10/05/2026
This one means a lot to me, and I want to take the time to say it the right way.
For years, we’ve recognized a Team Member of the Month here at Pruitt Mechanical. But we recently decided to change that.
Going forward, that award is being replaced with something that means a whole lot more to me and better represents the kind of people and culture we’re trying to build here.
The “Leave More Than You Take” Award.
And I honestly cannot think of a better person to be the very first recipient of it than James.
Normally, something like this would involve a vote from the team.
Not this month.
I made this decision myself.
James earned it.
James has been with us going on two and a half to three years now. He came to us from Colorado as an experienced HVAC technician who had recently come out of his apprenticeship. He had experience, but he still had a lot to learn.
And he didn’t take the traditional route to get where he is today.
James didn’t go through trade school. A lot of what he knows, he learned the hard way — in the field.
He learned by doing the work. By making himself understand how things actually worked. By troubleshooting. By asking questions. By digging into things.
There were plenty of times when he would run into something during the day that he needed to understand better, and instead of just forgetting about it when he clocked out, he would go home and research it, study it, and figure it out on his own time because he knew there wasn’t always time on the clock to sit there and learn every single thing.
He wanted to be better.
And over the last few years, I’ve had a front-row seat watching that happen.
I’ve watched his troubleshooting skills grow.
I’ve watched his HVAC knowledge grow.
I’ve watched his people skills and soft skills grow.
I’ve watched him start learning and understanding more about electrical.
I’ve watched him grow in plumbing.
I’ve watched him learn how to manage people, situations, customers, and all the different things that come with being responsible for more than just your own service calls.
And about six months ago, in May, James earned the opportunity to step into our Service Manager position.
Watching him grow into that role has been one of the best parts of this entire journey.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a better Service Manager.
And I mean that.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to even explain what I mean when I say this, but sometimes I look at James in that position and it almost feels like that was supposed to be his job all along.
He takes it that seriously.
He cares that much.
Sometimes I’ll see something happening and the way James responds to it, the way he takes ownership of it, the way he worries about the customer, the company, the team, the standards — and it almost feels like I’m watching myself.
That’s probably one of the biggest compliments I could ever give somebody working beside me.
Because he cares.
He really, truly cares.
He cares about this company.
He cares about the reputation we’ve built.
He cares about the standards we put out there.
He cares about doing things the right way.
He cares about the customers.
And our customers absolutely love him.
James gets so many great reviews, and there is a reason for that.
People can tell when somebody actually gives a damn.
They can tell when somebody is listening to them.
They can tell when somebody takes their problem seriously.
They can tell when somebody isn’t just trying to get through another service call and move on to the next one.
James cares about the people he is helping.
And I see it every day.
He also cares about his teammates.
I’ve watched this guy get up early in the morning to take one of his teammates to the airport because they didn’t have a ride.
Then he came back here and slept in the parking lot for a couple of hours before work started.
Think about that for a second.
There wasn’t anything in that for James.
Nobody told him he had to do it.
There wasn’t a bonus attached to it.
There wasn’t some award waiting for him afterward.
One of his teammates needed help.
So James helped him.
That is exactly who he is.
He is loyal.
He is determined.
He is sympathetic.
He is empathetic.
He is selfless.
He has a huge heart.
And he cares deeply about the people around him.
He cares about this company.
And on a personal level, I know he cares about me too.
As the owner of this company, I don’t take that lightly.
Building a company is hard.
There are a thousand things going through your head all the time.
There are decisions to make, fires to put out, employees to take care of, customers to take care of, standards to maintain, things that need fixed, things that need improved, and things that sometimes only the owner sees.
And over the last six months especially, James has become more and more of my right-hand guy.
There are times I’ll be thinking about something that needs to get handled, and before I even get a chance to say anything, I’ll find out James already saw it and took care of it.
I cannot explain how much value there is in having somebody like that beside you.
Somebody who doesn’t always need to be told.
Somebody who sees what needs done.
Somebody who takes ownership.
Somebody who understands what you’re trying to build.
Somebody who cares enough to protect it.
Over these last six months, we’ve gone through changes here.
We’ve raised standards.
We’ve changed things.
We’ve asked more from people.
And James has stepped up over and over again.
He hasn’t backed away from responsibility.
He’s taken more of it on.
And he has continued to grow into the person and the leader that I knew was in there.
That is why there was no vote this month.
This one was my decision.
Because James deserves it.
And when we decided to replace Team Member of the Month with the Leave More Than You Take Award, I wanted the first person who received it to actually represent what those words mean.
James does.
“Leave More Than You Take” isn’t just a saying.
It means leaving the customer better than you found them.
It means leaving your teammates better than you found them.
It means leaving the company better than you found it.
It means helping somebody when there’s nothing in it for you.
It means taking pride in something even when your name isn’t on the building.
It means giving a little more than you expect back.
It means caring.
And James does all of that.
Every single day.
So congratulations to James, our October Leave More Than You Take Award winner — and the very first person at Pruitt Mechanical to ever receive this award.
I’m proud of you, brother.
I appreciate the hell out of you.
I appreciate what you do for our customers.
I appreciate what you do for our team.
I appreciate what you do for this company.
And I appreciate what you do for me personally.
Watching you grow from the technician who came here from Colorado a few years ago into the Service Manager you are today has been pretty damn special.
You earned every bit of this.
And I don’t think you’re anywhere close to being done yet.
Congratulations, James.
You represent exactly what we want “Leave More Than You Take” to mean.
