Speaker 1: 0:30

Good afternoon. My name is Brian McGinnis and I am the residential brand ambassador for JK Moving Services. We are the largest independent mover in North America and we offer local and long distance and international and global moves, tech moves you name it, we do it and we've been doing this now for 42 years. And we are also the trusted and official mover for the White House and quite a few other departments within the agency and residential and commercial. As I said, and I've been here 15 years, and prior to that I was a military officer, so I've had my share of moves.

Speaker 2: 1:06

Okay, yes, thank you. I would like to have a little bit of a backstory. How did you get in your industry and end up working with JK Moving Services backstory how did you get in your industry and end up working with JK Moving Services.

Speaker 1: 1:17

Well, when I left the military, I went back to New York, where I'm from, and my fiance came with me and she said Brian, you have two years to finish your degree and we're heading down south because she's from Alabama and I'm from New York. So well, we were there and we came down to Annapolis, maryland, and I was an Army army military college guy and I wanted to teach at the naval academy. They're not too friendly to army guys there, I could tell you, but it was fun. We met a builder developer from the town of leesburg who overheard my fiancee say to me in a southern accent brian, don't you love this um, annapolis region, isn't it just so much like the eastern end of long Island where you're from? And they overheard that. And he said listen, kids, this was 35 years ago. He said if you think this is nice, you need to come to where I live. It's God's country.

Speaker 1: 2:05

I live in a 600-acre mansion built by Thomas Jefferson and it was home to the Bill of Rights during the Civil War and the War of 1812. And the British burn down the White House. My rights during the Civil War and the War of 1812 and the British burn down the White House. My home was occupied for a safe storage, as many other mansions along Route 15 were. Of course, it was a lot to take in, so we came down, we met him, he hired me on the spot, we got married in his mansion and I've been here ever since, oh my goodness.

Speaker 1: 2:29

And I was vice president of sales for North American Housing Corporation. We built homes throughout the tri-state area for many years 20 to be exact and then when the recession of 2008, 2009 hit, I was contacted by militarycom to come to JK Moving because they needed a vice president of sales and I went in and met with the board and it was interesting. It took three appointments, but they're very thorough at JK Moving and now I know why. Because of all of the classified moves they have in the military and corporate America and government, you know they've got to be careful. Being a former military officer helped me out quite a bit to fill that slot and I've been there now for 15 years and yes, I'm married 35 years. That gal from Alabama, she married me.

Speaker 2: 3:17

She's still with you. I love it. Shout out to her Hoorah, I love it. Now I'm going to get to the nitty gritty. What makes JK moving different?

Speaker 1: 3:26

Well, that's a good question and I'd have to answer that with a human interest entrepreneurial success story about my boss, the founder, the CEO, chuck Kuhn. And it was interesting. He started JK moving at the age of 16 in the basement of his parents' home. They were deployed overseas and he was left behind to handle the logistics of moving all the household goods into storage.

Speaker 1: 3:51

And well, much to his surprise, many hours later that day a big van line company showed up, whose name we won't mention, very, very late, very much out of uniform and with no guidance and direction. And it was in the wintertime and they just kept busy by walking about and having snowball fights and in and out of the parents' home and eventually broke into the liquor cabinet, over-served themselves. Snowball fights continued, fist fights continued, the police were called in and you could just imagine how the rest of that story went. So young Chuck Kuhn, at the age of 16, said I think I found my calling in life, I'm going to get into this business and I'm going to do it right. And from that day forward he was focused and he enabled JK Movement to become the largest independent moving company in North America, with over 500,000 moves, millions of satisfied customers, winning numerous accolades from corporate America and government, recognizing him and his people for the outstanding work that they do.

Speaker 2: 4:46

Wow, that is incredible.

