March-2025 Danny Opening of commencement

Feelings… nothing more than—oh, rock crowd, guitar!
But when I was in college, you know, I had to do what I had to do — and that was not one of them. I’m not a singer.

My name is Danny, and it’s an honor and a privilege to have everybody here.
I really, really enjoyed this — this program, this class. Everybody worked together. It was amazing.

🤝 From Strangers to Friends

From day one, little islands… and then as the weeks progressed, it became a relationship. It became a friendship — to the point where, heck, let’s play some dominoes together.

That’s important.
And that’s really what my goal is.

📚 What This Program Is Really About

A couple of goals, really: to get each individual involved with HVAC, to learn HVAC, and to learn about themselves.

From 9:00 in the morning until 10:00 in the afternoon — or 10:00 in the morning-ish — I typically take over the class.
And that’s what I talk about: personal development, self-worth, affirmations.

We talk a lot about Mrs. Smith — and I don’t know if anybody’s ever heard of Mrs. Smith — but we talked a lot about her.

💡 Building Confidence & Commitment

One of the things that I talked about, at least in the class, is building each individual’s level of self-worth and commitment.

As we all know — and I express this to each person — success is not a gift given.
Success is not a gift given.
You have to earn success. You learn success.
And the choices that you make determine how far you’re going to go.

There is no shortcut.

🌟 A Class That Stood Out

The individuals, for the vast part, were always committed, always dedicated — and that’s what makes this class more special than any of the other classes I’ve had.

And for that reason, I would like to ask Elaine to come up here and say a couple of words in the microphone.

🧑‍🍳 Elaine’s Words of Appreciation

I’m not going to come up there, but I will say this — I really, really, really respect everyone.

The students we had for six weeks — they were truly the best.
They respected my property.
They respected our instructors.
They were careful with my kitchen — which is a very important clean break — and they showed that they really wanted to be here.

Thank you.
[Music] [Applause]

🔧 A Team Member You May Not See

Elaine is an integral part of this program, and she doesn’t get much recognition — because she’s not always seen.
She’s always in the back.

Trust me when I say — she’s heard, even from the back.
Um… so I guess you can hear me here, too. Okay.

💬 Why This Program is Life-Changing

One of the things about this program that really makes it different — and makes it life-changing — is we offer individuals the chance to learn about themselves.

HVAC in and of itself is just an industry. It’s just a job.
It’s a very successful and — it could be — a very fruitful form of employment.

But if you don’t learn about yourself…
about the four C’s — clarity, choice, confidence, and competence —
that’s going to go with you forever.

Not just in HVAC,
but in everything that we do — to develop that attitude and that…

🎤 Opening Words & Warm Welcome

Feelings… nothing more than—oh, rock crowd, guitar!
But when I was in college, you know, I had to do what I had to do — and that was not one of them. I’m not a singer.

My name is Danny, and it’s an honor and a privilege to have everybody here.
I really, really enjoyed this — this program, this class. Everybody worked together. It was amazing.

🤝 From Strangers to Friends

From day one, little islands… and then as the weeks progressed, it became a relationship. It became a friendship — to the point where, heck, let’s play some dominoes together.

That’s important.
And that’s really what my goal is.

📚 What This Program Is Really About

A couple of goals, really: to get each individual involved with HVAC, to learn HVAC, and to learn about themselves.

From 9:00 in the morning until 10:00 in the afternoon — or 10:00 in the morning-ish — I typically take over the class.
And that’s what I talk about: personal development, self-worth, affirmations.

We talk a lot about Mrs. Smith — and I don’t know if anybody’s ever heard of Mrs. Smith — but we talked a lot about her.

💡 Building Confidence & Commitment

One of the things that I talked about, at least in the class, is building each individual’s level of self-worth and commitment.

As we all know — and I express this to each person — success is not a gift given.
Success is not a gift given.
You have to earn success. You learn success.
And the choices that you make determine how far you’re going to go.

There is no shortcut.

🌟 A Class That Stood Out

The individuals, for the vast part, were always committed, always dedicated — and that’s what makes this class more special than any of the other classes I’ve had.

And for that reason, I would like to ask Elaine to come up here and say a couple of words in the microphone.

🧑‍🍳 Elaine’s Words of Appreciation

I’m not going to come up there, but I will say this — I really, really, really respect everyone.

The students we had for six weeks — they were truly the best.
They respected my property.
They respected our instructors.
They were careful with my kitchen — which is a very important clean break — and they showed that they really wanted to be here.

Thank you.
[Music] [Applause]

🔧 A Team Member You May Not See

Elaine is an integral part of this program, and she doesn’t get much recognition — because she’s not always seen.
She’s always in the back.

Trust me when I say — she’s heard, even from the back.
Um… so I guess you can hear me here, too. Okay.

💬 Why This Program is Life-Changing

One of the things about this program that really makes it different — and makes it life-changing — is we offer individuals the chance to learn about themselves.

HVAC in and of itself is just an industry. It’s just a job.
It’s a very successful and — it could be — a very fruitful form of employment.

But if you don’t learn about yourself…
about the four C’s — clarity, choice, confidence, and competence —
that’s going to go with you forever.

Not just in HVAC,
but in everything that we do — to develop that attitude and that…