San Antonio Construction News January 2016

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The Industry’s Newspaper CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION San Antonio A crowning achievement continued on Page 24 continued on Page 24 continued on Page 24 Structurally stronger Addition to division PRSRT. STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT #1451 P.O. Box 791290 San Antonio, Texas 78279-1290 Change Service Requested San Antonio Dallas/Fort Worth Austin Houston South Texas Texas Style Covering the Industry’s News www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 19 H Number 1 H JANUARY 2016 I n renovating the Ozuna Building for Palo Alto College, Crownhill Builders helped bring the college’s educational environment to a higher standard. At a cost of $1.4 million, the project started in early February and was sub- stantially completed in August of last year. The scope of the Phase II renovation covered approximately 20,000sf with the bulk of the work on the first floor of the two-story building and two bathrooms in an active library on the second floor. The renovated space included multi- ple offices, break room, a children’s li- brary, an executive conference room and the Legacy Room, which is a flex space with lots of round tables and a warming kitchen. The Legacy and executive confer- ence rooms share an interesting feature – curved glass walls with an applied laser- cut window film pattern. The executive conference room also has unique pieces in the wall system –images applied to the laminate panels. The school’s board members selected photos that showed some of the college’s history. Each room has its own special quali- ties. The project incorporated several dif- ferent unique finishes, including paint colors and wall surfaces. One example is the Fry Reglet system, which is a type of wall cladding with an aluminum framing system and laminate panels. Another ex- ample of a type of wall built into this proj- ect is FabriTrak, a fabric wall system. There were also multiple ceiling fin- ishes. One was a metal finish. One used in the Legacy Room was a box finish of as- sorted sizes and depths to create a very interesting ceiling with some acoustical properties. There is also a Starbucks coffee shop with some round wall fixtures and round light fixtures that give the coffee shop something of a retro look. Crownhill Builders renovated Palo Alto College’s Ozuna Building, blending a modern yet classic look with color and character, as illustrated by this executive conference room. Happy New Year San Antonio W ith the recent acquisition of Cut- ler Gallaway Services in San Antonio, Barker Structural has emerged as a new brand with new spe- cialties and a new location at 303 Pearl Parkway. When Kris Barker and his wife, Chris Barker , who is also his partner in the business, moved to San Antonio in 2011, they opened bd Structural Engineers with Chris as the majority owner. The new office was part of Barker Drottar Associates in Las Vegas. Both companies offer the same services and specialize in the structural design of buildings. In October, the firm acquired Cutler Gallaway Services and its three staff W hile celebrating its 30th anniver- sary, Cadence McShane Con- struction Company opened its fourth office, breaking into the San Anto- nio market with a location at 3512 Paesa- no’s Parkway, Suite 300. The expansion broadens the general contractor’s Central Texas Division, which also includes the Austin office. Srinath Pai Kasturi, vice president and general manager for Central Texas, oversees the San Antonio office, which opened Oct. 1. Kasturi started with the company as an intern in 2001 and joined full-time af- ter graduating from college. He earned his master’s degree in construction man- agement from the University of Oklaho- members, including Earl Cutler , who came on board as vice president. Subse- quently, the firm rebranded so that both offices will be doing business as Barker Structural. The legal entities remain in- tact and solvent. “Mr. Cutler has tremendous experi- ence in the type of projects that we de- sign,” says Kris Barker. “In fact, he has more experience in some specialties, such as post-tensioned concrete, precast concrete and foundation repair. He’s re- ally a specialist in those three areas, so I’ve been enjoying working with him and absorbing knowledge from him.” Barker adds that Cutler knows a lot of ma, and then, he was offered a job at the corporate office in Dallas. After spending 10 years there, starting as a project engi- neer and working his way up to vice pres- ident, he relocated to Austin. “It has been one of my personal ob- jectives to broaden the Central Texas Di- vision to include San Antonio,” says Kas- turi. “So, since I moved to Austin in 2012, that’s been one of the things that I’ve al- ways wanted to do, and we were finally able to achieve it as a team here.” Currently, he has five people work- ing in the San Antonio office with all of the administration, including accounting and human resources, supported from Some members of the new Barker Structural leadership team following its rebranding and acquisition of Cutler Gallaway Services L-R: Chris Barker; Tom M. Gallaway, PE; Earl G. Cutler, PE (standing); Kris Barker, PE The Cadence McShane team is leading the way at the general contractor’s new San Antonio office. L-R: (bottom row) Ron Wood, Lexy Stecker, Surbhi Usrey, Kevin Cummings, (top row) Don Watkins, Srinath Pai Kasturi

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Monthly publication covering the construction, design and engineering industries in the San Antonio, Texas metropolitan area.

Transcript of San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 1: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

The Industry’s Newspaper

™CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONSan Antonio

A crowning achievement

continued on Page 24 continued on Page 24

continued on Page 24

Structurally stronger Addition to division

PRSRT. STD.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDDALLAS, TX

PERMIT #1451

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

Change Service Requested

San AntonioDallas/Fort WorthAustin Houston South Texas

TexasStyle

Covering the Industry’s News

www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 19 H Number 1 H JANUARY 2016

In renovating the Ozuna Building for Palo Alto College, Crownhill Builders helped bring the college’s educational

environment to a higher standard. At a cost of $1.4 million, the project started in early February and was sub-stantially completed in August of last year. The scope of the Phase II renovation covered approximately 20,000sf with the bulk of the work on the first floor of the two-story building and two bathrooms in an active library on the second floor. The renovated space included multi-ple offices, break room, a children’s li-brary, an executive conference room and the Legacy Room, which is a flex space with lots of round tables and a warming kitchen. The Legacy and executive confer-ence rooms share an interesting feature – curved glass walls with an applied laser-cut window film pattern. The executive conference room also has unique pieces in the wall system –images applied to the

laminate panels. The school’s board members selected photos that showed some of the college’s history. Each room has its own special quali-ties. The project incorporated several dif-ferent unique finishes, including paint colors and wall surfaces. One example is the Fry Reglet system, which is a type of wall cladding with an aluminum framing system and laminate panels. Another ex-ample of a type of wall built into this proj-ect is FabriTrak, a fabric wall system. There were also multiple ceiling fin-ishes. One was a metal finish. One used in the Legacy Room was a box finish of as-sorted sizes and depths to create a very interesting ceiling with some acoustical properties. There is also a Starbucks coffee shop with some round wall fixtures and round light fixtures that give the coffee shop something of a retro look.

Crownhill Builders renovated Palo Alto College’s Ozuna Building, blending a modern yet classic look with color and character, as illustrated by this executive conference room.

Happy New Year

San Antonio

With the recent acquisition of Cut-ler Gallaway Services in San Antonio, Barker Structural has

emerged as a new brand with new spe-cialties and a new location at 303 Pearl Parkway. When Kris Barker and his wife, Chris Barker, who is also his partner in the business, moved to San Antonio in 2011, they opened bd Structural Engineers with Chris as the majority owner. The new office was part of Barker Drottar Associates in Las Vegas. Both companies offer the same services and specialize in the structural design of buildings. In October, the firm acquired Cutler Gallaway Services and its three staff

While celebrating its 30th anniver-sary, Cadence McShane Con-struction Company opened its

fourth office, breaking into the San Anto-nio market with a location at 3512 Paesa-no’s Parkway, Suite 300. The expansion broadens the general contractor’s Central Texas Division, which also includes the Austin office. Srinath Pai Kasturi, vice president and general manager for Central Texas, oversees the San Antonio office, which opened Oct. 1. Kasturi started with the company as an intern in 2001 and joined full-time af-ter graduating from college. He earned his master’s degree in construction man-agement from the University of Oklaho-

members, including Earl Cutler, who came on board as vice president. Subse-quently, the firm rebranded so that both offices will be doing business as Barker Structural. The legal entities remain in-tact and solvent. “Mr. Cutler has tremendous experi-ence in the type of projects that we de-sign,” says Kris Barker. “In fact, he has more experience in some specialties, such as post-tensioned concrete, precast concrete and foundation repair. He’s re-ally a specialist in those three areas, so I’ve been enjoying working with him and absorbing knowledge from him.” Barker adds that Cutler knows a lot of

ma, and then, he was offered a job at the corporate office in Dallas. After spending 10 years there, starting as a project engi-neer and working his way up to vice pres-ident, he relocated to Austin. “It has been one of my personal ob-jectives to broaden the Central Texas Di-vision to include San Antonio,” says Kas-turi. “So, since I moved to Austin in 2012, that’s been one of the things that I’ve al-ways wanted to do, and we were finally able to achieve it as a team here.” Currently, he has five people work-ing in the San Antonio office with all of the administration, including accounting and human resources, supported from

Some members of the new Barker Structural leadership team following its rebranding and acquisition of Cutler Gallaway Services L-R: Chris Barker; Tom M. Gallaway, PE;

Earl G. Cutler, PE (standing); Kris Barker, PE

The Cadence McShane team is leading the way at the general contractor’s new San Antonio office. L-R: (bottom row) Ron Wood, Lexy Stecker, Surbhi Usrey, Kevin Cummings,

(top row) Don Watkins, Srinath Pai Kasturi

Page 2: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 2 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

It was the best Construct A Kid’s Christmas yet, Charlie Brown

The 15th annual Construct A Kid’s Christmas Gala Dec. 3 at the Free-man Expo Hall was the largest in the

fundraiser’s history. With 1,041 people at-tending, silent and live auctions, and the biggest raffle to date, donations from the event amounted to $76,000 to help Bexar County foster children have a merrier Christmas this year. After a decade-and-a-half of fund-raising and collecting toys, the cumula-tive total donated since the gala and toy drive began is an incredible $564,721 in cash and gift certificates and an awe-in-spiring 21,708 toys and gifts. Snoopy and the Peanuts gang were very proud of the support everyone gave at the gala, and are thankful to everyone who worked so hard on Snoopy’s Cook Shack, which helped bring this year’s do-nation to a record high. –mh

Photos by Mary C. Haskin Photography

continued on Page 14

Cooking up something newSubmitted to Construction News

Roger Haydon, Lone Star Paving, was the lucky winner of Snoopy’s Cook Shack at the Construct A Kid’s Christmas Gala. When he received the message that he had won, he

was sure someone was playing a prank on him, but he quickly realized that he did win the barbecue trailer the construction community built to help Bexar County foster children.

