Music We are the voice of trucking. Music Welcome to Key Up New York, the Trucking Association of New York's podcast. My name is Kendra Hems. I'm president with the Trucking Association. And today I am joined by Trent Griffin-Brough. Trent is the founder and CEO of Tech Valley Shuttle and GBListics. And thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you guys for having me. Happy to be here. Great. Well, happy New Year. Happy holidays. Yes, happy New Year. Jumping right into 2024.
Ground rolling. Hit the ground rolling. That's right. So before we get started, and we always like to start out just with a nice breaker question. So we're going to do this before we even talk about what we're talking about today. Love it. So if you had a time machine, would you go back in time or into the future and why? Well, if I had a time machine, I'm going back to the future because I know what's coming ahead.
And I'm investing in some stuff that would set me in my family up for generations to come. So I don't know how far back. I wouldn't go too far back. Maybe back to like the 2000, the Y2K era and, you know, make some really solid investments based upon what I know today. Maybe even treat it a little bit like back to the future, make a couple of sports bets that you know, definitely going to land, you know. So I would definitely utilize it that way. That's awesome. That's a great answer.
Well, you're joining us today because we're talking about our Jailster Jobs program. You and I first met back in 2022. I had to look because I'm like, I know it was a while ago, but I couldn't remember specifically when it was. And it was actually a little further back than I initially thought. I was just thinking that when you said it, like, man, so two years ago. Yeah, I think it was like the spring of 2022.
And it was to talk about kind of the infancy of our Jailster Jobs program here at the association. And we were talking about the potential of working together at that time. And one of the reasons why I was reaching out to you was actually through mutual acquaintance when I acquaintance, when I had been speaking about this program, they say, oh, you need to talk to Trent, which prompted me to do that.
But, you know, before we kind of get into all of that, I want to talk a little bit about you and kind of your pathway to where you are today. You've been incredibly successful in your career. A lot of it by focusing on team development and leadership. That has led to numerous awards and accolades of which I'm going to name a few of them just because I think it's so impressive to me. You were the first black-owned business to be named one of the best places to work by the Albany Business Review.
You were honored by Forbes as one of the next 1000 entrepreneurs, which is really cool. You've been recognized by the New York Times, Bloomberg Business Week and Bloomberg Radio for your achievements. And then just recently in 23, you were recognized by the Small Business Administration as the small business person of the year. Congratulations. That is awesome. And that's just a few of them. There's a lot more. And it's so impressive just to hear that.
But I think what's more impressive is that your pathway to your success is very different than most. So why don't we talk a little bit first about your background and then I think segue's really well into this Jailster Jobs program and our partnership. Love it. Love it. Man, well first off, sometimes hearing that stuff is always humbler. I say that just to hear that stuff. Actually, for me, it sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't know why. I just don't know why, but it really does.
But it's all things that I'm very, very proud of, especially like you were saying, just coming from my past. And so my makeup is I was someone originally born in New York City, the Bronx. My father passed away when I was really young. Eight years old. It was a week before my birthday, my ninth birthday. At about the time I was nine, well, soon after that we moved back up state, me and my mother. Both of my parents had some addiction issues. I live with my grandparents for some time.
Barely graduated school. Basketball is honestly what got me through all of those rough periods. And still to this day, basketball is a passion of mine. If you ask my kids, they'll say, if you ask them, what's daddy watching? I guarantee you they're going to say, if it's not basketball, he's not watching TV. So it's still a passion. So who's your team? Who's your team? So I don't have a team. I'm like the new age guys who just kind of skip around. I follow players more than teams.
And I guess my age, seeing LeBron's whole career in real time. I'm definitely a LeBron guy. But I do like the new guys. I like John Moran. I think he's amazing to watch. He's a lot of fun. Just got to stay out of trouble or he'll be on the jail to jobs. Part of our campaign. If he doesn't get it together. But definitely a lot of young talent. Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, I played a lot of basketball. That's literally what got me through high school. I passed by the skin of my teeth.
