Crazy Dave
I was quite certain that when we started the Workforce, someone would stand out. Someone would end up separating themselves from the group. I envisioned that person being a ‘helper’ and taking some responsibilities off my plate. And that has come in the form of a 5’5”, 60 year-old man that has the energy of a 14 year old. Allow me to introduce you to Crazy Dave (That's what he calls himself, I just call him Dave).
From the first day he joined, I knew Dave ‘got it’. He felt my passion for the work and knew what I expected. Now I will admit and have said before that a big part of why the Workforce was created is to give a chance to our community members that need it most. But it's also about getting more of this damn litter up. I’m tired of seeing it. It's too much. It's everywhere.
Dave gets that. Not everyone in the Workforce does nor are they expected. Just about all are good, steady workers but all don’t share nor see my passion for the environmental impact nor fully understand what I expect without me having to remind them occasionally. But Dave, and a couple others, totally get it. He knows that I need every single solitary piece of (safely accessible) litter hauled out. He gets that if we are nearing the end, and I’m still picking, y’all better be damn picking too. He gets that if I can see that plastic bag or piece of styrofoam still down on the ground, you better see it too.
His favorite thing to say is “if the other guys have one bag, I got three’! And in most cases it's true. No one works as hard as him or has the drive to do a good job like him. I’d take him into any litter battle we come up against. If you’ve been around a while, you’ve seen or heard me mention the name of our volunteer Zach and how when Zach shows up, I know we are going to crush it. Dave is Zach, but 25 years older. Both want to be in the weeds, fighting trees and brush, filthy at the end. Dave has to end up shirtless or it was a boring pick.
One quick story to sum up Dave. We’ve been helping out a lot this year at the Red Hat concerts doing landfill diversion. It's a fantastic partnership. Volunteers help us divert as much aluminum from the landfill as possible while getting to see great shows. We in turn are able to recycle that aluminum and get paid for it (although the value of aluminum is dropping). At a recent show, we didn’t have any volunteers sign up. Probably not a show a bunch wanted to see. But I knew this crowd would be drinkin’. So I asked Dave if he’d like to roll with me and see what we could do, just he and I. I told him that we’d split whatever the scrap was minus gas. He was all in. He loves having something to do, especially when he can make some extra coin. That night, just the two of us, along with the Red Hat staff, diverted 420 pounds of aluminum from the landfill. That's more than 10,000 cans with a value of about $200. I can honestly say that Dave was responsible for about 85% of that effort. I tapped out about 90 minutes in, but he did not. He filled up our trailer and truck bed. He impressed the entire Red Hat staff, including Ms. Pat. He even got a job inquiry but he told them they had to talk to me. That's the kind of person he is.
He often talks about the caulking business that he ran in his past. We can’t pass a commercial facility or new build without him mentioning how he’d caulk the hell of that place. Or how no one can lay down a bead of caulk like him. And he judges my trailer backing skills which is like questioning my manhood. That almost got him fired once.
But that's Dave in a nutshell. I don’t know a ton about his past before his life changed. He doesn’t talk about it. He’s not perfect. He will never say he is (other than the caulk thing). He’d admit to mistakes. He doesn’t complain about his living situation. He’s grateful. He’s a forward moving person. He wants to know the next job. The next chance to make a couple bucks. The next chance to make and impact. I will make every attempt to give as many people a chance to join the Workforce as possible. But Dave, you’re welcomed every week. - Preston