Speaker 1: 4:48

You know, and he's very focused, as we are, and as a military officer, having a mission statement and a task, a condition to get things done is what we do best and at JK, that's what we are. And, as a military officer, having a mission statement and a task a condition to get things done is what we do best and at JK, that's what we do, and we have a positive impact on our community, on our employees. We have a brand promise that we live by to treat people with care and respect and do the right thing and also provide a seamless, stress-free move for our clientele. While we're at it, our employees we have approximately 1,400 employees. That's a lot. When we started at 16 with just two high school friends, oh my goodness.

Speaker 1: 5:21

And our wonderful employees. Our inclusion, our commitment to customers, our support of veterans and seniors makes JK who they are and that makes me very, very proud. And our crews, our training, Would you believe. One of our top trainers, Johnny Harris, is with us 35 years teaching everybody how to move the right way. They go through days of training, they get certified, they get assigned to a move. We're not just putting a JK shirt on someone's back and saying good luck.

Speaker 2: 5:51

No, ma'am, we are not.

Speaker 1: 5:52

Background checks, drug testing, all the certifications you can imagine we have, and that's wonderful. And our training facility, oh my gosh. It's a state-of-the-art facility with a fully furnished two-story model home that we train in every day in our crews and they're trained in our home before they ever go into your home.

Speaker 2: 6:09

Oh, my goodness there's no on-the-job training in our customers' home, y'all don't play around.

Speaker 1: 6:14

We've got numerous storage facilities, approximately 20 million cubic square feet of storage, well-maintained, sprinkled systems, videos, cameras, climate-controlled. We've got it all at JK because when you're moving you know the warehouse of embassies, the State Department. You've got to have the right equipment to do the job. And we provide local moves, we provide long distance moves, we provide international moves, global relocation management moves, government moves, you name it. And we're so very proud of our A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau. We're very proud of the 160 countries that we serve and we've got, at last count, about 1,400 outstanding positive Google reviews for customers to look at. They usually don't have to get that far down the line to select. And there's 250 trucks in our fleet of vehicles, all of those with GPS, dash cams, electrical logging devices in them.

Speaker 1: 7:10

We do things the right way and there's no shortcuts at JK. I can assure you we offer customers partial packing, full packing. We do that for the Smithsonian, the White House, the embassies. So if they trust us, you can trust us, and this our training and the way we do things saves our clientele time. It eliminates stress and protects their belongings from the start to the very finish of how we move. We have financing available, we have auto transporters, we have vehicle storage. We've got so many value-added features and services at JK. Quite a few and at last count, I think last year, we did about 16,000 moves. We do that annually or a little bit more. So, regarding how are we different? That's how we're different. And most important, what matters to our clientele matters most to us.

Speaker 2: 7:57

I love that. That was beautifully said. Thank you, oh, my gosh you guys are so like on point with everything, why is moving so stressful for some people?

Speaker 1: 8:07

Well, it doesn't have to be, I can assure you. But think about it. The things that matter most to you in your life, next to your family, are your possessions, and they're being relocated by strangers. Oh my gosh, I hope they're reliable, I hope they're well-trained, I hope they're honest, I hope, I hope, I hope. Well, you know, that's true. And it doesn't have to be stressful. And at JK we do a wonderful job of alleviating the stress.

Speaker 1: 8:36

And you're busy with the move. You're busy with changing jobs, changing locations, new schools, daycare, doctors, prescription address changes, making arrangements for the pets and disposal of things that can't be moved, and address changes and what to pack, what not to pack. You have to review your US Department of Transportation Rights and Responsibilities document. That's important for you. You've got VIP documents yourself, whether they be legal, whether they be medical, whether they be jewelry, computers, meds. You've got to handle all those things. And what, if you want to pack them yourself, what do you do and what cannot be packed? And well, that's why you need JK and you need our help with those moves and to put a plan together. And you need to allocate certain things at certain times before you move. I call those mission essential items. And take, for example you're moving into a home, it's late at night, you've got 100 boxes all over the place. Well, jk has the foresight to save the end tables in the master bedroom, for example, to have pillows, cushions and blankets in there. So you're not looking for me at one o'clock in the morning and you're exhausted, right. So you need those first night items to be spelled out for you and take certain things with you in your car so you don't leave those to the movers to move, because some things are very, very personal.

