Mark Falcon offers a path to successful living through the plumbing trade
Some call them “undesirables.”
They call themselves misfits and mangy mongrels (they even have T-shirts).
Mark Falcon calls them family.
Mark, owner of Loyal Plumbing, prides himself on providing a pathway to a successful trade career for everyone, including many who had previously lost their way.
Mark himself knows what it is like to feel lost.
In high school, he stressed about his future, feeling like he needed to be a veterinarian, doctor, or lawyer like his brother and stepbrothers.
“In my mind, I had to do something like that; otherwise, I was a failure.”
His goal was to get into medical school; however, during his sophomore year in high school, Mark’s focus changed to partying, drinking and drugs.
He continued to do well in school but stopped participating in sports and activities. Mark graduated with honors and headed to college, doing what he thought was the only next step.
Paralyzed with the thought of what to do with his life, Mark slid deeper into his partying lifestyle, dropping out of college shortly after starting his freshman year.
Mark continued to use heavily until one day, he chose to go to rehab in California. “I got sober and learned about God and purpose, but I had done so many awful things I didn’t think I would fit in anywhere.”
That is, until he found the plumbing trade.
“Plumbing was a stable way to get myself back into the community and back into the world. It didn’t discriminate. People didn’t care about my past. I was there doing something they didn’t want to do,” Mark said.
And it was good money.
He started doing side jobs after hours with a plumber he met at the hardware store he was working at. “My first job, I put in some toilets, and he paid me $500 at the end of the day. At the time, that was what I was making in a whole week.”
Mark became an eager apprentice, learning all he could about the trade.
With plumbing, Mark discovered he could have a successful career doing something he enjoyed and provided many growth opportunities.
“I never knew what the plumbing trade was. I knew the toilet flushed and the faucet turned on, and that was about it. There is so much more to it.”
Mark lived on the West Coast for eight years, honing his skills and doing plumbing for the rich and famous in Malibu. It was at a job in the California beach city that Mark met his wife, Kirsten. The couple moved back to South Dakota, and the foundation of Loyal Plumbing began.
“I thought this trade had done so much for me. It allowed me to turn my whole life around. If I could make this available to others, that is what I wanted to do. That’s how Loyal Plumbing was birthed, just the idea that this trade could be a conduit for individuals to make it back.”
Loyal Plumbing started seven years ago with one employee. Today, Mark has 70 employees and continues to grow. While Mark said they incorporate innovative technology, Loyal’s success comes from its focus on employees.
“We do plumbing and heating, and we are good at it, but what we really do well and our why is caring about our employees, investing in our people, and helping each other achieve a better life,” Mark said, adding that Loyal offers free gym memberships, mentoring and counseling services, and childcare assistance through a partnership with the John T. Vucurevich Foundation. The company also has a community outreach program, Loyal Cares, where they have partnered with OneHeart, a transitional facility with a mission to create a pathway out of poverty through things like housing and employment.
Benny Kirkland had been in the trades since he was 15 and in plumbing and HVAC for nearly 20 years, aside from a brief hiatus during the dark days of his meth use.
He found his Loyal family four years ago and can’t imagine being anywhere else. Benny’s son also works at Loyal and plans to get his journeyman’s license when he turns 18, a sense of pride for the father. “It really has been a game changer. I have been in the trades for a long time, and I have done many things, but they let me do stuff that challenges me. They have confidence in me when I don’t have any in myself.”
Mark encourages Benny and other employees to attend AA meetings and other activities that support their sobriety. However, Benny said the biggest thing Mark has allowed him to do is build his own team.
Benny is the proud leader of the Mangy Mongrels, a group that includes Drew Lanciano, a Black Hills native who came to Loyal without plumbing experience.
“In two years, Drew has gained the level of understanding, job knowledge, management, and leadership skills that it takes some people 10 years to develop,” Mark said.
Drew, who had his own struggles with substance abuse, said he feels like there is no ceiling to the job.
“I have been given this opportunity I have never had before. I get to try new things. I get to mess something up and try it again. I am creating something. I look at it and think, “That is so cool I did that,” Drew said. “I am not afraid to try something new because I know I have the backing of Loyal Plumbing.”
While they have seasoned tradespeople, Mark said many of their employees, like Drew, have no experience. Mark’s only requirement is belief in the company’s core values of humility, hunger, caring, and loyalty.
The knowledge of the trade will follow.
That philosophy, Mark said, is what brings people to Loyal and the key to increasing the trades workforce.
“So many people don’t know about the trades. I don’t think we do a good job of promoting the career. We get to tinker. We use fire and big powerful tools. We never talk about building this massive pipe system or that plumbing also involves hydronic heating and electrical. We need to showcase that, but also that they can make an amazing living, own their own business and travel. My big thing is exposure,” Mark said.
And offering support and acceptance.
With his band misfits, Mark sees no limit to Loyal Plumbing.
This story was originally published in the August 2024 issue of Elevate Magazine.
