dallas/fort worth · pdf fileconstruction ™ dallas/fort worth ... nflpa holiday house...

The Industry’s Newspaper

™CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONDallas/Fort Worth

Nothing but net

continued on 4 continued on Page 14

continued on Page 15

Celebrating three decades Still going strong

PRSRT. STD.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDDALLAS, TX

PERMIT #1451

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

Change Service Requested

San Antonio Austin Dallas/Fort Worth Houston

TexasStyle

Covering the Industry’s News

www.constructionnews.net (210) 308-5800 PO Box 791290 San Antonio TX 78279 MARCH 2012 Vol. 10 No. 3

Jim DeMoss, president of The DeM-oss Company in Fort Worth, can sum up his company’s 30 years in business

in just five words. “It’s been an interesting ride,” he said of owning his own business, which cele-brates its 30th anniversary this year. “We’ve seen a lot of marketplace ups and downs, and a lot of changes,” DeM-oss said. “But we are starting to see peo-ple returning to construction projects. A lot of our Fortune 500 clients – like food plants – are beginning to spend on their facilities because they need to keep them up to date, so we’re seeing some im-provement in that area.”

Food plant work could be described as the “Cowtown” general construction company’s bread and butter these days, but the most interesting project they’ve recently completed is, hands down, the Arborlawn United Methodist Church lo-cated west of I-35 W in Fort Worth, he said. The DeMoss Company has worked on a lot of nonprofits and churches, but none as difficult as Arborlawn, where they built a new sanctuary. “The United Methodist church was one of the most challenging structures to erect because of the interplay between

L-R: Jim DeMoss presents a 25-year award to Superintendent Carmine Scalero.The award is a bronze hard hat.

Fans of University of Texas-Arlington athletics have a new home in which to support their favorite basketball

and volleyball teams with the completion of the school’s new College Park Center, a split-bowl arena that officially opened its doors Feb. 1. The $72 million, 225,000-sf center can seat up to 7,628 and includes conces-sion stands, classrooms, training rooms, two practice courts and new offices for the UT Arlington athletic department. “This is a multi-use building that al-lows the university to house many differ-ent events,” said project manager John Morgan, Hunt Construction Group, which served as general contractor on the project. Events in the center, which is owned by The Board of Regents of the UT sys-tem, could include concerts, trade shows and even boxing matches.

Unusual obstacles – such as a hurri-cane with effects reaching to north Texas – presented themselves during the 20-month construction process, Morgan recalled. “Hurricane Hermine hit the jobsite in Sep. 2010 right at the time we finished ex-cavating 100,000 CYs of dirt,” he ex-plained. “This storm left about 1 million gallons of water in our excavation. Due to good planning and staff that kept the pumps running for two days straight, we had our next concrete pour in three days.” But the challenges didn’t stop there. “This is a structural concrete support-ed slab structure with a 4-foot crawl space below the event floor,” he continued. “This prevented us from using a crane in-side the bowl during the steel truss erec-tion. As a result, we had to use two cranes, one on each side of the building.

College Park Center at UT-Arlington opened its doors Feb. 1.Hunt Construction Group served as general contractor on the project.

Jamail & Smith Construction is cele-brating 30 years in business. The general contracting company is

led by equal partners Jim Jamail and Gregory Smith, PE., who joined the firm in 2001, bringing with him 20 years of en-gineering experience he gained during his time as Navy Civil Engineer Corps Of-ficer and Corporate Construction Execu-tive. Founded in 1982, the company cur-rently operates offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Killeen and San Antonio, and plans to soon expand into Oklahoma, company representatives said. Jamail founded the company – which primarily focuses on Job Order Contracting (JOC) – immediately after

L-R: Jim Jamail and Greg Smith head Jamail & Smith Construction,which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

graduating college. With more than 30 years in the industry, the company has tipped the $100-million mark in construc-tion for diverse project types. “We approach every project with a unique perspective that allows us to tai-lor our services to each client’s needs,” Jamail said. To date, they have served more than 55 public agencies and more than 35 school districts using JOC, traditional bid, design build and CM at Risk. Smith credited his firm’s workers – and his company’s investment in them –with helping Jamail & Smith stay the course through both booming and lean economic times.

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Mar 2012

The Dallas Fort Worth Construction News (ISSN 1547-7657) is published monthly by Construction News Ltd., dba Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News, and distributed by mail to construction related companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. 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 Dallas Fort Worth 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.

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

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

© 2012 Construction News, Ltd.

If you are a construction-related companyin Dallas, Tarrant, Collin or Denton counties

and are not receiving a free copy of theDallas/Fort Worth Construction News, please call

for a Requester Form, or visit our website.

CONSTRUCTION NEWSDallas Fort Worth

Dallas Fort Worth Editor — Miles Smith – [email protected]

Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buddy DoebblerEditorial/Production . . . . . . . Reesa DoebblerManaging Editor . . . . . . . . . . Debra Nicholas Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Miles SmithProduction Mgr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sue JohnsonSales Representative . . . . . . . . . . Kent GerstnerAdministration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Hughes

Reprints: Send email and indicate you would like to purchase a digital reprint(credit card only)[email protected] We will email an Order Form for you tocomplete and return.

Extra Papers: Go to our website atConstructionNews.net, and select RackLocations for a location near you for pick up of an additional copy. Once the newspapers are bulk-mailed from the printer/mailhouse, no copies are available for mailing.

Want to be in Construction News?Simply contact your city editor.

We also welcome your outdoor storiesand photos (hobbies, trips, talents, etc.)

Publishing theIndustry’s News

Texas StyleSan Antonio • AustinDallas/Fort Worth • Houston

Members of the North Texas Roof-ing Contractors Association and their guests enjoyed an evening

of dinner, dancing cocktails and casino gambling at their 12th annual awards banquet Feb. 11 at Stockyards Station in

Dinner, denim and awardsFort Worth. NTCRA presented companies with Golden Hammer Awards for community service projects and completing out-standing roofing projects in 2011. –ms

The 2012 NTRCA board includes President Mike Huddleston, Past-President Joe Henderson, President-Elect Dave Custable, Treasurer Wayne Wooten,

Gregg Walther, Cheryl McGlothlin, Craig Rainey, Chris Hickey, Luciano Perez, Matt Gallagher, Jake Jacobson, Tim Doyle, Jason Horton, Tim Walker, Rich Frazier.

Rockwall County Justice CenterSupreme Roofing

L-R: Charles Navatta, Tim Rainey, Todd Gilmore

Muskogee Power PlantEmpire Roofing

L-R: Justin LaTouche, Cheryl McGlothlin,Sipriano Matamoros

Anita Martinez Ballet FolkloricoKPost Company

L-R: Brent McFarlin, Hector Molina, Ryan Little

Mrs. Jordan’s house: TriVAN Roofing, Mike Huddleston Roofing Systems,Tice Enterprises, Ltd.,The HR Group and Frazier Roofing and Guttering

L-R: In front, A.J. Huckaby, Jason Horton, Rich Frazier, Carolyn Coleman, Joe Hen-derson, Wayne Wooten, Dave Custable; In back, Sidney Curtis, Mike Huddleston

Dallas Convention Center Hotel: KPost Company L-R: Jim Fell, Ryan Little, Brooks Hudgeons, Luciano Perez,

Andy Berumen, Kelly Lea

NFLPA Holiday HouseBert Roofing

L-R: Dee and John Bert

Top right: Wayne Wooten, Empire Disposal is named

associate of the year.

Right: Bill Conley, The Conley Groupis announced as industry leader.


Sen. Royce West and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert joined the Re-gional Hispanic Contractors Associ-

ation (RHCA) in recognizing individuals, corporations and private entities who have impacted the economic growth in the construction profession. Awards were presented Feb. 2 at the RHCA 5th Annual Pillars Awards Break-fast. –ms

Difference makers

Foundation AwardJohn H. Martinez-D., RHCA President

Pillar AwardArcilia Acosta,

CARCON Industries & STL Engineers

Vanguard Award – DFW International Airport

Corporation of the YearBalfour Beatty Construction

Public Entity of the YearFort Worth ISD

Entrepreneur of the YearAzteca-Omega Group

Green Project of the Year – DART Monroe Shops/Police Headquarters

Project of the Year – Omni Dallas Hotel

e. ALLEN CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY, INC.

