Shane Skinner on Ruck for HIT and the Top Shot Invitational

proud of it well hello and good morning from Mash PTV I've got Shane Skinner with me today thanks for joining me yeah thanks for having me well you actually wanted to be here for whatever reason I was like wait a minute you want me to be an auction item what I did anything to anything we can do to help money for heroon transition and games that's awesome so yeah um the boyss actually it was Christ and Kristen had asked me hey we're looking for something different do you mind being an auction item I was like for the banquet yeah yeah absolutely go ahead I said but make sure that somebody bids on me because there always that risk of being out there and they're like we don't want that right trust me I've go into a few things that like you know what we'll use this next year thank you so much like oh great well that's the thing too you know you want to be supportive but sometimes you want to get something you want so Shane is here you've got a business in Dennis that is devid dime maybe talk about your business a little bit sure um thank you um I own devid I started actually 10 years ago next month um and so we help small businesses get found online uh we off offer website design development social media marketing uh search engine optimization yeah Google ad campaigns things like that oh the Google ad campaign always stresses me out yes and that's that's where you guys Thrive um your websites are beautiful you just redid heroes in transitions website we did thank you yeah so much nicer not that it was bad before but it's just sleeker yeah it was a good site um but we made it a little bit more modern made it really easy for people to find what they're looking for um one of the big things for Heroes and transition is to promote their programs that they offer for veterans and Veteran spes and families and so we made it you know front center on the homepage and really easy for people to learn about the events and what they have coming up um what made you start this business how long have you been in business for um almost 10 years and I moved to the cape March 2015 and I had the decision then to either know find a job or start my business and I had the entrepreneurial bug my whole life my mom owned a store start my business sorry I'm loud and um I just decided to take the leap and I found two clients and started working with them and I still work with them today actually oh that's awesome went from there yeah I I never had the entrepreneurial bug I don't know how I ended up here but here I am I needed organizations like eforall that's why I was asking you had you worked with them or score we have so many great places to support small businesses here on the cape I don't think there's an area like this anywhere else I really don't we're so supportive and that's one of the nice things about the cape and and the bridge I think kind of helps make us like just a one big Community verus other places I've lived where you got your town and then it's the rest of the world right well the cape everybody comes together and eall is a fantastic organization um help you get get started and um help you grow how did you get involved in Heroes um a good friend of mine uh both szy years ago um were in a networking group together and they came to me and said hey you heard about this tournament I do we rais money for veterans we need a website and um like all right what can I do we need free things you're things yeah Jo want the volunteer more your time and uh he says you have to meet this Lo lady named C Jones you have to meet her and um see what you think and if anybody's met Cindy you don't send no to Cindy you an amazing person you do have to meet her though you have to meet her and um hero it's a um a tragic story her son but it's an amazing Story how she has turned that into a positive um and also just really built a community and built a community for our veterans which is just like if you've not seen it or been involved with it you really can't explain how wonderful it is and how many things that they do to support our veterans and we're so thankful that you're involved with Heroes for sure so we've got Ruck for hit coming up how are you involved in all of this yeah so ru's great um if you don't he's like do you run like Mama hook up her running shoes a long time ago but I do drive so I am with the team the entire time and in fact you can talk to some of those Runners we make sure that they stay alive yes we are a crucial critical key person in that van again absolutely it's such an amazing event um they they run from well this Chang this year I think yeah we're we're Shifting the race just a little bit forestal Fairgrounds starts but it's a 200 mile race um all down the cap all the way to um p on the back uh with the rck packs on their back it's a relay race so it's a huge fundraiser for heris transition my wife and I volunteered at an exchange every year we'll be at the dentist Senior Center um I do a lot of volunteering with we built an app I love it for the rug for hit did you use it last year I did awesome um so we have an app so all the runners and drivers and volunteers can log in they can get any information they need they can see the whole route it was so much better yeah because when I wasn't driving I was in charge of the map oh fun so it's like