Words matter.
Jared Kish, 40, a master instructor at Southeast Lineman Training Center in Northeast Georgia, understands this more than anyone. That is why, as a reminder to continue staying motivated, he wrote the word “family” on the inside of his hard hat.
“I remember the instructors and teachers I had in my life,“ Jared told The Epoch Times. ”Their voices still echo in my head. Some of their words were good, some were bad, so I believe you should choose your words carefully. Words matter.”
Jared didn’t know that Jenn, 38, his high school sweetheart and wife of 18 years, would happen upon his hard hat in December 2021, and seeing the word “family” written inside, would be moved to tears.
Jared and Jenn met each other 23 years ago at a local grocery store in South Carolina where they grew up. Jared worked part time bagging groceries, and Jenn kept finding excuses to go back to the store in the hopes that Jared would be the one to bag her items. Finally, Jenn’s best friend gave Jenn’s phone number to Jared and he called her. The two have been together ever since.
Married on March 13, 2004, the couple are now parents to six children: three boys and three girls, ranging in age from 5 to 16. They’re a close-knit family who are always together—whether they’re homeschooling or spending time outdoors on activities like fishing, kayaking, swimming, biking, or hiking.
“It is so much fun having a large family,“ Jenn said. ”It certainly comes with its challenges, but we have an absolute blast together.”
Recently, when Jenn borrowed Jared’s truck to pick up a mattress set for their young son, she noticed her husband’s hard hat overturned on the truck seat. Seeing something written inside it, she climbed up into the truck to look closer, and the word “family” was inscribed inside the hat with a Sharpie.
“I had heard my husband talk about having his students write one word that motivates them inside of their hard hats, but I never knew that he wrote one in his too. So when I saw the word ‘family,’ it brought tears to my eyes,” Jenn said. “I think it was overwhelming for me because ‘family’ isn’t just a term my husband wrote in his hard hat and forgot about it—it’s how he lives his life every single day, with his family at the center of everything he does.”
Jenn describes their marriage as the foundation of their family.
“We each give 100 percent. This marriage is not 50/50—it’s 100/100. One thing we always say to each other is ‘all in,'” she said. “It’s a continual reminder that no matter what comes, we are all in, 100 percent committed to our marriage.”
Jared, who is very well aware of how words have the power to be either greatly motivating or negatively debilitating—works to positively influence his students at the Southeast Lineman Training Center, a responsibility he says he doesn’t take lightly.
“We all know life is hard. I just want to give them something to help them when it gets really hard,“ Jared said. ”So I ask the questions: What motivates you? Why are you here?”
Jared then has his students choose one word that motivates them and write it on the inside of their hard hats, where they can see it every time the hat is removed.
The training that Jared does takes his students away from their families for 15 weeks, after which they begin their careers. This puts them through long hours in harsh environments, and they thus need to remember who or what they’re really working for.
“These guys sometimes find themselves wanting to give up and go home,” he said. “They may be exhausted, but then they take that hard hat off and their words are there. They’re reminded why they are working so hard.”
And, for Jared, the word “family” is a reminder that spurs him to strive forward through the long hours and hard work.
