love it. I love it. So I'm curious. So you're, you're a new apprentice electrician, panel builder. I've never asked this before. What's the coolest tool in your tool bag? 

14:41 Allie: The coolest tool in my tool bag, my fluke multimeter from John Kirby, hands down. That is the coolest thing I had. So the other day it has like a little volt alert on it. So I have like my laptop cord plugged in right here. And when you have anything plugged in, instead of having like a little device that you would typically have to check, if there's voltage running, I can't think of the name right now. I'm sorry. That's awful. But yeah, I walked over and it was showing me that there was power. And as long as you're setting the meter to the right things, like it does everything for you. It is the coolest thing. I think I've ever owned and will ever own. And also my little engraver to engrave tools. It's like a little tattoo gun and I didn't even know they existed. It is so neat.

15:26 Chris: That is so cool. So do you actually have like a workstation or do you have a bag? Is your stuff mobile or kind of like a toolbox type area?

15:37 Allie: So typically like, you really don't know if you're going to be in the shop or in the field. So I posted my tools, so my hardest, my hard hat, my nice tool bag with all my screwdrivers in it. And yeah, my multimeter, we take our Brady labelers everywhere so that if anything needs device tags or wire tags, we can just quickly pop them on. But yeah, I'd say pretty mobile. Just make sure that you have everything on you. Even my little band saw, my impact gun, my drill. 

16:04 Chris: You could do it all. So what's give me a highlight. What's the, one of the coolest things you've done so far. I got to know this from you. 

16:10 Allie: Probably honestly, one of them would obviously being on this podcast. And two I was taken on a job in Toronto and I got to see the Sky Dome get wired. So like when it opens up for like the Jays games and stuff like that, so I wasn't able to work on it, but I was able to go with the electrician who did that work and that hands down, I don't think I'll ever get that experience again like that. So, so neat and next door to us, we have a scaffolding company and I've always wanted to learn how to drive heavy equipment. And they've been training me lately. 

16:45 Chris: So what are you driving? 

16:47 Allie: So lately it's just been the Bobcat and like the actual scaffolding machine. I don't know the big names. We just call her Ethal. But I'll have to take a picture of it and send it to you. Cause like I said, I'm not sure the names, but I don't think I'll ever get this experience again. Like just having someone who a scaffolder next door and he's like, Hey, you want to learn how to drive some let's get in the parking lot and learn how to drive them. Like, that's the cool thing about trades is that if you know the right people, you're going to be able to get your foot in the door and have a great life. 

17:15 Chris: You got that, right? I mean, you got to send us a picture. I want to see what Ethal looks like. Cause I got to figure out what piece of equipment this is. I can tell you one thing, if you're listening right now, if you, if you're just doing audio only the passion is coming through your speaker. I mean, Allie is phenomenal. Let's shift a little bit. I want to learn a little bit about you outside of your fluke multimeter. Okay. So what do you enjoy doing for fun? What are some hobbies? 

17:43 Allie: I love being outside. Oh my gosh. I could be outside all day. I love four-wheeling. I love snowmobiling. I actually, one of the guys I work with, he's planning on teaching you how to snowboard this year. So I'm really excited for that. So yeah, just anything outside. And I live in Hamilton, which is the waterfall capital of the world. So I've been actually traveling to all the waterfalls lately and it's just been breathtaking. 

18:07 Chris: What's the coolest one? 

18:09 Allie: Definitely Webster Falls so far, just because like, you can actually get in the water there when you go in the summer. And if you go, I'd say go anywhere from six to 8:00 PM, because then people aren't bringing their families there and you can actually just kind of take it in and enjoy the nature and everything without being screamed at. 

18:27 Chris: You're an outdoors girl. So are you camping? What are you doing outside? Or are you just in the woods?

18:36 Allie: Oh, if I'm going camping, we're going camping, not glamping. Like we're not going to have a trailer. We're going to have the tent, we're sleeping on the dirt with our sleeping bags. And we're going to bring everything that we need to bring. You want Kraft dinner. You want steak while we're going to cook that on fire. So I think that I'm really lucky in the sense that my mom lives in the country and my dad lives in the city. So I've got to see both sides of kind of what it's like. So to live in a town of a population, 2000 and to know everybody and to live in a city with over 20,000 and tosee different people every day, like I'm, I'm really thankful.