both of us are like okay and I to be honest I love the first half of the race and then by midnight I get real tired and I'm like you're turn and then I'm map girl and I'm okay with that you stay awake though that's that's good that's the it I got to make sure our Runners are safe they know where they're going and the next Runner is up and I'm very kind about it so last year I our exchange is like 9:00 amm we're there from like 8:30 to like 10: and so I went home worked all day had dinner I think I took a nap did a few things and then I had to go volunteer they had somebody who um couldn't make it so it was like 2 am or 3: am. I'm like you guys are still running I did I lived my life did all this other stuff you forget and and like they're still out here it's two days yeah it's a long time I know and it is coming up April 25th and 26th teams are raising money right now so you're going to see fundraisers popping up everywhere I know ship rucked I was there last night and I was doing trivia and they've got their little pots of gold over at ship wck that they're raising money with and they've got their fundraiser that they kind of had to shift to the same day as ours ours is coming out March 9th I know it's fine it's we're different people we're over here in Mash P we're going to be over at knockabout and our team is raising money all you have to do is come and have a beer or a Selzer easiest thing that you've ever done in your life right come and join us for a beer or Selter and that money is going to Heroes and transition so thank you very much to knockabout for providing that for us we really appreciate you but every team is charged with how we're gonna make some funds for our team and I've seen so many creative ways for people to make money that's amazing L and I mean what better opportunity have a beer supportive veteran I that's great yeah so if I you know have a couple supporting multiple veterans or or you know yep exactly Kristen Lisa Eva thank you very much for what you do for Our Heroes oh that's amazing yeah Shane does a lot you know we were talking about this off the air about everybody has their strengths right and what you can bring to the organization you don't have to be one of the crazies that's out there and by the way 20 teams of crazies this year 20 this Cindy can't make the scones anymore there's too many scones she needs volunteers it's um it's crazy she does and I was just having a conversation yesterday with Carol shman and she's like the Mount of scones and I she blew out her oven she did this so I think she's Outsourcing some scones but um you and Cindy your wife rather have this sort of like little fun baking situation how did that start it's amazing you take two sweet people who who are caring and and get them together and so my wife FES bread she does a really great job making homemade bread did that start during pandemic did she become a Sourdough lady she's a Sourdough lady would be a chicken lady um and so yeah she's baked bread for a while but yeah during the pandemic it was that truly hit her Peak and where we all begging and bartering for flour who's got it who's got the goods exactly you got a 50 lb bag of flour in the garage that like protected like almost in a legitimately shout out to our friend Junior over at captains because he dropped it off on my doorstep I'm like I need flour it's nice to know friends that own restaurants thank you very much sir it's good to know people yeah right so she's got her flour we're baking and then so her and Cindy bonded over there baking and so I told her I was going to go meet with Cindy for whenever our our Rock meetings or hit meeting or whatnot she goes oh she goes all right great here's a loaf of bread take this to Cindy and Cindy being as sweet as she is all of a sudden a week later we get a book in the mail um for my wife a cookbook with other bread uh recipes in it so Brett says well of course I'm going to use her recipe from the book and make her another loaf of bread so she made another loaf of bread gave it to Cindy and then a week or two later another book arrived so Brit says are we going to have this nevering Loop of yes it's now a bread off so it's a bread off yeah it's a combination it's like a dance off but it's a bread off I like that what better I that's pretty bring on the carbs everybody and it works well for me I you know I get to be the taste tester is this okay is this good enough for Cindy I'm G to make a second Lo for her that's amazing maybe try one more time I'll taste that one too that that is that is awesome and uh we we love our baking I heard you say chicken people it's a slippery slope my friend so the meme is very very true we got a puppy a couple years ago and I was I was against it for many many years and finally caved in and we got a puppy and I told her this is not a Gateway pet it's not a Gateway Animal you're cute fny that's that's what she said she said you're cute so no we have the puppy we have the souro starter and we're getting chickens in a about a month you and I have a lot of similarities in this respect both children five children Blended families five children so many kids right we're outnumbered right so let's get chickens and more pets yes that's you don't have enough things to feed she has kefir grains that she feeds every day I don't know if you know kefir yep so we have we