They plan to make first use of it at the company Christmas party.L-R: Marcus Raine, Nicole Masten, Roger Haydon, Ben Zwicke –mh

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San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 3

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Home for the long haul

One of the biggest electrical con-tractors in San Antonio just dou-bled several of the spaces at its

headquarters. Alterman, Inc. recently completed a major renovation 18 months in the making in time for the holidays. John Wright, president and CEO, notes that a study was conducted to de-termine if the Jones-Maltsberger loca-tion would accommodate their 10-year plan and was sustainable as the compa-ny grows. The results showed that this property could be renovated so Alter-man could keep its current home, and as Wright states, “This is intended to be our headquarters for the long haul.” The renovation added 9,500sf of of-fice space, including an additional 25 of-fices, a larger conference room, and a training room that can accommodate 150 people. The new conference and training rooms incorporate many of the technolo-gies the company sells and installs, in-cluding state-of-the-art video presenta-tion wall and surround sound with wire-less and conferencing capabilities.

“We really incorporated our services into the project so that we could better demonstrate to our customers who Alter-man is and what we provide,” says Wright. They also built a new 11,000-sf metal building for Material and Tool Logistics, which allowed Alterman to expand its Prefab space. Now, each department has its own building in which to operate more efficiently and effectively. With the interior receiving so much attention, the exterior was updated with a modern industrial look. Alterman also doubled its parking spaces to 200. Though the renovation was a bit challenging with construction going on as approximately 100 people carried on daily business, Wright says that they were very happy with the work that JMS Archi-tects and general contractor Keller-Mar-tin Construction did to help create their new, sleek look. Celebrating more than 90 years in the industry, Alterman is an employee-owned electrical contractor based in San Antonio with an office in Austin. –mh

L-R: John Wright, president and CEO, and Chris Thiel, CFO, unveiled Alterman’s newly renovated headquarters just in time for the company’s annual holiday open house.

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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.

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The American Society of Heat-ing, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

(ASHRAE) Alamo Chapter hosted its 2015 Sporting Clay Shoot Nov. 5 at the San Antonio Gun Club. There were 120 total shooters, and Clint Ullman, SpawGlass, won Individu-al 1st Place Shooter, hitting 48 out of 50 clays. –mh

A sporting society

1st Place Team L-R: Frank Tuttle and Scott Hutcheson, Texas Air Systems; Clint Ullman, SpawGlass; Kurt Mosel, L.C. Mosel Company; Rick Barrera, TTG

A new home for the holidays

Leaders of the civic and business communities gathered at the new home of the HCA de San Antonio for the official ribbon cutting and the Holiday Open House.

At its Holiday Open House Dec. 15, the Hispanic Contractors Associa-tion (HCA) de San Antonio cut the

ribbon on its new home, 101 W. Euclid. “We were looking for a more central-ized location so that we could better ser-vice our members, who are located all over the City of San Antonio,” explains Dave Sanchez, executive director of the HCA. He adds that the new location, which is 1,800sf, twice the space of their former location, has a classroom setting where they can offer free OSHA classes in Span-ish to the public, regardless of member-ship. They can also offer education for business owners on improving their busi-ness operations. On hand to cut the ribbon were Councilman Roberto Trevino, District 1; the San Antonio and Hispanic chambers of commerce; and Anthony Ruiz, the Small Business Administration. After the ceremony, the Lanier High School Maria-

chi Band played for the guests. “The Hispanic Contractors Associa-tion embraces the incredible diversity we have here in San Antonio,” says Council-man Trevino. “This is one of those indus-tries that is championed by [the HCA] in a big way, and we really believe that as they grow, we grow.” –mh

L-R: Amy Sanchez and Patty Cardenas deck the new HCA halls (and tree, of course).

Gathering together to make good memories for the season, Galaxy Builders hosted its holiday party

Dec. 4 at the Club at Sonterra. –mh

Celebrating at the club

L-R: Romiro Contreras and Neilesh Verma

Janice and Frank Degollado

L-R: Sheryl Klutz and Cynthia Roberts

Sam and Aimee Beierle

Mark and Elia Hayes Chris and Linda Wilson

Page 6: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 6 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

Kyle KuenemannPresident

Diamond K Customs

Though Kyle Kuenemann started do-ing residential projects as Diamond K Customs over a decade ago, he fi-

nally took on his company as a full-time endeavor a little over a year ago. Until that time, he had taught con-struction since finishing his own educa-tion on the subject. He is a founder and remains a director of the Texas Construc-tion Careers Initiative (TCCI). And now, he and his wife, 28, are expecting their first child, Harper, this month. With his own company – and having recently started another, Container Solu-tions – and his wife as his partner, he is finding success in the management and design of his residential construction while being open to commercial oppor-tunities. Noting that he is humbled by the ex-perience of being profiled in this feature, he shared the story of how he came to be a 33-year-old construction entrepreneur.

What has it been like since you took on Diamond K full-time in 2014? We’re a year and a couple months into me being out on my own, and the first year for any business is scary and hard. I keep hearing, “Just stick with it. It’s going to be worth it.” And of course, the pressure of being able to bring home the bacon has defi-nitely multiplied since we’ve gotten pregnant. My wife, Kelsey, has been a champ the whole time and continues to stand behind me as I continue on this journey.

How did you get started in construc-tion? Construction is something that has always been a part of my life. Even as a child, my grandfather would have me help him build and do projects around his house. It wasn’t until I was 17 that I was actually employed by the construc-tion industry. I worked for a company called Inter-pool doing commercial pool renova-tions. One of the projects we did was re-place the plumbing and fountains at Hemisfair Park. Most of the work at Inter-pool included plumbing on pumps and servicing filtration systems. Working for Interpool gave me an opportunity to get a good look at life from a small business owner’s point of view. I majored in construction technolo-gy at Texas State University and started

working with Joeris as an intern for two summers. With my internship, I got to be a part of the building of Canyon Lake High School, in which I received expo-sure to all the details that go into com-mercial construction. When I graduated from Texas State, I started teaching the construction pro-gram at Stevens High School. It’s a North-side school. We were part of the “151 ri-valry,” always kind of competing with Warren’s CCA [Construction Careers Academy]. We were the little guys with just a tiny little shop and a small budget. It was fun and motivating to be able to compete against them.

When did you start your company? I started Diamond K in 2003 while I was in college. I was able to schedule projects around my class schedule. Dur-ing the summers, Christmas break, and spring break, I would try to line up proj-ects, such as home remodels and renova-tions. I built a barndominium while in col-lege. It was a 2,100-sf barn that also had living quarters in it. It was a project that I started during winter break, and then fin-ished over spring break. In college, I also built a house in Dripping Springs for a friend/classmate who was working on his master’s in marketing. He’s the artsy type, so it was fun being creative and getting away from a more traditional look; the design was modern and industrial. My teaching schedule also allowed me to continue Diamond K jobs. It was flexible enough for me to schedule jobs after school and during breaks. What made you interested in teach-ing? I wanted to give back, and I was ex-cited about being able to make an im-pact on construction education and helping students pursue construction careers, because I felt it was lacking. I taught at Stevens High School for eight years. The new program grew to a point where we were building small houses behind the school on a tight schedule. Because of my hands-on expe-rience in construction, I was able to ex-pose the kids to more real-life construc-tion scenarios. These bigger projects re-ally grew the program and pulled the kids out of the classroom. It’s exciting to see students, especial-ly students who struggle with academic classes, come to a construction class and find success, some of them even found reasons to do better in math. Construc-tion was always my place to find success. It’s neat to see kids who have a gift in construction and to see them build and create.

Tell me about your involvement with TCCI. It didn’t start as TCCI. I was trying to create more excitement for students in my classes. I wanted them to be able to visualize what the construction industry was really about, because to them con-struction is digging holes, and it’s a dirty, rough job. I think there’s a lot more ex-citement and fun in construction, and I wanted to create a way for them to really experience what construction had to of-fer as a career. You can do projects at the school, but they don’t understand how much re-

ally goes into the industry and how big it truly is. You can tell a kid that 5 percent of the GDP is created by construction, but that’s a hard thing for them to under-stand. I wanted to create a way to excite students about construction. That’s where my inspiration to create an inter-active event where students could see workers illustrating their trade came from. I wanted to have contractors come out and show what they do and let stu-dents know that the construction indus-try needed them. I also wanted the stu-dents to see how much success and mon-ey could be made, and that there are leaders and people to look up to in the construction industry. That’s how TCCI started, just by cre-ating an event to generate excitement for construction as a career.

And you found others who shared or supported your dream for this. For a couple of years, I pitched the idea to different people, but Brett Bart-ley, the president of Gibson Plumbing, was really the first who joined up with my idea and said, “How do we make this hap-pen?” Brett and I sat down in 2012, and he liked the idea of doing this construction career day. He connected me with Cherie Foerster, who is now executive director of the Builders Exchange of Texas, and Stacy Gunderson, workforce develop-ment for Marek Bros. We all had goals of increasing con-struction career awareness, and Stacy had actually been a part of some events in Dallas – they do a construction career day through Build Your Futures. We start-ed talking about what we could do in the San Antonio area. From day one, my vision for the con-struction career day was this big 1,000-student event with 50-60 contrac-tors, and it would be catered, and it would have construction equipment. The group thought my eyes were big. Of course, our first year wasn’t quite that big, but it has kind of gotten to that point. The first year we did it on CCA’s cam-

pus, and it was only a NISD event. The second year was really the first year of TCCI. This past year, our third year, we had about 900 students at the event and 60 contractors. The industry has really taken to the event. I’ve really kind of stepped away from it, especially this year, with moving for-ward with Diamond K, starting Container Solutions, and I’m stepping away from teaching. I’ve just been swamped. I’m still a director with TCCI and orga-nize the construction contest the stu-dents compete in. But Cherie and Stacy deserve so much credit for really making the event what it is. Without them, this would still be an idea that I was tossing around. They’re the ones that have really taken it from an idea to being a legitimate committee and nonprofit organization.

Tell me about your family. My mom just retired. She was a di-rector for the Methodist Hospital Sys-tems. She’s a very humble, smart lady who is a great leader, and she’s done a lot for Methodist Hospital over the years. She started out as registered nurse and worked her way up to administration. My dad was a Lutheran pastor in Helotes. But he chose another path and is now the sales manager of Promised Land Dairy. He started doing freelance market-ing with them when it was just a little dairy in Floresville. He’s been instrumen-tal in taking it to the nationwide compa-ny it is today. My sister, Kendall, and her husband, Jason, live in the Bridgeport area, which is northwest of Fort Worth. They have a lit-tle girl named Kylee. She’s a little monkey. My wife, Kelsey, works in sales for Thys-senKrupp Elevators. She’s done well figur-ing out the industry and finding success. She’s also my business partner. With-out her and her support, I couldn’t have taken Diamond K on full-time. She’s been really instrumental along the way, help-ing to keep me balanced, helping to grow my confidence and success in the busi-ness. She’s definitely a great partner in the business as well as in our marriage and friendship. –mh

Kyle Kuenemann, founder and president of Diamond K Customs, and his wife, Kelsey are expecting their first child, baby Harper, this month.