2827 N. Nichols StreetFort Worth, TX 76106

817-624-7095Fax 817-624-9242

1500 MLK Jr. Blvd.Wichita Falls, TX 76301940-687-2195Fax 940-687-2698

“The Company that Appreciates Your Business”

Born in Texas . . . . Raised in Texas . . . . Growing With Texas

Celebrating 25 Years of Independence

Your Rebar Fabricator of Choice

Thank You for 25 years of successEileen & Dick Allen

www.AllenConstructionSupplytx.comWBE & HUB Certifi ed

Rebar FabricationWelded Dowel BasketsExpansion BasketsContraction BasketsBridge HangersCity White CureRedwood

Construction TubeExpansion JointPaving FormsWall FormsSnap TiesLoop End TiesForm Release Agent

Access DoorsStair NosingsConcrete ColorConcrete StainConcrete SealerSelf Leveling GroutNon Shrink Grout


Ron Carroll (COO)Sandi Carroll (CEO)

R. J. Carroll Company

“Blessed.” With this one word, Ron and Sandi Carroll fully describe every aspect of their lives.

Blessed to have passion for their work and to share their 9-to-5 days with amaz-ing employees. Blessed to be able to en-joy their children and grandchildren. Blessed to have opportunities to support important causes. Blessed to be able to enjoy their heaven-on-earth ranch. Most of all, though, they feel blessed just to have found each other.

How did the two of you meet?RC: Originally, we both worked for the phone company.SC: When the company first started to let women go outside [to climb and work on the telephone poles], I went outside. My pole-climbing teacher was my soon-to-be husband! Ron taught me how to climb telephone poles.RC: If we back up just a little bit, I was put into pole-climbing school to teach new hires. Employees, lots of women, were coming through then. Sandi had already been through pole-climbing class but when I came on board, we were making a change to make pole climbing safer for women than it had been.SC: They revised it. Instead of using the hand-over-hand method like men would use to climb, you basically put all of your weight on your legs. Most women aren’t strong enough in their upper bodies to climb hand-over-hand.

Ron, what was it like teaching Sandi, and Sandi, what was it like to be Ron’s student?SC: He was pretty much known as a male chauvinist pig … or that’s the rumor I heard!RC: No, the real deal is that she was scared to death when she came in. She had already been through the class, but once she got outside …SC: I had a female teach me the first time.RC: … she didn’t really get to practice climbing, so they sent her back through training, which happened quite often. There were about 33-34% of the women and 16% of the men who just weren’t ca-pable of climbing; not everybody is able to climb, although she could. Because I was dedicated to teaching them to climb safely, I was there when she came through, and she was not that happy about getting me as an instructor.SC: I wasn’t happy about learning the new technique either!RC: … because of my [chauvinistic] “rep-utation” But it was a different time peri-od! It was the ’70s! Anyway, after she had passed the class, we actually happened to meet at a club, started talking, started dating …SC: Actually, he called me.RC: Well now, that’s not exactly right! [Under his breath] She’s getting old, bless her heart. It’s just sad.SC: It’s your birthday today! He’s 62!

Well, happy birthday to you, Ron!RC: Thank you! Anyway, we started dat-ing and we got married.SC: I went through his class the last week of December ’76 and we started dating in January of ’77. I went into the office one day to pick up a phone and he told me he was getting transferred to San Antonio. I said, “Well, what are we going to do?” And he said, “Well, I guess we’ll get mar-ried!” So that’s how he proposed to me. We got married in October of ’77 and have been married 35 years this year.

That’s romantic! What do you appreci-ate most about each other, profes-sionally and personally?SC: I could tell he was real strong with family. His mother was really important to him. He always treated me really well. He’s just a really loving, kind person. Also, I trust his judgment.RC: She’s got a really good, strong work ethic, and she’s a big supporter of me, and that’s always a plus. Even with the few mistakes I’ve made in my life, she’s supported me. Now, she hasn’t always minded [me], and that’s kind of been a problem.SC: We’ve both been really supportive of each other during the good and the bad. We work together and we’re at home to-gether. A lot of our friends say that they don’t know how we do it. I don’t really think about how we do it.RC: Well, of course, I’ve never been wrong, and that helps a lot! We have a lot of things in common, but the main thing is that she is a caring, loving person.

Do you share any hobbies as well?RC: Our main hobby together is hunting. SC: I like to deer hunt, while he likes to hunt dove and quail.RC: We own a ranch out in West Texas and we have a lot of activities out there. We put on trainings for kids who have to get their hunter education, which we do through the game warden association. We put on a lot of concealed handgun classes. We have a shooting range that is Department of Public Safety-rated.SC: It’s a three-hour drive [to the ranch], and the closer you get, the stress just rolls off of you. It’s like church camp.RC: It’s all set up for family and friends; the ranch sleeps 24. We have big hunts out there, and we’ve had big parties for 200 or more people.

It sounds like your piece of heaven on earth. RC: We’ve been blessed. We are probably two of the most blessed people you’ve ever met. When you’re fortunate to have been blessed this much, you’ve got to give back. Sometimes, it’s not the right business decision to give back but it’s the right thing to do. Do the right thing, and the business will take care of itself.

Besides hosting events for organiza-tions at your ranch, are there any oth-er causes close to your hearts?RC: We’re big donators to any charity that helps kids as much as possible - a lot of baseball and softball teams, and we’re big supporters of Future Farmers of America.SC: Growing up, Ron and I both knew what it was like to do without, so it’s re-ally important to us to help children do something they might not be able to do. RC: We’re lifetime members of Ducks Un-limited and the National Rifle Associa-tion. We support Texas Trophy Hunters and the Show of Support Military Hunt at Herradura Ranch benefiting our wound-ed soldiers.SC: We also have donated to the Free-dom Alliance, which is a scholarship fund for sons and daughters of our American heroes.

Is the three-hour trip to the ranch all of the traveling you do, or do you have

the opportunity to travel to other places?RC: We’ve been so blessed throughout our life to be able to do things. We went to New Zealand to visit our middle daughter and youngest granddaughter last March and went on to Australia with them and we’ve taken cruises.SC: Maybe we should take an Alaskan cruise; that would be nice.RC: But you know, when we were grow-ing our company, it was [as if our motto was:] “Nothing exceeds the fun of doing this.” It’s fun to hire these young people and watch them grow and mature. A trip couldn’t be made that would be as fun as this. You just couldn’t go anywhere in the world that is as much fun as this is! I’m al-ways anxious to get back here from a trip.

Are you the kind of person who is at-tached to your work phone then, Ron?RC: No. I had a heart attack in ’06. That kind of slowed me down. It changed my mindset a little bit. Things just didn’t seem as important as they had. I just quit fighting as hard; most of it I couldn’t con-trol anyway.

That must have been a scary time for both of you.SC: It was. It was pretty scary. We were out on our ranch and it was Thanksgiving Day. I kept telling him that we should call for CareFlite, but he told me to keep driv-ing to Temple. I kept thinking that I would see a patrol officer from one of the tiny towns we went through, but I never saw one. I made it from the ranch to the hos-pital in an hour and 40 minutes. He had a heart procedure 30 days previous to that, and was on [the medication] Coumadin. His blood would not clot. That is what saved him.

Has that affected your plans for retire-ment? Since you both work at the same company, are your views on re-tirement similar? Will you retire to-gether, always work, or do you have different plans?RC: We’ve been in telecommunications for 42 years this year. We’ll always work. I plan on working until I fall over dead. I’d rather fall over deer hunting or hunting birds, but I really have no desire to retire. We used to be the first ones in the office in the morning and the last ones out at night, but as the company has matured we now have other people to do that. Health-wise, I might be forced to retire, but as long as I can be an active part in the company, I’m not planning to retire at all.

