Just for fun, what was the last thing you
A
listened to on the radio on your way here?
I was listening to a play list that my kids and I
created for a road trip we took recently. In preparing to
go, each of us added all of our favorite music into one
&play list so we could listen in the car. We played it on
to classic rock, to my daughter’s favorite, which is
Q
bit of her music, including Fall Out Boy.
Tell us a little about your career path and
how you got into this business.
The two founding partners of Shred360 are great guys that I
served with in the Army 25 years ago. One is a Marine and one is an
Army Ranger. Five years ago this month, they called me and said they
wanted to expand into Florida, and I was living here, so it developed
into a franchise opportunity. If you had told me years ago that I’d be
in this business now, I’d have said no way - I don’t know anything
about the shredding business, but now I sure do! I got out of the Army
in 1996 and since then I’ve been in some form of sales and marketing
and owned several businesses along the way, which led me to this
venture. Before this, I was a drug rep with Johnson & Johnson and I
is the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. They
are an incredible organization that handles
crisis calls from people in trouble, including
veterans, domestic violence and sexual
abuse victims and people considering
suicide. In our area, all of the suicide calls
that come in from veterans are transferred
freshman year, I had done well with my grades and was invited to apply
for an ROTC scholarship. Over 50 people applied and I was the only one
who it was awarded to.
Cam Caudle
knew right away that I didn’t want to
do that. Then I joined GE Medical and
sold imaging equipment. Eventually, I
moved to Florida and started a smoking
cessation company which provided a
shot to help people stop smoking.
It really worked. I had clients
that had smoked for over 40
years and they were able
partners and my medical
background and contacts
really helped us grow to
the point that eventually
we opened medical clinics
in Tampa, Boca Raton and
Jacksonville.
You mentioned that
you served in the Armed
Forces. Tell us how you
became involved in military
service and how this
impacted the trajectory of
your life.
Both of my parents came
from families with eight
children and almost all of the
men had served in military, so
growing up I knew I’d be in
the military in some form or
another. When I was a teen, my
Dad lost his job in advertising
after a 20 year career, so I
pay for college. I’d received
12 | Land O’ Lakes MAGAZINE | VOLUME I • ISSUE II | TO ADVERTISE CALL 813.501.4894
It was amazing and paid for the remaining three years of college.
Two weeks after I graduated, I began active duty as a Second Lieutenant
in the Army. After some training and Army Ranger school, I was
stationed in Vicenza in northern Italy and lived the good life there for
and got to do many exciting things, including all the things you see on
commercials, jumping out of planes and helicopters. Primarily my job
of about 1,000 people where I managed operations, trainings, assets,
ammunition, plus parachutes and jumps, since we were an airborne unit.
After three years, I returned to Anniston, Alabama and served my
people. During my time in the Army, I had no issue whatsoever in taking
orders, but pretty quickly after I got out, I realized that I didn’t want to
do that going forward and that I really wanted to start my own business.
I’d seen my father go through a job loss late in life and I’ve been through
a few job losses myself. Being employed with big drug companies is
always tenuous at best, so I decided I wanted to be the captain of my
own ship and start my own business.
You have quite a reputation for giving back to your
local community. Tell us a little about the
organizations you support.
I’m a member of the New Tampa
Rotary Club so we do all we can to help
out in the community and through my
business,
I support a lot of different types of
organizations locally and I always
choose those that speak to me
in some way. These are just
a few of my favorites. I’ve
been supporting the Special
Operations Warrior Foundation
for the last few years. They
are similar to the Wounded
Warrior Project, however they
don’t get nearly the support
or funding because they are
a smaller organization that
serves a smaller branch of the
military. They provide support
for children of Special Forces
soldiers who have been killed in
action. They pay for education
soldier’s children. I love these
people and their organization.
Another one that I’m a huge fan of