NUCA Foundation’s Leadership Institute Comes Back Strong
NUCA Increases Presence at EJCDC Meetings
Patrick Holmes Returns as NUCA of Arizona ED
GUCA Holds Winter Management Conference
Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment Fails to Make Ballot
New Members
NUCA Foundation’s Leadership Institute Comes Back Strong
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| Institute instructor Charles Vander Kooi presented on estimating and bidding, job scheduling and fi nancial management. |
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After a two-year hiatus, the NUCA Foundation for Education and Research recently brought back its Institute for Leadership Development’s Core Curriculum Program on front-office management.
Held Feb. 25-29 at NUCA headquarters in Arlington, Va., the program for current and rising project managers, estimators and supervisors attracted 17 participants from NUCA member companies around the country.
The training sessions, which were presented by experienced faculty who understand the diverse challenges of running a utility construction company, focused on safety, insurance and bonding, estimating and bidding, financial management, construction law and leadership skills. The week-long program also included a trip to Capitol Hill, where attendees met selected members of Congress and learned how to lobby for the utility construction industry’s legislative issues.
Early feedback from participants was uniformly positive. Andy Hedrick of Reynolds Inc. (Fairburn, Ga.) said, “The NUCA Leadership Course was a great opportunity for me to gain valuable industry-specific leadership training. Especially worthwhile was the open forum, which fostered the exchange of ideas among some of the best utility contractors in the country. And, the Capitol Hill visit certainly emphasized the hard work and dedication of the NUCA staff in keeping our industry strong for future generations.”
Asked to single out the session he found most useful, Justin Smith of Schlouch Inc. (Blandon, Pa.) chose those presented by Charles Vander Kooi on estimating and bidding, job scheduling and financial management: “I would have to say that the best part of the program for me was Charles Vander Kooi. Really great speaker! I picked up the most information from his sessions.” (Note: Vander Kooi, who has presented at previous Institutes and Utility Construction EXPO, has more than 40 years experience in the construction industry in estimating, upper management and consulting.)
Mark Gravel of Willow Construction Inc. (Powder Springs, Ga.) summed up the event like this: “I thoroughly enjoyed the program overall. It was well worth the time and expense.”
NUCA Increases Presence at EJCDC Meetings
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| NUCA member Charles Surasky makes a point during the Contract Documents and Specifi cations Committee meeting at Utility Construction EXPO ‘08 in Hawaii. |
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Near the top of the list of NUCA’s “urgent priorities” is active participation on the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC) through volunteers from the association’s Contract Documents and Specifications Committee.
To that end, Charles Surasky (partner for Smith, Currie & Hancock, Atlanta) attended the October 2007 EJCDC meeting in Atlanta, and Surasky and Jim Giannelli (president of RMCI Inc., Albuquerque, N.M.) the meeting in February 2008 in Las Vegas. NUCA hopes that their presence at these meetings will lead to opportunities to voice utility contractor concerns in future revisions of the EJCDC’s construction series of contract documents.
According to an article in the October 2007 issue of Pepper Hamilton LLP’s Construction Update newsletter, the EJCDC’s recently released 2007 Series “adds to or shifts certain of the responsibilities of the parties involved in a project.” In brief, the revisions generally place greater responsibility on contractors in the following areas: site conditions, safety, reporting discrepancies in design and certification against corrupt and collusive practices. For the complete article — “Be Aware of Changes in EJCDC Construction Documents” by Ralph Finizio and Christopher Cafardi — visit the law firm’s Web site at www.pepperlaw.com/pepper/pdfs/Construct1007.pdf.
Patrick Holmes Returns as NUCA of Arizona ED
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Holmes |
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Patrick Holmes, who recently returned to NUCA of Arizona (NUCAAZ) as its Executive Director, says that many things have changed since his previous tenure (1996–1999). As a result, he’s concentrating on how to best meet current challenges in the state — namely a slowdown in construction and a decrease in contributions to non-profit organizations.