grow the kefir grains and whatnot a whole bunch of kids they want to eat every day I like to eat every day and a dog and then now you want chickens to feed too there's not enough Mouse in the house like I said you'll have a goat before you know goat is the next on her list I'm like we need a bigger yard yep we exactly my husband was trying to convince me of a cow one time and I said sir you do realize that we have a quarter of an acre there is not going to be a cow here it's just not well she knows if we got a cow it would end up on my smoker at some point oh she does the Brad yes and and you're the meat guy I am I'm the meat guy so what like where did the love of smoking come in well there's another meme actually says when a guy hits the age 30 he has to choose to either get into smoking Meats or into like the Civil War and I like both but obviously I like meat more so it's way cooler to smoke meat than Civil War reenactment risk are really awesome so that was actually how we got the puppy that's I finally I found a smoker I wanted and it was not cheap hyal I'll cave we can get the puppy if I can buy the smoker as long as you don't ask me how much it is we can afford it I saved up but you can't ask me she goes fine oh my gosh so now is it like did the people come to the yard like your neighbors is are you the neighborhood meing guy they're like actually what you got in there we have one neighbor who's really really sweet but she's a vegan she complained that smells awful what are you cooking but everybody else is like what do you got today to be fair if anybody's ever watched my show I really thought some of them was smoking some weird Meats in my neighborhood but it happened to be my neighbor was on fire that yeah yep oh no that that was the real Mash B thing sorry to deflate our meat smoking incident but I've had different neighbors complained about different things we all didn't complain but then afterwards we were all getting together over atinos and I was like did you and they were like yeah we smelled it oh no that's awful it was awful right I would much rather Smoked Meats in the neighborhood absolutely yes smoke meets not houses yeah right people just people so not only do you work with heroes in transition for Ruck for hit but you've also got the Top Shot imitational yeah so are you a gun guy it's like you little bit Yeah Yeah iord to the range yeah it's fun I gave that up when I decided to have children don't get me wrong I'm prior service I've handled weapons before it was the first time I ever did because my parents are immigrants and they're like you're gonna do what what like I threw a live hand grenade yesterday I'm great bye love you bye yeah right no but I do every once in a while like to go to the range and and have a good time and Toby does a really good job over there cap CR Works they do yeah it's a great range great spot and you know what I like to say is it's like meditation for me because being in the range is the only place where I I can't think about the kids or the chickens or the dog or the clients or the work or business I have to be focused I have a know weapon there and it's dangerous and do you think our lives are a product of our add maybe a little bit maybe a little bit so it's nice to just shut everything out and um right you know just have that quiet moment there but also this is a kind of a funky fundraiser which is I kind of like it it's fun uh the vet stop sh Invitational it's May 15th and 16th it's a two-day event uh this is our seventh year I believe yeah and so we have a golf tournament at baby Hills Golf Course on May 15th it's a Thursday this year and a target shooting of course on Friday at korks and um half the proceeds go to Heroes and transition and half go to the Nicholas zaros Memorial Foundation I love that so all all goes to Veterans on Cap Cod and um it's just a great event it's a fun time everybody's there for a good time come out do some golf and um Kristen get there everyone I love it you are amazing yay Shan Skinner where Kristen Kristen Alexander of course it is glad you're watching well her and John do so many things for this organization and they work with a lot of the couples and that's kind of the the space in which there is a difficulty this difficult re-entry difficult isolation and this is really a lot of the things that here and transitions does to continue to put families back together to continue to support the veterans reentry support marital life support regular life like it's whatever that looks like for you has everybody's different what yeah right I right I don't know some sort of I feel okay today yeah basically that's regular life right there uh it's kind of hard to say with five kids so yeah that's amazing though Chris John they do so much and and all the facilitators with hit um you know they had the four different program groups right the veterans group the families group couples and spouses and so that was really smart of hit because of course support the veterans yeah you know help get them the the help they need but also who else is affected right who else is impacted and the spouses and I wasn't able to serve I mentioned to you um this is how I serve now but I can't imagine going away and you know on tour or or anything and then coming back and just okay boom you're back to normal LIF right and boom you're back with