Today I’m pleased to announce that mikeroweWORKS is finally legal. The foundation turns 18 years old this Labor Day, which means that MRW can legally buy a lottery ticket, get a tattoo, jump out of a plane, operate heavy machinery, rent a hotel room, open a bank account, move out of Mom’s house, and vote for whatever knucklehead seems less likely to wreck the nation, among other things. (Alas, we’re still too young for a shot of my grandfather’s whiskey, but whatever…I don’t make the rules. Online sales, ironically, still benefit the foundation, and – if you’re 21 or older – I’ll invite you to celebrate this milestone with any of the award-winning adult beverages at knobelspirits.com. But I digress…)
To celebrate our 18th birthday, and America’s observation of Labor, I’m pleased to announce another tranche of work ethic scholarships, in our ongoing efforts to help train the next generation of skilled workers. In this round, we have 450 recipients who will collectively receive $3.5 million to further their training in 23 individual vocations. (Double the last round.) To date, that’s $22.5 million dollars awarded to 3,350 individuals. What a sublime legacy for an unscripted TV show that make me marginally famous for crawling through sewers.
Also, attached below, are the donors who made this round possible. Many thanks to all of you. And thanks also, to the many individuals on this page who have supported MRW from its infancy, financially and otherwise. Your encouragement over the years is priceless, and your willingness to share posts like this one, is the primary reason we have finally reached the age of majority. So please, share away. We’re still taking applications for the last round. Apply at:
https://bit.ly/ApplyForAWorkEthicScholarship
I’ve also attached a video of a kid named Parker Lupher, who set the bar for submitting the kind of videos we’re looking for from every applicant. It’s difficult, (impossible, really) to lookinto the soul of an applicant and determine his or her work ethic, but since these are “work ethic” scholarships, we have to try, and this is what a good video looks like. There is no set format, just a mandate to make a persuasive case for yourself, which young Parker clearly does. (You’ll find Parker on the attached list of recipients. He was awarded $5,400 to pursue his training to become a firefighter. Go get ‘em, Parker!)
Also, because it’s Labor Day, a quick shoutout to three amazing entrepreneurs I’ve gotten to know over the years, all of whom care deeply about workforce, and put their money where their mouth is. The first is Bayard Winthrop, who runs a company called American Giant. Bayard decided 15 years ago to build a clothing company that relied entirely on American cotton, American labor, and American pride. (I still have one of their first hoodies.) He has succeeded, by any measure, and continues to build his factories in small towns, while churning out some pretty great clothes. Today, I’m proud to have him as a sponsor on my podcast, and even more proud to share a piece he just posted on Substack, that struck me as perfect for Labor Day. I hope you’ll agree. https://bayardwinthrop.substack.com/…/lets-get-it-right… American Giant also sells MRW gear which benefits the foundation. Tees and sweatshirts are currently in stock.
Secondly, is Josh Smith, CEO of Montana Knife Company. Josh is a former lineman who started making knives in his garage and became consumed by doing so. Today, he employs well over a hundred tradespeople in Missoula, Montana, and makes the best knives in the world. Like Bayard, he is fully committed to reinvigorating the skilled trades and American manufacturing. In fact, Josh has donated nearly $300,000 to our scholarship program by earmarking 10% of sales on certain blades to mikeroweWORKS. I admire what he’s built, and the way he’s built it. And I really appreciate the way he treats his people, and decision to support our efforts at MRW.
Finally, there’s Matt Malone. Matt runs Groundworks, a home services company that specializes in waterproofing basements, repairing foundations, and crawlspace encapsulations. (All of these jobs were featured in the early days of Dirty Jobs, and all of them epitomize the extraordinary grit required to prosper in this industry.) I met Matt a couple years ago in Virginia Beach, where he announced a plan to give all of his frontline workers meaningful equity in Groundworks. I was blown away by the impact of that gesture on 5,000 hardworking Americans, and now, I’m convinced that employee ownership will eventually become the norm in most home service companies. Matt now employs over 7,000 workers, all of whom possess the same kind of work ethic my foundation strives to reward, and all of whom are owners of Groundworks. I’ve been proud represent the brand ever since and look forward to seeing what other companies in that space will follow his example.
There are many others, but those three are on my mind today.
Having said all of that, I’ll now take my 18-year-old alter ego out for non-alcoholic beverage and ponder the future.
Happy Labor Day
Our Sponsors…
Build Freedom
Wells Fargo
Fisher Global Foundation
Ferguson Cares
PureTalk
J&K Trash Removal
Folds of Honor
Berens Foundation
Google
Montana Knife Company
Software Engineering of America
Ford Philanthropy
The Blackrock Foundation
James & Shirley Rippey Family Foundation
Lockheed Martin
Hearst Foundations
Suffolk Care Charitable Foundation
Turbine X Energy
Aligned Data Centers
Coign
Grady Family Foundation
Paul Mitchell Schools
And a sincere thanks to my own team at MRW…
Jade, Mary, Chuck, Paige, Jenn, Shari, Libby, Logan, Charlie, Noah, Kristi, and the committee who helped us review every application. And Jade, again, because she killed it, as always.
