san antonio construction news july 2016

The Industry’s Newspaper

™CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONSan Antonio

Framing a new look with more space

continued on Page 24 continued on Page 24

continued on Page 24

Homegrown engineering Building the region

PRSRT. STD.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDDALLAS, TX

PERMIT #1451

P.O. Box 791290San Antonio, Texas 78279-1290

Change Service Requested

TexasStyle

Covering the Industry’s News

www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 18 H Number 7 H JULY 2016

San Antonio H AustinDallas/Fort Worth H Houston

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Barker & Associates, Don Barker, principal/president, credits

providing service to the industry and having control over the projects he took on – along with a very supportive wife – with making it all possible. “I couldn’t believe it had already been 10 years,” says Barker. “It seems like we just got started, but then I look at all the stuff that we have designed, all the projects that we’ve been involved with – and I’m very proud of it. I had no idea it would grow to this, and I’m very lucky to have started this company. It’s been a great experience.”

The Barker & Associates team includes L-R: Michael Didion, mechanical EIT; Justin Solis, PE, vice president and senior electrical engineer; Alfredo Losoya, HVAC and plumbing designer;

Don Barker, PE, LEED AP, principal/president; Ken Briggs, mechanical EIT; Monica Hodges, CDFA, office manager; and Carlos Benitez, PE, electrical engineer.

After receiving his associate’s degree in drafting and design from San Antonio College in 1986, Barker worked for TxDOT. In nearly five years, he went from being a bridge inspector to being in the office, designing roadways, grade separated ramps and retaining walls. With his parents’ support and the sale of his Fiero, he went back to school and earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UTSA in 1994. When he set out on his own after working for a few local firms, he and his wife, Elenita Ravicz, prepared for a reduction in salary and him working from home.

The small branch office ISEC started in the San Antonio area with one person in 2012 has grown into a

regional office for Central and South Texas with 13 people in the office and about 20 carpenters in the field. With the Boerne office continuing to grow, the need arose to relocate this year in March to 31007 I-10 West, Suite 112. With a little more than 3,000sf of office space finished out and another 1,500sf ready to be finished as growth continues, Jerry Hirth, general manager, notes that this space should accommodate local growth for the next five to 10 years. With ISEC for 18 years working his way up through the ranks in the

Members of the ISEC team in Boerne came from ISEC locations across the country, joining with local hires as the Central and South Texas regional office has grown.

company’s Rocky Mountain region, Hirth relocated from Colorado in 2014 to build Boerne into one of the company’s regional offices. Today, he oversees operations in Central and South Texas, focusing primarily on the San Antonio and Austin markets. Though the focus is work in those two cities and their surrounding areas, ISEC covers all of its projects within the State of Texas from the Boerne office, the sole exception being the Greater Houston area, where ISEC has its only other Texas location. In this regional market, Hirth observes that a lot of the work is

When the HEB in Olmos Park was ready for a change, TBC Commercial handled the

65,000-sf, wall-to-wall remodel and 10,000-sf expansion. Though TBC does quite a few HEBs, working with the locally based grocer for about 15 years now, HEB SA #8 on Olmos Drive utilized a new design with unique elements. The remodel spruced up the whole interior with all new finishes, paint and polished concrete floors. This allowed for a new deli department, a new floral department, and they were able to enlarge the produce area. Adding 10,000sf to the building also expanded the store’s pharmacy, business center, men’s and women’s restrooms, and administrative offices. The estimated project cost was $8 million. The store was in continuous operation during the construction, which began in September 2014 and finished in December 2015. Elements of the exterior

design took more time than originally anticipated due to the unique use of space frame and acid-etched glass, explains Chuck Landry, project executive. Also, the exterior façade was D’Hanis wall tile. The space frame was approximately 25-ft tall and wrapped around the front of the store, and though space frames are mostly installed horizontally as a roof structure, this space frame was installed vertically to hold up the glass panels along the storefront which bear the HEB name at the entrance and above the pharmacy drive-thru. “The space frame was constructed in the parking lot and had to be crane lifted to specific anchor points set in the wall,” recalls Landry. “The margin of error was very minimal, so it took some time to set each frame at night while the store was closed. The lighting behind the frame

TBC Commercial worked on the remodel and expansion of this HEB in Olmos Park, implementing a new design for the grocery store.

San Antonio Construction News • July 2016

As the general contractor on the San Antonio River Authority first trash boom project in the city, RCO Construction placed a concrete drive down

to a floatable pad on the river where the trash boom system will be installed. Richard Martinez, superintendent, and Juan Rameriz, foreman, led

the RCO team in placing concrete. –mh

Working by the riverConstruction News JOB SIGHT

Having celebrated the company’s fifth anniversary in December, the Allegiance Crane & Equipment

San Antonio office has been looking for ways to get involved in the local community, since giving back is a big part of the company culture. Earlier this year, Allegiance was one

Showing their Allegiance

The San Antonio team of Allegiance Crane & Equipment includesL-R: (front row) James Coker, Jessica Salas, Gary Campbell, (back row) Rodger Olson,

Wayne Anderson and Richard McCarter.

of the construction industry contributors to the Morgan’s Inspiration Island Extreme Build volunteer effort. Now, Gary Campbell, vice president of operations, says that they’re looking to get involved with helping homeless veterans and technical training for young people. With experience working in the crane industry since 1975, Campbell oversees the 20 to 25 people at the San Antonio office, which was established about four years ago and is located in Marion, and all of the company’s Texas branches. With Allegiance being involved with the National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators, Campbell is an examiner for crane operators, riggers and signalpersons. From the local office, Allegiance has done work for Microsoft and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, but most of their work is in the industrial field, such as refineries and petrochemical plants. Campbell adds that they are also branching more and more into heavy hauling recently. Jim Robertson, CEO and president, says Allegiance was founded on principles meant to make its culture a distinguishing factor. In addition to efforts to support the local communities and the future of the industry, Robertson says they do not use the word “employees” but rather “purpose partners.” Though he has a title, he says there is no hierarchy and the people-first policy gives the company its name. Headquartered in Pompano Beach, FL, Allegiance Crane & Equipment has locations in Florida and Texas, including San Antonio, Houston, Corpus Christi, Carrizo Springs and Midland. –mh


Recently, at “AW Ready” Plumbing & Backflow Testing, owner and founder Armando Villalobos

knocked down a wall for his latest expansion – not for his shop, but for the ministry he runs out of the same location. “There’s no better feeling than to help somebody in need, because you used to be in that position yourself,” says Villalobos. “You want to show them that there’s hope in life and that there’s actually love, and they need to believe that they don’t have to be in the position that they’re at.” After receiving his master’s license, Villalobos started “AW Ready” about 12 years ago so that he could learn to do business for himself and have the time to do things that he loved. Having his own company allowed him to take the time off to go on missionary trips, and soon, friends were encouraging him to become ordained. For about two years now, he has served as pastor of Holy Spirit Ministries,

An uplifting passion

Armando Villalobos spent a few weeks expanding the ministry side of his shop.When he’s not working, he’s ministering or doing projects through the ministry

that he feels he has been called to do.

which he started at his shop on Spencer Lane by preaching on Sunday mornings and Wednesdays. Having doubled the number of people who originally came to the ministry, more people are stopping by to see what the ministry is about, and a lot of them are contractors who know him through work. His wife, Belinda Villalobos, is also a pastor and does the ministry with him, as well as helping with the business after hours. She is a schoolteacher by day. Some days, they walk the streets, ministering, handing out a sack lunch to those in need. This gave Villalobos an idea for a project he is now working on, converting portable restrooms to showers for the homeless. A previous project for Villalobos was building a baptism tank from a Jacuzzi outside of the shop. “There are some people that fall, but they fall hard,” he says. “We’re there to lift them up, to let them know there is hope.” –mh

An electrical jumpstart

In August 2013, John Verhelst started VA Electric and by October, there was a group of about 60 people on board

to help the subcontractor get started. Today, the company has 174 people, almost triple the talent it had in the beginning. Verhelst started in the trade in 1982, working his way up through the field until 1996 when he moved into the office and became a project manager. At 33, he was managing a division of a $40 million a year company in Houston. Soon, he was being hired by different companies to help them establish market presence, and a company in San Antonio hired him to create a presence here. When that company decided to close its doors, Verhelst and the company had built a good team of people in San Antonio and wanted to keep the team together instead of break up to work for other companies. Verhelst says a lot of family came on board too. He also credits their people in the field with helping the

L-R: George Green, Kevin Mathis and John Verhelst helped lead VA Electric from itsinception to doing large commercial and industrial projects in just three years.

company become what it is today through their quality of service. Among VA’s leadership that helped start from the other company were Kevin Mathis, division manager for the San Antonio area; George Green, vice president of business development; and Rick Perez, general superintendent. Other key members are superintendents Dinh Thach and Huynh Nguyen. Projects include the 250,000-sf Nexolon America Solar manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Lackland Air Force Base’s Dorm 3 and the 1 million-sf Dollar General Distribution Center as well as the Comstock Border Patrol Station and Samsung Semiconductor in Austin. Covering San Antonio and Austin from their main office in New Braunfels, VA Electric is a full-service electrical contractor with an office in Houston. The company’s work includes installation, service, ground up, remodel, retrofit, semiconductor, design build and preconstruction. –mh


CONSTRUCTION NEWS

©2016 Construction News, Ltd.

Construction News Ltd. Home OfficeP.O. Box 791290 • San Antonio, Tx 78279

210-308-5800 Fax 210-308-5960www.ConstructionNews.net

San Antonio

San Antonio Editor: Mary Hazlett — [email protected] — 210-308-5800

If you are a construction-related company in Atascosa, Bexar, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina or Wilson counties and are not receiving a free copy of the San Antonio

Construction News, please call for a Requester Form, or visit our website.

The San Antonio Construction News (ISSN 1547-7630) is published monthly by Construction News LTD., dba San Antonio Construction News, and distributed by mail to construction-related companies of record in Bexar and 7 surrounding counties. All submissions should be mailed to our editorial offices. We reserve the right to edit any materials submitted. No fees for materials, copy or photographs submitted will be due unless agreed upon in advance in writing. Submissions will be published at our discretion on a space available basis. Construction News, Ltd. , dba San Antonio Construction News, will not be liable for errors in copy or in advertisements beyond the actual cost of space occupied by the error. Publisher reserves the right to reject any advertisement at any time.

Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buddy Doebbler

Editorial/Production . . . . . . . Reesa Doebbler

Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cyndi Wright

Admin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lacie Cortez

Production Manager. . . . . . . . . . Sue Johnson

Account Manager . . . . . . . . . . .Dana Calonge

Services across the horizon

With what George Stuckey, vice president of Fox Service Company, describes as “great

opportunities on the horizon,” the San Antonio office is working to expand its air conditioning and electrical divisions. Though the San Antonio location was opened in 2000, Fox has been working in the San Antonio area for the last 25 years or so, covering the Alamo City from its Austin headquarters before the local office was established. The branch covers the city north through New Braunfels straight down through South Texas. With seven people working out of the San Antonio branch, Stuckey oversees operations with Scott Curtwright running the AC division and Eddie Fischer running the electrical division. Fox’s three locations support each other whenever necessary with 120 service technicians companywide and 135 vehicles/trucks. Since San Antonio

Fox Service Company’s San Antonio team leaders areL-R: Scott Curtwright, George Stuckey and Eddie Fischer.

focuses on HVAC and electrical service, Fox supports local plumbing project work from Austin. The company does the air condition-ing for Cheesecake Factory restaurants across the country as well as work for Frost Bank and the City of San Antonio. Fox also does refrigeration, including the walk-in freezers for Walgreens, as well as LED retrofits and service for outdoor lighting for parking lots at shopping cen-ters, hospitals and banks. One of the San Antonio team’s recent jobs involved the removal of an 80-ton air conditioning unit from the second floor of an office building, taking a brand new unit apart, putting it in with forklifts, and reassembling it to have the new unit up and running in two days. Based in Austin, Fox Service Company has offices in San Antonio and Temple. The San Antonio location focuses exclusively on commercial work, including service, installation, repair and replacement. –mh

Robert Ober, Robert Ober & Associates, was identified as CEO in last month’s Spotlight. His title changed earlier this year, and he should have been identified as Owner. –mh

Correction

The Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors (PHCC) San Antonio Chapter, along with the American

Backflow Prevention Association (ABPA) San Antonio Chapter and the American Society of Plumbing Engineers Central Texas Chapter, hosted the fourth annual PHC Industry Sporting Clay Shoot Jun. 2 at the San Antonio Gun Club. The event drew 100 shooters, plus attendees for dinner, the awards and gun raffles. –mh

Joining together for the sport of it

L-R: Troy Baird, Bac-Flo Unlimited; Perry Beyer Jr., Beyer Plumbing;Brittany Moreland, PEPCO Sales; Fred Baird, Bac-Flo Unlimited; Terry Beck,

You Name It Specialties; Billy Musick, Moore Supply

The Sporting Clay Shoot Committee included team members from L-R: Heat & Treat, Moore Supply, NIBCO, Leasing Associates, Heat & Treat, Benchmark Plumbing, and PHCC-San Antonio.

L-R: Lisa Cesarez, Emergency Service Restoration, and Sonia Fuentes,

Ferguson Enterprises

L-R: Analeise Heuser, Milwaukee Tool; Colten and Greg Bolin, Bolin Plumbing; Juan Torres, Milwaukee Tool


Lorraine M. DaileyPresident

LMD Architects

Lorraine M. Dailey started her own firm, LMD Architects, in 2000, and 16 years later, she enjoys her work, as

well as mentoring high school and college students who want to enter the field. At 52, she manages five people at work and is always looking for ways to help others, including herself, to be better. Currently, she is coordinating the relocation from LMD’s longtime home on 281 North in San Antonio to a 10-acre site farther north on 281, less than a mile south of Highway 46 in Bulverde.