“We will definitely have to be creative and aggressive to act upon new opportunities to serve our members and the communities in which we work,” said Holmes. “Our president Slade Ottney of Pauley Construction would like to see this organization get back to basics, and I think this is the right time. I am focusing on improving the current services, stepping up communications and raising NUCAAZ’s visibility throughout the state.”
He is of course delighted that Phoenix will be the site of Utility Construction EXPO ’09-The Big Show.
“We are all looking forward to the NUCA event next year,” he said.
Between stints as NUCAAZ Executive Director, Holmes didn’t stray far from his interest in improving the utility construction industry.
When he left, it was to pursue some ideas he had about developing digital maps and technologies to prevent damage to buried utilities. The result was a multi-sensor device for detecting, locating and mapping buried facilities. His major financial partners in that endeavor were Data, Pinnacle West Capital Corp., El Dorado Investment Co. and Vermeer Mfg. His most recent venture was as general manager of Acoustic Locating Services LLC, where he managed the development of an acoustic technology for detecting and locating buried sewer laterals.
“My recent desire to seek new opportunities coincided nicely with the advertisement of the executive director position,” said Holmes. “It’s great to be back at NUCA of Arizona.”
For more information about NUCA of Arizona, visit the Web site at www.nucaaz.com.
GUCA Holds Winter Management Conference
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| Michael Jones of H&H Insurance Services spoke on uninsured subcontractors. |
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Plenty of snow and cold weather welcomed members of the Georgia Utility Contractors Association as they arrived in Steamboat Springs, Colo., for the 2008 Winter Management Conference, Feb. 16-20. The more than 40 guests who attended included representatives from the following companies: Construction Perfected Inc.; H&H Insurance Services Inc.; Richard Harp Excavation Inc.; McMahan Drilling & Blasting Inc.; Peed Bros. Inc.; Savan Inc.; Southern Trenching Inc.; Strack Inc.; Turpin Inc.; Utilities Protection Center; and Willow Construction Inc. The sponsors included: Batey & Sanders Inc.; H&H Insurance Services Inc.; Lance Travel; and Southern Trenching Inc.
In addition to a number of exciting outdoor activities such as skiing and snowmobiling, members and guests enjoyed educational sessions and presentations. Lance Travel representative Angela Lance (Peed Bros Inc.) highlighted the opportunities for discounted travel available to those who go through the GUCA/YTB Travel Web site. UPC representatives Claudette Campbell, Becky Creech and Holly Files updated the group on the new marking standards. GUCA member Michael Jones, H & H Insurance Services Inc., presented “Uninsured Subcontractors.” Mike stressed the importance of the agent asking for certificates of insurance from all companies on the jobsite and the contractor making sure that all subcontractors are following the established safety standards. The latter two presentations are available online at www.guca.com.
Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment Fails to Make Ballot
Members of the Underground Utility Contractors of Florida (UUCF) — which is comprised of seven NUCA chapters* — were no doubt cheering at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1, when it was announced by Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning that the proposed Hometown Democracy amendment to the Florida constitution had failed to secure the required number of signatures to make the November 2008 ballot.
Commenting on UUCF’s contribution to the defeat, UUCF Executive Vice President Bruce Kershner said, “We kept the issue in front of our members all the time. We sent out regular updates on the progress of Hometown Democracy in their signature gathering efforts, included information in the newsletter and payroll stuffers and provided status reports to the members at meetings. We encouraged them to get the word out to family, friends and employees about the effect that Hometown Democracy would have on our industry — as far as construction goes, there would be a moratorium on construction.”
So what’s at stake if the amendment gets on the next ballot in 2010 and passes? According to the UUCF Web site, the proposed constitutional amendment would take responsibility for planning away from local planners and elected officials and give it to residents, who would have to vote on every proposed change to local growth management plans. The fear is that through voter confusion and/or apathy, road and transportation projects would come to a halt, commercial and residential developments would shut down, the construction of new schools would be postponed or stopped, the diversification of the economy and business expansion would be suppressed and the state’s elected representatives would be stripped of the ability to manage complex and controversial land use planning matters.