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Page 7: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 7

Adopting the Christmas spirit

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) San Anto-nio Chapter held its annual Holiday

Party Dec. 8 at La Hacienda de Los Barri-os. That evening, with raffles and a live

Kari Wirth (right), Mauze Construction Corp., brought her family to NAWIC’s holiday dinner. L-R: John and Emily Wirth, Don Ridall, Martha Simpson, (also a NAWIC member), Kaili and Kari Wirth

L-R: Wayne Blaylock, RFL Consulting; Michelle Urbanczyk, Urban Concrete Contractors;Patty Wylie, Johnson Controls; Linda Shapiro, Workplace Resource

L-R: Eloina Benavides, Arts & Advertising; and her husband, Tony Benavides

L-R: Dana Calonge, Vision Construction; Leslye Hernandez, Construction News;

NAWIC National President Riki Lovejoy, RFL Consulting

auction, members raised approximately $3,400, bringing the chapter total to $6,000 raised toward Christmas gifts for Wounded Warrior families the chapter adopted for the holiday. –mh

The Associated Builders and Contrac-tors (ABC) South Texas Chapter hosted its Events Volunteer Appre-

ciation Dec. 9 at Topgolf San Antonio. This allowed them to express their grati-tude for their events committee mem-bers and membership committee for all of their help and participation in the past year. –mh

Giving back to volunteers

L-R: Jay Young, Lone Star Reprographics; Steven Schultz, ABC; Bill Dawley, SureTec

Insurance

L-R: Shannon Cadena, Trade Management; Jacquelyne McDonald, Choate USA; Elisa

Hernandez, Koontz Construction

L-R: Jay Young, Lone Star Reprographics; Ruby Trejo, ABC; Bill Dawley, SureTec

Insurance

On the left:L-R: Desi Valdez, Red Hawk Contracting; Dennis Yanowski, Marek Bros.; Dustin Keenzel, SpawGlass

Arun Verma, founder of Galaxy Builders, passed away suddenly Dec. 7 at the age of 73 after a month-long battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

Born Feb. 21, 1942, in India, he became the head of his family at 14 after his father died. With his mother’s guid-ance, he worked to ensure the welfare of his family. He earned his undergraduate degree in civil engi-neering from the Government Engineering College of Ja-balpur University. After working a few years in India, at 28 years old, he immigrated to New York City to pursue greater opportunities. There, he earned his graduate degree from the Cooper Union School and continued to support his family. He married his wife, Karuna, in February 1973, and they lived in several states be-fore settling in San Antonio in 1979. He began his career in San Antonio with Embry Partners and became president of Embry Construction. After 12 years at Embry, he decided to leave and start his own company, Galaxy Builders, which he has led for the last 24 years. He read local and national newspapers every morning, traveled to many different countries, golfed every Saturday, played bridge every Sunday afternoon and watched Spurs games with his sons. He was a supporter of the Alzheimer’s Society of America, March of Dimes and Pancreatic Cancer Network. Survivors include his wife of 42 years, Karuna; sons, Manish and Neilesh; daugh-ters-in-law, Nina and Ashima; grandson, Ronen; granddaughter, Jiya; sisters, Shobha, Manju, Madhu and Jyoti; and brother, Vikas and family. –mh

In memoriam

Page 8: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 8 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

If you could give anything to your best friend, what would it be?

Houston, TX (1913)713.868.6111Dallas, TX (1956)972.466.0900San Antonio, TX (1968)210.828.3325New Orleans, LA (1969)504.889.0811Las Vegas, NV (1989)702-435-5053Miami, FL (1997)305.884.5311Los Angeles, CA (2011)818.884.1166Customer Support Center713.868.6111

Over 100 years of building relationships

Since 1913, Fisk has been one of the nation’s leadingproviders for the design, installation and maintenanceof electrical systems, structured cabling applications,integrated electronic security systems, and buildingtechnology solutions.

If I could give anything to my best friend, it would be good health and a long life.

Kenny MantorHuband-Mantor Construction

Insight into some of the mistakes that I have made in my life or professional ca-reer so that they don’t make the same mistakes.

Srinath KasturiCadence McShane Construction

My best friend, Michael Graves, works at this company, and if I could give him any-thing, it would be my support. We’ve known each other for many, many years, and when I say support, I mean in every-thing he is doing. He made a huge sacri-fice in leaving his prior career on a leap of faith and came out here to help us grow our company, and in any way I can, I would lend my support.

Franklin GarrettMACK Construction Group

I have a lot of best friends that I grew up with, but I’m only child. So, I would con-sider my mother, Juanita Benitez, my best friend, and she’s our secretary. If I could give her anything, it would be happiness. I feel like she’s missing out on having good things happening for her.

Mamie GarrettMACK Construction Group

My best friend is my wife, and I would give her the remodel that she wants. We want to remodel the entire house, and I don’t like doing little remodels, because I don’t feel it’s worth the starting and the stop-ping. We bought a house that we need to update and modernize, and the whole house needs it, some parts more than oth-ers, and Kelsey wants to do parts of it, and I keep telling her, let’s be patient and do it

all it once, because it will be cheaper and easier and less of a headache. We actually flipped our last house. So, I’m trying to re-mind her of that process. But I would go ahead and give that to her now if I could.Kyle Kuenemann, Diamond K Customs

My sense of adventure. She is very cau-tious. She’s so much fun and so outgoing, but if I could just get her to become a lit-tle bit more of an adrenaline junkie.

Andrea Hughes, The Trevino Group

My best friend is a singer/songwriter who has ridden the roller coaster of almost making it (front band for Bob Dylan) to playing in local dives. If I could give her anything, I would give her the opportu-nity for her amazing music and incredible voice to be heard by the world. This would be my gift because material gifts or money would not bring her the joy that sharing her music would, since it was the purpose of her life.

Leslye Hernandez, Construction News

My brother, Billy, is my best friend, and I guess I would give him advice; learn from my mistakes so that you don’t make the same mistakes.

Scott Southwell, The Southwell Co.

My time. We live in a society that places too much value on material things. The best gift you can ever give someone is your time and undivided attention.

Cherie FoersterBuilders Exchange of Texas

My best friend is my fiancé, Kurt. I would give him my support. Anything he does, if I think he’s wrong, I’m going to tell him, because that’s my job as a best friend, but I’m also going to give him my support.

Yvette GarciaRobinson General Contractors

Holiday headquarters

The office filled with team members and holiday cheer at the Bartlett Cocke General Contractors holiday

party Dec. 3. –mh

The founder of the company,Bartlett and Winifred Cocke

L-R: Randy Pawelek, chairman and CEO, and Harry Moeller, president

L-R: Joey Meyers, Kris Padier, Heidi Majek, Luis Berumen

L-R: James Anderson, vice president of operations for South Texas, and Sara

and Jerry Hoog, senior vice president of Operations for South TexasL-R: Mark Hebert, Scott Temple

Page 9: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 9

An electric family dinner

We provide a full line of rock, masonry, stuccoand foundation materials along with mixers,

saws, scaffolds, and hand tools

San Antonio Location7480 FM 1560 North210-695-8222

Converse Location9513 Kneupper Lane210-651-7394

Call or come by and one of our sales associates will be glad to help you

We do custom rebar fabrication for alltypes of projects, including shop drawings.

Building up future builders

On the last day of school before Thanksgiving break, Nov. 20, the National Association of Women in

Constriction (NAWIC) San Antonio Chap-ter treated 25 students from Madison El-ementary School to an afternoon of con-struction work using Legos and their imaginations. The third, fourth and fifth graders gathered in their school library for NAWIC’s annual Block Kids event. The children built projects out of Legos and a few additional materials and were judged on creativity, understanding of construction and several other criteria. The winners took home tro-phies and Toys ‘R’ Us gift cards. –mh

Becky Rodriguez, project manager for Zachry Construction Corporation, talked to the students about what it’s like to work in construction.

L-R: Aiden Urdialez, second place; Annalisa Maldonado third place; Isaiah Vasquez, first place

L-R: Luis Garcia with Block Kids judge Audrey Ehtridge, Northside ISD Construction Careers

Academy, and Malachi England

The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) hosted its an-nual Holiday Dinner Dec. 4 at the

Grey Moss Inn in Helotes. Guests had fun with their traditional white elephant gift exchange and made a difference in a Bexar County foster child’s holiday by bringing toys and gift certificates for Construct A Kid’s Christmas. –mh

Vincent and Donna Real, Big State Electric

Big State Electric L-R: Forrest and Lori Wilson, Julie and Kevin Moses

Chris Thiel, Alterman, and his wife, JenniferJohn Gueldner and his wife, Geraldine

Bob Corbo and his wife, Roxana

John Wright, Alterman, and his wife, Cher

Page 10: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 10 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

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Fasten-atingSubmitted to Construction News

L-R: Stephen Faulstich and Larry, Jill and Mark Matula, Quality Fasteners, recently attended the 2015 National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo Show in Las Vegas. –mh

Business is a game! Play to win!Part 1 of a 3 part seriesCarrie D. Bradshaw, C.P.A.Brown, Graham & Company P.C.Georgetown, TX

Know your scoreBusiness is a game and your financial statements are

your scoreboard. Do you know your score? Are you winning or losing the game? In order to answer this question, you must first understand the financial

management of your company and the story your financial statements tell about your company. Consider your monthly balance sheet as the score at the end of a period; a quarterly balance is your score at the end of the game; and an annual balance is your score at the end of the season. You can make adjustments to the game plan during the quarter if you are paying attention during the game. When you get to the end of the game you will see if your strategic adjustments worked to win the game. If it worked, maintain that strategy for the next game. If it did not work, the strategy needs to be adjusted for the next game to have a winning season.

In a nutshell, your balance sheet is composed of assets, liabilities and equity. Assets are what you own. Liabilities are what you owe. Net worth is what is left over.

Ratio analysis – understanding your scoreboard Financial managers use a methodology referred to as ratio analysis to understand the scoreboard. You are probably familiar with some of these ratios as you have been in conversation with your bonding agent or banker. When you evaluate your ratios related to your balance sheet, consider the following:Current working capital: This ratio measures your solvency - the number of dollars in current assets for every $1 in current liabilities. In other words, can you pay your bills today? Debt-to-worth: This ratio measures your financial risk - the number of dollars of debt owed for every dollar of net worth. In other words, does the bank own more of your company than you do? Accounts receivable turnover: Measures the rate at which accounts receivable are collected on an annual basis. How many days from the time an invoice is generated until it becomes a deposit in the bank? Accounts payable turnover: Measures the rate at which accounts payable are paid on an annual basis. How many days from the time an invoice is received until the bill is paid? Something to consider: Should you be paying accounts payable at a slower rate than you collect accounts receivable to conserve cash? Maybe. That question will be addressed in part 3 of this series.