Where are you from and where did you grow up? I moved here when I was 7 years old. I’ve lived here the majority of my life. We moved here from Akron, OH, and I was born in Flagstaff, AZ. My mother was a schoolteacher, a reading specialist, and my biological father was a professor at Trinity University. He brought us to Texas. And my stepfather drove a cab.

When did you discover your interest in architecture? Even as a young girl, I always wanted to be an architect. I used to draw dollhouses, and my stepdad would build them for me. I used to draw tree houses and do a materials takeoff of everything I would need to build the tree house. It was a passion of mine. I loved creating and creating spaces. When college time came, my biological father was a professor at Trinity University, so I had a faculty scholarship there, and I was strong in math skills so they tried to steer me in the engineering field, but after a year of Trinity, I realized I don’t want to calculate how much water

is in the swimming pool; I want to design the swimming pool. Engineering was not my passion. Trinity did not have any architecture program, and they still don’t. Architecture is very specific. It’s five years of specific architecture studies. So, you have to start from day one in architecture and go all the way through. Then, I went to UTSA, because I knew I wanted to stay in San Antonio. I did the program and then became licensed. I did a five-year internship.

Where did you go after college? Right out of college, it was the early ‘80s, and so there was a recession. I had three interviews. One of those interviews was an architect who specialized in criminal justice, architecture of facilities. So that’s how I started in criminal justice design. I worked for him, and then I formed a partnership with his son and one of the other firm architects, had that partnership for a number of years, and then I went out on my own in 2000, continuing to specialize in criminal justice and civic governmental projects.

What do you find interesting about designing those specific projects? What elements factor into it? Criminal justice architecture is very unique because you’re designing for the public, but also, you’re designing a secure environment for the inmate or the detainee. You are able to be more creative and have more aesthetic options on the public side and the exterior. However, within the facility area, it’s very hardened, and there’s less creative aspects as far as the aesthetics; however, it is very detailed. I love the detail of all the codes – maybe that’s the math in me, but all of the codes, the locking systems, the security electronics, just always trying to make the facility more efficient, more secure and safer for the detainee as well as the staff. It’s always a challenge.

Tell me more about yourself. I was married for 27 years, divorced almost five years ago. I have one daughter, Meghan. She’s 30. She’s in the Air Force, first lieutenant. She’s a blessing. We’re very close. We’re going to Ireland. First time going to Europe. It’s been on my bucket list, and we’re going at the end of this week. We’re going to hike and bike. I love doing outdoor activities. Anything outdoors, hiking, biking, kayaking. I love being on the water. I race dirt track cars. I’ve jumped out of planes. I like to be very active and really enjoy being out in nature and doing things that

are active. Bicycle riding and motorcycle riding. I ride a Harley motorcycle. Horseback riding. I had two horses. I’ve lost both of them. Right now, work is very challenging, but when things slow down a little bit, I’m going to get another horse, raise him up from young. Tell me more about your daughter. My daughter went into the Air Force on a medical scholarship for pre-med, and she is moving toward the PA program, which is physician assistant. So, she was commissioned in the Air Force before medical school, did two-and-a-half years of med school, and then went up to Massachusetts to be in their space and radar program while she was working toward getting into the PA program. She’s very close to her promotion to captain. The PA program is here at Fort Sam, so I’m just thrilled. She won’t live with me, because I live a little more than an hour away. I’d love for her to come live at home again and be there for her while she goes through this next phase of her life, but it will be wonderful to have her back in San Antonio. She lives in Cape Cod, MA, and I have been spoiled rotten, getting to go up to the Cape. I’ve made several trips up there, and it’s been awesome. She’s the light of my life. She’s a great, wonderful kid.

Do you have any personal or professional goals you would like to share? I am at the phase of my life that I recognize the importance of giving back to my profession and giving back to community, and my focus is less on, “I want to achieve more, more, more” as far as material things, and more on “I want to invest my life into the next generation of architects and just humanity in general.” I’m a Christian, so making my focus more on “How do I lead and manage with love, grace, mercy and compassion?” versus driving the whip. I was raised by a driven whip, and my first experience in the workplace was by a very hard master, and so I really was never taught the skills of how do you manage a workplace with grace and compassion while still, we have to be somewhat perfectionist as architects, because we cannot have errors in our documents. So I’m learning how to do that and trying to instill that in my employees and those that I mentor so that they have an opportunity to grow into a leadership position that values the people more than the product. And brings God’s wisdom and love into the workplace and into their career.

Talk to me about the mentoring you’re doing. What I try to do is bring in high school students that are in the work-study program, so they can spend their part-time here in the office and especially those that are interested in architecture,

because it gives them a hands-on “This is what architects do.” It is very different for them to come in and see what it really is, and then if it is still their passion, to instill in them the values of a workplace of integrity, but also a workplace that values people. And how do we do that? And how do you lead with excellence? How do you manage your time? And those types of things. I have one young lady here that started in high school, Gabi Aguilar, and she’s now in college in the architecture program and she’s been with me for several years. I also like to hire interns out of college that are going to start their career, ideally get them part-time while they’re still in school. Kristin Gabriel has been with me for four years almost all the way through college, and she’s been with me out of college a year-and-a-half now. She’s leaving to do her master’s program. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to train her in all aspects of architecture, take her out into the field.

What other ways do you like to give back and get involved? I volunteer at CBC. Community Bible Church is my church. They just started a pilot church out at Borgfeld Road, which is a little closer to me. I’m toward Boerne. So, I volunteer there. I do the guest relations, set up and tear down at our new campus, and then I also volunteer as a care and support facilitator for evening classes, a small group study that shares books such as “Search for Significance” and “Hiding from Love” and those things that help us find out who we are in Christ. To live the abundant life that Christ came for us to have instead of trapped in the things that we are trapped in, like me – perfectionism has always been a huge struggle for me.

In what way? Oh my goodness, everything just had to be perfect. All your value is tied up in how you perform, and it’s very hard for me to separate my work product from who I am and just be able to say, “This could have been better.” Because you can always do better. So, finding that place to stop – and I think a lot of architects have that. Where do you stop? What’s good enough? And then finding my value, me as a person. If I have a client disappointed about something or a contractor says, “This isn’t the way it should have been done,” I used to just take that as “There’s something wrong with me” versus “There’s so many ideas out there, and there’s a hundred ways to do anything, and everybody can have good feedback in how something is done, and it’s not a criticism of who you are, but it’s an opportunity to grow and learn more.” –mh

Hoping to instill values of leadership and integrity in the next generation,Lorraine M. Dailey, president and founder of LMD Architects, mentors high school

and college students interested in architecture.


After six years of active involvement with the Society for Design Administration (SDA), Monica

Hodges was installed as the national president May 14 at the association’s annual business meeting in Cincinnati, OH. With 25 years of experience and on-the-job training in various roles of administration in the medical field and other businesses, Hodges is the office manager for Barker & Associates, an MEP consulting engineers firm based in San Antonio. She joined the firm nine years ago as its second employee. Four years into her tenure with Barker, she was invited to attend a meeting of the SDA San Antonio Chapter with member Jackie Gonzaba, McChesney/Bianco Architecture. Noting that the timing was perfect, Hodges received support and encouragement from her boss, Don Barker, and immediately became involved. In 2012, just two years after joining, she served as San Antonio Chapter president-elect, and in 2013, chapter president. In 2014, she moved up to national vice president, and last year, she was national president-elect. She also went through the SDA’s program to become a Certified Design Firm Administrator (CDFA). The program focuses on finance, office administration, marketing, project management, and human resources, and requires 18 hours of continuing education credits per year to keep the certification. Established in 1959, the SDA is direct-ed specifically toward architecture/engi-neering/construction (AEC) administra-tion. As a community for the admins and business professionals serving the AEC industry, this allowed Hodges to connect with women who are literally in her same position. “We are all alike in the job functions that we do,” explains Hodges. “So, it’s

Rapid rise to leadership

very easy to relate to each other. We all have the same struggles. It’s just a really good sense of community. It doesn’t matter if they’re from San Antonio or if they’re from Seattle. We all are in the same industry, and we all hear and see the same things over and over again. “Being in an organization that is specific to your industry has just been a lifesaver as far as keeping up with all the technologies that are going on in our industry. The communication between all of us and staying current is invaluable.” Hodges met with the executive committee and executive director in San Antonio last month to adjust the SDA’s current strategic plan. Her personal platform for her term is to help members find their paths to leadership. Believing you only get out of an organization what you put into it, she says that while some might be content to be members or the time might not be right for them, she encourages members to consider the benefits and opportunities leadership could afford them in the future. –mh

Staying alive (and safe)

The Hispanic Contractors Association (HCA) de San Antonio hosted its annual Safety Fair May 20-21 at the

Alamo University Center in Live Oak. This year, CPS Energy came out to the fair to do a safety demonstration concerning electricity, one of the main causes of accidents or safety incidents in the construction industry. With a transformer base set up and one of the energy service provider’s teams, CPS did an arcing demonstration to illustrate what can happen at home or on the job site when someone is not safe while working around electricity. The demonstration showed how live power lines can ignite everything from kite strings to fallen branches. The fair offered free OSHA 10 and CPR/First Aid Safety Training classes to

125 attendees. Both classes were offered in English and in Spanish. The OSHA 10 classes started on Friday and continued on Saturday morning. CPR/First Aid classes were offered again on Saturday morning. CPS works closely with Texas 811, Call Before You Dig, and the Texas 811 Food Truck came out to serve free pulled pork sliders to attendees for lunch on Friday. Dave Sanchez, executive director of HCA, expressed his gratitude for everyone who made the fair possible, including the OSHA-trained volunteers who gave the classes. He says, “A lot of them do this for a living – they work with ESR or Shorm [Consulting] or others – but for us, they’re volunteering their time so that the workers in the San Antonio area can get some free training.” –mh

CPS Energy did an arcing demonstration outside of the Alamo University Center to show attendees of the HCA Safety Fair what happens when objects – and workers – come in

contact with live electricity due to unsafe conditions.

With 125 people receiving free safety training, offered in English and in Spanish, the workers learned CPR and first aid skills that may help them save a life on the job site one day.

The Texas 811 Food Truck, meant to encourage people to “Call Before You Dig” andincrease awareness of underground utilities and the safety hazards they pose,

offered free lunch for everyone at this year’s Safety Fair.

Monica Hodges, SDA national president


Rentals all aroundConstruction News ON LOCATION

At We Rent It in Schertz, Clint Mackerer, branch manager, says they rent everythingfrom handheld power tools to 60,000-lb excavators. Currently, they have pipelining equipment down south, excavation equipment on commercial jobs, and rentals outwith a company that builds artificial lakes on properties. L-R: Joel Solis, Ben Besfer,

Clint Mackerer, John Norton, Juan Ceron. –mh

I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii be-cause the beaches look so beautiful.

Monica Hodges, Barker & Associates

Of places that I would like to see, I would make it a little more geographically open. I’d like to see Asia. I’d like to see Ja-pan and China. I think I’ve always wanted to see Japan, specifically Tokyo, and I’d love to see Hong Kong. Those are places that are truly on my bucket list.

Don Barker, Barker & Associates

Europe, to travel overseas. And why? His-tory. And specifically, I would absolutely love to go to Israel and just be in the presence of the history of the Bible, to re-ally walk where Jesus walked. The history of my faith as well as the history of Eu-rope as well as the Middle East. And then, I would love to see the architecture. So, it’s two-fold.

Lorraine M. Dailey, LMD Architects

Being an architecture major, there’s a whole bunch of places that I would like to go see, but I guess the top on the list would be Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water in Bear Run, PA. I’ve always ad-mired Frank Lloyd Wright, and Falling

What is one place you would like to see?

Water is just a gorgeous place that we all studied in school, and that’s probably the first place that I’d like to go see.

Chuck Landry, TBC Commercial

Ireland. The sheer beauty of the country-side.George Stuckey, Fox Service Company

I guess I would say California, just be-cause I figure it would be cool. I’ve heard the climate is really nice and Orange County and those areas are really nice. My dad used to live in California, and I’ve always wanted to explore California.

Michael Brown, System Controls & In-strumentation

As much as we’ve traveled here in the United States, I would like to travel to Eu-rope. Being in the architectural design field, I would really like to go somewhere in Europe, either Spain or Italy, and look at that architecture.

Bernardo Chapa, SA Partnership

Right now, on the domestic side would be New York City. I’ve never been to the Big Apple. And on the international side, it would be the Vatican. The Big Apple for the excitement and the festivities, and the Vatican to get closer to the pearly gates.

Chris Martinez, Central Electric

Africa. As far as my native heritage goes, I pretty well feel that because I grew up in the United States, but there’s still some African heritage that I have with me that I haven’t fulfilled yet, so I would like to do that.

Fredrick Kirksey, BTB Contractors

One place that I would love to see is Yel-lowstone National Park. Mother Nature is unbelievable. Knowing that you can go out there and see just about anything from Mother Nature, you can find it there at that park – different animals, glaciers, waterfalls. There’s unlimited stuff to see there.

Rudy Dela Cruz, HJD Capital Electric

I would probably like to visit up in the north in the hunting area somewhere – the Iowa-Nebraska range – and see what big game they’re hunting out there. May-be Canada. There’s big game up there. We’ve hunted our whole lives and never really been on the big animal hunts, and I think that would be fun to see the big-ger animals – the elk and things like that.

