Radio Interview Transcript:

Brian Adams:

Kansas City’s classic Rock Station 101 The Fox. Good morning. Slacky with you here. 57677 FX. I know we haven’t even got to Thanksgiving yet, but things are rolling for the holidays and the Michael Bergen Hands to Heart Foundation will be doing a wrapping party Tuesday, November 22nd at the 913 at 6102 State Avenue, starting at seven o’clock. Wrapping the toys that you all have so generously donated and continue looking for elves to help deliver. And we’re gonna talk a little bit more about that later. But I wanted to share a little behind the scenes of what continues to make the foundation run. And that’s Michael’s company, Stryten Energy, and I’m very honored to have the CEO of Stryten Energy, Mr. Tim Vargo.

Tim Vargo:

Thank you very much. I’m excited to be here, helping Mike and the great Hands to Heart’s effort that he puts in and the whole team puts in every year. It’s just an awesome thing to be part of.

Brian Adams:

You know, so many people have been familiar through the years with Michael’s motorcycle runs that raise money. Two different runs in the fall and in the spring. And then of course his prowess of helping out the children in our area and really beyond.

But I wanted to talk a little this morning about exactly who Stryten is. Tell us about Stryten Energy.

Tim Vargo:

Well, first of all, I gotta say we build darn good battery. Let’s just start with that.

Brian Adams:

Okay.

Tim Vargo:

Because of great people like Mike and over 300 people we have working in the Kansas City area, both Missouri and Kansas, building these darn good batteries. And we’ve been doing it for a long, long time.

You know, Mike’s been with us about 30 years, 31 years, and we’ve been doing this for 135 years. So it’s nothing new to us. And we build batteries for everything from submarines to trains to forklifts to the car you’re probably driving to lawnmowers. So, we build a whole bunch of different kind of batteries, and they’re darn good batteries.

Brian Adams:

As you mentioned, Michael has been with Stryten for these 31 plus years, and he’s done a lot of things that’s incredibly impressive in our community. How does Stryten support his work?

Tim Vargo:

Well, we try to match his energy, frankly. I mean, you know, here’s a guy who does this on his own time. We do whatever we can to give him paid time off to help do this. But he has so much energy. I mean, he’s doing this as you, as you mentioned in your intro. He’s doing this multiple times a year. And getting a lot of people engaged. So we’re trying to support him by making sure he’s got the time he needs to do it, to organize it. Some help from the resources that we have on the leadership team there at the plant, along with transporting these toys to and from the different places that they need to go. So we’re all in with Mike and whatever Mike needs, we’re gonna, we’re gonna do our best to provide that kind of support.

Brian Adams:

Stryten Energy CEO Tim Vargo, our guest this morning. And for those, Tim, who are wanting to help out the Michael Bergen Foundation, how can they do that?

Tim Vargo:

Well, Mike makes it pretty easy. First of all, go to michaelbergen.com.

He’ll explain to you how you can help, but essentially what you’re gonna be asked to do is donate toys. If you can donate toys, Mike and his team and figure out how to get ’em from you one way or another. So that’s the simplest, easiest way to do it.

Boy, you know, the smiles on those faces of those kids when they get these toys is something that you can’t duplicate, and you can’t explain. It’s just an awesome thing to be part of.

Brian Adams:

Michael’s been with Stryten for 31 some years and has been a part of this team, but for those listening this morning, who might want to consider joining the Stryten Energy team, how can they do that? Are there opportunities in Kansas City?

Tim Vargo:

They are. Stryten is growing. Obviously with the whole energy transition that’s been in the news nonstop for the last couple of years. We play a big role in that with our stored energy solutions.

You know, we’ve been making forklift batteries there in Kansas City for decades that are electric batteries to make forklifts run. And so, we’ve always got job opportunities there at Stryten.

You know, not only do we make darn good batteries, but we have darn good careers too. And I think, you know, Mike would tell you that as well.

You can go to Stryten.com. There’s a link for careers, and you get on that link, and you can see all the jobs that are available at both our Kansas City locations. So, we’ve got everything from production jobs, maintenance jobs, various technical jobs for technicians to repair and program machines. So, there’s a lot of opportunity, particularly given the growth that we’ve been enjoying these last few

Brian Adams:

Years. Well, I just want to say Tim, on behalf of Michael and the entire team of volunteers that help out delivering these toys every year, to which I’ve been blessed and honored to be a Santa’s little helper, thank you so much for your company’s involvement and continuing keeping Kansas City growing, keeping Kansas City moving, and certainly being a part of this community.

Tim Vargo:

Tell you it’s exciting to be a part of it. Certainly, want to extend a hearty thank you to you for your relentless effort to make sure this thing continues to grow with Mike. You know, Stryten is honored to be a part of this, and we’re looking forward to a really good turnout this year to help a lot of kids. So thank you.