And it really came down to basketball. It kept me honest during the season, which was just enough to get me by. Went to SUNY Morrisville for a semester. Failed out right away. I was just, I had a terrible mindset at a young age. And I think I was also just trying to really find myself. I think there was an emptiness there without my father. And being at that time, I thought my father was an only kid. And I thought basically the legacy ended when he and my grandmother passed away.
And so I think there was a void there, which over the years I've been able to help fill. My wife did a good job of that. But I think I was really trying to find myself and trying to find myself like most kids. I made some really bad decisions. And I think, you know, that's what led to my incarceration as a teenager. Yeah. And I don't think that's unusual, right? Given what we see so often. But what I think is unusual is what you did when you came out. And I shouldn't say unusual.
I think just maybe not as common, you know, as unfortunately we would like it to be for a number of different issues, which is somewhat what leads to the Jailster Jobs program. So why don't we talk a little bit about that? Like once you were released, kind of what your pathway was to where you are today. So upon release, so now I'm 23, I was given a 12 year prison sentence of the 12 years. I was fortunate enough that it was during a time where they were doing drug reform, drug sentencing reform.
And so because of that, I ended up doing about three and a half years while incarcerated. I did, I was in green correctional facility for a big portion of that, which will circle around and it all makes sense. And while I was in green, though, I actually took college courses at Merris College. And for any listeners out there in New York State Merris College is a really good college.
And I remember the professor came into the class and the professor pulled me to the side and was just like, hey Trent, I just want to share with you, you had the highest grades. And I was like, oh, that's awesome. And then he was like, no, no, no, you had the highest grades. I mean, for anyone incarcerated as well as my students on the campus. And that was kind of my moment. Like you just said like, wow.
And I was like, man, I guess my teachers were right when they said if I applied myself, I was smart, you know. And so, so from that moment on, it just became a mindset for me that I wanted to just continue to learn, learn as much as I could be a forever learner. It was also in that moment that I knew, and it's not just this moment, this plays a part of it. But that was a very critical moment. Another very critical moment was me losing my grandmother while I was incarcerated.
And so, unfortunately, I had to go to her funeral like chained and shackled and it was just a terrible experience. But my grandmother, I was, I love my grandmother. Like she was special and in the last conversation I had with her before she passed, she said, you know, I'm a die. She was like actually probably tonight. Like that's how just transparent she was. And she did pass away that night. But she made me promise that I would do something with myself.
She told me before we got off the phone how much she believed in me, how much she knew I could turn this around. It was that moment was a very special moment for me. It hurt really bad that I had to show up to her funeral like that. But it was a promise that I made to her and I made to myself in that moment. And you could burn that with the college. That moment when it got the aha moment, like all of these things started to happen.
And it was just for me, I said, I just don't want to do this again. That's what I don't want to do. And so those things really led to me to when I came out, I said, I got to get it together. It's really hard when you come out of prison or jail for anyone who hasn't ever been there. It's a reset. You literally have to reset your whole life. So it really doesn't matter what you were doing before that. Your world continued. And so here I am three and a half years later.
Most of my friends now have gone to college. They moved out of the area somewhere in their career paths. And I was just like trying to figure it out. And so me trying to figure it out, I worked temp agency jobs for about a year. My parole officer at the time wouldn't let me drive because of the nature of the crime. And my big break came in the form of a year later, I got offered a part-time job to clean toilets at a Marriott.
And I took that little opportunity, understanding that in life opportunities come and go. And sometimes we miss them and sometimes we don't even identify them as an opportunity. And in that moment, I knew that one, I needed to keep a job. I wanted a full-time job. And I thought it could be an opportunity. And unbeknownst to me, I didn't know within five years, six years, I would go from cleaning toilets at a Marriott to become a general manager. That was just a lot of hard work.