Bryan Ehrlich, Central Builders Inc.

Keeping it coolConstruction News JOB SIGHT

Tony Currier and Frantzy Sanon, Comfort-Air Engineering Inc., were working on the VBX, Construction News and PACE building on Naco Perrin Blvd.–cw


The new face of the forum

After taking second place in the Independent Electrical Contractors

(IEC) San Antonio Chapter Apprentice Wire-Off earlier this year, Michael Brown completed the fourth year of his apprenticeship, took his last test and graduated from the program Jun. 16. Though he entered the wire-off with a healthy competitive nature, he notes that it felt good to place and was happy for his buddy, Terry McDaniel, who won first place to go on to the national competition. Now that his journey toward becoming a journeyman is complete, he says the IEC will always have a place in his heart. “I feel like the school helps you get more familiar with the code,” he says. “They teach you controls. They teach you a lot of things that it’s probably better to learn in a classroom setting as opposed to just learning in the field – learning in a more controlled environment.” Intending to continue his education and go for his master’s license, he is proud of the progress he has made, having possessed no knowledge of or background in construction prior to beginning his apprenticeship. After getting his GED, Brown worked at a restaurant for about five years and studied culinary arts for a time at St. Philip’s College. One of his friends is an electrician and encouraged Brown to consider pursuing a career in the trade. Though he was skeptical about his ability to do it, he got into the field while maintaining his job at the

Michael BrownSystem Controls & InstrumentationIEC Apprenticeship

Texas Apprentice

restaurant on weekends. But his path toward a career in the electrical trade became clear, and Mother’s Day 2012 was his last day in the restaurant industry. Though he enjoys cooking, Brown says he can do that at home, and since he was about to become a father at the time, he needed a better way to make a living for his family. His job in the electrical industry has allowed his wife, Francesca, to stay home and raise their two daughters, Genevieve, 4, and Isabella, 2. Mentioning the personal benefit that has come with his new career, he adds that through his work, “You really feel like you’ve accomplished something at the end of the day as well.” At 35, Brown has been with System Controls & Instrumentation for about three-and-a-half years now. He began his apprenticeship with another company, but when they wanted him to relocate to Dallas, he ended up making the move to System Controls. Outside of work, he enjoys quality time with his family, listening to music and tinkering with his car. –mh

The National Associa-tion of Women in Con-struction (NAWIC)

held its first ever South Cen-tral Region Forum May 20-21 at Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans’ French Quar-ter. With more than 130 members attending from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisi-ana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, Kari Wirth believes that the new South Central Region, created when Regions 5 and 7 merged in October of last year, may be the largest. “It was great to hear how many of the chapters came together to pull off a great forum,” says Wirth. “[Dena Rowland, regional director] was challenged with the combined first an-nual forum, and everyone pitched in to make it a success.” The conference included a Mardi Gras-themed ball with dinner, a live band, and awards. While in New Orleans, some members took lessons in making gumbo, etouffee and bananas foster in a Crescent City Cooking Class and took in the local sights. The San Antonio Chapter received several awards, including the Hard Hat Safety Winners, Kari Wirth and Jennifer McElroy; the WIC Week PR & Marketing Award; the Bull’s Eye Award for PR and marketing for the year; and the Quiver Award for timely membership submis-sions. Michelle Urbanczyk, chapter presi-dent, says, “The chapter is only as good

Among those joining in the New Orleans masquerade for NAWIC’s South Central Region Forum were L-R: Rebecca

Pratt, Becky Rodriguez, Esther Wong, Kari Wirth, Gretel Lott, Michelle Urbanczyk, Dawn Holmes, Martha Simpson and

Patty Wylie.

as its members, and each member de-serves a huge round of applause for the hard work, continual support and team-work of one another to keep the SA Chap-ter strong.” –mh

Patty Wylie (second left) and Esther Wong (right) ran into the Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf in the Crescent City.


Heat-related illness Wes PittsUSI Southwest Austin, TX

Summer heat can be more than uncomfortable; it can be DEADLY. Every year thousands of workers become

sick or worse from heat exposure. Heat illness is preventable, and many corporate safety policies and/or employee manuals do not address heat related illness.

Symptoms vary in intensity but can include: • Dizziness, weakness, nausea, headache, and possibly vomiting • Blurry vision • Body temperature rising to 100 to 104.9°F • Sweaty skin • Feeling hot and thirsty • Difficulty speaking A person suffering from heat exhaustion must move to a cool place and drink plenty of water.

Heat Stroke Heat stroke is the result of untreated heat exhaustion. Symptoms include: • Ceasing of sweating • Body temperature rising rapidly to above 104.9°F • Confusion or delirium • Loss of consciousness, seizure Call 911 or seek medical professionals. Keep the person cool until help arrives. Place cold compresses on the neck, armpits and groin (where blood vessels run close to the skin). If the person is awake and able to swallow, administer fluids. Normally, the main source of heat is generated internally by your body. The body exchanges heat with its surroundings mainly through radiation, convection, and evaporation of sweat. Radiation is the process by which the body gains heat from surrounding hot objects, such as hot metal, furnaces, or steam pipes, and loses heat to cold objects, such as chilled metallic surfaces, without contact with them. Convection is the process by which the body exchanges heat with the surrounding air. The body gains heat from hot air and loses heat to cold air, which comes in contact with the skin. Evaporation of sweat from the skin cools the body. Evaporation occurs more quickly, and the cooling effect is more noticeable with high wind speeds and low relative humidity. In hot and humid workplaces, the cooling of the body, due to sweat evaporation, is limited because the air cannot accept more moisture. In hot and dry workplaces, the cooling, due to sweat evaporation, is limited by the amount of sweat produced by the body. Heat related illnesses occur when at-risk workers build up metabolic heat faster than their bodies can release it and

cool down. In a limited study of 20 cases investigated by OSHA, in which 13 deaths occurred, it was found that four of the deaths occurred on the first day of work in a new job, or after returning from time away from the job. Three deaths occurred on the second day, and two on the third day (9 deaths within the first three days). Long-term workers made up the other 4 deaths. In cases that involved heat illness but not death, the number of days on the job did not appear to have an effect. Studies have found that the failure to support acclimatization appears to be the most common deficiency for employers that have employees at-risk, and the factor most clearly associated with death. Employers need to provide time for workers to acclimate when they have been absent from work more than a few days (for new workers or workers returning to a job, where exposure to heat related illness may occur). Important elements for employers to consider when addressing heat related illness include assigning a responsible person for developing and executing a heat related illness prevention program within the company. Goals for the program should include plans for: 1. Gradual acclimatizing of workers; 2. Monitoring the temperature (e.g., heat index and wet bulb globe temperature) of their worksite; 3. Worker hydration (water) before, during, and after work; 4. Providing shaded and cool areas for rest breaks; 5. Modifying work schedules to reduce workers’ exposure to heat; 6. Training workers on the signs and symptoms of heat illness; 7. Monitoring workers for signs of heat stress; 8. Planning for emergencies and response; and9. Documenting the above with Safety Training Sign-In Log Discuss ideas with your agent about creating a customizable Heat Illness Prevention Program that can be easily incorporated into your safety and employee manual. Wes Pitts is a Sr. vice president and Southwest Regional Construction Practice Leader for USI Southwest - Austin, TX, USA. Wes can be contacted at 512-651-4107 or [email protected]

Internal fraud and controlsCari Takao, shareholderFisher Herbst & Kemble PCSan Antonio, TX

“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we prac-tice to deceive. But once we’ve practiced for a while,

oh my, how we have improved our style.” – Unknown per-petrator

Occupational fraud is a deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain by employees, managers and/or executives/owners.The main ingredients for fraud is best il-lustrated as a triangle with three sides known as opportunity, pressure and ra-tionalization. Some common mistakes an owner or manager make in relation to fraud: • Trusting an employee implicitly with no oversight of their activities; • Not requiring approval on signifi-cant transactions; • Having an over reliance on outside auditors or tax accountants to catch fraud; and/or • Giving complete control with no segregation of duties or review process-es put in place. Most fraudsters are long time em-ployees that are well trusted, well liked and have had no prior criminal history. Anyone can commit fraud! No business is immune to fraud! Some common types of fraud to be on the lookout for: • Skimming (taking money and nev-er recording) • Check-tampering (forgery) • Billing schemes (creating and pay-ing fictitious vendors) • Payroll schemes (paying fictitious em-ployees or giving unauthorized pay rates) • Inappropriate expense reimburse-ments • Non-cash and other schemes (steal-ing tangible equipment or inventory) • Collusion or management overrideSo you know why, how and who, now what can you do? Opportunity is the only thing a busi-ness owner or management can control in the fraud triangle. However, they should try to be alert for pressures and perceived rationalizations an employee might be experiencing. Opportunity is mainly controlled through internal and compensating controls. Owners should understand the perception of deterrence

and prevention. Controls are developed to deter fraud and to keep honest people honest! Remember power perceived is power achieved. Controls should be im-plemented at any size organization. Internal Controls are defined as the process by which management struc-tures an organization to provide assur-ance that an entity operates effectively and efficiently, has a reliable financial re-porting system and complies with appli-cable laws and regulations. A successful system of internal control is not built overnight, but is an ongoing process of fine tuning the inner workings of an or-ganization. Many organizations summa-rize internal control systems in opera-tional handbooks and manuals so it can be an easy referral point. A system of internal control is neces-sary to help employees and other part-ners understand the attitude and objec-tives of the organization as a whole. In-ternal controls provide reasonable assur-ance to customers and other parties that transactions are recorded properly in a timely manner. Internal controls help provide a “trust but verify” environment. Some basic controls that should be con-sidered are as follows: • Establish communications on the importance of controls starting at the top; • Conduct monthly reviews of bank statements (with images) by owner or governance group ensuring timely bank reconciliations are completed; • Establish employee educational programs and incentives to proactively reduce fraud by: Establishing a “fraud hotline” using a professional service firm; and having a Code of Conduct policy with all employees required to adhere to the requirements therein. • Ensure computer access controls are implemented on the accounting sys-tem and bank cash management system at a minimum. Administrative rights should be limited to just a few. • Conduct background checks prior to starting work for all employees in sen-sitive positions (controller, CFO, high lev-el managers, etc.); • Conduct analytical reviews of finan-cial reports by owner/governance group within 30 days of the month end selected searching for anomalies or unexpected budget variances; • Conduct monthly reviews of manu-al adjustments to financial records by an independent person; • Ensure segregation between pre-parer and signer of checks/payments. Additionally, upon check signing, the signer should review invoices for reason-ableness in relation to the business; and • Ensure segregation between de-posit money into the bank and recording the receipts in the accounting system. Hopefully, this gives you some sim-ple and efficient ways to manage the op-portunity that is present in your compa-ny. Cari Takao, CPA is an assurance share-holder for FHK. Contact her at 210-477-2712 or at [email protected]


Are attorneys’ fees stillrecoverable in successfulcontract actions?Bethany F. Thompson, shareholderGardner LawSan Antonio, TX

Submitted to Construction News

Remembering the Alamo Colleges

The Hispanic Contractors Association (HCA) de San Antonio presented a check for $7,000 to the Alamo Colleges Foundation to fund scholarships. The money is raised

every year at the HCA golf tournament in October. Over the years, the HCA has donated more than $50,000 to Alamo Colleges. L-R: Dave Sanchez, executive director, HCA; Jim

Eskin, executive director, Alamo Colleges Foundation; Josh Hill, owner of Hill Bros. Construction and HCA board president –mh

Teen workersJoann NatarajanCompliance Assistance SpecialistOSHAAustin, TX

Youth who are under 18 years old can be an asset to your workforce. They are enthusiastic and eager to

learn. However, like other new and inexperienced work-ers, these young workers can be injured on the job when they don’t receive adequate safety training and

supervision. Some injuries have a lifelong impact, and some are even fatal. Further-more, on-the-job injuries to young workers can be costly.

Young workers get hurt when: • They take on jobs for which they’re not trained — sometimes without being asked • They don’t have appropriate supervi-sion • They work with dangerous tools or equipment • They perform tasks that violate youth employment laws

Work on a construction site is especially hazardous. In fact, the construction in-dustry, which employs less than 3% of all young workers, ranks 3rd in the number of work-related fatalities to youth — at 14% of all occupational deaths to youth under 18.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) The federal FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards affecting certain full-time and part-time workers in the pri-vate sector and in federal, state, and local governments.

Age and Hour Restrictions under FLSA Youth under 16 years of age may only perform office or sales work in the con-struction industry. The federal rules also limit the number of hours and times of day that such youth may be employed. Youth age 16 and 17 may work in the con-struction industry and on construction sites, but there are several tasks or jobs that are too hazardous for them to per-

form. There are no federal laws that re-strict the number of work hours per day or per week. However, several states do restrict the number of hours and times of day that this age group may be em-ployed. Be sure to check with your State Department of Labor.

FLSA Exemptions If certain conditions are met, 16- and 17-year-old apprentices and student learners may be allowed to perform some of the above prohibited jobs. Youth enrolled in such programs are trained in occupational safety and health. You may wish to consider recruiting these young workers — you’ll be providing them with work experience and may be rewarded with a safety-conscious employee.

Some other young workers are not fully covered by FLSA. For example, youth of any age are generally allowed to work for businesses entirely owned by their par-ents, except no one under 18 may be em-ployed in the prohibited jobs that are partially listed above.