19:12 Chris: Yeah. It is very good. Now, who was camping with you? Was that your mom thing? Is that more of your dad thing or is it both? 

19:18 Allie: 

So my mom and I love to camp. The last place we went to was Algonquin park and she has five and a half acres. So if we can't get to like any of the big parks that we want to get to in Ontario, then usually just pitch a tent in the backs or like the backyard and you just burned the garbage and stuff like that cause we're allowed to in the country in Canada, it's not illegal here. And yeah, we just chill with the dogs and have a nice little night. 

19:42 Chris: 

So cool fun stuff. Now I'm with you. We do the camping. We don't do the glamping either. We're actually in a tent. You know, we have fun with the girls. We love doing that. We try to hit the parks around North Carolina, but it sounds like you got some amazing views up there that you're having some fun with. 

19:59 Allie: 

I would definitely like to swap views. You should come check out Ontario. Check out North Carolina I've heard it's just beautiful. 

20:07 Chris: 

Oh, this is beautiful. We're recording this in November is beautiful outside the leaves have been turning. If you get a chance to go to the mountains and things like that, it's just, it's phenomenal. So you've mentioned your mom now, what else can you tell us about your family? 

20:23 Allie: 

So like I had mentioned before, I have a lot of people, my family and trades, so. My aunt is a retired power engineer. I have a cousin who is currently in electrical or sorry, not electrical engineer, a power engineer as well. There's lots of power engineers in our family. My mom is a retired power engineer and nuclear operator. My dad drives transport trucks. My brother's a welder fitter mechanic, mechanical engineer, millwright. He just started his own welding and fabricating this. So I have a lot of trades around me. Like when I grew up, there was always parts all over our yard, in different cars and scrap pieces. And a part of me was like, no, I don't want to get dirty. I don't want to do that. And you know what? I'm so glad I got rid of that and just went for it. This is best choice I ever did. And I owe it to my family and the people that I've met on LinkedIn. I really do. Like, I didn't get here without help. 

21:17 Chris: 

Well, it sounds like your family, there's nothing you guys couldn't fix together. You all have some skills across the board. Right? 

21:24 Allie: 

Well, that's the nice thing. Like if something happens to my mom's car, my brother can fix it. Or if he doesn't know how to fix it, my dad deals with transport trucks, so he's comes and he fixes it and he helps her. So, I mean, it's pretty cool we are a trade's family. 

21:38 Chris: 

I love it. I love it. Now I am curious, where do you enjoy consuming your podcasts, books? You know what I'm trying, and it could be personal stuff that you just like for entertainment or stuff you're using right now to learn and grow in your career. But anything you'd point the listeners to, to start checking out that, with that you find out, you know, joy in. 

21:57 Allie: 

Yeah, absolutely. So there's actually a few books that I had written down that I thought would be good. So I know that the industry standards are different because I'm in Canada. So I think that a really good one to read would be the Canadian electrical code. Like the, just the difference between here and China and the UK. Like there, I know it seems simple, but it's not, honestly another thing, like there's a few podcasts that I've been listening to lately. Like Megan, she is absolutely. Podcasts. I would suggest, definitely listening to, if you have the time, any of your podcasts, any LinkedIn podcasts, any people from the manufacturing mafia, they all have a great message. They all want you to do good and they all want to help. So I think that's pretty amazing.

There is a few more books that I had, I think it was Industrial Control Panels. I wasn't completely sure. I think it was part three. Okay. electricity for the trades and then the standard textbook of electricity. And then James and the Giant Peach 

22:57 Chris: 

James and the Giant Peach. You snuck that one in on me. I was not expecting now on the fly by there. I can tell you, you know, I appreciate you sharing those. I can't see me just wanting to sit down and read the Canadian electric code. Now there may be an EECO Asks Why listener out there, that's down for it, but it threw me off when you said that one. 

23:21 Allie: 

Well, that's you also asked a few of the things that I liked and I wanted to make sure that I said my favorite adult beverage was a Caesar.

