In my heart, I am a storyteller. Real joy, for me, comes from sharing about others – their stories, successes, lessons learned, and everything in between. One of my very favorite parts of being editor of R&R over the last six years has been meeting contractors – some big, some small, some offering niche services, others being full-service contractors. Some of you do TPA work, some do not. Others do mitigation, but not reconstruction. You get the idea.
In January, I had the pleasure of many back and forth emails with Ray Easterly, owner of Clean X-treme. Twenty-four years ago, Ray was working as an EMS director in his community; his now-partner was an EMT and worked in health care. Seeing the need for specialized trauma and biohazard cleanup services in their area, the pair jumped into service and never looked back. Nearly a quarter century later, they still stick to what they know, and excel at it, serving Indiana, Ohio, and the southern parts of Michigan.