{"id":1989416,"date":"2023-08-03T06:33:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T10:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-tribute-to-a-common-laborer-whose-commitment-changed-everything\/"},"modified":"2023-08-03T06:37:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T10:37:14","slug":"a-tribute-to-a-common-laborer-whose-commitment-changed-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-tribute-to-a-common-laborer-whose-commitment-changed-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"Honoring a Laborer Whose Dedication Transformed All"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fa-tribute-to-a-common-laborer-whose-commitment-changed-everything%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1989416&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>From Rags to Riches: The Story of Sam Quinn<\/h2>\n<p>On Sept. 1, 2001, I started a lumber\u200c company in Memphis with\u200d only $17,000 to my name. I had borrowed everything \u200cI could\u2062 borrow, we were\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-tribute-to-a-common-laborer-whose-commitment-changed-everything\/\" title=\"Honoring a Laborer Whose Dedication Transformed All\">literally eating ramen noodles<\/a> again, and then \u2064the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/schumer-impeachment-trial-will-be-fair-and-honest-heres-a-look-at-whos-running-it\/\" title=\"Schumer: Impeachment Trial Will Be \u2018Fair And Honest.\u2019 Here\u2019s A Look At Who\u2019s Running It.\">terrorists flew<\/a> the \u200bplanes into the buildings 10 days later.<\/p>\n<p>The economy just shut \u200doff. I mean, the \u200cwhole world was paralyzed. So I knew I had just blown \u200cit. I was going to be broke.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Somehow\u2062 we pieced\u2062 together\u200d enough business to make it\u200c through, \u200band I\u2064 bought a little\u2064 piece of land in the\u200b inner-city. I\u2064 went to North Carolina and bought some \u2063old broken-down\u2064 equipment that was dragged\u2064 out of the\u200b weeds\u2064 from behind big plants and paid cash for it, \u2062brought\u200b it back here, put it\u2062 together, and started \u2062working with\u200d 12 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-lefts-war-on-history-is-really-a-war-the-god-of-the-bible\/\" title=\"The Left\u2019s War On History Is Really A War The God Of The Bible\">common laborers<\/a>. It was tenuous.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Some people think commitment is if I tell you\u200b I\u2019m going to be somewhere \u2063at 10 a.m. and I show up at 10 \u200ba.m.\u200d Some people think commitment is \u200bworking my \u2063eight hours.\u2063 I think of commitment \u2063as a\u200c whole different thing. I\u2062 think \u200cthe greatest measure of the success of a leader is the actions of the followers. \u200cAnd so if\u200d the followers are doing\u200c well, all the followers \u200care \u200dacting right, then I\u2019ll show \u2063you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/los-angeles-sheriff-deploys-deputies-to-combat-homeless-crisis\/\" title=\"Los Angeles Sheriff deploys deputies to combat homeless crisis\">good leadership<\/a>. If the\u2062 followers aren\u2019t\u200b doing\u200b well or acting right,\u2062 I\u2019ll show you crap\u200b leadership.<\/p>\n<p>Sam \u200bQuinn was one of my 12 followers who became a \u2063leader.<\/p>\n<p>He was almost 40 \u2062at the time, and most common laborers \u2063in our\u2062 business have backbreaking work. Pulling lumber doesn\u2019t sound\u200d like something so\u200d difficult, but trust \u200bme, 80,000 board feet of lumber coming at\u2062 you in\u200c an eight-hour day \u200cwhere you get zero breaks except lunch, and you\u2019re pulling 50- to 100-pound boards second after \u200bsecond onto \u200ba pack of lumber. It\u2019s hard. It\u2019s \u200chard for a\u200b young man in shape, much less a 40-year-old, much less a 40-year-old guy like him who was living in Lighthouse \u2062Ministries,\u2064 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-policy-will-threaten-fundamental-rights-for-women\/\" title=\"Biden Administration Policy Will Threaten Fundamental Rights For Women\">homeless shelter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Sam had problems with the \u200claw, \u200bproblems with alcohol addiction, and \u200cdrug addiction. He was a Marine who started off his life the right way, but he \u200cgot sideways and got caught.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>After about a week, I noticed this guy just \u2063working his\u200c rear end off and I liked him. So I gave Sam a 50-cent-an-hour raise, which I didn\u2019t have. \u200cBut I liked his work ethic. It \u2062looked like this\u2063 was a guy who wanted to \u2064be\u200b part of something and \u200dwanted more than just a check.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>One day our \u200ctilt hoist broke.\u2063 It\u2019s a heavy piece of machinery that lifts a\u2062 pack of lumber up, hoists it in the air, \u2063and then\u200c tilts it \u2063so layers of lumber can singulate \u200dboard by board\u200d by board and can come off onto conveyors and chains. But it completely broke on Friday right before quitting time, and if\u200d you \u200ddon\u2019t have a \u2064tilt\u2062 hoist, you can\u2019t do anything else. The work I was\u200d going\u200d to have\u200d to do\u2062 to fix it was a week\u2019s worth of work, but we had\u2064 to be running Monday because back then every day mattered.\u200b We had very little cash flow,\u2063 and I could have run out of cash. So my guy\u200c handling maintenance, one of \u2064my salesmen, \u2064and I went to\u200c work on it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>About 5:00, I\u200d looked up and Sam\u200d was standing there. And I said, \u201cSam, what\u200c are you doing?\u201d He said, \u201cI\u2019m\u200b here to help you with the tilt hoist.