Mitch and Sherrye Louis lounged in the front yard of their Oklahoma home three years ago with other family members, trying to name their new hydroexcavation company. They had unsuccessfully submitted three or four suggested names to the appropriate regulatory agency in Texas.
“We had prayed pretty hard about it,” Mitch recalls.
As they relaxed that day in the yard, Sherrye looked at the sky and noticed a cloud formation that her husband describes as a “perfect 4.” It seemed to be a sign.
“She looked at me and said we should be the 4 Warriors company,” Mitch says.
So it is. The “4” denotes the four company principals: Mitch and Sherrye, their son Blaine Louis, and Blaine’s wife Samantha. “Warriors” alludes to a biblical verse (Jeremiah 20:11) that speaks of confidence in God. The company logo on each company truck is made up of the verse and a Native American headdress.
Besides being a distinctive name and helping the company’s marketing efforts, it has provided an opportunity for Christian witnessing.
“Honestly, more people notice the verse than you might think,” Mitch says. “If they see it, they always comment. That opens an opportunity for me to minister, if you will. As I talk with them, nine times out of 10 they have something going on in their life, as we all do.”
Texas is Bible-friendly country so overt promotion of one’s Christian faith is not especially notable. Would the Louises have chosen the 4 Warriors name if the company headquarters were in, say, Boston or San Francisco?
“We would not have done it any different,” Mitch says.
The name is memorable — a commercial plus — but it has also reinforced the Louises’ commitment to living their faith in the workplace. Example: A practice among some Christian denominations is to avoid work on Sundays, and for the most part the 4 Warriors hydroexcavation trucks are idle on Sundays.
“We do not work on Sundays,” Mitch says. “It is not that we haven’t ever worked on Sundays. Sometimes there is no getting around it. But we really began to stray away from that principle. My wife finally put the hatchet down. About three months ago, we talked about it and reminded ourselves that we didn’t build this business around the oilfield. We built it around God. Sunday is supposed to be free of work, for everyone.”
Read more about 4 Warriors Hydro Excavating in the July 2018 issue of Dig Different magazine.
