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Layoffs Lead To Bright Future

By John Rountree, Photography Instructor

Moving forward with a clear goal is the surest way to be successful, if you ask Roger Bright. Look around yourself, he says, see what is there and take the steps necessary to secure your future. That is exactly the path he took when he needed to re-invent himself and prepare for a new future.

Roger’s story starts with the common denominator of his generation. Laid off multiple times from his job in the textile mills, he knew the future was no longer tied to cotton, or any of the synthetic fabrics. His realization is also the ironic engine that is driving the South away from the fabric of its past and into a new reality.

Determined to maintain his self-reliance, Roger took the first job he was offered, in a field where he had no experience and no previous interest. He quickly came to realize that some jobs would never be outsourced to other countries, including lots of service industry jobs that are in high demand by just about everybody in America. He decided that the best job would combine hands-on service, that can only be provided in person, with meeting a universal need. That seemed like a sure-fire way to secure his future.

Roger had found his niche! He looked around and saw that everyone had a furnace to keep warm in the cold winters of the North Carolina mountains. A lot of people had air conditioners to make the ever-warmer summers more tolerable. The best part of his realization was the fact that no one who needed service for their furnace or air conditioner was going to find help overseas or south of the border. Heating, air-conditioning, refrigeration, and ventilation technicians are home-grown...from right here,...and that will never change. Roger secured and embraced a new job with Pritchard Heating and Cooling and for the next three and a half years he absorbed all he could about his new trade.

Although he was happy at Pritchard’s, he knew that he could do more. He decided to earn his contractor’s license in HVAC so that he could open his own company. That decision led him to the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning courses at McDowell Technical Community College, where he met Tim Earle, his instructor for the next 18 months.

The state requires a certain amount of apprenticeship before anyone can practice a trade or take the state required tests for certification. There are two ways to achieve the same end. You can either work the entire number of hours, or you can attend classes at a trade school, like McDowell Tech, and work in the field for a year. Since Roger had already spent the necessary time working with Pritchard Heating and Cooling, he decided he would enroll at the college. Now, graduated with honors, Roger is building his business as a licensed, commercial and residential, EPA Approved, heating and cooling contractor.

Roger has the enthusiasm of a good entrepreneur, but he also has a pragmatic view of the future. “It opened up my whole world. Right now, I’m self-employed because that is what I want. But, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll go out here and see what my options are,” he explained.

In today’s market, Bright sees lots of opportunity in the worldwide change from air-conditioning units that use R-22 refrigerant (Freon) to the newer, less environmentally damaging chemical known as R-410A (Pureon). By law, next year is the cutoff date for the manufacture of all equipment that uses R-22 refrigerant, and in 2020 there will be no more of the old Freon chemical. At that time, all air conditioners will be required to use Pureon, making all of today’s AC units unusable once they need resupply with freon.

To emphasize the availability of jobs in the HVAC industry, Roger points out that each of the ten students who graduated with him in August have already obtained full-time jobs. He thinks he has a bright future now that he has successfully completed his training at MTCC. His days in the textile industry are little more than a dusty memory.