your partner and your spouse and that's it go make websites now they're yeah exactly and for the spouse wait they're back again and and um it's got to be a tough transition so it's great to have these programs to help people and um help them succeed yeah it's really wonderful um what else is going on in your world I feel like we've covered all of it it's wild right I might be talking too fast not it's like the fastest 15 minutes I like and for whatever reason I got to thank Chris ball over here at Mash PTV he jacked up the heat but it's also going to be a really nice day today so I'm so excited I already said to him before you walked in and I knew that you had your smoker I was like I'm telling Cliff to fire up that black stone because I want Habachi tonight on the back deck that's awesome these are the moments in which we need to savor because you know it's going to be ripped from our clutches in few days and back down a 20 and 30 degree weather yeah it it gets cold quickly here um I was I was able to use the smoker last weekend I made some bacon which is great I carried some Pell for 8 days and made some homemade smoked bacon which is really good I would use that for ramen yeah smoked pork belly yeah that sounds so good Kristen said you both do such a big part for Heroes and transition so thank you she's like regular life what that I don't know right we don't know what that looks like but if you're enjoying your regular life there you go absolutely regular life is going to JoAnn's Fabrics before they go out a b business that great so this is always what happens seriously they've been threatening to go out of business for the last two years so we're like it could be the last time it could be the last time it's gonna be the last time but the sales aren't quite there yet but what's gonna happen is people are going to go in there for their last time suck up all the things and then when the sales happen it's not gonna be stuff we want doesn't right I think that's why they do it bye Joann thank you I know it's people that are definitely fected by it our hobbyists out there I know my daughter was home this past weekend and besides having a fight with her brother over Nutella and cupcakes um they that they had to go to the craft store because she needed all kinds of things I don't even know she beating jewelry making I I I can't keep up with the crafts there's a lot yes well how do you balance all of that with the kids I'm sure they're all very different like ours and it's always like do you feel like you're a wrestling match commentator sometimes yeah yeah and it's funny Brit and I sit and we watch the kids and and especially two of them um two of our our middle-aged they're spitting images of her and so they'll argue with each other and it's like watching two of her argue with herself and she's like that's obnoxious how do you stand it I to drink I love you hysterical now just smoke meat that's it I'll be in the backyard be in the back things swear that if you need me I'll be a back but maybe that's your balance you know what I mean from from dealing with all of that that um maybe talk about your business as far as like how how do you maintain that balance of time management time management is hard and especially when you own I work have a home office and I'm sure you know every oh great your home can you help me or can you you know we have you know friends or neighbors are will call and say hey can you just come help me you know whatever I got to move this couch I need to move this I need to do whatever your home right well yeah I'm also working right at work yeah right and um well I my my husband will do some coding and he's like I'm in a Zone yes like when you're you just can't pick it up and leave it when you're in the middle of things so how do you do you like lock yourself in a room and like don't shut the office door and um I have a really bad reputation actually with clients which isn't good but I don't answer my phone very often um well because you're doing something on project and I answer the phone it takes time to then like get my head space back there and okay what was I doing and if you miss a semicolon then you're just hosed nothing worse so I I usually meet my phone um if I'm going to be actually working on a site and um I just kind of tune everything else out and I used to actually listen to music or I actually used to listen to podcast a lot now I can't I have to have silence yeah like just let me work let me do my thing and um we both Brit and I you know Brit does all all the social media forever and so we both kind of got in this habit now we kind like focused really you know intensely for like two hours yeah and then okay let's go take a few minutes and and you know feed the dog or or you know go for a quick walk or play a game or something but you know just give me five or 10 minutes to kind of like unwind and and you know clear my head and then I can go you know get real focused again and that works really well us to just sit there for so long that you know my back hurt my feet were hurt from sitting in I'm That Kind of worker I'm like I'm in it I'm here I'm sitting here I'm not going to leave here until it's finished and my husband's like every 10 minutes I can hear him like on the piano he's he set up his little I the add workstation and it makes me laugh because it's like