Water Heater Repair in Lexington, Kentucky and Beyond | Meet Stephen

Erin Trybulec • Jul 08, 2022

Meet Stephen | Winchester, KY

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Hey! I'm Stephen, the Regional Service Technician/Plumber in the greater Lexington area.

To give you my plumbing experience I’ll back up a few years. In May of 2015 (at 20 years old) I wrecked a motorcycle and broke my tibia and fibia, with a compound fracture. I spent five days in the hospital and had surgery to put a rod in my leg. Just 18 months before, I was able to walk without crutches or any extra support. Post-accident I was on crutches and worked as a Customer Service Representative for an international organization. Once I was able to walk again, I returned to the field as a Service Technician at a car dealership. Nearly three and a half years after my accident I decided to make a long-term career change to plumbing, working predominantly in Versailles and Lexington as an apprentice.

I became interested in plumbing because I knew absolutely nothing about it and was learning ALOT. Once I became comfortable plumbing, it just became burnt into my brain. It was a lot easier to learn than I thought, but I will say in the plumbing world EVERY job is different. You often have to look at a repair and plan it in your head differently from any other you’ve done, as all homes are different and you never know what the last guy has done. My favorite thing about plumbing is shocking the customer with a job well done and the appreciation that comes from most customers is priceless. I firmly believe that any trade is usually a better option than college, especially when you’re young and school is expensive!

I acquired my Kentucky State Plumbing License in 2021, continuing to service a growing residential and farming based clientele. I take pride in my work and I’ve never been more proud of myself than when I passed the exam. Shortly after, I began searching for new employment opportunities due to employee safety concerns, which led me to run across uswhpro on Indeed, and I haven’t looked back.

Since joining the uswhpro team my work and family life are much better and I'm much happier. From the start when I was hired and visited Chicago everyone was kind and EVERYONE made sure that if you need help, you had a point of contact to

call for help. We’re a growing team and I love the support from everyone and appreciation from the bosses. I’ve been in

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some very toxic workplaces and I knew this place was different. Uswhpro is very flexible and understanding of time off needs/requests as well as family time. This is probably the first employer I’ve had that actually cares and shows it.

In the future, I would personally like to get my Masters' Plumbing License at some point and I would also like to own a small farm. Additionally, I would like to help do my part in turning uswhpro into a national brand and help grow our services in Central KY. I want customers to be shocked by our knowledge, professionalism, helpfulness and customer service. Long term, I would love to see myself in a managerial role with the company. I am also interested in developing our commercial services. At present, most of my experience is residential and the boiler rooms are like walking into a different world. I hope I have the opportunity for additional commercial training and hands on experience soon.

Beyond Plumbing...

When I am not plumbing, I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family. I married my wife, Heidi, in 2016 and we have a daughter and a son. We love to go camping, hiking, or play in the creek. We sometimes visit Red River Gorge. It has a lot of beautiful views and waterways, but it’s often very busy there. Lately we have been camping and hanging out on a privately owned 1600 acre property; there is nothing but mountains, springs, and creeks.

My wife and I also both have strong interests in owning a small sustainable farm/homesteading. Currently we only raise rabbits, but I hope to have a dairy goat or two, as well as chickens and definitely a pet donkey. We love gardening, too, and we want to provide ourselves and our kids with as much organically grown/raised food as possible. Most importantly, we believe the country is the best place to raise our kids. They will have the opportunity to learn all of these things with us and be able to provide for themselves when the time comes. A beautiful Kentucky sunrise or sunset view would be a major plus! It seems like a fantasy now but I hope we reach that point soon.