As told by STICK owner DAMIAN FEREK:
One of the first things I was told in business was that if you are going to be successful, you need to surround yourself with the best people and grow together. Somehow, we have been fortunate enough to have done just that. In June, we celebrated the eighth anniversary of Jarrod Miller with The STICK Co. How he survived may indeed be the ninth wonder of the world, but one thing is for sure — this agency would not exist without the patience, contributions, dedication and patience (yes, twice) of this guy.
Here is a quick look back at how it all got started:
As many of you are aware, The STICK Co. was originally founded as Asayo Creative in 2007 as strictly an advertising and marketing agency focused on brand awareness, graphic design, and websites. In April of 2008, while having dinner in Waynesburg, PA, I ran into Jarrod Miller, who was finishing his junior year at St. Vincents college. Having grown up with Jarrod and his brother in Carmichaels, I knew him and his family well, and so I was surprised to learn that he was interested in an internship at our company. A three-year-physical-therapy-major-turned-one-semester-in-marketing-major was ready to get his hands dirty in the marketing world. Knowing his work ethic and determination (and really needing an intern) we agreed to give him a shot.
On his first day, I basically gave Jarrod a computer, and a ton of photos and said, “we need to organize these…” He spent eight hours that first-day labeling pics from Blue Mountain Equipment Rental. “BlueMountainDozer147.jpg” gives you an example of how thrilling this first day was. On his second day, we sent Jarrod out on errands, which basically driving throughout the tri-state area making pickups and deliveries for eight solid hours. On day three, I approached Jarrod with an opportunity that we had been given. Two of our clients, Blue Mountain Equipment Rental, and Energy Contractors, LLC, were both in need of a sizeable vehicle wrap order that we had been farming out. Our agency enjoyed a good relationship with these clients and we saw that this may be an opportunity to grow the company. So, I asked Jarrod — “Do you know anything about vehicle wraps?…” with a short pause, he politely (again, he was new) said, “No, I’m sorry I do not.” “Well, me neither… but, hey, let’s figure this out.” And, within a couple weeks, STICK, LLC was created as a sister company focused on vehicle wraps, decals, banners, posters, and more. (At least he knew he had job security)
In the eight years that have passed since that summer, we have experienced numerous obstacles, hurdles and growing pains that have molded and crafted our company from the start. From wrapping vehicles in parking lots, backyards, “borrowed” garages, under canopies, freezing garages, gas field job sites, and maintenance shacks, in every weather condition imaginable like rain, heat, ice, wind storms, snow storms, and even bee swarms, the stories and experiences are countless.
You could say we have seen a plethora of projects (we quote The Three Amigos movie often.) Our first weekend-long training project was followed by chasing, removing, and applying 200+ truck decal sets for Energy Contractors throughout West Virginia, wrapping trucks, cars, vans, boats, jet skis, campers, motorcycles, quads, dirt bikes, trailers, cabinets, cranes, buildings, concrete, outfield fences, PRTs, snowboards, gas pumps, ice chests, water tanks, office walls and even caskets. When we say “We stick anything” it really should mean, Jarrod Miller can wrap anything.
We used to lock him in the basement of our Pleasant Street office, depriving him of things like group lunches, sunlight and ice cream Fridays, all while enforcing our, then, dress code of collared shirts, slacks and dress shoes and forcing him to listen to rap music, Seinfeld quotes, and farming stories from Burnt House, WV (shout out, Court Bailey)
Jarrod is most often a man of few words but I believe he wrote the book on work ethic. He has believed in this company from the start, and one thing is for sure: regardless of the project or obstacle, Jarrod has been the driving force that has allowed our wrap division to not only grow and develop but to evolve into the backbone of what our agency is today. For this, we recognize his efforts and countless contributions.
And, above all, and maybe most importantly, as we witnessed from his internship – the man can make a great cup of coffee…
