Brad Connors

My story begins with a car accident at the age of two. I had a collapsed lung and as a result of that accident, I lost my father. There was an insurance settlement that was paid out and it was tied up until I was 18 years old. It was put on interest at a bank and back in the 80’s we had pretty good interest rates; so, the account grew pretty well. At the age of four, my dad Craig adopted me. I was raised by my dad and mom, Craig and Lynn, and I have one brother, Corey that's in the family… Show more

My story begins with a car accident at the age of two. I had a collapsed lung and as a result of that accident, I lost my father. There was an insurance settlement that was paid out and it was tied up until I was 18 years old. It was put on interest at a bank and back in the 80’s we had pretty good interest rates; so, the account grew pretty well. At the age of four, my dad Craig adopted me. I was raised by my dad and mom, Craig and Lynn, and I have one brother, Corey that's in the family plumbing business. Growing up family was super important. We would go to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners together. My mom, being the oldest of seven and my dad, being the oldest of nine, there was family everywhere. I looked up to my Grandpa Wilmes probably the most. Grandpa worked at Cato Engineering. He's the type of guy that you would see with his friends at a coffee shop with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other and he'd probably have some used clothing on from a garage sale that he picked up. But grandpa taught me how to savor life. He taught me about family. We would banter back and forth about politics and different things, but we'd always end it with a hug. I miss him dearly to this day. At the age of 14, I learned what it was like to work. My uncle owned a fish market called the Wilmes Fish Market in Waterville, Minnesota. You see, Waterville is the bullhead capital of the world. We would have people from Iowa that would drive up and stay for the week, go bullhead fishing and they would bring them in every night. Those bullheads would get skinned by Walt and Earl. They would get cleaned, washed, and I would freeze them and sell the bait and tackle. I really think my entrepreneurial spirit was born that summer. My uncle hired me for $500 a month that he paid me. I worked six days a week and would ride my bicycle there. Click to view "My Story" - https://youtu.be/WwE2KFT-pQc Show less