Even if FLSA doesn’t apply, if you employ workers under 18 years old, be sure that: • Tasks are appropriate for a worker’s age • Young workers are properly trained • Young workers are supervised •You know what tasks are prohibited for youth

[email protected] x232

Construction lawyers in Texas have been relying on certain statutes to recover attorney fees and expens-

es for their clients in contract claims for decades. However, within the last couple of years two courts have issued decisions that substantially narrow the application of one of the most frequently used attorney fee recovery statutes regarding contract claims.

The first of the two cases is Fleming & Assocs. LLP v. Barton, 425 S.W.3d 560 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014) and the second case is Hoffman v. L&M Arts LLC, 3:10-CV-0953-D, 2015 WL 1000838, (N.D. Tex. Mar. 6, 2015). This shift is significant, as an important part of the decision by subcontractors and suppliers on whether to pursue legal action is whether or not they can recoup their attorneys’ fees.

In Texas, a party cannot recover their attorneys’ fees unless a statute or con-tract expressly gives them that right. Many times, parties rely on Section 38.001 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code which states that if there is a recov-ery of a claim based on an oral or written contract, “a person may recover reason-able attorneys’ fees from an individual or corporation.” Previously, the statute re-ferred to “any person or corporation” where “person” is defined to include “partnerships, among others.” See sec-tion 1.002 of the TCPRC providing the Code Construction Act applies to the TCPRC. However, the word “person” was changed to “individual” in 1985 when the statute was recodified. Both of these re-cent cases turn on the use of the word “individual” as opposed to “person.”

In the Fleming case, the court con-sidered whether 38.001 allowed for re-covery of fees against a limited partner-ship. Unlike the previous term, “person,” the court noted the term “individual” is not defined in the Code Construction Act and determined the ordinary meaning did not include a limited partnership. Based on this, the appellate court con-cluded the trial court erred in awarding attorneys’ fees.

In the Hoffman case, the court con-sidered whether 38.001 allowed for re-covery of fees against an LLC. Defen-dants challenged the application of this

statute based on their status as an LLC, as opposed to a corporation. The terms “in-dividual” and “corporation” are unde-fined within the statute. After consider-ing the legislative history of the statute and various applicable arguments, the Court concluded an LLC is an “other legal entity” not within the scope of Section 38.001 and denied the request for fees.

In the 2015 legislative session HB 230 was introduced and passed by the Texas House of Representatives which would have modified the statute to include the terms “or other legal entity” however the bill did not make it through the Senate. As a practice point, construction industry parties need to remember that attorneys’ fees in Texas can also be recovered if a contract provision allows for them. Par-ties who typically furnish labor or materi-als pursuant to contracts, should be es-pecially vigilant to always include terms allowing for the prevailing party to re-cover their fees.

Bethany F. Thompson is a Shareholder with Gardner Law in San Antonio, Texas, and her practice focuses on construction litigation. In a time when many cases settle before trial, she has first chair state court jury trial experience, arbitration experience, and bench trial experience in federal court. Ms. Thompson represents general contrac-tors, subcontractors, and suppliers on a va-riety of issues including contract drafting and negotiation, lien and bond payment claims, delay and defect claims, and con-tract default and terminations. She has pre-sented seminars for a variety of organiza-tions throughout the state, guest lectured on construction contracts at Texas A&M, and is active in both her local chapter of the American Subcontractors Association and the Attorney Council for the national level of ASA. Contact: [email protected].


Greater fish to catch

The Greater San Antonio Builders As-sociation (GSABA) hosted its 2016 Saltwater Fishing Tournament Jun.

10-11 from the Port Aransas Civic Center. Along with the anglers, comprising a to-tal of 40 teams, the event drew 200 peo-ple to the Friday night dinner at the civic center. –mh

1st Place, Guided Division

Winners:Guided1st: Greenhaven Landscape and Irriga-tion2nd: JP Hart Lumber3rd: Builders First Source Unguided1st: Urban Concrete Contractors2nd: GVTC3rd: Bella Vista Homes

1st Place, Unguided Division

The Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors (PHCC) Texas annual meeting was held Jun. 10 at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, and the new PHCC Texas board was elected and installed. –mh

Meet the new board

The 2016 PHCC Texas Board of Directors

Carter Ramzel, Benchmark Plumbing, received the PHCC Texas Contractor of the

Year Award.

L-R: Tony Dixon, Ferguson; Craig Lewis, R.E.C. Industries; Greg Bolin, Bolin Plumbing; Sam Dowdy, S&D Plumbing; Randy Hunter, R.E.C. Industries; Rick Shelton, Shelton Plumbing;

Patrick Freund, Primo Plumbing; Dickie McCurdy, MMM Plumbing, Heating, A/C; Chris

Sproles, Central Texas Plumbing Solutions; Jessica Burden, Milton Frank Plumbing;

Stephen Cox, Cox Plumbing; Carter Ramzel, Benchmark Plumbing; Milton Frank, Milton

Frank Plumbing

Continuing to grow, Gibson Plumbing recently expanded to serving the Dallas area. This

extends the company’s reach up the I-35 corridor as it has jobs going in both Austin and Dallas from its home in San Antonio. William C. Gibson started the company in 1954, doing plans at night and the work during the day, and then he started to build crews. In the 1980s, the business transitioned to his son, William A. “Billy” Gibson. In 2003, the Gibsons were preparing for retirement and sold the company to Barry Bankler, who has been the owner and president for the last 13 years. About six years ago, Gibson Plumbing expanded into multi-family construction. Noting that they currently have 23 multi-family apartment projects going, Bret Bartley, general manager, observes, “Multi-family will be the biggest portion of our business this year, revenue-wise, and that’s certainly high. It would be over 50 percent this year, and it

The Gibson Plumbing team has grown to be about 200 strong, including itssubcontractor base. L-R: Juan Posada, RMP; Bret Bartley, GM; Barry Bankler, owner;

and Ray Casanova, director of Residential Plumbing

used to only be a third.” As business increases, Bartley emphasizes that finding skilled labor as the workload grows is, by far, the biggest issue the company faces. For this reason, he was a founding member and now serves as a director of the Texas Construction Careers Initiative (TCCI), a nonprofit organization that hosts the annual Construction Career Day for high school students at Freeman Expo Hall. A CPA by trade, Bartley worked for Sysco Foods for a little over 13 years, and during his tenure, he transitioned out of the accounting aspect and more into operations, becoming director of transportation. In 2004, he took an opportunity with Gibson as controller, eventually becoming CFO and then general manager. Gibson Plumbing is a full-service residential and commercial plumbing company, specializing mainly in the single-family residential and multi-family markets. –mh

Reaching far and wide

The Texas Air Conditioning Contrac-tors Association (TACCA) Greater San Antonio Chapter hosted its

27th annual Golf Tournament Jun. 6 at the Club at Sonterra. This year, there was a twist on the tourney with awards given for 1st, 5th and 8th places. –mh

Winners1st: Beyer Mechanical – Barry Stevens, Jesse Delgado, Jamie Amoretti, Tim Megason

A new twist on the old game

5th: Johnstone Supply – Mike Wallace, Alan Deering, Eric Rossnagel, Shannon Tippie8th: Texas Air Products/Mitsubishi – Todd Buck, Clint Doege, Josh Bailey, William WitsonClosest to the Pin: Nick Skeen, GoodmanLongest Drive: John Valenzuela, Beyer MechanicalLongest Drive: Keith Bumpass, Robert Madden

1st Place Team


Their new life is covered

In order to make a better life for his wife and newborn child, Javier Alonso left behind the flooring business he had

run in Venezuela for 10 years and opened the first Floor Coverings International in San Antonio Mar. 22. Though his background was in IT, Alonso and two friends saw a market opportunity to start a flooring supply business in their home country of Venezuela. They imported products and did projects, specialized in healthcare, food manufacturing plants and industrial kitchens. However, 10 years later, when his wife, Isabel, was pregnant with their daughter, Ana Paula, the couple assessed the quality of life they would be able to give their baby under the social, economic and political turmoil in Venezuela. Alonso observes that basic necessities, such as diapers and formula, were difficult to obtain. He also says that when his wife was about six months pregnant, someone tried to rob her. They decided to leave. They sold

In addition to his office and warehouse, Javier Alonso, pictured with his wife and daughter, has a mobile flooring showroom with more than 3,600 samples of products he offers as

owner of San Antonio’s first Floor Coverings International.

everything they owned, and after examining several franchises, Alonso found Floor Coverings International, and the family moved to San Antonio to open the first location in the city. He notes, “Everything that we envisioned back home for a flooring business, this franchise has.” Though they’ve encountered many setbacks, Alonso emphasizes how different it is from having to struggle to get food and fearing for his family. “We’ve been handling, obviously, a new kid, new business and new country all at once,” he says. “And many people say that we’re kind of crazy, because we’re always happy,” adding that all the challenges are worth it for his family’s happiness. With more than 100 locations across the U.S. and Canada, Floor Coverings International supplies products including carpet, hardwood, ceramic, tile and vinyl as well as specialty products such as bamboo and slate. –mh

Working at HJD Capital Electric as an electrical project manager, Rudy Dela Cruz finds a lot of

advantage in the company having a gen-eral construction division that works in conjunction with the electrical and other divisions to accomplish as much in house as possible. Though Capital was originally estab-lished as an electrical contractor, the company grew into doing general con-struction while doing government work, which in turn helped the company grow even more. Today, Capital has electrical, construction, communications, plumb-ing, fire alarm, and 24-hour electrical ser-vice divisions. The general construction division works with all of the other divisions, and this eliminates the need to sub out work related to those divisions. For example, as a subcontractor on the Hyperbaric Fa-cility project at Fort Sam Houston, the electricians only needed to rough in the

Doing it all in house

electrical portion and then call an in-house construction crew to perform any additional work such as concrete. Having the general construction crews available to its other divisions, allows the company to work in a cost effective and time efficient manner. The electrical divi-sion, as well as the company’s other divi-sions, does not have to stop work and wait for a third tier subcontractor to come in and perform work in order to continue on the job or complete it. Also, if something needs maintenance or work under warranty, Capi-tal does not need to contact any subcon-tractors used on the job to do the work. “It is beneficial to any small business in the commercial electrical and con-struction industry that you include a true measure of self-performance, even if only a small percentage at a time over a peri-od of years,” says Henry Davila, presi-dent. “This business model adds a big advantage to not only the company, but its employees and their future.” –mh

L-R: Benjamin H. Tijerina, electrical superintendent; Rudy Dela Cruz, electrical project manager; Dave Wineman, vice president; Henry Davila, president/owner; Edward Davila,

administrator; Gip Simmons Sr., construction project manager

From hanging drywall to hitting golf balls, the Baker Triangle San Anto-nio team hosted its annual Charity

Golf Tournament at Silverhorn Golf Club May 27. With funds once again benefit-ting the Wounded Warrior Project, Baker raised $25,000 for the cause this year. –mh

Winners1st: Hill Country Materials – Mike Stafford,

Raising some green

1st Place Team

Lee Ainsworth, David Barnett, John Clif-ton 2nd: Bartlett Cocke – Chris Villarreal, Brent Dawson, Craig Jendrusch3rd: Kip Craddick, MarinoWare; Peyton McBurnett, Oscar Alamillo, Action Gyp-sumClosest to Pin # 7: Fred Galvan, TurnerLongest Drive: Patrick Mucci

Photos by Mary C. Haskin Photography

Baker Triangle presented the Wounded Warrior Project with a check for the proceedsfrom the company’s San Antonio charity golf tournament.L-R: Ian Lennon, Mike Sireno, Devon Schei, Jon Randolph


Frank Wisdom, Wisdom Estimating Services, and his wife Linda, Capital Pumps, are avid hunters and anglers. Fishing at Falcon Lake near Zapata, TX

since February, they’ve already caught some great-looking largemouth bass to show off this fishing season. –mh

Kickin’ bass

Frank caught this 6-lb beauty at the lake.So far, Linda takes the prize with her 8-lb, 5 oz. caught

on one of their first fishing trips this year.The same day Frank caught his 6-pounder, Linda caught

this one weighing in at 7 lbs., 10 oz.

Cautions whilewading

by Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by:Waypoint Marine, Majek Boats, Evinrude

Outboards, E-Z Bel Construction,Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor,

Aggregate Haulers, ForEverlast Hunting and Fishing Products, MirrOlure, and

Columbia Sportswear.

Summertime has arrived folks, and you will start to see larger crowds on the water through Labor Day

weekend. Fishing has remained consis-tent throughout the month of May even with all the rains and inconsistent wind directions throughout the month. June finds us continuing with the same weath-er patterns we had last month, even with a little more bizarre weather patterns. I always welcome Texas summer rains, but it seems this season we’ve had more than

our share, especially central and northern parts of the state.

I would like to share an incident that hap-pen to me the last week of May while

Flounder have been showing up in good numbers. Randy Wyatt of San Antonio

caught this 5-lb. flounder last month while fishing with Steve Schultz Outdoors.

wade fishing with some clients. I woke up on a Saturday morning with a burn-ing sensation on a spot near my ankle after a day of wading the King Ranch shoreline a few days prior. Thinking it was a spider bite or some other insect bite, I dismissed the irritated foot and went on my day’s charter with my clients. Shortly into the morning I started to feel chilled and aching all over my body. I knew something was not right but was determined to finish my day with my cli-ents. As the day progressed, so did the pain in my leg until I had had enough. By the time I got back to the dock, my leg was swollen and the redness had spread from my ankle to my calf. That afternoon I went to the Physicians Premier ER to get checked out. After explaining to the doctor that I had been wading in the La-guna Madre, he didn’t take any chances and started me on an IV antibiotic. He then informed me that I was being trans-ferred to the hospital. Later that evening I went to Bay Area Hospital where they continued with the antibiotics intrave-nously. Doctors were not sure where the infection started because I had no open wounds on my leg and I was sure that I had not been poked by a fish or anything else.