How did you become involved in the telecommunications industry, Ron?RC: I moved to Oklahoma City and went

to work for Safeway stores. I was only 18, but within six months they made me a third man, which means you close the store two nights a week. I worked for them for a couple of years and then went to work for the telecommunication com-pany. I worked there for three years until they promoted me and made me a man-ager, which I was for six years until I quit. I went up to my director and division guy and asked if I could get a contract, and that’s how I started. My brothers had kicked off companies and I bought into those companies, and we went on from there. Before Sandi and I met, I went to col-lege one semester, and I was working three jobs to pay for it. I was in a trigo-nometry class and got to know the pro-fessor, who told me that he had just got-ten a raise and gotten tenure. He was tak-ing home $167 a week. As he told me this, I added up in my head the pay from my three jobs, and I was taking home $163. When I finished that semester, I thought, “Why do I need college?” This guy had a college degree and had been here a long time, but was only taking home $4 more than I was a week. It just didn’t jell for me.

You seem to enjoy your work.RC: I’ve been blessed from a young age to manage people, and there have been thousands and thousands of people who have come through [our company] that we’ve been able to touch in one way or another - and a lot of them now are our friendly competitors! That never upsets me, that thrills me to see them take an-other step going forward with their lives. That’s the way it should be; we should all be looking out for each other and help-ing each other.

What is the extent of your family’s in-volvement in the business?RC: We have a daughter who is 38, a son who is 37, a daughter who is 36 and the youngest daughter who is 30. All of our kids came through the company at one time or another but they all went on to different things. We’re blessed to have our son-in-law here, and he runs the daily operations. He’s been here since he was 15; he grew up in this company. We also have seven grandkids – three girls and four boys.SC: In fact, one of the granddaughters texted him this morning and said, “You’re 62 and I love you!”RC: We’ve been blessed for sure.

Mansfield-based R.J. Carroll Company provides telecommunications services in-cluding design, installation and mainte-nance of structured cabling and fiber optics for voice, data and video systems. –mjm

L-R: Ron and Sandi Carroll count their many blessings.


Don’t fall into OSHA’s topsafety problemMichael Abcarian, Managing PartnerFisher & Phillips LLPDallas, TX

It’s no secret that construction is a high-risk industry for workers, with fall hazards at the top of the list. In fact,

falls are the most frequent cause of fatalities at construc-tion sites and annually account for one out of every three construction-related deaths.

In 2011, problems associated with employees falling from scaffolds, roofs, ladders, and other high places topped OSHA’s list of workplace safe concerns. Indeed, federal inspectors discovered about 17,200 violations of OSHA stan-dards pertaining to workers who fell from elevated areas; 7,035 violations of OSHA’s scaffolding standard; 6,984 violations of the fall prevention standard; and 3,179 violations of the standard for use of lad-ders. The penalties assessed to these em-ployers were significant to say the least, and in many instances, were probably avoidable. After years of somewhat less rigor-ous enforcement, the pendulum is swing-ing back toward more stringent enforce-ment of OSHA fall protection standards. As most employers know, the OSH Act of 1970 requires every employer to furnish a safe place of employment and to comply with all applicable workplace safety stan-dards. While it is the rare employer who is immune from workplace accidents and injuries, implementation of safety poli-cies should be a top priorities for con-struction industry employers and makes a big difference when it comes to meet-ing OSHA standards. For example, by simply looking at data from OSHA, employers can identify hot spots for danger and ramp up poli-cies that may prevent future accidents, thus limiting jobsite safety violations and liabilities. Although there are commonly avail-able methods for preventing falls, atten-tion to the following should help you de-crease the number of tumbles taken by employees and the amount of costly OSHA fines doled out by the agency. Examine safety hazards often Employers must assess jobsites to determine whether working surfaces have the strength and structural integrity to support worker safely. Once employ-ers determine surface safety, they must install and maintain proper fall protec-tion systems, supervise employees, and train everyone about proper use of fall protection. After taking the proper safety pre-cautions to prevent violations, it’s time to prepare for the possibility of an OSHA in-spection. OSHA looks for “low-hanging fruit” – common safety violations – such as: unprotected sides and edges of work-sites, wall openings, or floor holes during construction. Preventing these condi-tions can be challenging, and for employ-ers with many locations, the possibility of OSHA citations for repeat violations is a significant concern. OSHA’s focus on routine items, as well use of its “egregious” policy (by issu-ing multiple citations when an employer

has high rates of fatalities, violations, or has shown disregard for safety) is now sometimes generating six-figure penal-ties. OSHA’s proposed penalty calcula-tion guidance is intended to raise the av-erage penalty by approximately 300 per-cent. Multi-location employers are espe-cially at risk, but improved and consis-tently enforced safety rules, self-audits, and supervisor accountability can signifi-cantly reduce exposure. Develop a Comprehensive Train-ing Program OSHA has proposed development of a standard requiring that employees have a comprehensive safety manage-ment program that identifies safety haz-ards, even if there is not an applicable OSHA standard. Under this program, OSHA may cite employers for failure to prevent injury or illness. Use your data to focus on training, supervisory involve-ment, and safety oversight to stay ahead of the curve on this evolving area of safe-ty responsibility. Solve Safety Problems to Prevent Other Problems Showing employees you care about involving them in safety management may actually reduce or altogether elimi-nate other problems. For example, sur-veys have shown that when safety be-comes a primary issue during union orga-nizing attempts, the union success rate in those efforts is approximately 68 percent, the highest for any single issue. Not sur-prisingly, safety problems can become very public during labor union organiz-ing and labor disputes. Use safety compliance efforts to cre-ate a workplace where employees do not experience problems that lead to law-suits, union organizing, or conflict in an already unionized setting. Training and audits can correct a wide range of legal and human resources vulnerability. With the lives of construction work-ers on the line, fall prevention and overall safety precautions are not to be taken lightly. OSHA is ramping up enforcement to ensure that everyone takes job safety seriously. With employers now facing more severe fines, an increased number of safety inspections and bad publicity if they fail to meet required safety respon-sibilities, now is the time to beef-up safe-ty policies and practices that will keep both you and your workers out of harm’s way.

Michael Abcarian is the Managing Partner of the Dallas office of Fisher & Phil-lips, a national labor and employment law firm. He has experience advising and de-fending employers in all phases of labor and employment law, including occupa-tional safety and health. He can be reached at [email protected].

Give us a call, oremail your editorif you would like

your company and/orpersonnel to be

in an upcoming issue.

Miles SmithDFWeditor

@constructionnews.net210-308-5800

San Antonio home office210-308-5800

The payroll tax cutextensionWayne Snelson, CPAPartner and Head of the Construction Industry LineGainer Donnelly & Desroches, LLPHouston, TX

Have you noticed that the Social Security tax with-held from your employees’ paychecks is less than

the amount you have to match as an employer? That is due to the Payroll Tax Cut Extension that Congress

passed at the end of 2011. The 2 percent Social Security Tax Cut, which originated in 2011, means that employees pay 4.2 percent toward Social Security while employers pay 6.2 percent toward that same program. The two month extension was set to ex-pire in February, however on February 17th, Congress passed an extension of the payroll tax cut. The measure was approved in a 293-132 vote that split both parties. The vote was 146-91 among Republicans, and 147-41 among Democrats. The Senate acted less than an hour later and approved the bill in a 60-36 vote. The $143 billion package extends the 2 percentage point cut in the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax for the rest of 2012, essentially saving around $80 monthly for someone earning $50,000 a year.

Without this extension, the tax rate would have reverted to 6.2 percent on the first $110,100 of wages earned in 2012. For some lawmakers, the vote was an obvious choice, as they cited the 160 mil-lion workers who would benefit from the payroll tax cut. But for others, the package was a bit-ter pill. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were upset that the measure would add to the federal deficit and doubted that it would do much to boost the economy. However, President Obama was quoted as saying that Congress “did the right thing” by extending the payroll tax cut, and he urged lawmakers to “keep taking the action that people are calling for to keep this economy growing”.

So politics aside, how will the pay-roll tax cut extension impact your com-pany?