23:29 Chris: 

We're going to get to the lightening round. Don't worry about that. We're going to go through a lightning round next. So. Speaking of that, let's jump into it. You're you're there. See, this is Allie's pace. If your listeners out there, if you're not watching the YouTube, she's a fast mover. So she, I gotta keep up with her. So the lightening round is going to be fun. 

23:52 Allie: 

Us Canadians are something else, aye? 

23:55 Chris: 

I love it. I love it. So well, let's get it started. Lightning round you just fire away. So let's just start with your favorite food. 

24:03 Allie: 

Favorite food? Poutine!

24:05 Chris: 

Okay. Now adult beverage? You already, you slipped that out, but let's go there again.

24:09 Allie: 

So my favorite adult beverage is a Caesar, which I know you guys know as a Bloody Mary. 

24:13 Chris: 

Okay. Bloody Mary. I hear you. I hear you. So what is on your nightstand? Canadian electrical code book. 

24:26 Allie: 

I think journal, I'm not going to lie. I do a lot of affirmations and manifesting just to try. And like, I believe that the law of attraction is huge and that if you're going to put good things out there, good things will come back to you. So my journal is on my nightstand, as well as a few energy drinks, I'm not going to lie. 

24:43 Chris: 

So you're a monster energy girl. 

24:46 Allie: 

Absolutely. It gets us construction people through it.

24:51 Chris: 

How about your favorite app on your phone?

24:54 Allie: 

My favorite app on my phone. Hmm. That's a good question. I play. This is going to sound silly. I play Animal Crossing, so I love Animal Crossing. It's something that I've played since I was a kid when the Nintendo DS came out and it's something that I still play. So that or Mario cart. I love Mario. 

25:10 Chris: 

Okay. Going old school. I hear you now. What's your favorite sport? 

25:15 Allie: 

My favorite sports team. You guys aren't going to like this Toronto Maple Leafs. Yeah. 

25:20 Chris: 

You gotta, you gotta represent, represent and have that. The Raptors? Do you watch them too? Or just the Maple Leafs?

25:27 Allie: 

I just watched the Maple Leafs. It's not so much a basketball fan, but I do think the Raptors are doing really good for themselves right now. 

25:32 Chris: 

Okay. what's your favorite music? 

25:35 Allie: 

My favorite music country music. I love Jason Aldean, Luke Combs. Oh, I would marry Dirks Bentley.

25:42 Chris: 

Well Dirks, if you're listening, that sounded like an invitation. So I'm not sure if Dirks Bentley listens to EECO Asks Why. He should. I mean, I think he should, but you know, there you go. 

25:52 Allie: 

I'll wire your house if you give me a chance, that's right. 

25:56 Chris: 

That's right. What's your, I bet your favorite movie? 

26:01 Allie: 

My favorite movie would have to be Interstellar. I think that is just such a great movie and something that you can watch 12 times and not get sick of. And every time you watch it, you find something new that you didn't notice before. 

26:12 Chris:

 How about that? What's a guilty pleasure for you? 

26:16 Allie: 

A guilty pleasure. Hot sauce. 

26:19 Chris: 

Hot sauce. Is there a particular brand? 

26:22 Allie: 

Frank's Red Hot Buffalo.

26:26 Chris: 

Okay. Yeah, got it. Got it. Where's the coolest place you've ever been? 

26:31 Allie: 

The coolest place I've ever been? That's a good question. I haven't traveled too much, so I would have to say probably Florida when I was able to actually go handpick, oranges off the tree and taste how they actually tasted. That was so cool because by the time they get to Canada, they taste completely different.

26:49 Chris: 

How about somewhere that you want to go one day that you haven't? 

26:54 Allie: 

That I haven't been, I definitely want to travel, British Columbia and Alberta and PEI (Prince Edward Island) . I want to do a lot of travel in Canada before I go elsewhere. And then if I were to go elsewhere, I'd probably say Hawaii or Bora Bora. 

27:06 Chris: 

There you go. Now last one. Dogs or cats? 

27:11 Allie: 

Oh, dog's hands down. St. Bernard.

27:20 Chris: 

You broke up. How heavy was this dog? 