My wife working with me, being determined, you know, being appreciative. I remember the first time I got put on salary for the first time, I was making $42,000 a year. Like I had a 401k. So, you know, just being very appreciative of where I came from. But that inspired me to want to keep going. And even in that moment, unbeknownst to me, I was inspiring people in my network. And before I left here, I was talking to a member of the team, Darnell, who's now our sales leader.
And I had a meeting before I introduced him to somebody I was meeting with from forward, forward us. Mark Zuckerberg's reform company, they were just over there. And Darnell was sharing how, and I forgot this, he said, he remembered when he came into the hotel, I gave him the same spew because he was formerly incarcerated. And I said, bro, stick with it. I was cleaning toilets 18 months ago. Now I'm the front desk manager. I'm going to be running this place one day and you can do the same.
And, you know, he just like, it gave me goosebumps him sharing that story. But, you know, I think it's just been in my blood. It's been a passion. And so took that opportunity, grew it. Now transition went to a different hotel for a big family and connected to Melozies. Shout out to John Melozies, Bobby Melozies, Christine Melozies and the whole family. They were wonderful people. And they gave me the opportunity to run their hotel.
I did that for two years. I think I left them in a really good situation. I hope they would agree. And then from there, the opportunity to create Tech Valley Shuttle, it was in a way we, being in that network, Christine's husband actually owned the land in which they were going to be building the casino. So I was just privy to stuff that probably most people might not have been or they might have just weren't connected to the individuals.
And understanding that I started to really tune in at the, we used to have hospitality board meetings armed with the different hotel leaderships. And I just really started to listen in to discover, connected to how we all complained about transportation, the taxis, this was before rideshare. And so I'm sitting here one day thinking, and I'm just like, man, I really want to do something for myself.
I've had a lot of success in building people up. I just need a product that or service that I could offer. And it came in the form of a shuttle service and six hotels, six or eight. I can't remember exactly, but I think it was, I think it was six leaders said they would use us as connectivity. And that's literally all I needed. And I went to work and just started building my business plan. I could tell you what kind of car I wanted. Like I just visualized everything so clearly.
And, um, and voila, you fast forward to the accolades that you spoke of earlier. Yeah, it is incredible. And you not only have Tech Valley shuttle, but also now GB logistics. So you're on both the transit side of transportation, but also the freight side. Correct. And so really neat. And GB logistics came about during the pandemic actually, when we lost all our business at Tech Valley. Just a quick funny story because it's, it just shows people how sometimes you could be your own worst enemy.
But I would say probably in like 2000 and 21, no, COVID happened in 2019. So I would say in 2020, they shut everything down. So 2019, maybe 2018, I received an email from Amazon. We're looking for partners in your area. Would you be interested? And I was like, uh, we're doing really good, but I'm not going to say no.
So I, I apply. Um, but I mean, it was the worst application you can ever imagine to the point where here I am telling Amazon and the application, Google me, Google Tech Valley shuttle. If you want more information is so we know that didn't work out well. So then in the midst of COVID, or I get an email March, I mean, maybe April when everything had just shut down and it was, Hey, are you, you know, the year or two went by now and you're, you're eligible to partner with us.
Do you have any interest? So this time, you know, I really sat down. I gave that application my all. And, uh, lo and behold, I ended up starting a partnership with Amazon doing some of their last mile deliveries for oversized vehicles. So that's how I got into 16 foot trucks, 26 foot trucks, et cetera. Yeah. Which I think is it adds to kind of where we're segueing now, um, because you understand transportation. Great. So where we are today.
Um, and you know, and I love your story because one of the pieces that we're going to start to segue into is it's not just about you, um, kind of making the best of the worst situation and really building yourself and becoming successful, but it was also all the people that you brought with you and the folks that you continue to work with and build up using your own experience and helping them. And that's what we're trying to do with the Jailster jobs program. Yes. Um, so getting back to that.
Where we're at today is, um, as I mentioned in, in 22, Governor Huckle included the CDL specifically in her Jails to Jobs program initiative. And that is really what launched everything. Um, so we at the organization worked really closely with Department of Corrections to help them with the, um, kind of the, the, the cooperation with DMV to make sure that individuals that were going through their CDL program.