Well, employers who use computer software to prepare their payroll should watch out for updates from their soft-ware providers. Employers who have software that is

not connected to the internet may have to wait for CD updates that will ensure the correct tax rate is applied for the rest of the year. This delay may result in added time and cost to manually calculate the 1st payroll in March. Our advice is to update your soft-ware as soon as possible. If you have any questions in regards to the payroll tax cut, or need assistance with your payroll calculations, please feel free to contact our office at 713.621.8090.

For further information on Personal or Business tax issues, please contact our of-fice on 713-621-8090. Gainer, Donnelly & Desroches, LLP, the tenth largest certified public accounting firm in Houston, provides highly personalized tax, audit, business planning and advisory services to business-es and individuals across all industries with special expertise in construction, wholesale & distribution, manufacturing, not-for-profit, employee benefit plans, high net worth and real estate. The Firm has a di-verse clientele from individuals and small business owners to multi-national corpora-tions. For additional information, please visit www.gddcpa.com

Didyou

know?

Past editions can bedownloaded at

www.ConstructionNews.net


Common sense would suggest that tackling a project without knowing how to properly use your equip-

ment safely is unlikely to produce the de-sired results. However, companies who rent con-struction equipment can ensure safety and efficiency by hiring certified trainers to instruct their employees. “It makes it safer for the general con-tractor, their subcontractors and other operators who are working on the job site if all personnel are properly trained.” said Steve Sells, Region 2 Director of Safety for RSC Equipment Rental. RSC Equipment Rental has started offering safety training for all large equip-ment they rent. “As a result of numerous customer requests for safety training, RSC created a

A safe approach

safety training division focused solely on satisfying this target niche,” Sells said. Training from RSC consists of a com-bination of classroom instruction and a hands-on practical evaluation to ensure the operator has properly learned how to safely operate the equipment. Cours-es are offered for both operators and trainers. “Each of our RSC trainers are certified master instructors and demonstrate a high level of competency,” Sells ex-plained. RSC is one of the first full line rental companies to offer certified operator safety training for their customers, said Sells, who added that several large con-tractors have benefited from safety train-ing now offered by RSC Equipment Rent-al. –ms

RSC Equipment Rental’s safety training includes classroom instructionand a hands-on practical evaluation.

Professionals from across the United States in-volved with the decora-

tive concrete industry came together under one roof in San Antonio Feb. 20-24. Companies from the San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth areas repre-sented the Lone Star State at the five-day event, which in-cluded exhibits, training ses-sions, seminars, mixers, awards presentations and even a proj-ect to participate in sculpting a concrete large-scale Jurassic-era dinosaur. – ms

From exhibits to dinosaurs


BAFFIN BAYLAGUNA MADRE

LAND CUT

SPECKLED TROUT

REDFISHFLOUNDER

FISHING AND HUNTING TRIPS

STEVE SCHULTZOUTDOORS, LLC

(361) 949-7359www.baffinbaycharters.com

[email protected]

U.S. Coast Guard &Texas Parks and Wildlife Licensed

Wading the baystep by stepby Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by:Trans Sport Boats, Mercury Outboards, Chris’s Marine, Motorguide Trolling Mo-tors, Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor,

Pure Fishing, Pflueger Reels, All-Star Rods, Mirr-O-Lure, Bass Assassin,

and Columbia Sportswear.

Trophy trout fishing in the Laguna Madre/Baffin Bay complex is in full swing. For the past month most of

my charters have consisted of long hours wading the shallow flats and shoreline of our bay system, in search of every coastal angler’s dream. Thousands of casts ev-eryday with my 6½-ft. “FTU” Green rod and chronarch reel have made this set-up seem like an extension to my right arm. Our trout bite has been consistently yielding reasonable numbers and a handful of fish over the 5-lb. mark on the Boga. However, the best fishing is yet to come. Typically we start seeing the heavier sow trout in March and into April that will reach double digits numbers on the scale.

Wade fishing the next few months will be the preferred method for pursuing mon-ster trout. When wading, please exercise extreme caution. Often our water tem-peratures are in the low 50- to 70-degree range. If you’re wading soft mud on the rocks down in Baffin Bay you can loose your balance causing you to fall and fill your waders with cold water and possibly

getting hypothermia. Take things very slow and be sure of your next step before you commit your weight to your lead foot. Weather conditions should careful-ly be considered before venturing out on a wading trip. Changing weather condi-tions can develop very quickly and can catch you off guard and possibly far from the boat. Determine not where you should fish, but instead where you shouldn’t. Key on protected shorelines and structure that you know might hold baitfish and have reasonably clear water. Observations like these will definitely im-prove your odds in landing the big one. When wade fishing, look beyond what’s immediately apparent. Constantly exam-ine both the surface and feel what’s un-der your feet. Keep your eyes peeled for jumping mullet and shrimp or nervous water. Slick spots appearing on the wa-ter’s surface are sure signs of feeding fish. When people read a book, many of them need a pair of reading glasses. The same goes for reading the water. A good pair of polarized sunglasses by Maui Jim or Oakley are a must for water penetration and contrast. When selecting your sun-glasses, pick lenses that are green, ver-milion or amber for bay fishing and blue or gray for offshore waters. A good pair of these glasses can cost anywhere from $150 to $400.

Make sure all your reels are tuned up with new line and a fluorocarbon leader. Dull hooks can make for a frustrating day as fish typically shake loose on the way to the end of the rod. Lately, most of the fish caught have come off of soft plastics like the Gambler Flapp-n-Shad and Bass Assassin with several of the bigger trout falling to Topdogs and Corky’s. Light winds have allowed anglers to fan their cast nearly 360 degrees covering every square foot around them. All these tips should better your odds on catching your fish of a lifetime.

For more information or to schedule your next bay fishing trip, give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-949-7359 or 361-813-3716 or email him at [email protected]. www.steveschult-zoutdoors.com Good Luck and Good Fishing.

Chase Clark of Floresville tricked this Baffin speck using a white soft plastic wadingnear the mouth of the bay with Steve Schultz Outdoors.

SEND IN YOUR PHOTOS!fishing, hunting, skiing,

biking, racing, orany outdoor activity

or sport.


Ken Milam’s Fishing LineSponsored by Tropical Marine and Honda Marine

My name is Ken Milam and, for the past 26 years, I have been guiding fishing trips for striped bass onLake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity of getting to know

a good many folks in the construction trade.

There I was, pulling out of the Wal-Mart parking lot and down the road comes a truck pulling a nice looking

bass boat, piled high with fresh cut cedar branches. That can only mean one thing…spring is just about here and the crappie are biting! I bet those fellows spend all weekend tempting those crap-pie with nice brush to hide in.

Over all it has been a pretty mild winter, but I’m ready for spring too. Longer days and milder weather make me want to root around in the garden and start planting. Time to get out of the house and see what all we can find to get into.

The fish are starting to get more active also. White bass are running up river and the fishing docks are seeing good crap-pie fishing under the lights at night. Stripers and hybrids and, I guess catfish, are all beginning to feed better in order to be ready to spawn in the coming weeks.

Have you heard about the three Share-Lunkers that have already come out of Lady Bird Lake in Austin this year? One of them was caught for her second time around as a ShareLunker. Now that is a successful breeding program!

Spring break is upon us too. Don’t panic though, there is plenty to go and do and explore that is inexpensive and close to home.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. has 93 state parks for your next adventure. It doesn’t matter what you are into – fish-ing, birding, paddling, hiking, wildflow-

ers, spelunking, biking, swimming, sight-seeing or archeology – there is some-thing for any taste. These parks are our precious gift to ourselves and our chil-dren, but we need to get out and use them. Money is tight for the state too, and it would be a great investment both in our parks and our kids to get them ac-quainted with each other.

Don’t overlook all the spring festivals ei-ther. Just about every town has some kind of shindig going on in the next few weeks. I’m sure there is one coming to a town near you. Just go online and check out the local Chambers of Commerce or check out www.texashighways.com and look at their current event search feature. You can know what’s happening any-where in Texas at any time of the year.

Personally, I hear that something big is on the horizon just west of here in the tiny little riverside town of Castell. It will be before their annual kayak race on the Llano River, and the wild rumors I’ve heard so far sound like a whole lot of fun. Keep your ears open, I’ll tell you more about it later on.