After a few days in the hospital with con-tinuous antibotics being run through my body, they determined that it was a bad case of “Cellulitis”. Cellulitis is a common but potentially serious bacterial (strepto-coccus or staphylococcus) infection of the skin and underlying skin tissue. Cel-lulitis develops when bacteria invade the skin, often when skin is broken or open.

When bacteria spread under the skin and into the soft tissues, the body reacts by creating inflammation. I was released af-ter four nights in the hospital and put on oral ABX. After several days I went to see my family physician and he immediately took one look and admitted me back to the hospital. Long story short, I spend a total of 12 days in the hospital continu-ously receiving ABX through an IV. What started as a small irritation on my leg turned into a major infection in my leg that I wouldn’t wish on my worse enemy.

I am sharing this info with you so that ev-eryone that fishes or is exposed to the water in ours or any bay system need to be aware of the dangers that can occur. This infection probably started with a wading boot that rubbed my skin raw and infection set in after that. Things can progress so quickly, you really have to keep an eye on any open cut or wound you have. If there is the slightest sign of irritation, don’t hesitate getting it checked out by your physician.

Summer schedule is filling quickly but fall dates are still available. Don’t wait until the last minute to book your dates.

To schedule your next bay fishing trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call or text at 361-813-3716 or 361-334-3105 or e-mail him at [email protected].

Good luck and Good Fishing.


Half or Full Day Fishing Trips

All Bait, Tackle & EquipmentFurnished

Your catch Filleted andBagged for You

Furnish your TPWD FishingLicense & Refreshments,

and WE DO THE REST!Ken Milam Guide Service(325) 379-2051

www.striperfever.com

Taking it to the limitSubmitted to Construction News

L-R: Billy Mayes, Mark Moseley, Scott Basse and Craig Noto, president of Quality Fence & Welding, limited out by noon on their recent fishing trip to Baffin Bay. –mh

Family fish-a-thonSubmitted to Construction News

Construction News production manager Sue Johnson and her husband Scott vacationed to Boy Lake in northern Minnesota for some fishing time with family. Shown are only a

few of the more than 150 fish they caught, including northern, rock and largemouth bass, blue gill, perch and crappie! L-R: Sue’s brothers, Stan Lorenz, Steve Lorenz, Sue and

husband, Scott Johnson –sj

Have an OutdoorStory or Photo?

Send to:SAEditor@

ConstructionNews.netor call Mary at210-308-5800

Ken Milam’s Fishing LineSince 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country,. You can hear Ken on radio on Saturday and Sunday mornings, 6-8

AM on AM 1300, The Zone – Austin, or http://www.am1300the zone.com

Here I sit in my lawn chair with my toes in the water at the edge of the lake trying to type this in. Fishing

is all done for the day. I have a cold beverage at hand, the beginning of a nice sunset before me and a cool breeze on my face. My little laptop computer is waiting on my thoughts and all I can think about is I hope some mad little nesting perch doesn’t take a swipe at my toes and make me jump, upsetting the whole apple cart. Such is the relationship of a sportsman and his electronics. Our whole way of looking at the outdoors we love so much can be greatly enhanced by our new technology…as long as we can keep it working. Don’t drop it, wet it, run over it or forget where you left it (Heaven help you if it was camo colored!). Most importantly though, don’t become overly dependent on whatever the gizmo is. When I started striper guiding on Lake Buchanan in 1981, my first piece of electronic fishing equipment was a Lowrance X-15 chart recorder. For the first time in my whole fishing life I could finally see beneath the waves, look at the contours of the lake bottom and even see fish! (Even if they didn’t really look like fish!) Next were the electronic downriggers and learning the process of combining the downriggers ability to deliver the baits to the fish I could see down there without getting all tangled in the treetops the fish love to lurk in. I still

think there was no better way to learn the bottom of the lake you fish because every time you make a mistake and get hung up, it costs you money in lost tackle and lost time. I still remember the first time I watched a big fish make a run at my bait! I really resisted giving up my X-15s with all their rolls of paper and stylus replacements. I finally changed over to the new fish-finders with display screens and gps. I never looked back because now I could see things in color and with more detail. No more on the water maintenance of the graph and no more having to remember my fishing spots by visually triangulating with landmarks. I love that I can dependably find my favorite places, but that is balanced by knowing that if it fails for any reason, all I have to do is look around me and get home the low tech way like my grandpa did. I never used to take my cell phone fishing because I didn’t want the distraction. Now I always have my phone on me. I like to be able to pull up real time weather radar when I need it, but it doesn’t replace the good weather sense passed down to me by my Dad from his father. Now days my son Max runs the charter trips. He has added a big trolling motor with gps that can keep up with where you are, put you where you want to be and hold your spot without having to throw an anchor. That sure beats hauling in anchor lines, but you couldn’t appreciate how nice it is unless you’d done it the hard way! I love how far we’ve come, but it’s nice to always know the way back!

Technology and the fisherman

D & W Painting

Ferguson


Go fish, go bigNiznik Concrete Contractors hosted the 3rd annual Mr. & Mrs. Big Trout Scholarship Tournament May 19-21 to raise scholarship funds for students

studying marine biology at Corpus Christi A&M University. Sponsors included House of Boats (a $5,000 sponsor), E-Z Bel Construction, Suncoast Post-Tension, Performance Equipment, Johnston Industries, Alamo Concrete Products Company, Cokinos Bosein & Young, C.L. Concrete, GNW Concrete, CMC Rebar, Martin Marietta Materials, EDP Concrete, and Cootey’s Tavern. –mh

Winners

Pro WomenStringer

1st: E-Z Bel #7 – Cheryl Rodriguez, Denise Bendele, Jodi Schultz (17 lbs., 13 oz.)2nd: Bob’s Babes #13 – Kristi Caron, Kacie Weber, Sheila Amason (17 lbs., 5 oz.)3rd: Reel Sportsware #8 – Chris Schidledecker, Desiree Warnack, Evelyn Schroeder (15 lbs., 5 oz.)

Trout1st: Bob’s Babes #13 (7 lbs., 14 oz.)2nd: Reel Sportsware #8 (7 lbs., 11 oz.)3rd: E-Z Bel #7 (6 lbs., 2 oz.)

Redfish1st: EDP Concrete #1 – Yvonne Patton, Diane Mahan, Melissa Mahan (7 lbs., 11 oz.)2nd: Reel Sportsware #8 (7 lbs., 10 oz.)3rd: Fishing Winas #11 – Adrian Woschnagg, Judy Arnold, Tina Gomez, Sandra Calderon (7 lbs., 5 oz.)

Flounder1st: E-Z Bel #7 (8 lbs. 6 oz.)2nd: Hookem Hard Oilfield #4 – Allen Sifford, Tawnya Woods, Pam Lonsbury, Debra Villescas (4 lbs., 4 oz.)3rd: EDP Concrete #1 (2 lbs., 10 oz.)

Amateur WomenStringer

1st: Baiters & Waiters #10 – Steven Catalane, Gracie Rodriguez, Julie Dahl, Bailie Crawford (8lbs., 10 oz.)2nd: Steel Divas 11 #6 – Rich Hanz, Stephanie Hanz, Leanne Arnold, Jennifer Peters (6 lbs., 4 oz.)3rd: Team Chata #9 – Daniel Chata, Monica Garcia, Annette Tynan (4 lbs., 3 oz.)

Trout1st: Baiters & Waiters #10 (4 lbs., 2 oz.)2nd: House of Boats #3 – Cindy Taulbert, Lindsy Taulbert, Frances Taulbert (3 lbs., 13 oz.)3rd: Steel Divas 1 #12 – Jon Peters, Sansa Johnson, Regina Mix, Gloria Cavazos (1 lb., 5 oz.)

Redfish1st: Steel Divas 11 #6 (4 lbs., 12 oz.)2nd: Baiters & Waiters #10 (4 lbs., 8 oz.)3rd: Team Chata #9 (4 lbs., 3 oz.)

Pro MenStringer

1st: Ice Up #52 – Brad Urbanczyk, Darryl Schneider, Travis Land (14 lbs., 13 oz.)2nd: CL Concrete #46 – Capt. Morgan, Bobby Pacheco, Matt Wearsherby, Lex Heffington (14 lbs., 9 oz.)3rd: South Texas Anglers #9 – Phillip Mangan, Garret Menephe, Travis Orsak, Cody Stripling (13 lbs., 11 oz.)

Trout1st: Ice Up #52 (8 lbs., 1 oz.)2nd: Polish Pluggers #36 – Blaise Moy, Tres Moy, Tanner

Moy, Brad Lyssy (7 lbs., 1 oz.)3rd: Team Merlo #6 – Roland Gonzales, Stan Willow, Pete Jimenez, Jerry Hewtty (5 lbs., 14 oz.)

Redfish1st: CL Concrete #32 – Keith Mock, Cole Leinneweber, Kennyn Carley, Robert Hoffman (8 lbs., 10 oz.)2nd: Release the Grease #7 - Duane Clark, Frank Moravits, Dale Smith (7 lbs., 14 oz.)3rd: Nine Mile Hole #15 – Sandy Garcia, Mike Niznik, Chet Bunch, Brian Stanish (6 lbs., 13 oz.)

Flounder1st: CL Concrere #11 – Matt Walston, Justin Leinneweber, Danny Brown, Aaron Falyde (6 lbs., 5 oz.)2nd: Polish Pluggers #36 (4 lbs., 1 oz.)3rd: CL Concrete 111 #30 – Capt. Ram, Ernie Anderson, Chase Hoffman (3 lbs. 7 oz.)

Amateur MenStringer

1st: SAECO #5 – Michael Chapman, Luke Harns, Donald Castro, Justin Castro (14 lbs., 2 oz.)2nd: Los Pescadores #20 – Marcos Alaniz, Omar Sahadi,

Danielle DeVacque, Scholarship Recipient, with E-Z Bel

Eric White, Scholarship Recipient, withPerformance Equipment

Pro Women – 1st Place Stringer

Amateur Women – 1st Place Stringer

Pro Men – 1st Place Stringer

Daniel Alvarez (13 lbs., 9 oz.)3rd: Team 4 Reel #25 – Art Soto, Jonathan Soto, Daniel Soto, Bobby Joe Garcia (13 lbs., 6 oz.)

Trout1st: Los Pescadores #20 – Marcos Alaniz, Omar Sahadi, Daniel Alvarez (4 lbs., 2 oz.)2nd: Just Bite Me #40 – John Ruiz, Rudy Ruiz, Rudy Trey Ruiz, Jacob Arguello (3 lbs., 15 oz.)3rd: CMC Rebar S.A #10 – Brock Pittman, Shane Plummer, Matt Koehler, Robert Tucker (3 lbs., 8 oz.)

Redfish1st: Reel Naughtey #45 – Brian Bishop Clint Distefano, Micheal Laskowski Jr., Tony Guinn Jr. (7 lbs., 9 oz.)2nd: Suncoast Team #2 – Orlando Gamez, Donnie Melon, Mercy Valejo, Jacob Hayes (7 lbs., 8 oz.)3rd: SAECO #5 (7 lbs., 1 oz.)

Flounder1st: Trout Drillers #14 – Dustin Wiatrek, Kyle Fountain (6 lbs., 10 oz.)2nd: Team 4 Reel #25 (4 lbs., 9 oz.)3rd: SAECO #5 (4 lbs., 2 oz.

Amateur Men – 1st Place Stringer


Electrical Industry

Facing the eye of the stormChris Martinez, PresidentCentral ElectricSan Antonio, TX

While the oil boom in the Eagle Ford Shale and the bonds for local municipalities and independent

school districts have taken the construction industry by storm over the last few years, Chris Martinez, president of Central Electric, believes we’re in the eye of that storm

now, waiting for the whirlwind to pick up again.

Two or three years ago, Martinez re-calls that San Antonio, Northeast and Northside ISDs had projects out for bid every month, spinning out about 15 to 20 projects. Now, in the last quarter, he ob-serves that the only schools that went out for bid were in New Braunfels. Mu-nicipalities are concluding their bonds from a few years ago, also. Citing the projects that are under construction, such as hospital work in San Antonio that is currently on the road to completion, Methodist Stone Oak for example, Martinez says that while every-one sees work going on, those projects are wrapping up or already under con-tract. It’s the new opportunities, he points out, that are few and far between as contractors look to the horizon in search of work for the future. “We are approaching a lull, and we’re

waiting for that next wave to come through,” says Martinez. “I’ve heard that from designers to manufacturers that study the market to general contractors and to our trade contractors. “For the current industry trends, needless to say, I think the oil money has impacted various industries through a ripple effect. We’re in a unique situation where multiple things are affecting the market, and so it’s not just oil. I think oil is one piece, and investors now are going to get tighter with their money.” Along with the funds that drive pub-lic, private and government projects dry-ing up, construction companies that fo-cused on doing work south of San Anto-nio in Pleasanton and other outlying ar-eas are coming back because work in their niche in the Eagle Ford Shale is dry-ing up, too. With competition returning,

there are more fishing poles in the local waters and fewer fish. “You’ve got all these construction-related markets,” he says. “You’ve got the private sector, which is, some people say, driven by oil and gas money, but also the banks determine when they release funding for projects to go through. Then, you’ve got all these buckets, and they’re not drying up, but the opportunities in them have decreased, and that impacts every trade in the construction industry.” Injecting some hope for the future, Martinez notes that some local school districts are looking at launching upcom-ing bond initiatives, and everyone is wait-ing for the next wave to come along. Meanwhile, what can a contractor do to keep up the pace until the lull passes? At Central, Martinez says the solution has been shifting focus to other niches and markets. “Three years ago probably, my com-petitors and I could see the opportunities on the horizon,” he says. “Where we stand today, the opportunities on the ho-rizon are few and far between. So then, you need to strategize your approach on what you pursue and don’t pursue, and you evaluate – how far outside your niche do you go? Because you’re stepping into somebody else’s niche. You’ve got to evaluate that and make the best decision for your team.”