a circle around the room he's got like painting over here he's got a piano over here he's got the guitari noodles with he's got the games over here and it's like he'll do a little bit of work and then play a little game or do whatever I was like okay Willy Wonka I don't know what's happening in there we're on a deadline for this how's it looking to be fair I'm one of those awful human beings that's like I need this for my website that's this and a code for this can you just like get done magic it up yeah and he's like you don't you don't understand how any of this works to you like nope well I love that you mention add because that's that's how it is a lot especially my wife she cracks me up because we'll be working and all of a sudden she like oh I'm gonna go down and get coffee all right great well I have four screens where I work I use you know two or three of them to work with but I have one that has um security cameras around the around the yard and I'll look up I'll see around in the garden she'll be out in the garden like you know picking vegetables it truly is coffee like I did that and I saw something outside so I had to go investigate that now I'm here I had to go thr penis for the Blue Jays and then also like got distracted by the garden and then you know it's so true that I think that's also Mom brain we have so many things that we balance all the time and it's constant so when you're home and working too and then you're like oh I'll just throw in this load of laundry while I'm trying to multitask and go do this and start this and then it won't be so bad when I have to heavy lift this and then all of a sudden it's the end of the day nothing complete you did your best 17 projects are like 75% done what' you do today I have no idea oh my God Chris was like invite Shane to party he brings the best smoker food what's up Michael pachella thanks for joining us on the show Van's got a big birthday coming up and uh I'm very much looking forward to her party we're celebrating her over at Kuna messet and it's just going to be a big huge fun party and they're doing that for Tommy's place oh cool oh good like I said it takes a village and our village does so many wonderful things and we're always throwing support wherever we can uh also Michael croll thanks for joining us on the show uh we got a lot of people checking in here this morning I've got Shane Skinner here from Deva dime and he is talking about heroes in transition and all the wonderful work that we do uh to support this organization yeah honestly I can't think of a better Human Than Cindy Jones is for setting this up but it's taken on a life of its own yeah it really has grown and it's neat to to speak with her and she kind of reminisces about when it started yeah she she remembers knocking on doors and and sitting around her table with you know her husband and and win or two other people and talking things through and now it's it's this huge organization uh they have 15 programs now that support like I said the veterans the families the spouses and the couples um there's a staff you know a small team and A huge Army of volunteers U I think 40 something ambassadors I'm one of the ambassadors and um it it's a big family likes to say every's a family and um it takes a village well this one takes yeah several of them all of them from every one of the the cape in which we're going to be running in so I want to talk about the race just a little bit um and remind everyone yes please donate yes please come to our fundraisers but also please be mindful of human beings on the road and we are having more teams than we've ever had and yes it is prior to season but it's still like right after Easter we're probably going to have a just a bunch of people here just be mindful these people are not paying attention they are focused on running their race and it might be a point where they've been up for 20 hours already and they really they are not human beings anymore no and they're probably hating life at that point I imagine so do them a favor and give them some space while they're running and just watch people on the roadway I get so nervous especially since we're always distracted with everything that's going on in our life and now we're going to just take to the roadways on the cape and I'm always I get very nervous rock weekend just because it's a lot of moving parts and it's a lot of people and more more than ever this year which is super exciting but also stressful yeah 20 teams at least seven people per team Runners two drivers um could be some sport Runners I mean we're couple hundred people involved in this yeah I've got a shout out to my other driver Craig who knows all of the POA potties are on Cape Cod so if you need a bathroom you should get with him actually and put them on the maps you could do that you actually could do that and that's a really good friend to have on Drive he's like I know where it is guys hold please you need the you need the bathroom guy you need the snack Guy where can we get a coffee 100% And you know a good scone obviously from Cindy but down Cape where can we get other snacks and yeah we're the the rest so yeah if you cannot run if you cannot come to one of the fundraisers that's another place in which you can volunteer as being a snack person being a person that's on the side of the road at one of the pickups