WorldWide Drilling Resource

AUGUST 2015 40 Lifetime Achievement Award is Presented to Augie Guardino, Morgan Hill, CA prepared by Veronica I. “Ronnie” Jones, Managing Publisher - WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Sometimes “Lifetime Achievement Awards”, aren’t just about the person receiving them, but rather the long heritage that got that person to the position in life they now hold, and the future before them - such is the story of Augie Guardino. As always, we at WorldWide Drilling Resource, Inc. believe pictures speak thousands of words - so we want to once again include some here for you. Each holds a part of history of this amazing drilling contractor, family man, and all-around friend...as Augie himself put it: “December 19th of this year will be my 20th year working with the family business since I graduated from college. During the past 15 years I have been in the capacity of general manager, meaning that I run the day-to-day operations. This is what I have learned and what I believe: I try to balance family and work the best I can. I have friends that work 6-7 days a week, 16 hours a day. I won’t do it. You have to prioritize. To me, it is not worth it. I understand that you have to make money while you can, but there are ways to do it without taking time away from home. For example, during the month of June we drill in San Benito County. We drilled nine wells this past month which were 2-15 miles from my home. This allowed me to attend assemblies and help shuttle kids to all their var- ious end of the school year activities while still performing my work duties. We do not work on the weekends. The only exception that I will make is meeting with customers and I always bring one or two children with me and we incorporate running errands, one of their activities, or some type of adventure into the fold. We try to schedule all of work so that we are finished by Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. Nothing good happens on a Friday afternoon. A few years ago we had a terrible accident on a drilling rig which hospitalized my 16-year-old brother with massive head and back trauma. Having witnessed the accident and watching what it put my parents and family through, changed my perspective on safety and having children or customers on the work site. Let me say that his age and hard hat saved his life. Plain and simple, if a tower is in the air or an engine is running, you are wearing a hard hat on my site, otherwise you are staying 40 feet away. As you get older, you begin to look at things in terms of risk/reward and you determine that what you would attempt in your twenties, you will not do later in life. This goes for safety and in business. By no means are we the poster child for OSHA, but we try and we evaluate, and we take time out to access the situation. Safety also ties into personnel. You have to take care of your employees. If you trust someone to operate a drill rig, then you should pay him accordingly. If your workers are worried about being able to pay their bills, then their minds are elsewhere. We are fortunate enough to have an excellent core group of employees who have become extended parts of the family. My goal is to keep them happy and take away as much stress from them as I can. We do this by being fair with our pay and benefits and keeping our equipment up to date. Sounds simple, but having proper support equipment and accessories is just as important as your drill rig. I still bring my children to work with me when the opportunity arises, but now they are not allowed near running machinery unless they are riding with an operator in an enclosed cab. No one under the age of 18 is allowed on the deck of a drill rig or at the rear of a pump hoist. This is the best part of my job. I get to spend one-on-one time with my chil- dren; it is a change of routine for them and the opportunity for them to learn is awesome. Earlier this year, we were drilling for a dairy in Los Banos and my boys ended up milking cows and learning exactly where their cheese and milk comes from. These are the things they will remember when they are older, just like I still remember going with my dad to repair wells for Heinz and the Hershey factory. More importantly, this shows my children how dad earns his income, which helps them to understand that for every one of their “wants and needs” that dollar has to come from somewhere. Call USA before you dig. This is a free service, and I encourage all drilling contractors to use it. Having four children and not enough time in the day, I can no longer give the attention that I used to give to state and national associations. I struggle with this because we owe a lot to those who came before us and as a unified group our industry is stronger; however, my wife likes to remind me that I spent 15 years on state and national boards and I can do it again when I am older. Technology is awesome, embrace it. This sounds simple, but apps change how we do business. My drillers and I can communicate and exchange information without making a phone call. In the same context, we can have a constant exchange with our customers via e-mail, which cuts out on office time and helps with com- munication. I have found that in business and life one of the keys is communica- tion. Even if you have bad news for people, as long as they are in the loop, it can save a lot of stress. Balancing family and work and life ~ Augie has it figured out! Smiles! WorldWide Drilling Resource ®