Industry benchmarking Now that you understand your score, how do you measure up against the competition? There are many sources for obtaining industry benchmarks: industry associations, Risk Management

Association (RMA), Construction Financial Managers Association’s annual survey, and many others. Compare the ratios you calculated on your balance sheet to your peers and see how you measure up. Are you consistent with your peers? A word of caution in using industry benchmarking: You cannot be sure the comparison is “apples to apples”. There is no standardization of information submitted to the groups gathering this information. You also do not know the level of success of the companies submitting this information. We recommend finding industry publications that publish “Best in Class” benchmarks as well. The purpose of benchmarking is to identify potential targets at which to aim.

Internal financial trends Another important aspect of understanding your score is monitoring your internal performance over time. Is your business seasonal? How does that seasonality impact your score (and more importantly your cash!)? Perform your ratio analysis on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis to help you identify trends within your company. Part 2: Know your costs We will discuss a break-even analysis tool.Part 3: Know your cash flow model Is every dollar of revenue created the same? By beginning to implement a disciplined system of monitoring your score, you can develop the strategy to coach your team to greater success! Carrie D. Bradshaw, CPA and CCIFP with over 20 years of construction contractor coaching experience, is the Managing Shareholder of the Brown, Graham & Company, P.C.’s Georgetown office. You can contact Carrie at [email protected] or call 512-930-4090.

Product Recall Insurance should be part of your Product Risk Management PlanJulie Davis, CICIBTXSan Antonio, TX

There may be no word that strikes greater fear in the hearts of individuals in the manufacturing/

processing industry than “recall.” Mere consideration of the term may mean that someone has been made ill or

possibly died from consumption of or exposure to a product. The response must be inordinately fast and include coordination with federal government agencies, and state governmental agencies, as well as other companies who sit both upstream and downstream of your position in the distribution chain of the product at issue. The aftermath can leave injured consumers and damaged reputations. The monetary costs may include lost profits, recall expenses, civil damages and potential criminal action. Despite excellent quality control, you may find yourself swept into a recall. Advance planning for recalls can make the difference in the survival of your company.

While a written recall plan has long been a regulatory requirement, planning for a recall should include much more than a template form in a file. Recall planning should include record-keeping steps to be taken well in advance of any concerns, but which will make any recall effort more effective. A team of advisors who will serve in various roles in the planning, execution and post-recall process is also a necessity. It should also include Product Recall insurance coverage.Cost of Recall The next step to consider after internal procedures are consistently implemented is how much will this cost the company? Loss of sales, not only the company’s lost profit, but that of your customers should be considered. Also consider the damage to the company’s reputation and possible effect on future sales, the added expense for disposal, replacement product, time and mental anguish by management and employees; these are all part of the cost. Many companies look at funding this possible exposure with an insurance policy, but in today’s market, most Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies will not cover a loss in a Product Recall scenario. Do not mistake Product Liability coverage for Product Recall coverage, they are not the same. Some insurance carriers may offer a sub-limit to cover the expense of removal and disposal of the product as part of the CGL, but these amounts may only cover a fraction of total cost. Product Recall/Contamination Insurance There are insurance carriers that have policies that pertain specifically to the issue of product recall, contamination and/or tampering. These stand-alone policies may also include crisis management consultants. Product Recall/Contamination policies are not standardized policies, so one insurance company’s coverage may look drastically

different than another. Coverage details The following are key issues of the policy, and policies may differ on the definitions. Each policy must be carefully read and understood by policyholders to insure they are purchasing what they need.

• Loss of sales revenues• Customer loss of gross profits• Government recall• Voluntary recall• Adverse publicity• Rehabilitation expenses• Extra expense• Defense costs• 3rd Party coverage• “Pay on behalf” or reimburse

language Depending on who you speak with, the chance of having a serious product recall occurrence is not a matter of if, but when. Serious consideration of a proper game plan in the event could be crucial for the company’s survival. Is this a cost that the company can absorb or is it more cost effective to purchase an insurance policy for the risk? Recently, many large distributors and retail corporations are requiring Product Recall/Contamination coverage in their contracts. In any event, as part of your company’s recall procedure, add an insurance policy review by a competent insurance professional and review all contracts with suppliers and clients regarding the insurance expectations. Julie Davis, CIC has worked with the food processing industry for over 15 years, coordinating risk management plans and insurance policies to reflect the food industries’ changes to new exposure and heightened responsibility. IBTX understands your potential risk exposure and stands ready to help you make informed decision about how to protect your customers, your supply chain, and your bottom line. Contact us at 800-880-6689 or visit us at www.ib-tx.com for more information or to setup your policy today.

Page 11: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 11

Electrical Lock Out and Tag OutJoann NatarajanCompliance Assistance SpecialistOSHAAustin, TX

Energy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydrau-lic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources in

machines and equipment can be hazardous to workers. During the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment, the unexpected startup or release of stored en-

ergy can result in serious injury or death to workers.

Failure to control hazardous energy accounts for nearly 10 percent of the seri-ous accidents in many industries. Proper lockout/tagout (LOTO) practices and procedures safeguard workers from haz-ardous energy releases. The OSHA stan-dard for The Control of Hazardous Ener-gy (Lockout/Tagout) (29 CFR 1910.147) for general industry outlines measures for controlling different types of hazard-ous energy. The LOTO standard estab-lishes the employer’s responsibility to protect workers from hazardous energy. Employers are also required to train each worker to ensure that they know, under-stand, and are able to follow the appli-cable provisions of the hazardous energy control procedures:

Proper lockout/tagout (LOTO) prac-tices and procedures safeguard workers from the release of hazardous energy. The OSHA standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) (29 CFR 1910.147) for general industry, out-lines specific action and procedures for addressing and controlling hazardous energy during servicing and mainte-nance of machines and equipment. Em-ployers are also required to train each worker to ensure that they know, under-stand, and are able to follow the appli-cable provisions of the hazardous energy control procedures. Workers must be trained in the purpose and function of the energy control program and have the knowledge and skills required for the safe application, usage and removal of the energy control devices.

All employees who work in an area where energy control procedure(s) are utilized need to be instructed in the pur-pose and use of the energy control procedure(s), especially prohibition against attempting to restart or reener-gize machines or other equipment that are locked or tagged out.● All employees who are authorized to lockout machines or equipment and per-form the service and maintenance opera-tions need to be trained in recognition of applicable hazardous energy sources in the workplace, the type and magnitude of energy found in the workplace, and the means and methods of isolating and/or controlling the energy.

Specific procedures and limitations relating to tagout systems where they are allowed.

Retraining of all employees to main-tain proficiency or introduce new or changed control methods.

The control of hazardous energy is also addressed in a number of other OSHA standards, including Safety and Health Regulations for Construction; Electrical (1926 Subpart K), Concrete and Masonry Construction (1926 Subpart Q), Electric Power Transmission and Distribu-tion (1926 Subpart V), and General Indus-try; Electrical (1910 Subpart S), Special Industries (1910 Subpart R), and Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Dis-tribution (1910.269).

[email protected] x232

Steeling themselves for the holidaysSubmitted to Construction News

For its annual holiday luncheon and jobsite tour Dec. 3, Yates Construction brought its San Antonio office personnel to the jobsite of its $1 billion TPCO project in Gregory, near Corpus Christi. The 1.6 million-sf seamless steel pipe manufacturing facility is scheduled

for completion later this year. –mh

Texas Mechanic’s andMaterialman’s Liens onprivate projects in TexasJanet Townsley, Senior AssociateThe Cromeens Law FirmDallas, TX

Credit is the lifeblood of the construction industry. By the nature of a construction contract, the contractor

extends credit to the owner to the extent the contractor performs labor or services and supplies materials before being paid. When construction funds are withheld, the impact is felt throughout the construction chain. On even a small project, a payment default by an owner can have disastrous consequences for dozens of contractors, subcontractors and suppliers (and their employees). Just as most lenders will not loan money without adequate security for payment, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers need security when they extend credit on a construction project. Such security is the right to secure and enforce a lien on real property for the value of work performed. Mechanic’s and Materialman’s Liens (M & M Liens), when executed properly, elevate a subcontractor or material supplier from an unsecured creditor to a secured creditor. 1

Because the M&M lien operates like an involuntary mortgage on the, Texas law requires specific steps to create a valid lien. One misstep in complying with strict notice deadlines or omission of a sentence required in the notice letter, invalidates the M & M Lien. Anyone who provides labor or supplies materials for the construction, repair of a house, building or improvement is entitled to an M& M lien. After recent changes in Texas law, architects, engineers, surveyors, landscapers, demolition trades that provide temporary workers may have an M&M lien when not paid.

The Homestead Pitfall One of the great things about Texas is the protection of homesteads found in Article 16, §50 of our Texas Constitution. This means you cannot have a lien against a property unless there is a construction contract signed and notarized by the homeowner(s) and filed in the real property records prior to any work. Typically, this means you cannot file a lien for a small repair. This is because it is unlikely a contract has been filed of record unless you filed one. But, if you’re doing a large repair or remodel, it would be worth the investment to hire an attorney to draft and file the contract to ensure you will be protected! A homestead is regarded as a residence owned by an individual that is being OCCUPIED by that individual. A person and spouse may have only one homestead. Hence, an owner building a residence while currently living in a homestead, cannot call the new residence a homestead. However, if the individual does not currently have a homestead and is building a new residence intended as a homestead, the new residence is considered a homestead

although the individual does not live in it.2

Notice, Notice, Notice M&M liens are an involuntary lien against someone’s property and although you may not have a contract with the owner, you may have the right to lien the owner’s property. To perfect a lien, certain notices must be sent prior to filing the lien. This gives the owner and general contractor a chance to resolve your claim prior to filing the lien. All notices must be sent Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to comply with statutory notice timelines. These timelines are strictly enforced and missing a timeline date even by one day, invalidates the lien. Therefore, do not let anyone stall or push you past outside your deadlines. The notice timelines differ between a commercial and residential project, and on whether you have a contract with the General Contractor. Thus, it is good practice to calendar a deadline for sending notice of unpaid invoices for the 15th day of the second month after the labor was performed or materials supplied, as in many instances, this is the first deadline you will have to meet. An attorney should be consulted to address deadline and notice requirements in specific instances. Janet Townsley is a Senior Associate at The Cromeens Law Firm. For more information on our services, please visit www.thecromeenslawfirm.com or call (713) 715-7334.

1Public property is not subject to lien, and is beyond the scope of this article.2A spec home is one owned and being built by a company. It is not a homestead and is considered commercial con-construction.