Were getting their physicals. They had their permits. Um, they were able to complete the classroom portion of the entry level driver training program. So as these folks are being released, they were trying to reduce as many part in the pun roadblocks as possible. Um, but one of the things that we figured out pretty early on is we were going to have some challenges. So at TANI.
We help with, um, trying to match individuals that are being released from the program with our members for additional training and job opportunities. But we're finding transportation is a huge issue. Um, we're finding, uh, working with them to help continue their soft skills training is an issue. And then the other piece is the employers and making sure that they understand that it's unique, um, to hire individuals that have been incarcerated.
And there's certain things they need to be aware of. Um, and that's what our partnership is with you. Um, is to bring that stuff to the table. So I'm going to talk a little bit about that and kind of what your experience has been. I think one of the big pieces too that I would like you to touch on is, um, you know, folks might be a little hesitant to hire somebody that has been incarcerated.
Um, but I know even through your personal experience with the individuals that you hire and even stories we've heard from other organizations and states that have programs similar to this, that they're incredibly successful. Yeah. So the most loyal people you can ever, ever hire or associate yourself with, but I'm sorry. No, that's fine. Um, but so yeah, so let's, let's kind of talk a little bit about that. Just, you know, and, and we're still struggling a little bit on the transportation.
I think that's a piece that we really need to figure out going forward. Um, but I think those are the things that we didn't know. Correct. You know, we're still learning as we're, as we're building the program out, but. Well, you know what, it's funny you say that because transportation, if you look at even though I was looking at the, the, the capital regions workforce report.
Um, I, I, last week, I think I was reading it in 30% of the issues that individuals were surveyed with was transportation at the issue. So it's not just in this industry and it's honestly some of the biggest reasons tech Valley shuttle we pivoted from being an employer. I mean, a hotel based transportation company. And we started to really focus on our driven to work or commuter benefit program, which, you know, really became the catalyst of who we are.
Um, but it was because every single employer we talked to, they always brought up transportation and daycare. Fortunately, we can't help you with daycare, but we can help you out with transportation. So it's a common thing. And then to your point, um, I'm one, I would like to give the governor and her team kudos on rolling out the Jota jobs initiative. Um, it's a, it's a great initiative. It's a great, it's a great thought process.
Um, couple of things, if, if she's listening or someone on her team is listening, a couple of suggestions I would, I just would want to throw in. I think for docs, one thing that we can do better as a state is I know for years they would send people, the average person who's incarcerated tends to get sent over 100 miles away from where the place of crime or incident took place.
Um, so that means you have people in Buffalo being shipped past Syracuse, people in New York being shipped past Albany, et cetera, et cetera. And so that being said, there's a lot of opportunities through the jail to jobs where we're focusing on in the capital region. We have certain things come in when Buffalo has certain things Syracuse has certain things.
One thing I think that as a state, we could do a lot better and is getting away from that model of shipping people so far away from where they from the place of crime and actually get them closer to where they're going to be released. Because now we could focus on trainings that will be beneficial for them upon release instead of the person who's focusing on trainings that will be beneficial in the capital region, but they're going back to Brooklyn.
So it doesn't help them in any way, shape or form. So that would just be a little suggestion out there if you are listening, but I definitely want to give you great kudos to you and your team on this. And if you are listening, we really appreciate that. You're a need. But then also, so the jail to jobs initiative, I was intrigued by especially when they started, especially with the CDL program, just naturally being in transportation and being someone who was formerly incarcerated.
I love the initiative. And I agree with you all the things you said. The one thing that jumped out to me right away was we're doing trainings for individuals when they're released, which is amazing. But what about the employers to your point. And so there's always two sides to a coin. And so I go back in the green. That's why I said it would make sense eventually. Now I'm able to go back to green every once a week.
