Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
Jean and I recently celebrated 50 years of marriage. We met on the second day of our first year of college and exchanged vows three years later. Some of you know the story where I was late for our wedding because I got caught up at my part-time job and lost track of time. Jean laughingly states that she should have seen what was coming regarding my affinity for work.
My first job was in the sixth grade. It was working for my older brother’s vending machine business. Every day after school, I helped him fill the machines which were in schools around the Las Vegas valley. I was paid a whopping $1.25 an hour—which was rather good for a 12-year-old in 1965. I remember how proud I was when I filed my first income tax return—of course, I got everything back apart from my contribution to Social Security.
I worked continuously through the rest of my school years. My jobs included janitorial, landscaping, and road maintenance. I played sports in junior and senior high school, and my mom would pick me up after practice and take me to my job. It became easier once I could drive. I took pride in working as I bought my own clothes, never had to borrow money for gas or dates, and was able to invest in my hobbies, such as hunting and camping. When I turned sixteen, I had to pay $25 a week for room and board to my parents. I learned that my earnings were not just for my enjoyment but came with responsibilities. Later, I found out it was a forced savings plan, as they gave me back the money they had collected to use for college.
Working did not cease while attending college. I worked part-time during the school year and full-time during semester and summer breaks. After Jean and I were married, I held three jobs simultaneously much of the time. Most of my work was at night, including two years washing commercial aircraft. I was proud when I completed my studies with no debt and with no assistance from my parents—although I did have the luxury of knowing that they were ready to help if it were ever needed.
I share this because there are so many today who are unwilling to work. I am the first to recognize that one can become obsessed with making money to the exclusion of everything else. I am not proposing that work is the most important thing. We must have balance in our lives, but in the end, the only way most of us will be successful financially or otherwise is if we are willing to work. Do not forget work also includes learning skills that increase our marketability and earning power.
I have a professional colleague and friend with whom I share similar feelings about work. He is an electrical engineer and spent much of his career as the director of government affairs for a company owned by a French conglomerate. He remarked that his French colleagues would often chide him about American economic power, often implying that it was mere circumstance and luck that allowed it to happen. However, whenever he was asked “How America became such a great economic power,” he always answered, “Because we work!”
I believe hard work trumps almost everything. Early in my career, I was fortunate to work with a small team of individuals for a fire sprinkler firm. We were inexperienced and very young. When we started, the company had a poor reputation and was not successful financially. However, in the space of a couple of years, we became one the finest companies in our market. We accomplished this by making up for what we lacked in experience with hard work.
I still work with this group of professionals. We bring the same work ethic to the job every day and, together with others who are willing to put in the effort, have built a successful company. Yes, there are many smart and experienced people, but as I look around our industry, what really sets successful organizations apart and will continue to make them unique is the willingness of their people to work.
Work is the “not so secret” sauce for success. There is no real substitute. Think about it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Russell B. Leavitt, CFPS, SET, is Executive Chairman & Board Member of Telgian Holdings, Inc. Russell Leavitt’s Telgian roots can be traced to the genesis of the company. In 1990, he co-founded Fire Design Group, which merged with Tomes, Van Rickley and Associates (TVA) in 1991. He subsequently served in numerous executive positions including TVA Fire and Life Safety President, Managing Member of Fire Materials Group, LLC, and CEO of Telgian. Today, Leavitt serves as the Executive Chairman for Telgian Holdings, Inc., as well as the Chairman of Telgian Fire Safety and Telgian Engineering & Consulting.
Leavitt is active in numerous trade and professional associations and holds several leadership positions. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors as Immediate Past Chair of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), he has served as the Chair of the NFPA 13 Technical Committee for Fire Sprinkler System Discharge Criteria and continues to serve as a Principal Member. He is also a Principal Member of the NFPA Technical Committee for Installation and a Principal Member of NFPA 3 and NFPA 4. Leavitt also represents NFPA 13 on the Technical Committee for NFPA 909 (Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties) and 914 (Code for the Protection of Historic Structures).
Throughout his career, he has authored numerous articles and training guides, including the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) Beginning Inspector Training Program and the AFSA Online Hydraulics Training Program. In addition, he is a major contributor to several NFPA Handbooks and served as the subject matter expert for numerous NFPA live and online training programs.
Leavitt shares his more than 40 years of experience in the fire protection industry by conducting training presentations for many professional and industry organizations including the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), NFPA, and AFSA.
In 2013, he received the AFSA Henry S. Parmelee Award for dedication to the professional advancement of the fire sprinkler industry and improvement of fire safety through automatic sprinklers. He is also the recipient of the NFPA Standards Council Special Achievement Award in 2018 for his leadership of the task group which completely reorganized NFPA 13 for the 2019 edition.
Leavitt is a Level IV NICET certified technician and Certified Fire Protection Specialist who holds fire protection contracting licenses in multiple states. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