27:24 Allie: 

235 pounds. And his name is Tiny. 

27:29 Chris: 

Naturally naturally. Well, I have a little, my wife on that, not I, my wife has a Yorkie. Maybe I can feed the Yorkie to Tiny. He may like him as a snack or something. 

27:40 Allie: 

Oh my God. If he's probably the size of his head, he would love that. We planted a garden this year, over the summer, which I suggest if you have some extra time, anybody listening. Definitely plants your own beets, carrots, pumpkins. But if you have a St Bernard's steer clear of the pumpkin because he has a weird, weird addiction to them and we planted 12 and ended up with one.

28:07 Chris: 

That's crazy. So he was eating the pumpkins. 

28:11 Allie: 

Well only say like when we get him dog toys, he breaks everything. So we have to get him horse toys and we think the pumpkin and the size of the pumpkin is just right for him. 

28:21 Chris: 

I have a similar experience, not for me, but my parents, they have a dog. This year they found out the dog is addicted to cucumbers. So they couldn't, every time they'd go out, they had to literally wrap this thing up. Like, you know, grizzly bears were going to attack the group just so they could get some cause every time they go out, the dog would go rip a cucumber off, take off running across the yard, eating it while it was running.

So anyway, she you're, you're dogs like pumpkins and ours like cucumbers maybe that's a Canadian USA thing. I don't know. 

28:52 Allie: 

You have dogs like cucumbers and the Canadian dogs like pumpkins does. That is so cool. At least their eating healthy right? 

28:58 Chris: 

There, you know, they're living the veggie life. So there you go. Well, Allie, this has been phenomenal. Loved getting to know you. I know our listeners are just probably just beaming and they're they have a big smile on her face now, you know, we call it EECO Asks Why. We wrap up with the why. It just really talks about, you know, what you're passionate about. So if somebody were to come up to you on the streets or come into the shop there at DCA Controls and ask you, Allie, what is your personal, why? What would it be? 

29:27 Allie: 

My personal, why is that? Everything happens for a reason. That no matter what gets thrown at you, that this is being presented to you for a reason that it's being presented to you because you can handle it and that you don't necessarily have to react to everything, but take a step back and reflect. The situation is being presented to you for a reason. So what are you going to do to get through it? So I think that would be the best possible advice that I have is that. Everything happens for a reason. And you set a goal for yourself. And like I said, to not give up because it's not always going to be easy, but it sure as hell will be worth it.

30:02 Chris: 

Got that. Right. That was a beautiful answer. I think this conversation happened for a reason. No doubt you provide a ton of inspiration for people out there and Allie, we wish you nothing, but the best in the future, you're going to do amazing things. Remember us when you're conquering the world in electrical, just remember EECO Asks Why and I wish you nothing, but the best.

30:24 Allie: 

Thank you, Chris. Like everything that you've been able to present to me and give me and just meeting you, like I'm almost in tears right now. I can't even explain how I feel. I'm just so truly thankful. I will never forget about you guys. And I hope that we continue to carry on in the future and I'm able to meet you guys in person 

30:40 Chris: 

You're welcome in North Carolina anytime. So we thank you again. 

30:43 Allie: 

Thank you so much. 

30:45 Chris: 

Now that was a fun conversation with Allie, her energy. Wow. Just through the roof. I knew it was going to be fun from the first time when we met together and we're brainstorming, I was like, all right, this is going to be something else. And for the next generation out there, that's what we're looking for is that type of energy, that type of commitment.

So I hope you enjoyed it. Just take some notes and follow Allie, make sure you check out the show notes there so you can get, find out how to connect with her. Cause I'm telling you some of the drawings that she's doing, phenomenal. So highly encourage you to do that. 

Remember to send us your war stories. We really want those Allie's got a few. I know there's a lot of them out there cause we just want to highlight the cool stuff that's happening in industry and, you know, a lot of this stuff, where are you sitting around the dinner table talking about? That's what we want to be sharing on the show. So you can check out the show notes for the link, so how to submit those. And finally, if you can give us a five star rating and write a short review that would really help the podcast grow. So thank you again. And remember, keep asking why.