Speaker 1: 9:45

And so you've got an inventory of all your items. You have to build your bill of laden, which is a legal document, of course, um, you got final walkthroughs. You got to confirm emails and and cell phone numbers. You got to make sure those drivers know where they're going. That's right, they don't get lost. And, and you have to be at the destination during the unloading. You got to pay for these items, of course, before they get loaded. And you've got all these things to do that are required for you to do so, and you have to worry. Oh my goodness, what happens if, by chance, something's damaged. And how do I inventory? How do I file a claim. How do I sign all these documents?

Speaker 1: 10:19

JK will take care of all that for you Thank goodness, and we love to do that, and we help you keep your records and documents in a move file that JK can provide. We walk you through if there's a claim, and I got to tell you we have the lowest claims in the industry, bar none, and we're so proud of that. But every now and then there is a mistake. And how do you file that claim? How much time do I have to file it? And certain moves, like in DC, maryland, virginia you have to submit claims within a certain number of days, I believe it's 10. And then a long distance moves. You've got a number of months to do that, but you'd have to know how to do it and that's important.

Speaker 1: 11:01

There's an old saying in our industry that moving is the third most stressful event in your life. There's death, divorce and moving. So I'm at a realtor seminar one day giving a presentation, and someone asked that question Mr McGinnis, can you tell us why moving is so stressful? And I said well, it's the third most stressful event in your life and you've got to be ready for it. So a woman raises her hand in the back of the room and I said yes, ma'am, she goes.

Speaker 1: 11:24

Brian, you said moving is the third most stressful event in your life. I go yes, ma'am, I've this long time. I stand behind that. I know what I'm talking about. She goes have you ever given birth to twins? Moving is the fourth most stressful event in your life. Pardon none, I'll never change it again. So we say at JK let us provide you with that seamless, stress-free move. We understand what matters most to you and therefore that matters most to us, and with over 500,000 moves to date, we're pretty darn good at what we do and I promise you you'll like the way we move.

Speaker 2: 11:55

Beautifully said.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Thank you, yeah, okay, my third question how does JK live up to their core values? That's a good one, and we've got seven of them and we're very, very proud of them, and it differentiates us from everyone else in the industry.

Speaker 1: 12:10

Let's hear it and we have those seven enterprise core values which we take very, very seriously, and we have core values at a pledge that go hand in hand, wow. And so the core values, for example, would be it's my job the first one, and that's taking ownership of what we do, being on time, being within budget and treating people with care and respect. Oh, that gets into the second one, being caring and courteous. And life's stressful enough as it is, and moving can be very stressful. We listen, we care, we bring value to the customer, and that's very, very important to us. And then we believe that together we all succeed and we collaborate across teams and we execute accordingly and we provide solutions and we provide processes and we create efficiencies and ultimately that benefits the customer, and so that's a wonderful thing and we're very, very proud of that. And there's together we succeed, as I said, there's commitment to growth, because you've got to grow, and there's connecting the successful dots of collaboration and how things work and how we improve on that. And, of course, there's the bottom line one of our last ones that if we're not efficient and making a profit and reinvesting in our company, then we'll fall behind. So we're very, very positive and we do that consistently.

Speaker 1: 13:28

There are additional values at JK and there's professional and personal growth in our company, which we're very, very big on, and there's rewarding our employees with profit sharing and bonuses 401. I mean, we have given millions and millions of dollars each year. We've had good years and it's been consistent. We've had double-digit growth for the 42 years we've been in business and all of our employees benefit from that and they're so grateful for that. We believe in promoting from within the ranks and hiring people and investing in our people and training our people. We've got people that came in as packers and local drivers and went on to become long-distance drivers and became management, became sales executives, you know, and it's a wonderful, wonderful thing and I love it and we take great pride in doing that. And you know I got to tell you we also have a pledge, as I say.