Page 12: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 12 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

Reaping the rewards of remodeling

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!”

The National Association of the Re-modeling Industry (NARI) San Anto-nio Chapter hosted its Evening of

Excellence Awards Nov. 20 at the Wynd-ham Garden Riverwalk. –mh

KM BuildersContractor of the Year Awards:

Residential Kitchen – Under $40,000Residential Kitchen – $80,000-$120,000

Residential Bath – $30,000-$60,000Residential Interior Element

NARI San Antonio surprised Martha Bizzell, executive director, by presenting her with a

plaque in appreciation of her service.

CROSSContractor of the Year Awards:Overall Contractor of the Year

Residential Kitchen – Over $120,000Residential Bath – Over $60,000

Entire House – $250,000-$500,000Basement – Under $50,000

BUZZ Award: Associate Best SignageSherwin-Williams

BUZZ Award: Contractor Best Social MediaBRC Remodeling Group

Buffalo ContractingContractor of the Year Awards:

Residential Bath – Under $30,000Residential Interior – $100,000 and Over

Vision Design + BuildContractor of the Year Awards:

Residential Addition – Under $100,000Residential Addition – $100,000-$250,000

Residential Addition – Over $250,000Entire House – Under $250,000

BUZZ Award:Contractor Best Direct Mail Piece

Lone Star State ConstructionContractor of the Year Awards:

Residential Kitchen – $40,000-$80,000Residential Interior – Under $100,000

Residential Detached Structure

BUZZ Award: Best ShowroomDelta Granite

BUZZ Award:Best Interior Design of Remodeled Space

Bradshaw Designs

(Not pictured)BUZZ Award: Associate Best TV Ad

McCoy’s

Daniel Sexton, past president,

passed the gavel to Pat Plazek,

incoming NARI San Antonio

Chapter president for

2016.

1415 West PoplarLocated at I-10 & Colorado

www.toucanrecycling.comM-F 8:30–5:30 Sat 9:00-3:00737-2267

Page 13: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 13

A brighter home for the holidays

Approximately 1,100 people from across the construction community turned out for the Alterman, Inc.

annual Holiday Open House Dec. 2 at its newly renovated office. The employee-owned electrical contractor filled giant boxes with toys that attendees brought to be donated to the Construct A Kid’s Christ-mas (CAKC) Gala, and guests lined up for luxury shuttles from Blossom Athletic Center to the new headquarters where they enjoyed catering by Saltgrass Steak House and fun with the photo booth. –mh

Page 14: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 14 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

con’t from Page 2 — Construct A Kid’s Christmas gala

Page 15: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 15

New changes fora New Yearby Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by:Waypoint Marine, Majek Boats, E-Z Bel

Construction, Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor, Aggregate Haulers, ForEverlast

Hunting and Fishing Products andColumbia Sportswear.

Well I can’t tell you how excited I am to announce the changes that are in store for the 2016 sea-

son for Steve Schultz Outdoors. For those of you that have fished with me in the past five years, you already know that the Majek Xtreme is the boat that got us to and from our fishing spots in comfort and style. I consider the 25-ft. Xtreme the best hull on the water for the everyday guide and recreational angler. One change that most people will notice im-mediately will be the new Evinrude E-TEC G2 300hp outboard on the back of my 2016 Majek. Evinrude has stepped up their game recently on the introduction of the E-TEC G2 and I have spoken with several guides that have run the out-board, and they are extremely happy

with the performance, fuel efficiency and speed not to mention the savings of maintenance. Here is a statement from Evinrude: “The new Evinrude E-TEC G2 isn’t just built to last. It’s built to outlast. Run it right out of the box for 500 hours with no dealer scheduled maintenance.

David Wyatt shows off his 26-inch redfish caught on live shrimp undera popping cork with Steve Schultz Outdoors.

Less time in the shop means lower own-ership cost, less hassle and much, much more value over the lifetime of your en-gine.”

Along with the change of the new Evin-rude E-TEC G2 will be the new relation-

ship I look forward to being a part of with the staff at Waypoint Marine in Corpus Christi. I’ve known owners Jim and Jared Poole for many years now. I also know many of the pro-staff and guides that they have established relationships with them throughout the years, and really look forward to a long working relation-ship with them and the entire staff at Waypoint Marine. They are a full service marine dealership that services all of the major brand outboards and have an array of new and used boats to choose from. Stop by and see them at 3033 S.P.I.D. in Corpus for all your marine needs.

For the past several weeks I have been in a hunting mode, traveling all over South and West Texas hunting and guiding white tail and mule deer hunts. I must say it’s been a good break from the salt life I live on the water. There is something about the South Texas brush country, the mountains in West Texas and the serenity of the Laguna Madre that make my job so enjoyable. I can’t think of anything else that I would enjoy doing.

Fishing remains good in the Laguna Madre/Baffin Bay complex. Both trout and redfish are still being caught on live shrimp and lures along the King Ranch shoreline and rocks of Baffin Bay. Best bet this time of year is still wade fishing with artificial lures.

I have already started to fill the calendar for the upcoming 2016 season. Don’t wait until all the good dates are gone! To schedule your next bay fishing trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-813-3716 or 361-334-3105 or e-mail him at [email protected]. Good luck and Good Fishing.

BAFFIN BAYLAGUNA MADRE

LAND CUT

SPECKLED TROUT

REDFISHFLOUN DER

FISHING AND HUNTING TRIPS

STEVE SCHULTZOUTDOORS, LLC

www.baffi nbaycharters.comsteveschultzoutdoors@

gmail.com

(361) 813-3716

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

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Page 16: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 16 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

Teenagetrophy

hunters

Tom Hewitt, BDI Insurance, is very proud of his grandchildren. In their late teens, they are hunt-ing and not taking the great out-doors for granted. These trophies were harvested on a successful Thanksgiving outing at their lease in Sutton County. –mh

Hewitt’s 18-year-old grandson, Josh, shot this 32-inch axis deer with his popaw’s

new rifle, which he has claimed for himself for future hunts.

Hewitt’s 17-year-old granddaughter, Christina, managed to snag this large

gobbler on turkey day.

Serving San Antonio & South Texas since 1984

Specializing inMachine Laid Curb

23306 Blanco RoadSan Antonio, Tx 78260

Email: [email protected]

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

The water has finally made it back to our lake and several others! For the first time in years we get to look for-

ward to all the fishing and catching the New Year will bring. Last year we were trying to clean and clear up the scary wild lake bed to protect ourselves from wild-fires, rattlesnakes and cactus. This year its all about the fish!

Just in case you have forgotten what our lakes have to offer, or are new to the area of a recently returning lake, here is an idea of what you can expect.

In the Spring the catfish are loving the cold water. If you want a trophy cat, now is the time. White bass are running up the rivers to spawn again. For several years this hasn’t been possible, but now they are back, and catching them is a lot like eating popcorn. Their big cousins the stripers also can be found upriver try-ing to spawn. Look for crappie to be moving up river in their pre-spawn pat-tern. Warm, sunny afternoons draw them up into shallow murky water around

Fishing Calendarof Events!

brush and trees because this water warms up first.

As spring warms into summer, smaller catfish become easier to find in shallow water. White bass begin moving back down the river channel after spawning and all they want to do is chase shad and eat anything they can catch. Stripers are moving back down stream forming big schools of fish that form feeding frenzies

that anglers dream of in early to mid summer. Once it gets hot they begin to slip into deeper cooler water, but still like to feed on top on cool mornings. Crappie go back to being their elusive selves once it warms up. I have always thought that is why we consider them so delicious, they can play hard to get. A good crappie guide can still get you on them though.Fall comes in with a mix of blazing left-over summer heat and the promise of

cooler weather. Catching catfish is still steady over baited holes and will come in to chum. The white bass begin to mi-grate upstream again. Stripers can be slow when it’s still hot because they find our water temperatures in Texas to be ex-cessive. Once the shorter days and cooler nights start to cool off the water, they turn back on and feed like crazy because they don’t feed much in the heat. You will catch a lot of smaller stripers, lots of action. Larger stripers begin their swim upstream.

Winter sees all the fish staging for next year, heading upstream to spawn. We get some really nice fishing days mixed in with the winter chill. It’s worth checking out if only to take a break from hunting and get out of the house.

I think we are in for exciting times on the water in these returning lakes. We have lots of new trees and vegetation improv-ing our fisheries now, plus there are plen-ty of fish out there that haven’t been ex-posed to human fishing pressure or as long as five years in some places. That means they have had plenty of time to get big and bold. I can’t wait!Let’s Go!

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

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Page 17: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 17

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Page 18: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 18 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

Raba Kistner Inc. brought all of its companies and divisions together for the firm’s Christmas party Dec.

12 at Oak Hills Country Club. –mh

Raba around the Christmas tree

The Construction Materials Engineering and Testing group, including Chris Schultz (second left), president of Consultants, and Paul Lampe (right), executive vice president of Consultants

with the retired Dr. Carl Raba (left center)

L-R: Merry Raba, head of HR, and Barbara Camarco, business manager for

Environmental

L-R: Eric Neuner, head of Geotechnical, with his wife; Jeff Haberstroh, vice president of Project Control, with his wife; Andrew Hunt, PE, Project Control, with his wife; and Tom Burr, new vice

president and COO of Environmental

Members of the Raba Kistner team learned to line dance as part of their Christmas

festivities.

Timms Trucking hosted its holiday party Dec. 11 with many family members, including Charles

Timms’ father, Buddy, and friends of the family in attendance. –mh

Rolling with the good times

Charles Timms, managing partner, and Emma Medellin, office assistant

Lisa Gambill, a friend, is a photographer and sign language interpreter. She also seems to

know Santa and Frosty the Snowman.

Hilario “Larry” Nieto, check your ticket!

Daniel Gonzales, and his wife, Adelita

Raul Rodriguez, loader operator, and his son, Raul Rodriguez Jr.

L-R: Charles Timms, and his dad, Buddy

Page 19: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 19

In memoriam

James Alan Rodriguez, vice presi-dent of Easy Drive, died Nov. 21 in D’Hanis. He was 59 years old at the

time of his tragic and sudden passing. Born Feb. 13, 1956 in San Antonio, he was married to his high school sweet-heart, Annette Mollere, for 35 years. He graduated from Central Catholic in 1974 and from North Texas in 1978, and he at-tended graduate school at San Jose State where he studied industrial design. A man of many hobbies and innova-tive ideas, he enjoyed scuba diving, hunt-ing, fishing, traveling the world and in-venting. With his wife as the supplier’s marketing director, he ran both of Easy Drive’s San Antonio locations, which in recent years began selling drones for use by surveyors and members of the con-struction industry as well as law enforce-ment and other fields. Survivors include his wife, Annette; daughter, Chardae; mother, Virginia; sis-ter, Ivy; brother, Wayne; brother-in-law, Michael; mother-in-law, Virginia; sister-in-law, Cindy; nephew, Kristopher; nieces Weslie and Ali; and many friends and loved ones. –mh

“Jimmy was not just my brother-in-law; he was a big brother to me. We worked the ranch together, we partied together, and we were tight. He always had my back in tough times and set an amazing example for me to emulate. The good Lord saved me in this horrific incident and my wounds will heal. The emotional wounds that Annette and Chardae are facing are my biggest concern. I know that Jimmy is looking over us, and I plan to do everything I can to be there for my sister and my niece. I will never forget my big brother.”