Continuing to beat the path and overturn the rocks in search of opportu-nities, Martinez notes that Central is still in the same markets that have made up its portfolio over the last five years, but the share of the pie its niches account for is shifting. As one slice shrinks, another grows to fill in the gap. As the industry has transitioned into the eye of the storm, Central Electric has shifted its workload from being approxi-mately 50-percent government to around 50-percent private. “Our design-assist, design-build portfolio, which was the majority govern-ment, has given us the opportunity to open doors on the private side doing de-sign-assist, design-build,” he explains. “That has probably helped the ship con-tinue to move forward. Having those ca-pabilities that we’ve really done well in the government world, we now do very well in the private world.” Being able to translate the skills Cen-tral honed working in its government niche to the private market has now al-lowed them to do design-build for hotels and design-assist for high-rise living com-plexes. Fred Martinez founded Central Electric in 1975. Today, his sons, Chris Martinez and Ernie Martinez run the company as presi-dent and vice president, respectively. –mh


Electrical Industry

High tech, customer savings in electrical industryTyler Cannon, Branch ManagerCity Electric SupplyKyle, TX

A second annual survey by Klein Tools that found higher percentages of electricians who prefer to

work on high-tech installations, and home technology remains the most widely viewed residential trend by

electricians. The survey included results from 400 union and non-union electricians.

Tyler Cannon, branch manager of a local Klein dealer, City Electric Supply, says the trend is reflected in sales. “We’ve seen an increase of 30 per-cent in sales over the last 12 months,” Cannon says. He attributes that to the economy and the current construction climate in the Austin area, with hotels and gear and lighting packages. “The construction environment has had an impact on sales,” he said. “But our product line has pretty much stayed the same.” The Klein Tools’ State of the Industry survey found preferences towards work-ing on industrial projects, office buildings and commercial properties have stayed relatively the same since last year. There was a noticeable increase, however, in the number of union electricians, and electricians with 10 to 19 years’ experi-ence, indicating they prefer to work on high-tech installations. · This year, 42 percent of union elec-tricians say they prefer working on high-tech installations, up from 31 percent in 2015. · The survey also found 51 percent of electricians with 10 to 19 years of industry experience said they prefer working on

high-tech installations, a significant in-crease from 24 percent in 2015. In com-parison, 29 percent of electricians with less than 10 years’ experience said they prefer working on high-tech installations, and only 24 percent of electricians with more than 20 years’ experience said they prefer working on high-tech installations. “We’re seeing increased interest from younger electricians and apprentic-es in high-tech systems. They see oppor-tunities to work on the latest technology as a way to gain experience in an area of future growth and like the challenge as-sociated with learning a complicated skill,” said Mark Klein, president of Klein Tools. “It’s great to also learn many expe-rienced electricians are taking a fondness to more advanced systems and want to keep up-to-date on their craft. This al-lows electricians with varying levels of expertise to learn from each other on the jobsite and advance the entire industry as technology continues changing the way we operate.” The Klein Tools’ State of the Industry survey also found electricians are seeing more smart or “connected” homes in resi-dential areas. Technology in homes is the most popular trend viewed amongst electricians - over open living spaces,

home additions and multi-family homes. However, multi-family homes have sig-nificantly increased since 2015. · Nearly one-half of electricians, 48 percent, are seeing more smart or con-nected homes in the residential area—just slightly down from 56 percent in 2015. One-third of electricians, or 31 per-cent, are seeing more multi-family homes in the residential area, up significantly from 25 percent in 2015. “This tech-focused residential data aligns with what we’re seeing in the in-dustry,” Klein says. “Contractors are call-ing for more technicians who are skilled in newer, more digital-tech focused sys-tems, and technicians are doing their best to keep up with this developing trend. Klein Tools is working with its part-ners to ensure younger electricians are

trained in the old and new news models so they are prepared for all types of sce-narios on the job site.” Cannon, who has been with City Electric Service for four years, says one change is in LED lighting. “LED has been around for 15 years, but it really started taking off in the last three to four years,” he says. He says the benefits of working in the electrical supply business include seeing the end result of the electrical ma-terials supplied and seeing people save money on LED lighting and other high-tech installations. City Electric Supply is a family-owned electrical wholesale business dedicated to providing service and support for custom-ers in the residential, commercial, and in-dustrial markets since 1983. –cw

Learning all the time

Daniel Baez, Master Electrician and OwnerBaez Electrical ServicesHouston, TX

What is the current state of the Houston construction industry?

We have had so much work here in Houston in the past six months. Things have been crazy for us! We have stayed very busy with gov-ernment work, especially in the past few months. We have also had several com-mercial jobs as well. I don’t think things will slow down in the Houston market any time soon. Why did you decide to become a Mas-ter Electrician? I saw an opportunity to become an

electrician after I spent time at Gary Job Corps, a career technical training program in San Marcos. After taking the training program, I decided I wanted to do electrical work for a living. I am glad I made the decision! I felt it was important to become a Master Electrician. I wanted to excel in my career so made sure to achieve this as soon as possible.

What are a few major changes in your industry in the last few years? I haven’t really seen many changes in the industry in the past few years.

It seems there are always improve-ments in both the equipment and tech-nology in the industry.

What advice would you give a young person who wants to do what you do today? My advice is to go to a trade school and finish all your classes at once and not spread it out over the years. Then gain experience at a good company. Learn from the best electricians you can find. It also helps to develop long-standing rela-tionships along the way.

In your opinion, what does it take to be successful in the construction in-dustry? I think on-the-job experience is key in the construction industry. You have to be dedicated to execute each project with precision and timeli-ness. I also think it is important to take ownership of the project from start to fin-ish, including obtaining all necessary electrical permits and coordinating in-spections with local inspectors.

What is the best part about what you do today? I really enjoy owning my own com-pany. No two days are ever the same and no two projects are ever the same. I enjoy being challenged daily. One of the best decisions I ever made was to earn my Master Electrician license. I really enjoy learning new things all the time and problem solving.

What is on the horizon for your indus-try? I think there will be plenty of electri-cal work in the Houston area for years to come. As for me, I want to continue doing lots of electrical work for government and school projects. I love it here in Hous-ton and this is where I plan to stay. Baez Electrical Services provides elec-trical repairs and installations for commer-cial, residential and industrial projects. The company is a certified MBE/ SBE and HUB Contractor by the City of Houston. –ab


NEXT MONTHService Providers Support Your Industry’s Feature Issue

Electrical Industry

As the voice of the $130 billion electri-cal construction industry that brings

power, light, and communication tech-nology to buildings and communities across the U.S., the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) is tasked with finding solutions to the problems facing the industry. There are always challenges to address, but we’ve man-aged to make tremendous progress on several fronts in the past year. I’m opti-mistic NECA will continue to be a leader moving forward. Two of the biggest issues impacting the industry today are dealing with the shortage of workers at both the crafts-person and management levels and keeping up with technology. NECA has made inroads in both areas. First, we’re addressing the shortage of workers in several ways. Through the jointly sponsored National Labor Man-agement Cooperation Committee (NLMCC), NECA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, there has been more than $1.75 million com-mitted in the past 16 months to the man-power development effort through job fairs and recruiting events. The Electrical Training ALLIANCE, a joint training program sponsored by NECA and the IBEW, has been ramping up its efforts at the local level in both growing and diversifying its student population. This year alone, NECA employers have brought in more than 8,000 new employees (more than a 30% increase) from outside the construction industry into apprentice and other entry-level programs. NECA and the IBEW contribute almost $180 million annually to deliver training through their local joint appren-tice programs. The NECA/IBEW partner-

Dealing with challenges in electrical industry

John M. Grau, CEONational Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)Milwaukee, WI

ship is currently training more than 30,000 apprentices nationwide. NECA is reaching out to two groups in particular: young people and women. By 2019, it is estimated that the projected shortage of skilled workers in the U.S. will number 1.5 million, and part of that gap can be made up by bringing more quali-fied women and young people into the fold. Women In NECA, also known as WIN, was established in 2009 to provide a col-laborative forum for women affiliated with NECA-member companies, chapters and LMCCs. WIN works to make NECA – and the industry as a whole – stronger by advancing women’s goals for profession-al growth. NECA also supports student chapters at universities that that promote working in electrical contracting, and we regularly host Industry Nights for job seekers as well. Our apprentices – and apprentices across the board – have embraced the technological advances occurring in re-cent years. We see members starting to adopt many new technologies, such as drones, and experimenting with aug-mented reality devices, tracking devices and 3D printing. The construction indus-try is being greatly impacted by aug-mented reality with real-time visualiza-tion of projects, better collaboration and communication, increased safety, greater implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM), and projects being de-livered on time and within budget. Augmented reality technology and research is providing exciting solutions to improve overall construction quality and efficiency. Cloud-based document management for improved real-time communication and mobile solutions for punch lists and subcontractor manage-ment are being enhanced by augmented reality overlays. Technology in this area is enhancing the world of construction in many ways. As integrating technology into busi-ness operations is one our members’ ma-jor concerns, we have launched NECA Technology, the Project for Applied and Disruptive Technology, as a new initia-tive. It explores the world of technology and keeps members informed of what is happening today and what will be launched in the not-too-distant future. It is spearheaded by Joey Shorter, NECA di-rector of research, who has an extensive background in education and experience in translating the work of academics into understandable, practical ideas. NECA remains focused on finding the nation’s top talent for the electrical contracting industry and equipping them with the skills they need to suc-ceed. Technology will always be a part of the equation, and I look forward to op-portunities that allow us to expand our reach and continue to grow.

Mr. Grau became NECA’s chief staff of-ficer in April 1986. Previously, he was execu-tive vice president of the Milwaukee Chap-ter, NECA, and served as a field representa-tive associate with the NECA Western Re-gion. –cw


9018 Tesoro Suite 101San Antonio, Texas 78217

(210) 826-4123 Fax (210) 826-5801

WALLSA C R O S STE ASMetal Studs Drywall

Acoustical Insulation

“20 Years

of dealing with

General Contractors!”

Shooting’s a breeze

1st Place – Red Course, Class B 1st Place – Yellow Course, Class A

Best Overall Score

1st Place – Red Course, Class A

The Associated General Contractors (AGC) San Antonio Chapter held its 2016 Fun Shoot and Mixer May 20 at

the National Shooting Complex. With 155 shooters participating, Architectural Division 8’s barbecue team cooked grilled sausage wraps for everyone. –mh

Winners

Best Overall Score:Tricia Kocurek, Gunn Chevrolet, Ltd. (95)

Red Course, Class A1st: Mark Billings, Baker Triangle (94)2nd: Chip Goode, Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing (93)3rd: Steve Thode, QMC Service (92)

Red Course, Class B1st: Leonard DeBraska, Alterman (67)2nd: Andy Brumgard, Robles1 (67)3rd: Billy McCoy, Capital (67)

Yellow Course, Class A1st: Doug Mercer, Zurich Surety (90)2nd: Tom Quintero, IBTX Risk Services (88)3rd: Jody Johnson, Speedway Erection (87)

Yellow Course, Class B1st: Michael McCollum, Austin Commercial LP (63)2nd: Neil Glaser, Patriot Erectors (63)3rd: Mike Baird, Gunn Chevrolet (63)



The Black Contractors Association (BCA) hosted its inaugural membership mixer May 19 at the Spire at Sunset Station. With members of the Associated

General Contractors (AGC) San Antonio Chapter and representatives from Bexar County and the City of San Antonio attending, Mayor Ivy Taylor was the keynote speaker, also showing her support for the new association. Henry Boone, a superintendent for Turner Construction and chairman of the BCA, says, “I’ve always seen minority contractors trying to grow and improve, and then they stumble and they never have support, but I feel like BCA is going to be that support that these black contractors need to find the direction that they’re looking for and be able to grow their companies and be successful.” –mh

Mixing and mingling for the first time

L-R: Mike Kaiman, Turner Construction; Sherrika Arch, Straight Line Management; and Mayor Ivy Taylor

L-R: Earl Greenwood and Gloria Penn, Greenwood Construction; and Doug Nunnelly, F.A. Nunnelly Co. L-R: Terrence Cokkow and Anthony Johnson,

B&T Dependable Services

Anisa Ybarra, and her father, Larry Ybarra, Service Shade Shop

Kirk Kistner and Bunmi Collins, BartlettCocke General Contractors

The Roofing Contractors Association of Texas (RCAT) held its 13th annual Fishing Tournament at Woody’s Sports Center in Port Aransas in May.

Roofing contractors and suppliers from across the state attended the event. A captain’s party took place at The Back Porch Bar. Trout Trucking provided fajitas and sausage wraps to participants. –ab

Get Reel

First Place Heaviest Stringer: Team Atlas - Al Casteneda,Brad Jones, David Culbreth and Dan Whitford.

Industry friends catch up at The Back Porch Bar.


