AMIC's Own Poet continued...

2. In what states do you do inspections? Now, I basically do inspections in Kentucky and Virginia. But before, I had Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia., Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. I used to log a lot of miles. I've logged over 1 million miles on my odometer--not the same vehicle in case you’re wondering--and I'm well on my way to 2 million.

3. How many inspections do you usually do in a week? It varies--sometimes 4 or 5 and sometimes as many as 8 or 10. January and February are my biggest months for renewals. But, you never know when you'll get hit with new applications or rushes. October was the slowest month so far this year. We always try to accommodate people—if they need something done quickly, we’ll do our best to get it done.

4. What's the smallest mine you've ever been in? Lowest seam of coal was a Blue Jim, 18 inches in height. This was a drift mine (Basically, they cut a slab of the mountain off. This leaves a high wall and they start removing the coal from the outside. The seam can dip lower, run level or move up the mountain. I don’t remember how far back into the mine I went, but we were looking at it for a Worker's Compensation policy. I don't like the really small mines because you have no visibility and you can't see around equipment. You can't even perform CPR in such a tight space.

What’s the largest mine? 24 feet high. You could play basketball in it. Just like the short mines, the tall mines have dangers. The ribs (side walls) are so high. If you have a rib roll, (if the wall collapses) it can cover the entire entry in a really tall mine. Most mines are 20 feet wide, so if the wall is only 5 or 6 feet tall,  it isn’t big enough to cover the whole mine—but if it is as tall or taller than it is wide, it can.

5. What's your average week like? How many days a week are you on the road? Now that I'm only in Virginia and Kentucky, I'm out on Monday-Thursday. Friday's I'm in the office. Friday’s are paperwork and phone calls days. I talk with underwriting and do the scheduling for the following week. But when I covered more than just the two states I do now, I spent a lot more time on the road. One year, I spent 132 nights in a hotel. Eliminate holidays and weekends and vacations and you can see how many nights I was on the road. Now, I don't spend that many nights away. It took some time to adjust to being home—you get so used to being on the road that it almost feels strange not to. I have been in almost 400 different deep mines in all the years. Some I've been in 100s of times. Some only once. You get a real view about things going on from A to Z.

6. What do you like most about your job? I usually tease everyone that there's never a dull moment. There is something different every day. This is a job that is nothing like being on an assembly line in a factory. Everything is always changing. You get to meet a lot of different people, see a lot of different types of mines. You see different ways of doing things and some of the latest developments. And you meet lots of interesting people--I now call a lot of them friends. They invite you into their houses for supper. I've really made some good friends.

7. What's the worst thing you've seen in a mine that you've inspected? People smoking underground. I haven't seen people smoking in a mine since I’ve been with AMIC. But when I did loss control for someone else, I would see smokers in mines from time to time.

8. I heard you like to write poetry. Anything you’d like share? I do this stuff for my own amusement. If no one else gets a kick out of it, I do it for me. I wrote the poem below about Dom and Chan right after the 15th anniversary party.

There once was a dream
Of two young men
To make things better
Than they had been.

So they began to put
Their plan in motion
But encountered obstacles
That would fill an ocean.

Now one by one
They stood the test
And laid each problem
Out to rest.

So now with things
Up and running
Other companies
Did come gunning.

But with experience, determination
Knowledge and skill,
These other companies
They did kill.

So now they’ve been
Here fifeteen years
All with a lot of
Blood, sweat and tears.

Now the dream they had
Has come true
And from one who watched it
My hat is off to you.

Thanks for all the years!