Come on now – just load up Momma and the kids and Granny and Grandpa too. We are going to have bluebonnets this year, thanks to the nice little rain show-ers. You know you have to get some of those precious bluebonnet pictures, and who knows, maybe some good barbeque while you are on the road too!

Kick the door open and let’s get outta here!

Landon Glass of Jarrell caught this 13.03-lb. bass, Toyota ShareLunker 528, from Lake Austin Feb. 14. The fish was 25.75 inches long and 21.75 inches in girth.

Ryan Fontana, © Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Get ‘outta here

Lake bottom bluebonnets - half the blue in the lake bed is fields of bluebonnets

• Fort Worth: 1309 Haltom Road (817) 834-8131

• Irving: 1351 S. Loop 12 (972) 579-9999

• McKinney: 3774 N. Central Expressway (972) 548-9590

• Waxahachie: 2200 Hwy 287 Business (972) 937-0101

www.landmarkeq.com

We carry the full line of Takeuchi track loadersand mini-excavators.

Four Locations To Serve You


A major safety factor that is com-monly overlooked by a large num-ber of riders is tire air pressure. Im-

proper air pressure greatly affects the stability of the motorcycle. In a hard stop or collision avoidance, proper air pres-sure could be the difference of staying upright or not. Additionally improper air pressure also causes premature tire wear. I recommend checking tire air pressure at least weekly. Motorcycles equipped with drive chains require more attention and main-tenance than rubber drive belts or shaft drive. Drive chains require lubrication on a regular basis. The frequency depends on the type of lubricant used and riding conditions. The more gooey and thicker the lube the better it is for the chain. However, the down side to the gooey lube is it tends to leave a mess on the rear wheel. An alternative to this is a product known as Chain Wax that is a paraffin based lubricant. Chain wax does not have the same lubricating ability and should be applied more frequently. The only benefit to the chain wax is that it does not leave as big a mess on the rear wheel. Chains wear faster than the rubber drive belts and require adjustment more fre-quently. Rubber drive belts last a long, long time and require little adjustment in its serviceable life span. Shaft drive mo-torcycles require practically no mainte-nance for the final drive, but I do recom-mend changing the gear oil with every engine oil change. Engine oil should be checked at least weekly but daily would be better. Some particular models of motorcycles have a reputation of consuming oil, so check it frequently in case you may by chance have such a model. I recommend that you change the oil every 3,000 miles and

A few things to considerbefore riding

Submitted by Bruce BlanksSan Antonio Powersports

San Antonio, TX

be careful as to the type of oil you choose. Some oils are not suited for use in motor-cycle due to being too slippery for the clutch. Cable activated clutches require pe-riodic adjustment. Most of the time the adjustment can be made at the handle-bar without the use of tools. Improper adjustment of the cable of course will cause premature wear or improper disen-gagement of the clutch. Don’t take for granted that all of your lights will be working. You should check the turn signals, brake lights and tail lights prior to riding. It is not uncommon for the brake lights not to work due to the rear brake light switch needing adjust-ment or a failed front brake light switch in need of replacement. Remember that unlike automobiles and trucks, the con-trols and switches on motorcycles are subjected to moisture and weather. Cor-rosion and/or oxidation can be a factor in lights and horn not always working. Check your horn for proper operation as well. Mirrors are important items and they should be kept clean. Dirty mirrors re-quire too much time looking at to make distance judgments. And this additional time looking backwards distracts you from the direction you are going, which of course is where your undivided atten-tion should be focused. These checks do require a few min-utes of your time but the time spent is well worth it. Safety is the main issue, which means that these checks could save your life as well as some money. Ride safely and stay alert. San Antonio Powersports provides motorcycle and ATV sales, parts, accesso-ries and service.

L-R: Brian Borchardt and Bruce Blanks

SEND IN YOUR PHOTOS . . .fishing, hunting, skiing,

biking, racing, orany outdoor activity or sport.

[email protected]

‘Steering’ through trafficSubmitted to Construction News

Heavy traffic was literally afoot on a sunny February afternoon in Fort Worth’s stockyards, where a longhorn steer traffic jam entertained onlookers who took

advantage of the unseasonably warm day. – ms


The 2012 Black Contractors Associa-tion (BCA) Chairman’s Reception/Networker was celebrated Feb. 2 at

the Dallas Omni Convention Center Hotel. Richard Knight Jr., chairman of the Board of Directors, said the 10 individuals presented with the Time, Talents and Treasures Award were “ordinary men and women who over the years performed extraordinary deeds and assisted in shap-ing the legacy of the BCA as an extraordi-nary association.” –ms

Shaping a legacy

Gerald Alley, ConReal(Joe Breedlove accepted award)

Isolina “Icy” Byrd, 3i ConstructionMarvin Gooch, Gooch Companies

(Jackie Lott accepted award)

Monica Bailey, CMTS Inc

On the left:Clifford Freeney, Concept Facility Services

Jerry Haynes, Jerry Haynes Electric Cecil Lofton, Lofton Electronicsand Tbey & Associates

Jackie Lott, Lott Power & Light

Billy Ratcliff(Charles O’Neil accepted award)

Jonnie Gipson, Gipson Financial Group

The BCA 2012 board of directors includes Guy Toliver, Mike Anthony, Don Vestal,Cecil Lofton, Afra Cobb, Isolina “Icy” Byrd, Tracy Green, John Kelly

and Monica Bailey Jackson.


CONSTRUCTION EDUCATIONMaking education work

Michael M. Holland, CPC, AICAmerican Council for Construction EducationSan Antonio, TX

When most people think about education for the construction industry, they have in mind training

for the skilled trades – plumbing, painting, electrical work, etc. In addition to the skilled trades, there is another segment which is also the future of the industry – professionals who will become the owners and senior man-agement of construction companies of all kinds – Construction Management profes-sionals who have a college degree in one of the technical/management degrees which provides the foundation to lead a company with a special focus in construction.

At the high school level, the Archi-tecture Construction and Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program is focused on in-troducing students to construction pro-fessions. By linking mentors with stu-dents, students develop an understand-ing of career paths and the knowledge and skills that will lead them toward a successful profession. Students also work on a design project, working in teams to develop the design, engineering and the construction plan, budget and schedule. Making a presentation to a panel of pro-fessionals, students develop experience in teamwork, verbal and presentation skills, while working on their project. The ACE Mentor Programs are locally orga-nized with the support of the national organization. Scholarships are made available to students who are both de-serving and needing financial support. The American Council for Construc-tion Education (ACCE) is the accrediting body for college and university construc-tion management (CM) programs in the

United States. With over 65 four-year programs and 11 two-year programs ac-credited, there is a wide range of choices. Accredited programs meet the high level of standards developed by industry and academic professionals and are a guide for quality education for students, par-ents, employers and owners of construc-tion projects alike. As the members of ACCE look into the future of construction management education, there are several elements that provide challenges and opportuni-ties: Industry involvement is impor-tant for a quality program. The council requires an accredited program have an active Industry Advisory Board. Industry practitioners assure the academic pro-gram has a strong connection to real world practices. They also provide insight into what is needed to provide a quality construction education for the graduates they will hire. This connection and bal-ance allows both groups to work on cur-

riculum, research for future trends, con-tinuing education for graduates and sup-port for the program, which is needed as the universities’ financial support is al-ways under attack from the state legisla-tures and other funding sources. It is im-portant local construction professionals be involved with the program to contrib-ute to the community and the quality of the college program. Industry collaboration between A+C+E students. Construction manage-ment, design-build, integrated project delivery and other project delivery meth-ods are being developed to find the strengths of each of the design/construc-tion professionals and build on the syn-ergy that is developed by working to-gether. The desired result is to have a higher quality project with no (or fewer) conflicts/lawsuits coming out of the con-struction process, resulting in a lower cost to the project owner and a project that is of higher quality and more fun to build. University programs which have con-struction science within an institution having architecture and/or engineering would be progressive and benefit their students if they would find ways for their students to work together. A+C+E stu-dents need to learn to respect each oth-ers’ knowledge and skills and to under-stand that it takes all three groups to have a strong base and to support the impor-tant elements of the total project. There is resistance in the academic world, just like in the real world for this collaboration to take place. It is greatly important to fa-cilitate the students to learn to collabo-rate and respect the other professions. The economy has been a chal-