And I host my training the roadmap to a success curriculum with individuals who are being released within six months. I go over everything that prepares someone to be successful in the workplace with the premise being coming in at an entry level position and working your way up C suite, just like I did through that hotel experience. I think it's important that one to level set individuals like we said it's a reset when you go in there.
And upon release odds are you have to prove yourself in some way shape or form to your employer. If you were going back to school, whatever it may be, but for an employer, I'm going to ask for the employers. You have to prove your worth and your value. You're not just odds are you're not going to be released and then be hired as a CEO. Like it's probably not going to happen.
But odds are you could come in and work for a company at an entry level rate or entry level position and then work your way up and eventually one day be that CEO. And so that's what my curriculum is all about. And so we start with from day one, we everything we do, we parallel, we bring it right back to how the business community utilizes it. But we also put in systems that could be beneficial for individuals. So from day one, I come in, we do a lesson on mission statements.
As you guys know, every organization has a mission statement at ours at Tech Valley, it's to combat poverty through transportation solutions. And so in workforce development. And so then what does that mean for individual? Well, that means when you are looking at in on going on job interviews, you should be asking questions in regards to what the mission is.
Or as I tell them better yet, if you know the mission, if you know the organization's core values before you even before you go in on that interview, if you drop that, I can guarantee you you're probably 99.9% ahead of any other applicant who came in that door. Because most people aren't taking the time to do that or know that stuff. Also, why is it important? Because if you have a new mission in life, which we identify, what was your old mission at landed you in jail or prison?
What is your new mission? What are the values that landed you in jail or prison? What are your new values? And then we also talk about company values. But I tell them it's important because your new values, your new mission should also be in alignment with the organization you're working with. Because now it makes it a lot easier to go to work. You guys have a common goal, a common thread, and that common goal is going to be your why when things get tough and things are going to get tough.
Like going from cleaning toilets to the general manager, it wasn't always great days. And so it's going to get tough. And so, you know, I go in, I do that. I'm happy to say we've actually had people starting to graduate out the class, which is awesome. But then on the flip side of that, I'm also now working with employers.
And so like this month, I'm going to be training the regional, the capital region regional food bank during the training with their team, talking and doing a training with CDTA. We're just looking to finalize the date. Also, there was somebody else I just made up, oh, and for business for good as well. So we're just looking for a day. So I have at least three of those trainings coming up within the next 90 days for some of the biggest organizations in the region.
And basically what I allow, I have about 20 different employer curriculums that they could choose from talking about addressing bias and stereotypes, talking about how to take advantage of incentives. There's so many tax incentives. Most of them, most employers aren't taking advantage of it. And, you know, just a quick example, the WOTC credits. These are credits that are available for any employer who hires and staff someone for over 60 days.
You could get nearly $9,000, depending on what their background is and what they're eligible for. On top of that, there's a federal bonding program. So anyone who's been incarcerated for free, you can get them bonded, protecting your organization. So now let's just say Julie went to jail for something I don't know. And you're not sure if you want that person at your cash register. Well, now you get them bonded.
So if something was to happen at that cash register, your company is protected still, you lose nothing. And the bonding is for 60 days. Wala, the magic number for the WOTC credits. So you can bond this person, see how they work. If it's a great fit, you could be eligible for these incentives. Now you just saved your company about $10,000 and you had someone who was actively being a good associate on your team.
So like little things like that that employers shouldn't be taking advantage of because they're out there. But a lot of employers don't know how to because it is a tedious process for the WOTC credits. There's certain things you have to do before you even offer the job to somebody. And so what we come in and what we'll be doing under the TANI umbrella is showing organizations how to do stuff. Like how do you set up these processes and then how do you follow up? How do you maximize things?
So we're talking about trainings, we're talking about tough conversations. Like really looking ourselves in the mirror and asking, do you think your team knows the difference between a jail or a job? Can they take away the mindset of the biases that they might have seen on TV for years? I grew up watching cops. That puts a certain projection in people's minds. And I think TV has gotten a little softer with the 60 days out or 90 days in all of these programs.