Party at the palace

An estimated 375 people joined in the fun at the second an-nual Summer Shindig Jun. 16 at Bluebonnet Palace in Sel-ma. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) South

Texas Chapter, American Subcontractors Association (ASA) San Antonio Chapter, Mechanical and Sheet Metal Contractors Asso-ciation (MCA-SMACNA), Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors (PHCC) San Antonio Chapter, Texas Air Conditioning Contractors Association (TACCA) Greater San Antonio Chapter, AmeriCRANE and Anderson Machinery Company co-hosted the event. At the event, the first recipient of the Sonny Shirmer Excel-lence in Construction Memorial Scholarship was announced. The award, given to Juan Palafox, Joeris, is in memory of Shirmer, who worked in the industry for nearly 50 years and was director of field operations for Metropolitan Contracting Company at the time of his passing. ABC also presented three of its appren-tices with $500 scholarships from BrassCraft. –mh

Sonny Shirmer’s wife, Starr Schirmer, and son, Shane Shirmer, with the plaque commemorating the establishment of a construction scholarship in his memory

BrassCraft Scholarship Winner Joseph A. Gonzalez BrassCraft Scholarship Winner Louis Menard BrassCraft Scholarship Winner Mike Iturralde

L-R: Matt Elledge, H&E Equipment Services; Chris Jacobs, Equipment Depot; Alex Heye,

Choate USA

L-R: James Coker, Gary Campbell, Richard McCarter, Craig Blanford, Allegiance Crane &

Equipment

L-R: Justin Calvin, SpawGlass; Brittany O’Brien, Cokinos Bosien & Young; Chuck

Calvin, SpawGlass

L-R: Sunny Bailey, Vision Construction; Dallas Cloud, Moore Erection; Helen Nelson, Satellite Shelters; Melissa Haefy, Midco Sling

L-R: Gilbert Alvarez, Alpha Insulation & Waterproofing; Tony Pieprzyca, Hart

Acoustical & Drywall; Don Quisenberry, Hart Acoustical & Drywall

Jon Randolph, Baker Triangle, and Jordon Brown, Quality Fence


continued from Page 1 —Homegrown engineering

continued from Page 1 — Building the region

continued from Page 1 — Framing a new look with more space

“I converted one of our bedrooms at the house into an office, and when I was going to hang my shingle out, I didn’t really know what was going to happen,” he recalls. “I just assumed that I’d get enough projects for us to get by, but I’d be driving those projects. When I announced that I was starting my own company, that day I received a project, and the next day I had another. Within four or five weeks, suddenly, I was thinking, ‘I need to hire somebody.’” Having started in March, Barker remembers a day near the end of the year when he was at the breakfast nook talking to an architect with two contractors drinking coffee in the kitchen, his accountant behind him doing the books, an employee in the

office working on a design and two CAD staff working in the dining room. Before 2006 was over, he had to go out and find a space to lease for the business. After three years of renting, Barker and his wife bought a building for the firm on Broadway, which they still own today. With a team of seven, Barker is very comfortable with the size of the firm, allowing him to stay close to the projects and to help train engineers coming into the firm. Barker & Associates is an MEP consulting engineering firm. The firm does a lot of design build work, including Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico as well as the Academic Support Building and Student Activities Center at Fort Sam Houston. –mh

architectural woodwork, architectural casework and architectural metals. This includes standing and running trim, cabinets, and metal work in airports, such as stainless steel. Some of ISEC’s projects within the region are Austin-Bergstrom Airport, San Antonio’s Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, and the University of Texas in Austin as well as UTSA’s Health Science Center. Though Hirth had traveled to Texas on jobs for ISEC for years, Texas was new to his family when they came down to the Lone Star State with him two years ago. They live in Fair Oaks Ranch, and his daughter attends Boerne’s Champion

High School. At work, Hirth feels very fortunate for ISEC’s open office culture. He notes that as an employee-owned company, most of the people in the office, including himself, are owners in the company and are invested in seeing the company grow and succeed. He adds that all employees are full-time, including the carpenters in the field, and have the benefits of health insurance and 401K plans. Established in 1967 and headquartered in Denver, ISEC is a specialty subcontractor, providing a wide variety of products and services, including architectural woodwork, ornamental metals and laboratory casework. –mh

was a challenge to make sure each pane of glass had a consistent look throughout. Numerous lighting tests had to be done before the fixtures were finally installed.” The glass element presented a great challenge also. The glass consisted of three layers: clear glass, plastic, and acid-etched glass on the interior to give it a frosted look. Landry notes that multiple vendors had to back out at the last minute because no one in the U.S. acid etches glass due to EPA regulations. Finally, TBC found a vendor in Italy that acid etched the glass there and shipped it to Tri-Glass in Oklahoma. Tri-Glass then laminated, fabricated and put it together, and then shipped it to San Antonio. Landry estimates the process took about five months from putting in the order to the glass reaching its final destination. That includes eight to 10 weeks, about half of which was the overseas shipping time, before Tri-Glass received the shipment of acid-etched glass to begin working with it. “HEB construction was closely involved on this project due to the new design and abnormal building materials for an HEB store,” says Landry. He adds that the TBC team worked with Sam

Briggs, one of HEB’s in-house design architects, on the implementation of this new design. “HEB, in my opinion, does a great job of adapting the exterior of each store to the individual neighborhood,” Landry comments. He observes that this design is a little different and stands out. Shane Lawson was the project manager, and Arnold Cavazos was the superintendent. The architect on the project was PB2, and the engineering team included Tatum-Smith Engineering for structural, Energy Squared Engineers for MEP and GPM Engineers for refrigeration. The subcontractors on the job included A-Best Drywall for the drywall and acoustical ceilings, Austin Glass for glass and glazing, DSI Space Frames, Enterprise Fire Protection for the fire sprinklers, JW Brick for masonry, Pinnacle Construction for concrete, A/C Technical for mechanical, Eldridge Electric, Gulf State for plumbing, Arnold Refrigeration and American Roofing. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Portland, TX, outside of Corpus Christi, TBC Commercial established its San Antonio office about five years ago. The branch handles a lot of retail and school projects. –mh

The floral department was just one of the areas of the Olmos Park HEBto benefit from the remodel and expansion.

The graduation ceremony for the 12th graduating class of the Pre-Employment Architectural & Construction Exploration (PACE) Program was held May 12 at the

UTSA Downtown Campus in the Sam Riklin Auditorium. With the Builders Exchange of Texas hosting the graduation, along with Alpha Insulation & Waterproofing, 17

students completed the spring PACE program this year. –mh

Photo by Mary C. Haskin Photography

Setting the PACE for the futureSubmitted to Construction News


Titans of masonry

Patron of Masonry General Contractor: Joeris

Patron of MasonryArchitect: Garza/Bomberger & Associates

Patron of MasonryAssociate: Alamo Cement

The San Antonio Masonry Contractors Association (SAMCA) hosted the Golden Trowel Awards Banquet Jun. 9 at Sunset Station with guest Councilman Alan Warrick, Dist. 2, announcing the winners. –mh

Residential (Single-Family): Loflin ResidenceMasonry Contractor: Tarrillion Masonry

Foreman: Nick LambrechtArchitect: ADesign by Gustavo Arredondo

General Contractor: Burdick and FrankSuppliers: Brooks Stone Ranch,

I-10 Building Materials/Stone Source

Restoration: Bexar County Courthouse Restoration/Renovation

Masonry Contractor: EricstadForeman: Thomas A. Saldutto

Architect: Alamo ArchitectsGeneral Contractor: Joeris General ContractorsSupplier: I-10 Building Materials/Stone Source

Educational Facility – K-12: Camelot Elementary SchoolMasonry Contractor: Rick Stone Masonry Foreman: Luke Southard

Architect: O’Connell RobertsonGeneral Contractor: Bartlett Cocke General Contractors

Suppliers: Acme Brick/Featherlite, Blackson Brick Southwest, Headwaters Construction Materials, I-10 Building Materials/Stone Source, Pyramid Cast Stone Co.

Industrial/Commercial: Hotel EmmaMasonry Contractor: Curtis Hunt Restorations Foreman: Dionicio Neaves

Architect: Three Living Architecture General Contractor: Harvey Cleary BuildersSuppliers: Acme Brick/Featherlite, I-10 Building Materials/Stone Source

Block: HEB SA#04 Store Masonry Contractor: EricstadForeman: Giancarlo P. Manzaba

Architect: Selser Schaefer ArchitectsGeneral Contractor: Joeris General Contractors

Suppliers: Acme Brick/Featherlite,Headwaters Construction Materials, Tailored Foam

Hardscape/Landscape: Hemisfair Yanaguana GardensMasonry Contractor: Ericstad

Foreman: Thomas A. Saldutto Architect: MIG

General Contractor: Joeris General ContractorsSuppliers: I-10 Building Materials/Stone Source, Headwaters

Construction Materials

Government/Institution: Airmen Training Complex #4 DormitoryMasonry Contractor: DJM Masonry Enterprises Foreman: Richard Broom Architect: Corps of Engineers General Contractor: SpawGlass Contractors

Suppliers: Acme Brick/Featherlite, San Antonio Masonry & Tool Supply, Spec Mix/Quikrete

More than 30 summer interns, who work in the industry and came from schools aroundthe country, gathered at the Associated General Contractors (AGC) San Antonio Chapter

office for the Summer Intern Mixer where they had the chance to network and learn about long-term careers in San Antonio. The Construction Leadership Forum (CLF)

was to coordinate follow up events, including a softball tournament and communityservice day at the San Antonio Food Bank. –mh

Submitted to Construction News

Welcoming interns


The poles are in!

The American Subcontractors Association (ASA) San Antonio Chapter rocked Rockport with its

annual Fishing Tournament Jun. 3-4. With dinner the night before and immediately following the bay fishing tournament, the event drew 34 teams to compete in amateur and pro divisions. –mh

WinnersGuided

Heavy Stringer1st: Alpha Insulation & Waterproofing (17.71 lbs.)2nd: Ridout Barrett (16.71 lbs.)3rd: Coats Rose (12.64 lbs.)Heavy Trout1st: Structure Tone Team 2 (27 1/4”)2nd: Robles1 Demolition (25 1/2”)3rd: Alpha Insulation & Waterproofing (24 7/8”)Heavy Redfish1st: Ridout Barrett (25 3/4”)2nd: Cokinos Bosien & Young Team 1 (24 3/8”)3rd: Alpha Insulation & Waterproofing (23 1/8”)Heavy Flounder1st: Alpha Insulation & Waterproofing (15”)Money Pot20” Flounder: Ridout Barrett24” Redfish: Langley & Banack20” Trout: Robles1 Demolition

Non-GuidedHeavy Stringer1st: Team “Wright Meow” (14.91 lbs.)2nd: Howell Crane Team 2 (12.12 lbs.)3rd: Freund Enterprises (11.78 lbs.)

Heavy Trout1st: Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers (20 1/8”)2nd: Team “Wright Meow” (20”)3rd: Quality Fence & Welding (18 1/4”)Heavy Redfish1st: ESC Safety Consultants & Midco Sling (28”)2nd: Team “Wright Meow”3rd: M&M Metals (24”)Heavy Flounder1st: Michelle Davis (17 1/8”)Redfish with the Most Spots:ESC Safety Consultants & Midco SlingMoney Pot20” Flounder: Freund Enterprises24” Redfish: M&M Metals20” Trout: Team “Wright Meow”

1st Place Stringer and Money Pot 20”Trout (Non-Guided)

1st Place Flounder and 1st PlaceStringer (Guided)

1st Place Trout (Guided)

1st Place Flounder (Non-Guided)

Fire protection contractors from across the state played golf and went fishing at the Skins & Fins Tour-

nament held at South Shore Harbour Re-sort in League City in Jun. 9-12. Folks also attended continued edu-cation classes, a table top vendor show, a buffet-style dinner and a pool party. The Fire Sprinklers Contractors Asso-ciation of Texas (FSCATX) hosted the event. –ab

Making waves

The table top vendor show

Impact Fire ServicesCarol McCain won the Champion of the

Industry Achievement Award


Going by the book

The Blue Book hosted its Who’s Who Central Texas

Showcase & Seminar Jun. 2 at the Embassy Suites in San Marcos. With 91 exhibitors at the expo and 863 event attendees, construction industry members and companies were represented from the San Antonio and Austin areas. –mh Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Superior Contracting Services

Central Builders Inc. Modern Day Concrete Capco General Contracting

Hispanic Contractors Association (HCA)

LumberLink

Harrison Walker & Harper Robinson General Contractors Drash Contracting CompanyNational Association of Women in

Construction (NAWIC)

JAG Public Safety Byrne Construction Services Wurzel Builders Grapevine Concrete Contractors

Retail Builders Group Journeyman Construction

Structura Structure Tone Southwest


Round-Up Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

ABCAssociated Builders & Contractors

Events are held at the ABC office un-less otherwise stated.Jul. 4: Office closedJul. 6-8: Safety Standards for Scaffolding CourseJul. 18-21: Cranes in Construction CourseFor more info on these courses, email Chris Preetorius at [email protected]

AGCAssociated General Contractors

Events are held at the AGC office un-less otherwise stated.Jul. 5: STP Unit 1: Leadership and Motiva-tion, Class 2; 1-5:30pmJul. 6-7: OSHA 10-Hour, 8:30amJul. 12: STP Unit 1: Leadership and Moti-vation, Class 3; 1-5:30pmJul. 13: Brown Bag Lunch: Cyber Liability Insurance; noonJul. 16: CLF Night at the Missions, Wolff Stadium, 7pmJul. 19: STP Unit 1: Leadership and Moti-vation, Class 4; 1-5:30pmJul. 26: STP Unit 1: Leadership and Moti-vation, Class 5; 1-5:30pm

AIAAmerican Institute of Architects

Jul. 22: Healthcare Knowledge Commu-nity meeting; Center for Architecture, 1344 S. Flores St.; topic is The Use of Vir-tual Reality in Healthcare; 9-10:30am, for more info, email [email protected]. 25: Chapter meeting; Luby’s Fiesta Room, 911 N. Main Ave.; noon-1pm; topic is Housing in San Antonio: The Missing Middle with speaker Chris Lazaro, San An-tonio Department of Planning & Commu-nity; no RSVP required; $20/members, $25/guests, $15/interns and associatesFor more info on these events, visit www.aiasa.org

CMAAConstruction Mgmt. Assn. of America

Jul. 21: Monthly meeting; Ferguson’s Showroom, 303 North Park Drive; 7:30-9am; Lt. Gen. (retired) N. Tom Jones, in-terim aviation director, updates on San Antonio International Airport Capital Im-provements Program; members $25, $30 after 7pm on Jul. 19, guests $30, $35 after 7pm on Jul. 19; to register, visit sctxcmaa.org/meetinginfo.php?id=14t&s=1457053495

ECATEarthmoving Contractors of Tx.