\u201d I said, \u201cSam,\u200c I can\u2019t pay\u2063 you more than 40 hours a week,\u200d and I sure \u2063can\u2019t pay you time and \u2064a half overtime, \u2063and we\u2019re gonna be here all weekend. I\u2063 don\u2019t even \u2063think we\u2019ll go home. I can\u2019t\u200b pay you,\u200c Sam.\u201d He said, \u201cIt\u2019s\u200c my\u2062 company \u200ctoo, I want to help. Don\u2019t pay me.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>And I said, \u201cSam, I don\u2019t feel right about that, go home.\u201d But he wouldn\u2019t, and from Friday \u200bmorning\u2064 until \u2064Monday morning, we saw the\u200c sunrise four times before any of \u2063us got to go \u200dhome. We briefly napped lying on top of machinery and packs of lumber, covered in \u200bgrease\u2062 and oil.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We literally got the \u2063thing fixed at 6:30 a.m., \u206230 minutes before the shift started at \u20637 a.m. Monday morning, and \u200dwe ran all day. After all of that, \u200dSam went to the line and pulled lumber\u2064 for eight hours before he went home. And I thought,\u2064 this guy\u2019s phenomenal.<\/p>\n<p>I\u200c started finding out about his past, and \u200dI started calling in\u2064 some favors with attorney friends of mine\u2062 so \u2064that over the course of two years we got all of his past issues handled.<\/p>\n<p>All of \u200dthese\u200d years later, \u2064Sam was a manager here making a really\u2064 good salary, married with three\u2063 children, and a homeowner. To\u2064 me, that\u2019s what commitment leads to. Because Sam saw\u200b commitment in us, he wanted to commit to being \u200bpart of it, then committed \u2062to straightening his own life out, and then committed\u2064 his own life to \u2063a woman and\u2063 children. He was a \u200bfather in an area where \u2062three out of every four children are born to a fatherless household. To me, that is the success of\u200b my business.<\/p>\n<p>Success and excellence are \u200bnot measured\u2062 by commas\u200d in a bank statement. They are measured in so many more important, meaningful ways. And Sam Quinn is a measure of my success. \u2064And his children \u2064are\u2062 a measure of his, all because he saw something worth committing to.<\/p>\n<p>People \u200blook at me as a white \u2063business owner, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Against-Grain-Bill-Courtney-audiobook\/dp\/B00KB478DW\/?_encoding=UTF8&#038;pd_rd_w=UNHGI&#038;content-id=amzn1.sym.ed85217c-14c9-4aa0-b248-e47393e2ce12&#038;pf_rd_p=ed85217c-14c9-4aa0-b248-e47393e2ce12&#038;pf_rd_r=145-7285216-6651506&#038;pd_rd_wg=ma4Y5&#038;pd_rd_r=431cc619-d5be-4b51-b8e3-e41dc6be4e31&#038;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">book<\/a> and an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coachbillcourtney.com\/films\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Academy Award<\/a> and all\u2064 that. And it\u2062 takes them\u2063 about three and \u200da \u2063half seconds to sum \u200cme up. They assume they know who I am and what I\u2019m \u200dabout by the tags associated with my \u200bsubgroup. The truth is, I grew up\u2064 in lower-income Memphis, and my\u200b reality is that I know what \u200bit means to\u2064 be broke. I know what it means to worry\u200d about whether you have dinner\u2062 or\u200d not.<\/p>\n<p>In the same respect, Sam Quinn is a 57-year-old black dude who \u200cjust had a couple of \u200bDUIs, had some problems with the law, and\u200b a former \u2062addict. We\u2019ve seen this story before. We\u2019ve seen\u200d it\u2064 on TV.\u200d There are movies about it. We\u200d assume we know who\u200c he is. But Sam Quinn was a father, a husband, a homeowner, and a manager \u200dat a business who works his butt off every day. Yet \u200dpeople \u200dsummed Sam up the minute they looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>Only a few weeks ago,\u2064 I lost my friend Sam to cancer.<\/p>\n<p>He fought harder than I thought\u200c any man could. Sam routinely shocked all of us as he would return to work after chemo treatments, on\u2062 his feet regardless of how hot\u200b or cold or busy we were. He \u2062would schedule treatments in the\u2064 early\u200d morning so he could get to work by 10:00 a.m.\u200b to manage his shift. Tough isn\u2019t the right word to describe the man.<\/p>\n<p>I will miss him dearly. He inspired me. He spent the last 23 years exemplifying\u2064 what a man should \u200bstrive to be \u2014\u2064 honest, hard-working, dedicated,\u2064 loving, and \u200bfaithful.<\/p>\n<p>Sam Quinn\u2019s imprint will forever be on my \u2062business\u2062 and my life. I\u200b will miss you, brother.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters body-xs m-0 text-start\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-4\">Sam Quinn and Bill\u2019s\u200b daughter, Molly. <\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-8\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">\n<i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><br \/>\n<span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span>Bill \u2062Courtney\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Sept. 1, 2001, I launched a Memphis lumber company with a mere $17,000. Already stretched thin, we resorted to eating ramen noodles. However, just 10 days later, the terrorist attacks occurred, causing the global economy to abruptly halt. It felt like the world had come to a standstill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2244,"featured_media":1989417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1989416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2244"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1989416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1989417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1989416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1989416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1989416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}