But one thing it tells you is one, as Americans we're infatuated with jail for some reason, jail and incarceration. But two, it's a weird relationship where it's not a love-love relationship like a love hate. We love to see it from afar, but we don't want it near us necessarily. And so really looking to change that perspective and show like there's a lot of people who have come out. They made a bad mistake, but they've changed their life around. And there's a lot of success stories.
And I really want to be a part of sharing those success stories, helping other organizations that have those levels of success. Because I think what that does, it just helps to inspire the next generation of leaders. And eventually this isn't even a topic anymore. Right. Yeah, absolutely. And I think what you bring to the table is so important because we're trying to give the individuals as many tools as possible.
You know, there's six facilities across the state now that have the driver simulator in them. But even beyond those facilities, we have Rusty Stuttall, our workforce development coordinator. He's going into facilities that don't have the simulators and talking about opportunities such as warehouse workers or diesel tech. So even beyond driving, we're still trying to work on providing those opportunities.
I think on the employer side, one of the things that's really important that you mentioned was the incentives. Because particularly on that CDL portion, they're getting the classroom portion while they're incarcerated, but they still need that behind the wheel and that can cost some money. So those incentives could help employers cover some of the costs of that. Big time. Additional training, which is really important. And then also, we can also help employers find a lot of free resources.
So like here in the Capital Region, you have EOC, you have ACAP, you have, you know, even a CDL school, but like ACAP, EOC, these are services that organizations don't have to necessarily pay out of their pocket and they can still skill their team up. And so to your point, the biggest thing that I think I've done has been skilling my team up. Like that's literally the, has been the biggest thing. We're literally skilling our team up and doing so.
Tech Valley Shuttle isn't, we don't have the biggest budget in the world to do this kind of stuff. So we learned how to form community relationships. And it's important that other employers know how to do the same and are actually actively doing it. You might know how to do it, but you might need to know how to uncover some of these resources. So you can find success. But I think it starts with one, you know, we don't know what we don't know a lot of times.
And so if I think the more we're out there telling, showing, and letting people know, making them aware of this stuff, then maybe they start to get more inquisitive and start to ask why or how. And then that's where we come in and able to help them out. Yeah, it has since we started this program, it's been an eye-opener. I had no idea how many challenges, you know, these individuals.
And when you see that, it's not surprising to find out why they're landing back in prison, you know, because you're just not giving them the support they need when they come out. So we're really hopeful with this program, with the partnership with you, your resources that, you know, we can provide these opportunities and keep them from feeling like that's their only option. I agree. I agree.
And even a couple other things just to add, and you mentioned one thing I like to tell all the listeners, if you've never, one, if you don't have any success stories in your organization of like these kind of redemption stories, maybe you should start to question and ask why. Maybe we need to diversify a little bit more, too.
Or maybe you guys do a great job and it's just not something that's talked about because I do get employers who say, well, how are my other members of the team feel knowing that we're bringing individuals in and at the same? So that usually I say, they don't have to know, like it's not like someone has to walk around with, I just got out of jail pass. Right. But if your organization, like at Tech Valley, we are a very, we're very transparent. That's one thing I'll say.
And we embrace, we embrace, we embrace people at their, their low, you know, and try to build people to their highest high. And so in embracing people in that low, that means, you know, we're very communicative about, hey, I don't, hey, if you've been homeless before, share that story or if you've been through this, like share your story, get it out there. One, it helps us as an organization start to identify how maybe we could be a resource in some of these spaces.
Two, you don't know what you don't know. So now you're opening us all up to things that are out there. And then three is we all feel like we're a part of something like, you know, and so at Tech Valley, show to where the misfits. That's, you know, that's, that's what we always say. We're the misfits, the people. That's right. That's right. But, but just like Rudolph Rudolph was the special one.
You know, and so as the misfits, sometimes if we just recreate what it looks like on the outside, we can show the world that you're the special one. And so, um, so that, you know, that's what we've done at Tech Valley and just really want to help other employers do that. We have some great partnerships with forward us, Mark Zuckerberg's organization.