Jul. 15-16: 58th Annual Membership meeting; The Hilton Garden, Duncanville; event will include annual skeet and trap shoot contest, Cummins Diesel Engine Plant tour, summary of past and next state legislative session coming in Janu-ary, the ECAT-BITCO Safety Insurance Pro-gram, and the annual meeting awards and banquet; 2nd quarter board meeting will be on Jul. 16 in the Cedar Hill meeting room, open to all members, and anyone having business with the board should contact the office to get on the agenda; for more info, visit www.earthmoving-contractors.com; late registration can be submitted by phone to the ECAT office by Jul. 8; to register, call 830-629-1620

GSABAGreater San Antonio Builders Assn.

Jul. 16: A Night at the Summit Awards, The Omni at the Colonnade, 9821 Colon-nade Blvd.; 6pm

HCA de San AntonioHispanic Contractors Association

Jul. 22: Annual Gala, “Excellence & Diver-sity Awards: A Night in Old Havana,” San Fernando Hall, 6pmJul. 31: Application deadline for educa-tion scholarships available to members and/or their families

For more info on these events, visit hcadesa.org, email [email protected], or call 210-444-1100

IECIndependent Electrical Contractors

Events are held at the IEC office unless otherwise stated.Jul. 4: Independence Day, IEC office closedJul. 12-15: Executive Director Confer-ence, Memphis, TNJul. 18: Continuing Education Class, 5-9pmJul. 23: Electrical Maintenance Techni-cian Class, 8am-5pmJul. 26: Journeyman/Master Prep Class, 5:30-9:30pm, class 1 of 6Aug. 2: Journeyman/Master Prep Class, 5:30-9:30pm, class 2 of 6For more info on these events, call 210-431-9861 or visit www.iecsanantonio.com

MCA–SMACNAMechanical Contractors Association

Sheet Metal & A/C Nat’l Assn.

Jul. 6: Regular & Associates meeting, Oak Hills Country Club, 11:30amJul. 13: Joint Labor/Management meet-ing, MCA-SMACNA office, 11amJul. 20: Joint Industry Fund meeting, Oak Hills Country Club, 11:30amJul. 20-24: MCA Texas Annual Confer-ence & Products Show, La Torretta Resort & Spa

NAWICNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Jul. 6: General meeting; Petroleum Club; 6pm; motivational speaker is Melissa Buck, MA, PHR, “Fuel Your Humans: How to Drive Performance through Recogni-tion”

PHCC Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors

Jul. 14: Employer Initiatives & Business Engagements; The Petroleum Club; 11am; speaker is TWCJul. 15: 2016/2017 Plumbing Apprentice DOL program applications dueJul. 23, 30: Plumber’s Continuing Educa-tionFor more info on these events or to RSVP, call 210-824-7422 or visit www.phcc-san-antonio.org

RCATRoofing Contractors Assn. of Tx.

Jul. 20-22: Quarterly Membership meet-ing/Licensing Boot Camp, Exams; Hotel Indigo, 325 N. Kansas St., El Paso; licens-ing boot camp, Border Chapter network-ing event, educational seminars and RCAT licensing exams; to reserve, call 915-532-5200; for more info, visit www.rooftex.com

SAMCASan Antonio Masonry Contractors Assn.

Jul. 8-9: Annual Fishing Tournament; Redfish Bay Boathouse, Aransas Pass; $300 per boat with 4 anglersJul. 27: Membership meeting; Pap-padeaux Restaurant, 76 NE Loop 410; noon; $30 per personFor more info on these events, contact Debbie at 830-606-5556

SDASociety for Design Administration

Jul. 16: Annual Saturday Brunch; 10am-noon; Candlelight Coffee House, 3011 N. St Mary’s St.; for more info, email [email protected]

TSPSTexas Society of Professional Surveyors

Jul. 16: “Hook, Line & Surveyor” Scholar-ship Fishing Tournament, Redfish Boat House, Aransas Pass

Cude Engineersannounced the following:

Coy D. Armstrong, PE, has joined the firm announced as vice president. With more than 21 years of experience in civil engineering, he will further develop the firm’s portfolio of commercial, residen-tial, municipal, ind-ustrial, and education development. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University.

Dena L. LeBlanc has joined the firm as a marketing manager. With 20 years of marketing experi-ence, She will be responsible for con-ceiving and executing marketing strategies and tactics that drive growth. Before joining the firm, she worked for a variety of advertising agencies. Thirteen years ago, she switched to the corporate side and oversaw the marketing for Insperity. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from UTSA.

Casey O’Neil has joined the firm as vice president of business development. With more than 16 years of experience in real estate and sales, Casey will be respon-sible for developing new clients and sourcing new projects for our multiple markets. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in real estate from Baylor University.

Jason Reed has been promoted to construction adminis-tration director at O’Connell Robert-son. With more than 18 years experience, including six years with the firm, he has worked on the expansion of Bobcat Stadium for Texas State University and comprehensive renovations to San Antonio College’s Moody Learning Center. He earned his bachelor’s degree in construction management from the University of Oklahoma.

Project Control announced the following:

Anthony Calabrese has been promoted to senior project manager. Since joining the firm in 2007, he has worked private projects including the Tesoro Headquarters and Frost Bank Westover Hills campuses. Prior to joining the firm, he was enlisted for six years as a U.S. Navy Seabee, serving three tours in Iraq and providing emergency relief services to the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. He holds an MBA and MPA, and is a certified Project Management Professional and LEED AP.

Jim Michel has been promoted to senior project manager. With more than 30 years of experience before joining the firm, he is currently working on the Witte Museum project. His previous work includes projects with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Jim also established and operated a construction company for 10 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Building Construction from Texas A&M University and an MBA from UTSA.

Brandon Eastep has joined Sundt Construction as a field superintendent II. With 12 years of c o n s t r u c t i o n experience, one of his first duties will be the project management plan for VIA Metropolitan Transit’s 400-space Stone Oak Park & Ride. He has worked with specialty and self-performing general contractors handling commercial, healthcare, multi-family and industrial projects across Texas and Louisiana.

Rebecca “Beki” Webster has joined HOLT CAT as its new vice president of human resourc-es. With more than 20 years of experi-ence in human re-source manage-ment and leadership, Webster will have executive oversight of all human resource operations and will assume responsibility of the company’s security and safety de-partments. A native of San Antonio, she recently relocated to South Texas after 20 years working at Northrup Grumman, a leading global aerospace and defense technology firm.

SubmissionsThis is a section for brief company

announcements of new or recently promoted personnel, free of charge

as space allows. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Email with “Round-Up” in the subject

line (w/digital photo, if available)by the 15th of any month, for the

next month’s issue to:

[email protected]


Following its recent move, the new loca-tion for Sunstate

Equipment Co., 6035 NE Loop 410, hosted an Open House & BBQ Jun. 16 at the new facility. The rental equipment company, which has been in San An-tonio since 1998, welcomed more than 300 customers and contractors to the new 1.6-acre location. Door priz-es and giveaways included custom Sunstate Yeti cool-ers, shirts and caps. –mh

Sun shines on NE 410

L-R: Daryl Real, Big State Electric; Scott Snyder and Chris Moore, Sunstate;John Miller, Big State Electric

L-R: John Rankin, Sunstate; Richard Gonzales, Rick Diaz Deleon, Mike Southard and Josef Heinz, FSG Electric; Jeff Van

Marter and Mark Laplante, Sunstate

John Keverline, Multiquip, and Ashley Bratton, Genie Industries

L-R: Eric Gomez, Plant Interscapes; Cesar Guajardo, Seasonal Scapes; Yolanda Barrera,

Betty Weisson, Paul Bradley and Caroline Puller, Plant Interscapes


L-R: Javier Aguilera has been at the San Antonio branch of Barsco for two years,and Alex Ibarra has been at the location for six years, doing air conditioning

and refrigeration supply, focusing mainly on refrigeration. –mh

Cold business, warm smilesConstruction News ON LOCATION

RDO ready to goConstruction News ON LOCATION

The team at RDO Equipment was ready for the summer rush to hit. The Schertz location has an inventory heavy on John Deere equipment and is headed up by

general manager, Shane Brownlow (left). –mh

Painting the day awayConstruction News JOB SIGHT

Doing work under MEMCO, Vincent Acosta, Acosta Drywall & Paint, cuts in and preps another wall in the offices of Builders Exchange Education Council on Naco-Perrin. –sj


With state, county and local digni-taries in attendance, HOLT CAT hosted a groundbreaking cere-

mony Jun. 14 for a new state-of-the-art headquarters building at its San Antonio campus. The expansion represents more than a $20 million property investment. Dave Harris, HOLT president and COO; Peter J. Holt, HOLT executive vice president and general manager; and San Antonio’s Mayor Ivy Taylor were among the speakers who addressed more than 200 attendees at the groundbreaking. The three-story, 84,000-sf building will include integrated technology, tradi-tional offices and multi-functional con-ference facilities. RVK Architects de-signed the new headquarters, and Joeris General Contractors is the GC for the project. The new building will also feature a large lunchroom with a fresh food vend-ing area and a connected outdoor patio, and an employee fitness center with full locker rooms and shower facilities. Ex-

Investing in the futurepected to open in the third quarter of 2017, once completed, the new head-quarters building will consolidate admin-istrative and corporate functions. With 39 locations across North, Northeast, Central and South Texas and more than 2,300 employees, the San An-tonio campus is home to more than 700 of the company’s employees. While the heavy equipment and Caterpillar dealer has a presence statewide, HOLT is based in San Antonio. “The HOLT organization has been part of San Antonio since 1933, and this groundbreaking ceremony was in cele-bration of the last 83 years,” says Joe Carreon, corporate marketing manager for HOLT CAT. “Our investment in this new facility marks the company’s com-mitment to the community and to the southeast side of San Antonio. We are very excited about this new facility, as it will include state-of-the-art amenities to accommodate the needs of our employ-ees and our customers.”–mh

Photo by Steve HuedepohlAmong HOLT’s leadership and members of the local government present for a significant moment in HOLT CAT history were L-R: Dave Harris, president and COO, HOLT CAT; Tommy Calvert, Bexar County Commissioner; San Antonio Councilwoman Rebecca Villagran, Dist.

3; Hazel Holt, Peter’s older daughter; Peter J. Holt, executive vice president and general manager, HOLT CAT; Penny Holt, Peter’s younger daughter; Lauren Kate Holt; San Antonio

Mayor Ivy Taylor; Judge Nelson Wolff; Holt Richter, Corinna’s son; Corinna Holt Richter, executive vice president and chief administrative officer; J.B. Richter

Photo by Steve HuedepohlMayor Ivy Taylor addresses the crowd before the groundbreaking at HOLT CAT headquarters

on South W.W. White Road.

Peter J. Holt, executive vice president and general manager

Dave Harris, president and COO

One of HOLT CAT’s own pieces of equipment performed the ceremonial groundbreaking for

the new headquarters building.


Lights are bright on casino night

Each year, Alterman Inc. hosts a summer party to celebrate and show appreciation for its employ-

ees, and this year’s big event was Casino Night Jun. 4 at Alzafar Shrine. A vast majority of the electrical con-tractor’s employees attended with an es-timated 425 employees out of the com-pany’s approximate total of 520 turning out for a Saturday evening of fun, dinner, entertainment, and of course, gaming. There were also photo booths, slot ma-

chines, and a chocolate fountain. The tables weren’t the only way to win big that night. Every half hour, Alter-man raffled off door prizes, such as Yeti coolers, fishing gear, plenty of tools, gift cards, and even a couple of TVs, to about six employees each time. Four lucky win-ners received one of the grand prizes – or they could pick a cash envelope as a fun option. –mh


Denis St. Pierre presented four lucky employees with grand prizes. L-R: (top) Charles Jones won one week of paid time off, Isidoro Riojas won a family fun 4-pack season pass to the

local amusement park of his choice (Schlitterbahn, Seaworld, Fiesta Texas or Morgan’s Wonderland), (bottom) this winner got a Casino Night-themed trip for two to Las Vegas,

and this winner took home a Samsung Curved UHD TV.

L-R: Pamela Hollen and Wendy Collins greeted partygoersas they arrived.

Alterman’s Casino Night was a huge hit with its employees and guests, and prize giveaways were an added bonus.

L-R: Luis Leon, Paul Ford and Carlos Sanchez put their chips on the table, trying to beat the odds at roulette.

Members of Alterman’s IT and Wastewater departments tried their luck at the craps table. L-R: Jeff Chunn, Nelson

Froboese, Kennon Thomas, Wade and Shannon Hofstetter, and Jake Blount

san antonio construction news july 2016

Documents