or drop offs and um just a smiling face sometimes is really nice to see you know what it's like you're in a good spot of the race where you guys volunteer your pit stop is like mostly okay we did our first night we're here everything's all right yep nothing hurts too badly yet nobody's too sore yet they're yep everybody's in good spirit still and and they're awake which is great and um so yeah come down to Dennis senior uh um Center for active living and we'll be there usually like 8:30 to 10 or so yeah and um it's good you know BR usually makes cookies or makes something I guess I'm want to put her on the spot now on the radio sorry hun um but she'll make something yummy and um it's just a fun time good morning Miss Don Kristen Ruck you have stories oh I have stories you have stories Mari good morning uh we love Shane thanks for having him on oh I love that see uh the the family Heroes Mari Christen we've got a bunch of people here Michael Melissa yeah Melissa um her mom is one of my Ruckers and Colleen is the one who got me involved in this in the first place because she decided to run for me as a veteran okay the first time and I was like oh that's so cute she's like how about driving I was like how bad could it be I can go dve for while I was like I left that van and I was like that was like the most magical and most awful experience of my life and my husband like you'll never have to do that again four years later and I can't leave it I can't leave my team now what Sunday like after being a driver is it 24 hours on the couch just no last year I had another fundraiser that I had to go to and that is what's going to be happening this year it is the dance Marathon oh my goodness so yes we will be raising money for the women's early detection fund at Cape Cod hospital oh wow right afterwards so I'm DJing for all of the dance studios on cod we're talking 300 dancers dance schools all of their outfits and I was like a puddle afterwards so I was so over tired so crazy and then I'm watching all these girls dance and some of them are to these like really moving pieces and I'm balling my eyes out because I'm just already fumes you know what I mean but I was like I must look so crazy like who gets so emotional over an 11-year-old's dance piece that's not even they are 11y olds and I'm like oh my God she's beautiful I'm that Mom so yeah this is me once again I've got to stack it up you know we're only you live once everybody right I'm trying to get it in so yes normal people will have a couple of drinks and go home and be driven by their spouse me no no we've got another event to get to let's go well the great thing is after all that right so that's three days then of volunteering and all these things and no sleep and everything else don't worry you're going to walk home or walk in the door and the kids like hey what's your dinner yeah 100% you've been sitting there for the past six hours you've been gone for three days I need a hot meal it's gonna be my son no joke you've clocked that very well I do have to say I really do have the most supportive spouse on Earth I'm very thankful for my husband shout out to Cliff who always picks up the pieces of my crazy I'm like we're going to do this we're going to do this we're going to do this this this this and just like okay okay he's always down for a bad idea I love you babe that's awesome and this is why we're lucky right we have that support system Yep this is what Heroes person and Brit awesome and she's the same way and and she's kind of looks at me laughs and shakes her head but then when she says hey we're getting a puppy and we're getting chickens and we're doing this we're doing that then I kind of laugh and shake my head say okay so I'll be at the spoker yep exactly thank you so much for joining us this morning Shane give your business a a little bit if you're looking for a website redesign if you're looking for someone to do social SEO Google any of those things that's what you do absolutely yeah devid I'm um we help get people help people get found online um we love working on websites it's kind of where it started is the website design and development World um we still do social media marketing uh Google ads we do a lot of different things um I mentioned for The Ruck for hit we built you know I call it an app it's actually just a responsive website but it looks like an app there's an icon in the phone and you log in like a snap and um we can do things like that we do membership sites um for clients and um just a lot of work like that so if you need anything like that feel free to reach out I love it we appreciate you and everything that you do uh Ruck for hits coming up April 25th and 26 Top Shot Invitational is coming up May 15 and 16 yep absolutely so get involved great great ways to get involved great organizations and um please get involved somehow thanks for coming on with me look at that minutes we did it awesome thank you very much to mash PTV Chris Ball and uh Channel 1072 and HD if you're not seeing that on your box you need a new one call 1800 Comcast I'll be back on the show here at mashby TV tomorrow with Hank we got a lot to talk about it's date night and I'm sure he's gonna regil us with all kinds of fun things to do we'll talk then bye everyone bye whoop Cliff is the man said Hu I miss you Huck we'll see you soon hi Cheryl bye Cheryl