lenge for our country and throughout the world. Parents who see in the press that construction unemployment is high-er than many segments of our economy have impacted student enrollment in construction programs. Though that is true, it has little affect on a student be-ginning his or her college career. We know with certainty the construction in-dustry cannot be exported to another country, and the employment picture will be better as a new student graduates four or five years from now. This short-term perspectives unfortunate and will impact the future management of con-struction companies for years to come. University funding. State funding of universities as a whole has been re-duced from 70 percent in 1970s to 5-15 percent today. Student tuition has risen tremendously over the last 30 years. More recently tuition has been a larger restriction to the ability of a student to begin their college career. Governments have not dealt with the lack of funding to our higher education system. As a coun-try, not just in the construction science world, it’s our higher educated popula-tion that will set us apart from others in the world. As the Executive Vice President and CEO of ACCE, Mike Holland leads the coun-cil in promoting quality education for con-struction management at colleges and uni-versities across the country. Prior to joining ACCE, Holland was president of Southern Steel Co. as well as vice president at Hensel Phelps Construction Company. He has a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineer-ing from Texas Tech, and a Masters in Con-struction Science and Management from Clemson University. –dn

Electrical apprenticeship inthe Lone Star state

Laurie Montanus,Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC)Alexandria, VA

Before the Great Recession hit Ameri-ca, most severely in the construction

sector, there was wide-spread concern for the health of the trades. The work-force was graying, yet there wasn’t a steady flow of young apprentices and la-borers replacing the aging workforce. This fear was replaced by another, the re-cession. Businesses were closing, con-struction projects were dwindling, and virtually everybody in the country was tightening their belts. Another thing changed: a renewed interest in the trades and apprenticeship programs. Although the construction industry as a whole is still lagging, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) believes employ-ment for electricians will actually increase by 12 percent between 2008 and 2018. Out of the top 10 cities that have the highest employment numbers of electri-cians, the great state of Texas occupies two of those slots: Houston ranks third in the country, while Dallas ranks eighth. With such a large growth rate in elec-trical employment projected across the country, and especially in Texas, appren-ticeship programs have seen a stable

stream of applicants. On average, the De-partment of Labor reports that 10,000-20,000 Texans join an apprenticeship program each year. The reason for such an increase of apprentices, most specifi-cally in the electrical industry, is not all just the economy. “When Texas changed to State Licensing and grandfathered in some other laws, we saw that there con-tinued to be a steady flow of applicants for our apprentice training program, which is a good sign in this economy,” said IEC Texas Gulf Coast Chapter long time Executive Director Bob Wilkinson. “We usually have 600 students go through the program each year, and that number hasn’t dropped at all.” The industry is aware that the num-bers are steadily increasing for electrical apprentices in Texas, but another impor-tant question to ask is why these num-bers are on the rise. Is it because of the new state licensing procedures? Maybe there’s been a greater emphasis on math and science in schools, leading young students to enter the trades. Perhaps, the younger generations are starting to see the trades as an attractive, flexible, and

affordable career? “Students are realizing they need a career,” explains Julie Howard, executive director of IEC San Antonio Chapter. At IEC San Antonio, apprentice applicants must be employed through a member company of IEC San Antonio to be placed in the program. Although applicants have increased, not all applicants can be ensured a spot in the program without a job. That’s why Howard provides a list of her applicants to contractors in the area looking for new employees. Not every IEC Chapter operates like this. IEC Fort Worth/Tarrant County does not require applicants to have a set job and actually offers an employment placement pro-gram for their students, to help them start their careers once their schooling is finished. There is no “one size fits all” defini-tion of the average Texan electrical ap-prentice. Some apprenticeship programs see younger, right out of high school ap-plicants, while others are seeing an in-creased number of applicants in their late 20’s and 30’s. “A majority of my apprentices al-ready had some experience in the field and they want to take that extra step to advance their career,” explains Lloyd Quinney, of Quinney Electric Company based in San Antonio, Texas. Because his shop encourages those who already have some experience to pursue apprentice training, drop-out rates of his apprentic-es are very low. With a national growing emphasis on pursuing a career in the trades, pro-

grams all across the country can expect to see a steady hike in applicants. As Tex-as remains one of the country’s most flourishing states in terms of job growth, apprentice training programs for all trades should be prepared to educate the future generation of electricians, me-chanics, carpenters, construction craft laborers, and more. There are hundreds of electrical apprenticeship and training programs in the state of Texas, whether it is through a community college, an IEC chapter, or any other apprentice training center throughout the state. There has also been an increase in both state and federal funding aimed at helping ap-prentices afford schooling and providing state programs with the necessary tools to advance the next generation of skilled tradesmen. The conversation has changed dras-tically from five years ago, when there was a shortage of skilled laborers enter-ing the trades market. Workforce devel-opment has taken center stage, especial-ly within the Federal Government, and focus on the construction trades will be an increased topic of conversation.

Laurie Montanus is the Director of Communications for the Independent Elec-trical Contractors (IEC). IEC is a trade asso-ciation for the nation’s merit shop electrical and systems contractors, with nearly 3,000 members and 60 chapters nationwide. She is also the Managing Editor for the associa-tion’s trade publication, Insights. Feel free to contact her at [email protected]. –dn


Round-UpCF Jordan Con-struction welcomes John Riggins in its Dallas office as the Director of Business Development. Rig-gins has more than 10 years experience as a project manag-er and engineer in commercial con-struction. He received his B.A. degree in engineering - construction management from Texas Tech University. He has served as Construction Chairman for the Real Es-tate Council’s associate leadership coun-cil and on the AIA/TEXO leadership board. Riggins is a LEED AP, earned the Green Advantage Certification, attended the FMI project managers academy, Dale Carnegie training and QUOIN leaders course. He is also a member of the Young Contractors Forum and Toastmasters.

AIA Dallas hosted the first annual Celebrate Architecture reception to honor local members of the

profession and community on Jan. 26. About 140 guests gathered at Avanti Fountain Place to recognize recipients from five national, state and local AIA awards programs. At the event, 2012 AIA Dallas presi-dent Shade O’Quinn presented and an-nounced the 2011 AIA Dallas Community Honors. Recipients were Jim Sealy, Lifetime Achievement Award; Fountain Place (Henry N. Cobb and Bill and Sharon Criswell), 25 Year Award; Brad Oldham, Artist/Craftsman Award; Bishop Arts Merchant’s Association, Dallas; Mary Brinegar, Honorary AIA Dallas Member-ship; Perkins & Will, Firm Award; JQ, Con-sultant Award; and Phoenix 1 Restoration and Construction, Ltd., Contractor award. –ms

Celebrating architecture

L-R: Shade O’Quinn, Gloria Wiseand Jim Sealy

L-R: Bill Criswell and Henry Cobb

L-R: Richard Miller, Tom Reisenbichlerand Yesenia Blandon

L-R: Gary Cunningham and Bang Dang L-R: Frances Notinger and Drew Deatheridge

HDR Architecture Team

Jason Haisler, PE, has joined the Fort Worth office of JQ as a structural proj-ect manager. Prior to joining JQ, the University of Texas graduate served as project manager for an Addison-based consulting structur-al engineering firm. During his more than 7 years in the field, he has been in-volved in a wide variety of projects, in-cluding the Traxxas Auditorium in McKin-ney; the DFW Airport Terminal A TRIP connector bridge; Parkland Hospital in Dallas; and the Center for Neurological Disorders in Fort Worth.


Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

ACCA North TexasAir Conditioning Contractors of Amer.