Speaker 2: 14:21

Let's hear it. I want to know.

Speaker 1: 14:23

You know, as a military officer, we had a pledge of allegiance. Well, at JK we have a pledge to stress-free moves. We have a pledge to being careful and respectful, to providing accurate estimates the first time, to providing the best customer service that's out there and being proud of it On-time arrivals, professional crews, again, that are certified, drug-free, background checked. We just safety and protection of your home and your possessions are one of our biggest priorities and that means a lot to us. We go into your home and we know those high-trafficked areas and the welcome mat and the padding and the boxes and the door jams and the banisters and the walls, all those areas that get banged up a lot. We have a two-story home in our warehouse that we train on and go ahead, bang away, get it right, jk, don't get it wrong in the customer's home, and so we're so proud of that. We have trucks mounted to the floor with ramps on them that we can go up and down after we've packed and loaded, carrying them with straps on our back where you can carry three times the amount of boxes and you can see where you're going, not in front of you where you can't see. Our insurance companies love the way we train at JK. You know core values.

Speaker 1: 15:31

How about our JK Community Farm? Did you know that in 2018, we launched a JK Community Farm to help those struggling with food insecurity? This farm that was so very proud of hundreds of acres, the largest nonprofit, chemically free organic farm in America. We love it. Corporate teams come out and volunteer. High school kids, junior high kids come out and volunteer hours for planting and harvesting and it's a ball, I tell you. We had 4,500 volunteers last year. It's right in Loudoun County, in Percival. We love it. It's three miles from myry, to food banks, to pantries. She's magnificent and she does this with her little baby strapped to her side. She's a pro, I tell you. You love her. She's wonderful. So we donated over 1 million pounds of chemical-free produce and protein to families in need. 800 meals have been provided to separate food banks, as we talked about, throughout the communities.

Speaker 1: 16:38

We just love the fact that volunteers come out and this is a nonprofit. We pay for it. If someone wants to contribute a little bit, we're happy to take it and it does help, trust me, because it's very expensive. But I'll tell you what. Seeing these kids getting dirty has never been so much fun, and seeing these young boys and girls realize where you know how agriculture works or where these products come from, and not from the supermarket, is a wonderful thing. It truly is, and I love the fact that.

Speaker 1: 17:03

As a veteran, I love how JK is committed to our veterans and you may not know this, but JK moving stands for Jim Kuhn moving. That's the father of our founder, chuck Kuhn, and he was a World War II veteran and we loved him very, very much. We loved him dearly. We love the fact that we're committed to our seniors. We have a new senior move management program where we take care of our parents, our elders, like they should be, and that's one of the fastest segments of growing in the moving industry are our seniors who are moving to retirement communities. Many builders and realtors are focused on that. They know JK is focused on it and they love that about us. It's a wonderful thing. We've got referral programs for people that refer moves to us.

Speaker 1: 17:42

We're big into sustainability and conservation. We do our part to keep the environment free. We keep millions of tons out of the landfill by taking new boxes and wrapping materials in these jobs, flattening them out, bringing them back and making those slightly used boxes now available to people who book with us for free, so they get a jump start on packing and save on cost, and you know packing is a big part of the equation. So we provide that to our clients and we're very, very proud of, for example, our vehicle maintenance and the oil that comes out of our vehicles is used to heat up facilities, for example, and we're just so proud we ordered quite a few Tesla trucks that will be soon delivered. I mean, jk is really doing its part to save the environment and, again, I'm very, very proud of that.

Speaker 2: 18:35

You should be. That is all incredible insight. Thank you so much for sharing that. I'd like to ask you are residential moves the only moves JK does?

Speaker 1: 18:43

No, ma'am Residential started out 40 plus years ago doing it. But no, no, heavens, no. We now have commercial, we have international, we have our cap relocation division that's established as a global relocation management division of JK. We do it all Moving executives and companies like Amazon and Walmart, and you name it, we do them all. Fortune 500 companies, we do them all. You know we're moving. Remember this.