Mike MollereHard Times Helicopter Service

“I have known James since I was 15. He was always involved in every construc-tion function and fundraiser, ready to help. We hunted in Colorado together of-ten, and I made him drink a beer if he wanted to see a deer – it always seemed to work. Three years ago (after drinking a beer), he bagged his first antelope. I will miss him dearly both at the ranch and all the activities we did together. I will al-ways pray for Annette and Chardae to overcome this terrible tragedy.”

Bert Mazac, Big B Construction

“James was a really great guy who I re-spected a lot. I usually ran into him at the CCA Banquet every year and we always had time to talk about what was going on with him, his company and family. He will be missed by so many in our industry.”

Buddy Doebbler, Construction News

“James’ daughter, Chardae, is my girl-friend. He was very welcoming and inclu-sive, while acting as a fatherly figure. His guidance and knowledge will be deeply missed. He taught me all about drones, helped me prepare for Naval officer can-didacy, and shared his vast knowledge and passion about everything. You couldn’t ask for a better role model for a young man. He was always improving himself, highly active and involved in the community. His shoes cannot be filled, but I will do anything I can to help and support the family.”

Corey Vargas, Rackspace

“Easy Drive was one of our dealers for 16 years, and James gave me my start in the business. He was a great boss and gave me the freedom to succeed, mentoring me all the way. He was gentle and kind and was an honor to work with. I moved on to represent Leica Geosystems (now national manager for Leica Machine Con-trol), and Easy Drive was one of our top dealers. It’s such a senseless shock to lose him and I will never forget him. My heart is with Annette, Chardae and the entire family.”

Dave Rowlett, Leica Geosystems

“James Rodriquez was the greatest guy I have ever known. He would take the shirt off his back to help anyone anytime. I knew him for 30 years and our daughters grew up together. He was always in-volved in all community event fundrais-ing and a major donor to our local chari-ties. It was an honor to know him, and I will always miss him dearly.”

Judge Hunter SchuehleHondo Municipal Judge

“James was the brightest and kindest man I have ever had the pleasure of know-ing. He was the epitome of selflessness and always accessible to his friends for anything they needed. He adored his wife and daughter and was ever present for them. My heart is broken at the loss of my friend and the tragedy facing his family.”

Juan Hernandez, AT&T

“Even though the construction community in San Antonio is very large, they always seem to come together and unite for good causes. James Rodriguez was one that was always willing to give back to the community. You could always count on Jimmy and his wife, Annette Mollere-Rodriguez, to be present and contribute to Construct A Kid’s Christmas.”

Karen Ridout, Ridout Barrett

“I was fortunate enough to do business with James at Easy Drive for 20 years. He was a great guy and wonderful to work with. I will miss his spirit and interacting with him in my business. My thoughts and prayers are with the family he adored.”

Darren Rodgers, Texas Parking Lots

“I have known Jimmy, a fellow engineer, for 22 years. He was of the few nice guys with a wry sense of humor and genuinely cared about his friends. We shared the cold in one of his hunting blinds, snow skied and scuba dived constantly. Every time he would show up at my office, he brought cinnamon rolls for the whole team. When we were diving in Roatan in the Caribbean, he leapt up on our table to get the rowdy crew’s attention about dining manners in a restaurant. He had a sharp, dry wit and always had some inter-esting tidbit to share. You knew he was genuinely interested in you personally and was devoted to Annette and Char-dae. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t look at my phone and want to hit speed dial for Jimmy. I loved the man and will miss him everyday.

Dr. John Gonzalez, Veterans Administration Physician

Page 20: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 20 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

March of the toy donors

10843 Gulfdale San Antonio, TX 78216210-829-1793

Serving the construction industry for over 28 years

Sometimes Santa needs a little help, and that’s why kind-hearted mem-bers of the construction industry

brought boxes upon boxes of unwrapped toys to the Construct A Kid’s Christmas Toy Drive Dec. 4 at the Construction News office. The toy drive brought in 2,060 toys and $800 in gift cards that were donated to brighten the holiday of Bexar County foster children. The total donated since the gala and the toy drive began is an in-credible $564,721 in cash and gift certifi-cates and an awe-inspiring 21,708 toys and gifts.

Several companies and associations, including Alterman, San Antonio Ma-sonry & Tool Supply and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) collected toys at their holiday parties. Many toys were collected at the gala and delivered to CN in a truck supplied by Allen & Allen Co. Special thanks also go to Urban Concrete Contractors for sup-plying the truck and driver for delivery to Bexar County Child Protective Services and CBS Rental & Supply for the two scissor lifts that suspended the banner above the drop-off site. –mh

The CAKC Committee presented a check for $76,000 to the Bexar County Child Welfare Board. L-R: Ruby Trejo, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC); Dawn Thompson, Texas

Air Conditioning Contractors of America (TACCA); Michael McGinnis, Allen & Allen Co.; Karen Ridout, Ridout Barrett; Michelle Urbanczyk, Urban Concrete Contractors; Sandee Morgan,

Mechanical and Sheet Metal Contractors Association (MCA-SMACNA); Jordon Brown, Quality Fence & Welding; Cherie Foerster, Builders Exchange of Texas (BXTX); Jennifer Swinney, American

Subcontractors Association (ASA); Nora Romero, MCA-SMACNA; Yolanda Valenzuela, Bexar County Child Protective Services; Jon Marek, MEMCO; Buddy Doebbler, Construction News

The Reynolds Company Alterman

Lynne Grix, CPA Ridout Barrett

Hispanic Contractors Association (HCA)

Big State Electric

San Antonio Association of Building Engineers (SAABE)

Joeris General Contractors

Wilborn Steel Co.

Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC)

United Tool & Fastener

Having helped with the count and loading of the truck, Kent Gerstner, Construction News, stands triumphantly at the

edge of a truck fully loaded with toys and bikes.

Page 21: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 21

A cast of contracting characters

Small and secure business

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CMU RebarFabrication Reinforcing BarsProfessional Estimating and DetailingWire Mesh and Accessories

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Bexar County’s 15th annual Small, Minority, Women and Veterans Business Owners (SMWVBO) Con-

tracting Conference Dec. 9 at the Free-man Expo Hall welcomed approximately 3,000 visitors and 150 exhibitors. This year’s conference, which gave contractors opportunities to connect with government and private owners as well as other contractors, included guest speakers Mayor Ivy Taylor; Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerlau; Christopher Combs, special agent in charge, FBI, San Antonio Division; and Lyn Watts, senior program privacy manager for OSG Enter-prise & Security Research and Develop-ment at Microsoft. “We really focused on operating your business in a secure environment,” Renee Watson, SMWBE/DBE program manager for Bexar County, says of this year’s event featuring representatives from the tech-nology, law enforcement and cyber secu-rity fields. “We know in the industry many more companies are using BIM [Building Information Modeling], onsite devices, all kinds of smartphones for their guys out in the field. They may get lost. They may get hacked. Proprietary information is out there. So, we are really focusing on how to secure your business.” –mh

Virtual Builders Exchange (VBX) Bartlett Cocke General Contractors

Joeris General Contractors

Alpha Building CorporationAustin Commercial

Hispanic Contractors Association (HCA)

Zachry Construction CorporationYates Construction

Whiting-TurnerTurner Construction SpawGlass

Tejas Premier Building Contractor

Skanska

The Associated Gener-al Contractors (AGC) San Antonio Chap-

ter’s Holiday Open House is always full of characters – or caricatures, really. This year’s event Dec. 10 at the AGC office on Gulfdale was packed with guests enjoy-ing hors d’oeuvres and re-freshments and lining up to get their annual carica-ture souvenir drawn by Eri-catures. –mh

L-R: John Hoot, Quality Fence & Welding; Michael Sireno, Baker Triangle; Mary Haskin, Mary C. Haskin Photography;

Craig Noto, Quality Fence & Welding

L-R: Ellen Ward, Joeris; Curtis Winter and Don Watson, Watson Nunnelly; Andrew, Joeris L-R: Roy Chandler and Angie Zuniga,

Sunstate Equipment Co.; Henry Boone, Turner Construction

L-R: Larry Ybarra, Service Shade Shop, and Emily Rhodes, Upright Cleaning Services

L-R: Sam Nunnelly, Watson Nunnelly;Bill Huber, Joeris; Jeff Haberstroh,

Project Control

Page 22: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 22 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

210-587-7634www.GPSofTexas.com

Fun-filled festivities

For PBK Architects, the holiday party of-fered so much fun to

be had that it couldn’t be contained in one venue. The celebration kicked off early in the afternoon Dec. 11 at the firm’s office, and mid-afternoon, the group relocated to Topgolf. –mh

L-R: Allison Lerma, Brady Renner, Kayla Bessellieu, Emilee Keith,Veronica Romero, Scott Adams

L-R: Brittany Barnes, Jeff Olivares, Anna Chenier

L-R: Cliff Whittingstall, Jeff Olivares Emilee Keith

L-R: Sergio Alanis and Chris Landez

Lucky number seven

The holiday spirit was in the air at Quality Fence & Welding’s annual Christmas party Dec. 9 at the Great-

er San Antonio Housing Center on Pae-sano’s Parkway. That evening, Craig

Festive fencers

TJ Howard – Manager of the Year Award

L-R: Rory Wilsey, gate technician; Rachel Howard; Stacie Wilsey; Morgan Hoot; John Hoot, general manager; Teresa Noto

L-R: Gene Vogelman, fence manager; Sandy Vogelman; Jason Price, fence superintendent; Brittany Price; Dora Rodriguez, HR; Frank Rodriguez

Jordon Brown – Shining Star Award

Noto, president, and John Hoot, general manager, took a moment to recognize a couple of members of the team who shine like the season. –mh

Whether the game is mostly luck or it’s all about skill, Quality Fasteners’ seventh annual

Washers for a Cause was a huge success this year. The Nov. 15 event at Olmos Ba-sin Park based around a washer tourna-ment for charity drew more than 150 at-tendees and 85 participants. The tourna-ment, silent auction, raffles and sponsors raised more than $10,000. Quality Fasteners covers the cost of all the expenses, and so, 100 percent of the

L-R: Talon Baier, Sean Reynolds, Stephen Faulstich, Meg Tech-Hammond,Brooke Matula, Larry Matula, Jill Matula, Mark Matula and Courtney Prater

put together this year’s Washers for a Cause.