Mar. 2: Dispatchers 4-hour course, 9am-1pm, Member $139, Non-Member $189, ACCA-NTX office, 2012 E. Randol Mill Ste. 215, Arlington, 76011 Mar. 23-24: Annual Spring Bass Tourna-ment, Camp Shiloh at Lake Bob Sandlin, Registration deadline is Mar. 8Mar. 26-29: Apprenticeship 1A, Cedar Valley College, 7:30am-6pm, Cost: $550 per 40-hr week ACCA members/$650 per 40-hr week non-ACCA membersFor info: call 817-861-5383 or email:[email protected]

AIA - DallasAmerican Institute of Architects

Mar. 13: LEED Green Associates Exam Prep; Dallas Center for Architecture; 9am-5pmMar. 19: Firm Talk: HKS, Inc., “Building Strength in a Weak Economy” presented by Nunzio DeSantis, FAIA; Dallas Center for Architecture; 6-7:30pm, Free eventMar. 28: AIA/CES Provider Workshop; Dallas Center for Architecture; 8:30am-4pm, $125 for AIA CES ProvidersMar. 30: CES Courses at CREST Expo; Dal-las Convention Center; 9:30-10:30am, 10:45-11:45am, 2- 4pmRegistration for events at www.aiadallas.org

ASA-NTxAmerican Subcontractors Assn.

Mar. 1-3: National Convention, Hyatt Re-gency River Walk, San Antonio, TXMar. 22: Board Meeting, Las Colinas Country Club, President’s Lounge, 3pm-Mar. 22: Monthly Dinner Program, Las Colinas Country Club, 5:30pm Cocktails, 6:15pm BPI & Legal message, 6:45pm Dinner program, MUST have res-ervations, call 817-640-8275, or email:[email protected]

ASPEAmerican Society of Professional Estimators

Mar. 15: Chapter meeting, TEXO Confer-ence Center, 11111 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, 5:30pm Social, 6pm dinner, 6:30pm program, Contact Charlie Ra-chuig, 972-243-7674 or [email protected]

BCABlack Contractors Association

Mar. 1: Taxes (Business Finance and Ac-counting), BCA office, 5pmMar. 3: BCA Partnership meeting, BCA office, 9amMar. 7: The Power of Email Marketing for Small Businesses, BCA office, 5pm, pre-sented by Terry AllenMar. 13 – May 29: TEXCO The Basic Sem-inars, TEXO Dallas Conference Center, 11111 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, 75229. Program designed to assist small or minority-owned contractors, subcon-tractors and suppliers in understanding the basic elements of running commer-cial constructionMar. 14: Social Media Marketing Made Simple for Business Owners, BCA office, 5pm, presented by Terry AllenMar. 21: Three Keys to Email Marketing, BCA office, 5pm, presented by Terry Allen

ICRI - NTInt’l Concrete Repair Institute

Mar. 20: General membership meeting with technical presentation by Rick Edel-son, PE, Tadjer Cohen Edelson Associates, “Post 9-11 Pentagon Repairs” 11am Net-working; lunch at 11:45am; TEXO Confer-ence Center, 11111 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, RSVP to Mark LeMay: [email protected] or more info at ICRI.org

IEC - DallasIndependent Electrical Contractors

Mar. 10, 14, 24, 31: Continuing Educa-tion Courses (4 hours)

NARINat’l Assn. of the Remodeling Industry

Mar. 13: Meeting at DeVance AV Design, please RSVP by Mar. 9 to 214-943-6274

NAWIC - Fort WorthNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Mar. 15: Monthly dinner meeting (new location), Garden Restaurant at Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd., Fort Worth, 76107, Network-ing 5:30pm, dinner 6pm, $32, RSVP to Kar-olene Pittman, [email protected]

NTRCAN. Tx Roofing Contractors Assn.

Mar. 14: Lunch & Learn, International Bowling Museum, 11:30am-1pm. $20 members, $25 non-members, includes lunch & seminar. For more info and to register online: www.ntrca.com

SAMSubcontractors Assn. of the Metroplex

Mar. 1: Monthly dinner meeting, 6pm, Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, 7500 Stem-mons Freeway. Speaker: Arash Mirzaei, senior program manager, North Central Texas Council of Governments, will pres-ent demographic forecast for North Tex-as. Dinner and program $28, Reserve with Executive Director, Pete Snider at [email protected]

TEXOThe Construction Association

Mar. 30: Annual Spring Bass Tournament, Lake Fork, Pre-fish day, 2:30-6pm, Regis-tration/Check-In at Oak Ridge Marina, Fish Fry at Oak Ridge Marina Pavilion, 6pmMar. 31: Annual Spring Bass Tournament day, 5:30-8am, Registration/Check-In/Live Well Check, Oak Ridge Marina, Addi-tional live well locations: Public Ramp 515 East , 5:30-6am; Public Ramp 515 West, 5:30-6am; 2:30pm Lunch at Oak Ridge Marina PavilionFor more info: www.texoassociation.org

USGBCUS Green Building Council

Mar.6: Evolution of LEED: Weightings l, 6-8pm, Dallas Center for ArchitectureMar. 7: Evolution of LEED: Weightings l, 6-8pm, Fort Worth, Dunaway AssociatesMar. 8: Traditionof Sustainability, TCU Student Union, 7:30-11:30amMar. 13: Evolution of LEED: Weightings ll, 6-8pm, Dallas Center for ArchitectureMar 14: Evolution of LEED: Weightings ll, 6-8pm, Fort Worth, Dunaway AssociatesMar. 20: BD+C 255: Building & Material

reuse, 6-8pm, Dallas Center for Architec-tureMar. 21: BD+C 255: Building & Material reuse, Fort Worth, 6-8pm, Dunaway As-socitesMar. 27: Stategies for Success in LEED: Urban Heat Island Effect, 6-8pm, Dallas

Center for ArchitectureMar. 28: Stategies for Success in LEED: Urban Heat Island Effect, 6-8pm, Fort Worth, Dunaway AssociatesCEUs available for all above classes, Reg-istration and more info:www.eventbrite.com/org/347138075?s=2735991


structural masonry, structural concrete and steel,” DeMoss noted. “It was ex-tremely complicated – we’ve built a few unusual buildings, but my guys thought that was the toughest one to build.” The staff of 17 employees enjoys staying involved with the Fort Worth chapter of the American Institute of Ar-chitects. They especially enjoy the clay shoot and golf tournament.

continued from Page 1 — Celebrating three decades

DeMoss said the company also takes fishing trips with its superintendents. “We have an excellent staff,” he said, adding that they had been able to keep some of their workers for multiple de-cades. “We just gave one of our superin-tendents a bronze hard hat for hitting 25 years with the company, and we’re about to award another one.” –ms

“Our people are our advantage,” said Smith. “Not only have we attracted some of the most talented professionals in the industry, but we also invest in our em-ployees to instill and refresh the perfor-mance capabilities of our team and en-sure successful outcomes for our clients.” Providing a fun environment for em-ployees is something the company also believes to be important. Each location organizes individual office events like crawfish boils, barbecues, picnics, monthly cookouts and Friday morning breakfasts. “The Friday breakfasts are the high-light of my week,” said Kim Holmes, Risk Management and Insurance Manager in the Austin office. “It’s a great time for us to … get to know one another as some-thing more than just coworkers.” Jamail & Smith Construction also supports foundations for school districts, makes charitable contributions, and sponsor events for local organizations and non-profits. For the past four years, Jamail & Smith Construction employees have participated in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake event with fel-low A/E/C industry supporters. –ms

continued from Page 1 — Still going strong

What is your favoritelunchtime restaurant?

My favorite place would have to be the Original Mexican Food Restaurant on Camp Bowie in Fort Worth. I usu-ally get the enchilada dinner. It’s au-thentic Tex Mex. It doesn’t have any cilantro. Cilantro is really coriander. And that’s an Asian spice. I don’t know when they started putting it in Mexi-can food, but it’s certainly not Mexi-can. Jim Demoss, The DeMoss Company

It depends on what part of town you’re in, but my favorite place is the Keg in Plano. They serve steak and lobster and have a great cocktail bar. The atmosphere is great.

Bill Doetsch,Concrete Coring Company Inc.

Texas Land and Cattle. I like their pork chops.

Tim Proctor,Mart Inc. General Contractors

Mr. Mesero Restaurant in Dallas is a new spot that is very nice, and seems to be the place to go. It’s at 4444 McK-inney Ave. and opens at 11 a.m.

