The bigburt part of mine is a 40+ year nickname from high school. Playing basketball and the tallest kid in school. It's a play on my first name and the Sesame Street character Big Bird. When I played high school basketball (1970's) a slam dunk was illegal, technical fowl free throw free point attempt for the opponent. But I would do it anyway, I have always hated being told what to do! Also liked to intimidated my adversaries. So earliest opportunity at the start of each game, I would "Slam one home" try to make it "A cage rattler", literally, shake the backboard and rim. Sometimes spotting the opponent 3 points (my 2 don't count and they get a chance to make 1 point). This would also give me a technical and one more, I'm out of the game! From my point of view this gave me the advantage in several ways. Get our fans into the game (the 6th player), I'm sending a message to other team, were going to win anyway, and makes me play harder and concentrate on my game. Coach hated it, so did referee's and the other team. My teammates and our fans loved it, so Big Burt was born. My method of thinking was not always the smartest. The games we lost (only seven my junior and senior years), were lost by only 1 or 2 points or me setting on the bench at the end of a game, taking a loss. We won 76 games in those two years, two of those losses came in the state playoffs, all seven losses we were out coached and not out played (my opinion). The nickname is one my friends and family still use and in my small hometown, some remember those "Glory Years". The practice of some times spotting the other team 3 points taught me several things: 1. Responsibility, if we loss it was my fault. 2. Recognition, you need it if you want to be at the top, but you have to earn it. 3. Mistakes, are going to happen, but it's better than doing nothing. 4. Luck, you got to have it, to win some. 5. Education, is one of the most important assets you can have and it never stops until your done.
Athletic skills and some brains took me to college. Where Big Burt became big burt and I was no longer the biggest kid in school (nor deciding about how a game started or anything else). After one year, I quit basketball and decided education was far more important to me. Education and work was my focus, basketball was just a game and "Kid Stuff". Basketball was probablly one of the most important events in my life. It was a first "stepping stone", leading me to a college education, that took me to a great Naval aviation career, onto an even better major Airline career. While still employed at the airline I started my first company. A landscaping company, I bought an existing and well established company and for the most part. the original owner ran for the next five years. This is where bigburtchino was born. I needed a E-mail account for him and I to communicate with each other. The city of Chino in California is where that first company started and is still located today. That company is going to have it's 50 year anniversary next year. My newest venture is not yet officially a real company, for a lot of reasons. This I hope will be my fifth business, all operating under a bigburt umbrella. A trash recycling company, not like the others, we take nothing to a landfill and work hard not to pollute the planet. We take our clients trash and waste products, process it, recycle, re-purpose, reuse, or resell. For now we process my companies and our clients commercial trash. With a goal of reducing the commercial trash of each company by 50%, being more environmental and less wasteful at the same time. It is not so much a revenue generator, although money saved by reducing trash expense is money earned. The revenue is increasing each year, mostly due to learning how to take the commodities that are in the trash, to the market (not so easy). I have learned more about that process, here at SMF. I thank each and every individual that has joined this forum. Doesn't matter to me if it's those that bring and ask those reappearing and honestly sometimes annoying.questions (Is it worth it?). Those that are here everyday with sincere efforts to contribute and help other be more prosperous. As I see it, it takes all, to get to the final score.
Big Burt, is not so big, he is now bigbutchino (small letters with a purpose). I put money in my back pocket so I can shelter and feed my family. I have learned along the way, you need to help others do the same thing. This planet is not so big either, what effects someone else, may and usually will effect me. As a business owner I have opportunities and abilities others do not have. I have the responsibility and the challenge to help all that I can. It's much harder to sign pay checks then receive them. Those receiving those pay checks are working very hard and almost always they are working to care for others. My biggest achievements are: when employee buys his or hers first home, there oldest child graduates high school or even better goes onto college, he or her is pro-moated adding to their and my prosperity. My favorite was when my first employee retired after twenty years of very hard work. He was one of the hardest working men I have ever known. He started working for me at the age of thirty two, as a irrigation worker, not as a technician, but if you will a "ditch digger". He came here from Mexico with no education, worked at many jobs, and I hired him away from a larger competitor. I payed him more, gave him vacation time and the opportunity to make more. His first pay raise was only $.50 per hour and that was for learning to speak English. He went onto several promotions and retired as our irrigation installation crews foreman. Along the way he obtained US citizenship, got married and started raising a family, bought a home and became my first retiree! I now have three of his boys working for us and all three are good men with families of there own. Me, (bigburtchino) not so big, just going in the right direction!
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