Tournament Winners L-R: Jim Herzog, 3rd Place; Nick Villa, 1st Place; Matt Prater, 2nd Place

funds raised go to the Children’s Shelter. This is the fifth year that tournament has benefit the Children’s Shelter, and the to-tal amount donated to the nonprofit over the last five years is more than $30,000. The funds help the Children’s Shel-ter’s mission to provide 24-hour tempo-rary emergency care for up to 66 children per day from newborns through 16-year-olds who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment or neglect. –mh

Impacting the community

Submitted to Construction News

Doug McMurry, left, executive vice president of the Associated General

Contractors (AGC) San Antonio Chapter was presented with the Making a

Difference Community Service Award by the Texas Society of Association

Executives Dec. 9 in Austin. –mh

Page 23: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 23

The best way to start the day

The San Antonio Masonry Contrac-tors Association (SAMCA) hosted its Holiday Celebration & Banquet at

Christopher Columbus Society Hall in Pi-azza Italia downtown. The evening in-cluded dinner and casino games. –mh

Gathering around the table

Robbie Klekar, Ericstad,and David Frink, Prosoco

Ryan and Katy Stone, Rick Stone Masonry

Giving Clarity to childrenSubmitted to Construction News

In the season for giving, SpawGlass presented a check for $25,000 to Clarity Child Guidance Center in San Antonio. The donation represented proceeds from the

company’s second annual San Antonio charity golf tournament. L-R: Fred Hines, Clarity Child Guidance Center president/CEO; Joel Stone, SpawGlass chairman/CEO; Melodye

Tomsu, SpawGlass San Antonio business development manager; Chuck Calvin, SpawGlass San Antonio Division president –mh

Nearly 100 field employees gath-ered for Cram Roofing’s Holiday Breakfast Dec. 18. Employees en-

joyed tacos, coffee and juice before heading out for the day. –mh

Gary and Kim Cram

L-R: Lucas Villarreal, Robert Acevedo, David Perez, LaVon Partlin, Derek Withoff

L-R: Iris Hernandez, Ryan Hegler, Robert Acevedo, Paul Moreno

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Page 24: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 24 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

continued from Page 1 — Structurally stronger

continued from Page 1 — Addition to division

continued from Page 1 — A crowning achievement

Gasoline – On Road Diesel – Off Road DieselOn Site Fueling – Wet Hosing – Temporary Loaner Tanks

We Loan City Approved UL-2085 Vaulted Tanks

210-666-6002Brent & Mark Marshall

Dan Richardson, project manager, says one of the biggest chal-lenges of this job was working with an occu-pied building. He notes that half of the first floor was occupied and they were building out the other half, and the up-stairs was occupied. Renee Fruiht, pres-ident, adds that they had to schedule down-time where it was nec-essary to turn off the water to install the fire sprinkler system. Due to these kinds of challenges to working in an occupied building, the crew did a lot of work on the evenings and weekends. Due to working on an active campus, Richardson also notes that they included

information in their safety meetings about rules specifying that the construction team was to have no interaction with students. The flooring presented its own chal-lenge to the build. There were many floor finishes, including carpet tiles, which were very colorful, and stained concrete. To do the stained concrete floors, the construction team had to stop work and move to one side of the building while this flooring was done. And then, they stopped again and moved to the other side of the building while the flooring was done on that side. This effectively shut down all work except for the floors for a couple of weeks at a time. Fruiht says that they enjoy working with the Alamo Colleges, describing the owners as fair, professional and knowl-edgeable. This was Crownhill’s second project with Palo Alto College in two years. Prior to the Ozuna Building, they had just finished the cosmetology center, which was a new offering for the college. Conrad Ochoa was the site superin-tendent. Sherrie Arnold was the other project manager. O’Connell Robertson provided all the architectural and engi-neering services for the project. Subcontractors on the job included Masters Electric, which also worked on Phase I, Opiela Mechanical, Cavazos Ventures on the air conditioning, Tex-Door Ltd., JSR Inc. on the millwork, Spec-tra Flooring and 180 Concrete. Established in 1975, Crownhill Builders celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. The commercial general contractor is a woman-owned business. –mh

major players in San Antonio, including numerous clients the firm targets, which provides a local connection that will open up their market and work for future growth. When the Las Vegas market took a downturn in 2009, Kris and his wife saw an opportunity to relocate and establish a new business while maintaining their core staff in Las Vegas. While they still live in San Antonio, they travel back and forth to Las Vegas as needed. Originally from a small town in South Dakota, the couple enjoys large cities and practicing their chosen profession in large cities. After spending a lot of time on Broadway in San Antonio, doing busi-ness out of a FedEx Kinko’s, they fell in love with Pearl. When the firm merged

with Cutler Gallaway and rebranded, they relocated operations from a small office next door to their apartment to a larger office at Pearl. Though the firm’s larger projects are still in Las Vegas, the firm has done a lot of work close to its home in the Alamo City. Projects include the Wilson County and Guadalupe County justice facilities, a Jus-tice of the Peace facility in Atascosa County, and the Maverick Building as well as larger office and industrial-type build-ings in San Antonio. With offices in San Antonio and Las Ve-gas, Barker Structural provides structural engineering, including precast concrete, post-tensioned concrete and specialty foundations. –mh

either Austin or Dallas during the growth process. Diverse by design to weather chang-es in the market, the company’s core market sectors are corporate end user, food and beverage, commercial, indus-trial and multi-family, which includes stu-dent housing, apartments, condos, se-nior living and assisted living. K-12 and higher education are other big compo-nents of their portfolio. Their strategy is to maintain the same mix of core sectors in their newest market, San Antonio. Current projects in San Antonio in-clude Doerr Lane Industrial Park, a 213,864-sf Class A speculative industrial building located in Schertz, and Villas at

the Rim, a four-story, 427-unit luxury multi-family project, as well as Vitre, a mixed-use project. The culture inside Cadence Mc-Shane’s offices includes encouraging charitable initiatives spearheaded by em-ployees through events such as Canstruc-tion or ideas such as Jeans Fridays, where employees contribute $5 to the charity to be able to wear jeans that day and the company matches up to $1,000. Established in 1985, Cadence McShane Construction Company is a commercial general contractor that also does design build and construction management. Headquartered in Dallas, the company also has offices in Austin and Houston. –mh

Crownhill Builders’ construction team alternated work on different sides of the building so that the stained concrete floor

could be finished.

Page 25: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 25

Construction Forecast

Lending small businessowners a hand

Debra Ruiz, Vice President - Construction Loan ManagerWells FargoSan Antonio, TX

Part of Debra Ruiz’s job at Wells Fargo is to assist the small business owner by working with them on

loans to purchase or build a space for their operations. These small business owners are the clients of the construction companies and contractors who build or renovate those spaces. So, we asked her what she sees in the construction loan forecast for small business borrowers in 2016.

What does your position as construc-tion loan manager of the SBA Lending Group in San Antonio entail? I manage and oversee an SBA port-folio of close to $40 million in construc-tion-related loan volume. While oversee-ing this portfolio, I am maintaining excel-lent customer service to both my internal and external clients of Wells Fargo Bank. I have the entire State of Texas under my management. My specialty is in Small Business Ad-ministration, working with various gen-eral contractors, architects and the small business borrower on a day-to-day basis. We like to say that we are making dreams come true in the small business world.

What do you expect will be the big-gest changes to construction lending in 2016? On my desk and what I have seen ap-proved in our Texas market are more and more ground up construction projects. We have a lot of land in Texas, so building and owning your own building is key. With the year’s end wrapping up and winding down, I already have approxi-

mately $20 million in approved loan vol-ume, all awaiting on their architects’ plans, zoning, replatting, permits, and just construction bids from their selected general contractor. These are already in the closing group and just waiting. This does not ac-count for the new loans being approved [in December], and this is just the one month forecast in January 2016. I forecast we are just going to get busier in the con-struction industry in 2016. With that said, I foresee an increase in construction material and costs, as this happens every year. With activity in the market and throughout Texas, I would also hope for an increase in overall ap-praisal values for the small business cus-tomer/client. Are there any expected shifts in the market that would affect construction loans next year? I have seen historically the overall va-cancies rates in existing real estate/con-dos improve a great deal. I know some of our Texas cities do not have enough in-ventory to sell, or the real estate seems to

be purchased quickly with cash to a seller versus waiting on financing.

Do you expect any increases or de-creases in business or interest rates? They have been stable. I do not think they will go up. You hear about it from the Fed, but nothing has happened. I think since we are in an election season, that will come down the road. Lenders are being very aggressive and competi-tive in rates to secure deals. So, it is the time for a small business to request a loan, if they plan to expand, purchase a building or build a new building for their small business. What should clients expect when ap-plying for construction loans? With my job role as a construction loan manager-SBA lending, I am working with the borrower on their approved loan to get them to the closing table as well as making sure their selected gener-al contractor has met the bank’s and SBA requirement to minimize the construc-tion risk. The contractors are not applying for the loan, but once I ask for their financials for bank review, they feel like they are ap-plying themselves. The overall goal is to waive the payment and performance bond fee for the small business owner. This is the fee the contractors pass over to the borrower/owner on the contract. My goal is to try to eliminate this fee, to benefit the small business.

What does the process involve and how long does it take? The SBA-Small Business Lending pro-cess is not fast. So, that is a very open-ended question. We have some small leaseholder deals that have historically closed as quick as 10 days or less. But keep in mind, the borrower has to be on

spot and proactive on their end in provid-ing the paperwork the bank has required. Then, the longer processed loans can take up to six months-plus. Keep in mind, this is based on all of the replatting, zon-ing and permitting processes involved. The loan approval process is the first step of a long process. The six months estimate is the beginning phase of loan application up to the close date. And the close date is based on when the building permit is is-sued. So, the overall process is truly up to the borrower and how fast they really want to close their overall project. What changes have you seen in con-struction lending, as a market or in terms of business, over the last five years? And what would you like to see change? Projects are getting bigger and busier. As I stated earlier, if the inventory for real es-tate is scarce, then small businesses are wanting and needing to purchase their own building or building a new one for business expansion. So, it will only get busier. The overall appraisal values have bounced back since the lull we had back in 2008-2009. So again, I have to repeat that it is the time to borrow, especially for the small business. And keep in mind, the small business has to be profitable and not in the red or negative (net losses). I fore-cast more and more borrowers want to be their own boss, and then be a small busi-ness owner themselves versus working for a big corporate company. And I believe the city fees will increase year after year. I would like to see the building per-mit process throughout the major cities of Texas move a bit faster to benefit the small business owner. Debra Ruiz began her banking career in 1996 and has been working with small busi-nesses since 1999. She has been with Wells Fargo Bank, NA-SBA Lending for 12 years. –mh

Interest rates up, labor down for 2016

Shane Hesters, North Texas Division ManagerYates ConstructionFort Worth, TX

What is your opinion about the current state of the Dallas/Fort

Worth construction industry? By all accounts, the Dallas/Fort Worth construction industry is currently one of the hottest markets in the coun-try. When assessing the viability of a cer-tain geographic location, Yates Construc-tion takes into consideration labor re-sources, commodities, equipment inven-tories and the level of state and local economic development initiatives. With D/FW’s business-friendly envi-ronment, along with an attractive cost of doing business and cost of living, all four of these indicators are particularly strong right now. On the heels of the U.S. Fed-eral Reserve recently raising interest rates, D/FW could see a burst of home sales with that market expected to reach $24 billion by 2015 year-end, which would be a record for the region and spur development in additional sectors that further impact and benefit our local construction industry.