Yolanda Tafoya, HispanicContractors Association – Dallas

This is an easy one! Blue Goose Canti-na. You have to order the brisket tacos with avocado slices on the side. They are so good!

Marie Rhom, Buyers Barricades

I would have to say Olive Garden. I get the soup and salad.

Theresa King, Hose-Tech

The Mad Hatter. It’s all-American cui-sine in a restaurant located down-stairs in the Hartford Building in downtown Dallas. I like the salads.

Marie Mayfield, 3i Construction

I don’t go out to eat lunch. I make mine at home and bring it to work. I just bring light foods, like salads.

J.J. Daquana, Ahern Rentals

I usually bring my lunch, but if I were to go out, I like Jason’s Deli. I’d get the turkey wrap. It’s good, and it’s good for you.

Tiffany Peek, RDO Equipment Co.

You really can’t beat J.C.’s Burger House in Plano. They’ve got great burgers at sizes for every appetite. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can try to attack the “Toddzilla,” a 24-oz. behemoth with triple cheese. If you survive, they put you on their wall of fame!

Miles Smith, Construction News

Answer next month’s question:

What is the best gift you’ve ever been given?

Send your answer to:[email protected]

My favorite lunch spot? I’d have to say Chick Fil A. I always order the grilled chicken sandwich with fruit. Gotta keep it healthy!

Mystee Womble, ACCA North Texas

Have you appeared inConstruction News?

Call us!

There is no chargefor stories or photos.

210-308-5800


When you’ve been the general contracting business for more than three decades, it’s safe to

say you’ve seen your share of dirty work. To this end, Mart Inc. General Con-tractors, which celebrates its 35th anni-versary this month, is the rule rather than the exception, notes Vice President Tim Proctor. What are the dirtiest jobs his com-pany, which is headquartered in Irving, has had to deal with? “That’s a tie between replacing the doors on the gorilla cages at the Dallas Zoo while they flung feces at you when you walked by their cage, and shoveling pigeon poop that was three feet deep in an unoccupied upper floor of a down-town Dallas office building with broken windows,” recalled Proctor. Mart Inc. got its start in 1977. The company pretty much does it all – con-struction, remodeling, restoration, reno-vation, demolition, metal buildings and tenant finish-out projects.

Unafraid to get dirty

The company has performed con-struction management on projects up to $6.5 million, including work on most of the cities, colleges and school districts in the DFW Metroplex. In 2009, the company was recog-nized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Earning a Blue Ribbon Small Business Award. Criteria for earning the award in-clude community involvement, customer service, business strategies and goals and staff training and motivation. While the staff may be well trained and motivated, Proctor was unaware if any of his staff had any “extracurricular” talents. “None that they will admit,” he elab-orated. The company has been a good neighbor to the Metroplex, volunteering time and materials to numerous projects and organizations. In 2006, it volun-teered labor and materials to transform two buildings in the Downtown Irving Sparkles project. –ms

Mart Inc. General Contractors, which is headquartered in Irving,is celebrating 35 years in business this month.

The College Park Center includes a complete theatrical batten system.Photos by John Davis, DVDesign Group Inc.

continued from Page 1 — Nothing but net

“Each crane would lift half of the truss up and over the concrete beam sup-port. Once both halves of the truss were flown in, a mid-air splice connection was done, completing the truss installation.” The building is a concrete structure with a bi-level bowl with precast con-crete treads and risers, and includes a complete theatrical batten system. It has a brick, storefront and metal panel fa-çade. The main arena bowl roof consists of 27 trusses ranging between 100-220 ft. in length. An energy efficient structure, it in-cludes a wide range of LED lighting fix-tures and lighting controls. The athletics suite features a spa-cious weight room, an academic center for student athletes and a state-of-the-art sports medicine center with a hydro-therapy room that has underwater cam-eras for trainers to help athletes recover. “UT Arlington’s College Park Center has the feel of a much larger professional

venue,” said David Skaggs, with HKS Inc., which did the architectural design work. Project superintendent was Jake Pack. “Everyone had the same goal in mind, which was to provide a quality building, under budget and on time,” Morgan said. “It was a team effort to make this project a success.” And if you ask UT-Arlington officials, it was. “UT Arlington alumni and supporters have dreamed of a special events center that would be a true home for basketball and volleyball for decades, and (they) are seeing that dream realized,” said James D. Spaniolo, president of UT-Arlington. Hunt Construction Group Inc. has 675 employees staffing eight offices located across the United States. The company was established in 1944 and currently maintains a contract volume between $6-8 billion of work. –ms

John Kafka, President and CEO of Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproof-ing, admits his company has had a

little help in reaching its 115th anniversa-ry. “By the grace of God,” Kafka replied when asked how his company has kept going since the nineteenth century. The company founded in 1897 in De-troit was originally named Chamberlin Metal Weather Strip Company. The com-pany manufactured and installed some of the nation’s first weatherproofing products. Today, with locations in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Austin and Oklahoma, the company continues to grow and is still looking at ways to stay ahead of the game. “It is a combination of a lot of things, but I think our real commitment to in-stalling our work at the best possible quality along with a can-do spirit of co-operation on each project is the founda-tion of our growth,” Kafka explained. “We

Reaching 115 years

have further embraced technology to improve communication, reduce costs and better analyze our business.” The 600-employee company is led by Kafka and partners Art Canales and Doug Neal. A new senior vice president, Doug Combes, recently joined the man-agement team. The award-winning company’s work in Texas includes such projects as Minute Maid Park, Texas A&M Bright Football Complex, Reliant NFL Stadium and the DFW International Airport. Maintaining a focus on teamwork has helped the company keep employ-ees happy and productivity up, Kafka said. “Foundational to our culture is re-spect,” he said. “At Chamberlin, we be-lieve in getting problems on the table, discussing them, making a decision, sup-porting the decision and moving on. Treating others in all situations as one would like to be treated is the underpin-ning of a great place to work.” –ms

L-R: Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing partners Art Canales, John Kafka and David Neal

Did you know?Advertising in

Construction News means you are in front of the industry's

decision makers every month?

Publishing the Industry’s News . . . TEXAS StyleHome Office: (210) 308-5800 www.constructionnews.net

Dallas/Fort. Worth

Austin

HoustonSan Antonio


Dallas-based Southern Acquisi-tions recently solidified its posi-tion in the capital-area market

with an asset purchase of Overhead Door Company of Austin. Southern Acquisitions, which recent-ly celebrated its 10th anniversary, is a growing provider of loading dock equip-ment and industrial doors, and already had offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, San An-tonio and Houston. Naturally, expanding into Austin was

A ‘capital’ idea

the next logical step for the company, which began late in 2001 in Farmers Branch. “We (previously) handled Austin out of our San Antonio Office,” said Vince Sullivan, president of Southern Acquisi-tions. “Our long-term strategy is organic growth and acquisition into contiguous markets. “This strengthens us on the over-head door line, and also allowed us to take other key product lines, dock equip-ment and high speed doors and sell these in the Austin market through an established company.” Overhead Door Company of Austin, which began in 2002, will retain its name. Mark Holt will remain on board as strate-gic account manager, and Shawn Holt will run operations. The move enables Overhead Door Company, which distributes and installs both commercial and residential over-head doors, to add service and installa-tion technicians, service vehicles, and ex-pand its product line. Other than that, only slight changes made with the intention of streamlining the business will be apparent to existing companies, Sullivan explained. “Sales and installation will all contin-ue to be done with existing people,” Sul-livan acknowledged. “All we’ve done is sharpen their focus, so to speak. If there was an overlap in some areas, we fine tuned it to improve customer service. “We put them on our national 800 service line. We’re 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s more organized and easy to use.” Sullivan said he had a good feeling about the acquisition. “Everything makes sense,” he said. Southern Acquisitions has locations in 17 states. It operates under the name South-ern Dock Products in the south, and Just Rite Equipment in the north. – ms

Southern Acquisitions employees recently celebrated their company’s 10th anniversary. The company recently purchased Overhead Door Company of Austin.

dallas/fort worth · pdf fileconstruction ™ dallas/fort worth ... nflpa holiday house...

Documents