“The fight is not over; we just delayed it for another two years,” said Kershner. “We have to regroup in the coming months because we fully expect Hometown to come back. We’ve won an important battle, but the war is still raging.”
For more information, visit the UUCF Web site at www.uucf.com.
(*The UUCF is comprised of: Central Florida Utility Contractors Association, Mid Florida Utilities & Transportation Contractors Association, Northwest Florida Utility Contractors Association, Southwest Florida Utility Contractors Association, Suncoast Utility Contractors Association, Underground Contractors Association of South Florida and Utility Contractors Association of North Florida.)
New Members
B & K Construction Inc.
Terry Morgan
245 Alabama Rd.
The Rock, GA 30285
Work: (770) 567-9108
Fax: (770) 567-5329
E-mail: bkconstruction@bellsouth.net
Brasfield & Gorris LLC
Clay Whitman
1990 Vaughn Rd., Ste. 100
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Work: (678) 581-6400
Fax: (678) 581-6555
Capitol Rentals
Michael Menditto
30 Charles St.
East Hartford, CT 06108
Work: (860) 291-9495
Fax: (860) 291-0645
E-mail: capitolrentals@hotmail.com
E.F.S. Inc.
Billy Egan
P.O. Box 1430
Norcross, GA 30091
Work: (770) 409-1515
Fax: (770) 409-1117
E-mail: randy@efsinc.net
Web: www.efsinc.net
Eagle Excavation Inc.
Bill Dillan
4369 Tanner’s Church Rd.
Ellenwood, GA 30297
Work: (678) 244-8660
Fax: (678) 244-8669
E-mail: bill@eaglexinc.com
Web: www.eaglexinc.com
Garney Construction
Greg Harris
2001 Westside Parkway, Ste. 125
Alpharetta, GA 30004-4993
Work: (770) 754-4141
Fax: (770) 754-4144
E-mail: gharris@garney.com
Web: www.garney.com
Michels Corp.
Michelle Trapp
P.O. Box 128
817 W. Main St.
Brownsville, WI 53006
Work: (920) 583-3132
Fax: (920) 583-4560
E-mail: mtrapp@michels.us
Web: www.michels.us
Southern Light LLC
Andru Bramblett
P.O. Box 2525
Mobile, AL 36652
Work: (251) 662-1170
Fax: (251) 445-0644
E-mail: andru@slfiber.com
Web: www.slfiber.com
The Crom Corp.
Gerald C. Bevis
250 SW 36th Terrace
Gainesville, FL 32607-2863
Work: (352) 372-3436
Fax: (352) 372-6209
York Safety Solutions Inc.
Sandee York
7727 East Townline Rd.
Williamson, NY 14589
Work: (315) 589-4466
Fax: (315) 589-4466
E-mail: sandee@yorksafetysolutions.com
Web: www.yorksafetysolutions.com
Youngs Excavating Inc.
Kurt D. Youngs
P.O. Box 2766
South Bend, IN 46680
Work: (574) 287-6422
Fax: (574) 287-6441
E-mail: kurt@youngsexcavating.com
KWH Pipe
Brian M. Gallagher
22031 Heidi Ave.
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Work: (310) 775-5039
Fax: (310) 356-3607
E-mail: brian.gallagher@kwhpipe.ca
Web: www.kwhpipe.ca
SBH North America
Wendall Wood
7010 Zoltowski
Houston, TX 77020
Work: (713) 672-0252
Fax: (731) 672-4455
E-mail: wendellwood@sbhna.com
Utility Training Academy
Bob Nighswonger
119 N. Harrison St.
Cushing, OK 74023
Work: (918) 285-0422
Fax: (918) 225-1072
E-mail: bob@utasearch.com
Web: www.utasearch.com
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