Speaker 1: 19:12

Moving isn't the only thing we do. You look at our farm, you look at all the community activities we're involved in. We do a lot of things besides moving, but we are very much involved with numerous events within our community and I must say that JK's level of commitment to our employees, to our customers, clearly sets us apart from all other movers. I truly, truly believe that Our employees are our family and we treat them as such and we have a vested interest in our customers' success and our own success, and that's what made us the largest independent mover in North America. And I say in closing, if I may we do such a wonderful job, we're so proud of our success and our accolades, so why not consider JK for a future position, a future move?

Speaker 1: 20:03

Join our team and also trust us with your next move. We certainly won't let you down. I tell everybody to go online with your next move. We certainly won't let you down. I tell everybody to go online. Check us out at jkmovingcom and see for yourself. You know why we're so special and so successful because we stick to the basics, we do the right thing and we live the core values of our company.

Speaker 2: 20:23

And so caring. That is all such incredible insight, information about you guys, like I didn't even know about some of these things and I can see the passion when you talk about these things, like it shows. So what have been some of your favorite things working with JK moving, that you have been able to impact people's lives with moves and all of that?

Speaker 1: 20:42

Well, um, oh my gosh, when we do um moves for veterans and when we we do moves for uh, the presidents of the United States, the senators or the veterans like myself, the Justice Department, oh boy, this was so much fun when we were the official mover for the Caps and the Wizards and the Nationals and the Mystics and different universities, and all that was so much fun.

Speaker 1: 21:02

I'd go to the games with my sales team and we had to set up hours before so we don't interfere with, you know, the customers coming into the games, with the customers coming up to the games, but I'd usually have them man the desk for an hour or two and then they can go and enjoy the game. And I'd stay back there for the rest of the event and man the tables in case someone came through to look out for my team and let them have fun. And we do toys for tots and we do stuff for the military and there's just so much that we do. For you know, we're coming off the last day of women's breast cancer awareness, yes, october, yeah, and it's all of our uniforms, have them on and we're out there preaching that and supporting great causes like that and I thoroughly enjoy doing it, and it's an honor and a privilege to work for a company like JK.

Speaker 2: 21:45

Amazing. Thank you, and I would like to ask you is there maybe anything that you would like to share with us, that maybe we haven't touched on, or anything else you'd like to say?

Speaker 1: 21:53

Well, perhaps we're so proud of our award-winning warehouse and our training facility. Come on down, call up, I'll take you on a tour, I'll answer all your questions and if you book with us, I'll give you a handful of used boxes that are in great shape, and I'll load them in your car for you as well, too. So go online, read more about JK, contribute and donate, if you can, either monetarily or volunteer, to our JK Community Farm, which, I said, feeds thousands and thousands of people, and as well off as we are as a nation and a geographical region in Loudoun County and surrounding tri-state area, there are still many people in need and, from the bottom of my heart, it would mean a lot to me if you could do that and come on out.

Speaker 2: 22:35

Thank you for sharing that. Yes ma'am, I'm going to ask my final question. All right, do you have a quote, a saying or something that somebody has told you in your life, that has inspired you or touched you in any way, and would you like to share that with our listeners?

Speaker 1: 22:54

I would. I have a saying that I try to live by each day. It's called going the extra degree and I teach this to the children that I wrestle, coach them and I'm the boxing coach in Loudoun County. I do these things, you know, and I'm a big brother with United Way and I was on the board of directors for Leadership Loudoun Youth. And I tell them at 211 degrees water is hot, you can't boil an egg, you can't cook with it. One more degree at 212, water boils and when it boils it generates steam and with steam you can power a locomotive engine. So one more degree in life always makes a positive difference.

Speaker 2: 23:20

Beautiful. Thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate you coming out and sharing all of this insight.

Speaker 1: 23:25

Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 2: 23:27

Absolutely.