They were literally at my office just today before I came over here, just talking and explaining, you know, ways that we could continue to grow and work together. We're brand ambassadors for them. So they're going to be sharing a lot more stories about just my associates, different members of the team. We want to put an emphasis on sharing positive messages, messages. So other employers get that. And then also reform alliances, another organization that we're brand ambassadors for.
They do a lot in the probation, probation space. They, they, they became really well known because the owner of the Patriots, the 76ers, Jay Z, some other people like that, Var Jones, are their board members. So that got them really known. And then just some of my other connections, I've been working like with an honest jobs. I recently met with the CEO of honest jobs, the CEO of Keystone Bakery, where they do the open hiring.
So, you know, expanding my network out to associate myself with other people who are doing just amazing things in this space. One, so we could pick and choose what's working, what's not working. But two, also now when I have someone that when I'm working with, hey, I'm being released and I'm going to New York. Well, if nothing else, I know I could at least connect you with with Greystone.
I said Keystone with Greystone Bakery and, and or if nothing else, while they're inside the prisons using their tablets, I'm able to now say, hey, go on honest jobs. They'll build a resume for you, you know, you could build your resume out, you can start applying right now. Five million people a month are applying through honest jobs for opportunities and just waiting to be released.
The problem is we need more employers looking on honest jobs, just like they're looking on Indeed or Zip Recruiter and things of that nature. And so there's so many resources out here. I mean, literally, it's just a matter of if you don't know, you don't know, and I just want to really yell out to the world what these resources are. Right, exactly. And that is what I think we're trying to do, right? I agree.
Because it is one of the interesting things that we found out too is we didn't realize to your point when individuals are released, they're not necessarily released to the area where they've been incarcerated. They get released back to the area that they came from, that the crime was committed. So we run into that same thing. We have to find out ahead of time, where are they being released so that we can identify employers in the area for them, which we've been able to do.
I think we've had five or six so far. But again, the biggest challenge we keep running into is getting them back and forth to the job because they don't have transportation when they come out. So we're working through those issues. But I think overall, it's a win-win. We're still growing. We're still learning. I'm really excited for 24, though. I think we're, we still got some growing pains to get through with this program as we're identifying those challenges. But we're going to get there.
I agree. And I'm really excited about it. So really looking forward to continuing to work with you and learning from you. Because to your point, there's so many resources out there that we don't know about that we need to be in sharing with our members as well through the program. So I don't know if you have any closing thoughts as we start to wrap up.
My only closing thought would be if you're a key decision maker, business leader, I would challenge you to just do a little research around the benefits of hiring a returning citizen. Like just do a little research on that. And then from there, if you have any questions, definitely reach out to Tanny. You know, and being under their umbrella, I could be a resource and help you out. But I just want to challenge business leaders, thought leaders, key decision makers.
Just take 10 minutes and just do a little investigation on what the positive benefits could be. Yeah. And I think that's a great point. When we first started looking at this as an option, you know, I was kind of questioning that same thing, like what our members take advantage of this. And in doing my own research on it, I found exactly that. Like there's so many stories across the country of where programs like this are successful.
So yeah, to your point, you know, I really encourage our members, Tanny, members to get involved with this program. If it's something that you're interested in, please contact us here at the office or Rusty specifically. Trent is here as a resource. He's got a ton of valuable information and can really make sure that we're doing everything we can to make this program a success and provide new opportunities.
Agreed. Agreed. Well, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to partner with you guys on this. It means a lot to me, like sincerely. So thank you for trusting in me in that regard. Definitely want to shout my guy Rusty out. And other than that, again, thank you for having me on the show and creating some time and I'm definitely looking forward to us just crushing it in 2024 and beyond. Excellent. Myself as well. Yes.
All right. Well, I think that wraps it up for another edition of Key Up New York. Be sure to like us, follow us, share us, tell your friends all about us and we'll see you next time.