What markets do you expect your company and industry to see an in-

crease in over the course of 2016? Why? D/FW is a dynamic market, and one of the few in the country where multiple sectors are all seeing concurrent and consistent growth. Yates’ diverse portfo-lio includes public, manufacturing, ath-letic facilities, office and mixed-use proj-ects and one of our targets in 2016 and beyond is to leverage our people and experience to establish a solid backlog of private commercial construction projects in North Texas. A primary strength of Yates’ is our passion for and expertise in building high-rise condominiums and with D/FW experiencing the biggest high-rise condo boom since the 1980s, we foresee this being one of our busiest markets next year. As one of ENR’s top-ranked multi-unit residential contractors in the nation, Yates is uniquely qualified to help owners deliver an entire spec-trum of styles and prices to their high-rise condo customers.

What do you foresee as the biggest challenge your company and others like it in the industry will face in 2016?

There are myriad challenges facing the construction industry, but the short-age of skilled workers probably looms largest. Carpenters, sheet metal installers, brick layers and concrete workers are in es-pecially short supply, but the industry is also challenged with filling salaried posi-tions such as project managers, estimators and engineers. The unfortunate fact is that too few students are being exposed to construction careers or provided with the basic skills needed to prepare for such a career path. To address this issue, con-struction companies can increase funding for career and technical education, work with educators to help establish construc-tion academy charter schools and expand partnerships between apprenticeship programs and community colleges. Be-cause Yates’ primary asset is our people, we continue to place a premium on re-cruiting, training and retaining top-of-class performers that share our mission, which is to provide value to our clients, and our core values, which are safety, in-tegrity, passion and commitment.

What do you think will be different for your company and the industry in 2016 compared to the previous year? Are there any trends that are generat-ing buzz? Yates continues to experience steady and impressive growth in Texas. In fact, we catapulted 19 spots from #32 in 2014 up to #13 in 2015 in ENR Texas and Louisiana’s “Top Contractor” rankings. Our portfolio diversity, combined with our depth of talent, has allowed us to stay active in multiple markets. In 2016, Yates will continue to ex-pand our focus on technology, with Ocu-

lus Rift at the forefront. The Rift is a virtual reality head-mounted display headset with integrated headphones that provide a 3-D audio effect allowing the entire project team to virtually walk through the buildings they have just designed. With our custom programming and software optimization, Yates can create an incredi-ble visual fidelity and an immersive field of view that helps our clients visualize and spatially coordinate their projects.

How would you sum up the last five years for business at Yates, and what do you predict for the next five years? The past five years have been very busy and productive for Yates, both in Texas and nationally. We successfully navigated the recession and actually grew our team of people and project portfolio in Texas. Our offices in D/FW, San Antonio and Houston are all in ex-pansion mode. Long term, our Vision 2020 (known as 10x20) identifies 10 areas of excellence to focus on over the next five years with specific metrics in each area to measure our progress during this time frame, in-cluding safety, portfolio diversity, cus-tomer satisfaction, performance, train-ing, innovation, community involvement, culture, teamwork and sustainability. Each area has a corporate champion to lead our efforts, but it takes everyone’s full support to succeed. 10x20 exempli-fies Yates’ continued commitment to im-provement and excellence as we prepare for the future. Founded in 1964, family-owned Yates Construction provides a wide range of con-struction and building services. –mjm

Page 26: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 26 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

Construction Forecast

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2016Schedule

Construction Outlook:Sweet (and Sour) ‘16

Ken Simonson, Chief Economist AGC of AmericaArlington, VA™

Texas contractors are facing a varied landscape in 2016. Overall, the outlook is favorable, but the slump

in oil and gas drilling will be a major drag.

The state continues to benefit from one of the highest population growth rates in the nation. That keeps demand high for both single - and multifamily housing, schools, stores and many other categories of construction. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in March, “Two Texas metro areas -- Hous-ton-The Woodlands-Sugar Land and Dal-las-Fort Worth-Arlington -- were the only ones in the country to add more than 100,000 residents over the 2013-2014 pe-riod. Within the Houston metro area, Har-ris County alone gained almost 89,000 people, more than any other county in the nation. The Lone Star State also had four metro areas among the nation's 20 fastest growing by rate of change: Aus-tin-Round Rock (third), Odessa (fourth), Midland (ninth) and Houston (11th).” For 2016, population growth is likely to remain especially strong around Dal-las, as three major national firms relocate thousands of employees to new office space there: Toyota and Liberty Mutual in Plano, and State Farm in Richardson. Even in areas of the state where population growth is slowing, there will be a lot of school construction to accommodate re-cent inflows of students. The planning for an expanded Pana-

ma Canal, currently expected to open sometime in 2016, has already triggered billions of dollars of investment in ports, pipelines and other transportation infra-structure, natural gas liquefaction plants, and storage and distribution facilities. More such investments will occur in the coming year. In contrast, railroads are ex-pected to cut back on construction, after years of investing in new track and yards to serve ports and to haul crude oil from drilling areas without enough pipeline capacity to refineries and terminals. Low natural gas prices may encour-age construction of more petrochemical plants and gas-fired power plants. But those same prices will hold down drilling, related service and materials supply busi-nesses, and investment in wind and solar generation—all of which had contributed to construction in Texas in recent years. With the enactment in early Decem-ber of a five-year federal highway and transit funding bill, Texas and other states will see a slight boost in federal dollars for transportation infrastructure. State funds also will be more abundant for highways and universities. Healthcare spending has picked up nationally in 2015 after lagging ever since the 2008-09 recession. Compared with

earlier periods, fewer patients are being admitted overnight to a hospital, and they are staying for fewer days. Conse-quently, hospitals are building more emergency, diagnostic and treatment rooms, and fewer recovery rooms. A larg-er share of healthcare construction spending is going into standalone ur-gent-care facilities, outpatient surgical centers and clinics in stores and shop-ping centers. These trends appear likely to continue in 2016 in Texas as elsewhere. Construction downshifted in Texas in 2015 while accelerating nationally. From November 2014 to November 2015, U.S. contractors increased their employee count by 4.2%, whereas construction job growth in Texas slowed to 1.6% from a 7.7% growth rate a year earlier. In the lat-est 12 months, the state tied for 36th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia. For 2016, national construction em-ployment and spending growth should continue, albeit slightly less robustly than in 2015. Texas also will add construction activity, but the growth will vary widely by region and sector, with the totals again falling short of the nation. In the Austin-Round Rock metro area, construction employment grew by 5% from November 2014 to November 2015. That rate outpaced the state and the nation but was less robust than the 8% increase a year earlier. (Data for Aus-tin and most other metro areas includes mining and logging with construction.) Thanks to population growth, tourism, government and university spending, construction in the capital area should continue to outperform the state as a whole in 2016. In the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, construction employment has plummeted from some of the high-est growth in the nation—a gain of

11,500 jobs between November 2013 and November 2014—to among the largest declines—a loss of 2,800 jobs between November 2014 and November 2015. (Be-cause the data actually combine mining and logging with construction, the gains and losses to construction employment alone are probably overstated.) In 2016, Dallas and its immediate suburbs are like-ly to experience moderate-to-strong con-struction growth but construction around Fort Worth will be dragged down by oil-industry woes. In the Houston-The Woodlands-Sug-ar Land metro area, construction employ-ment growth slowed dramatically in the past year, from 16,600 jobs added be-tween November 2013 and November 2014 to 4,000 in the following 12 months. Continuing population growth, expand-ed school construction and the windup of some office and industrial projects may keep construction from losing jobs overall in 2016, but further expansion is unlikely for the time being. Construction activity expanded sharply in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area in 2015. Construction employ-ment jumped by 10% from November 2014 to November 2015, more than dou-ble the national rate or the local rate a year earlier. In 2016, growth is likely to continue but at a more subdued pace. Construction activity was mixed in South Texas in 2015. Year-over-year em-ployment growth had matched or ex-ceeded the national average through early 2015 in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mis-sion metro area but stalled beginning in April. Employment has been nearly flat in the Brownsville-Harlingen area after slip-ping throughout 2014 and 2015. (Data for these and most other metro areas in-cludes mining and logging with construc-tion.) In 2016, both areas are likely to re-cord small increases in construction.

In your perspective, what is your pro-jection for the Houston construction industry for 2016? I think the construction market will be good in 2016, but not as robust as the past two years. In my opinion, the medical and high-er education markets should be leaders in the industry for the upcoming year.

Quality craftsmenin demand for 2016

Roger Berry, President SLCHSpawGlass Construction Corp.Houston, TX

What do you think will be the keys to success for 2016? As always, find the right project that fits your current team’s strengths and ability to perform, including sufficient tradesman required to meet the project schedule.

In your opinion, what will be the chal-lenges in the next year? Craftsmen will be our greatest chal-lenge. The availability of qualified workers on-site will affect the overall schedule and quality of the projects we are con-structing.

What is your projection concerning the cost/and or supply of materials? I believe that certain materials will reduce in price based on the commodity markets. However concrete will probably be steady based on future demand.

Is it a good time to build? I think it is a good time to build as a private owner, financing is favorable.

However budget constraints seem to always push the limits of available money for certain types of work.

What is on the horizon for the Hous-ton construction industry? It will be interesting to see what the oil companies capital projects will do based on the current price of oil. In addition, I think the medical proj-ects will probably rise to the top of fu-ture work. SpawGlass is a Texas-based general contractor, construction manager, design/builder and civil contractor with offices in Austin, Houston, North Texas, San Antonio, South Texas and the Golden Triangle. –ab

Page 27: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 27

In a celebration of the holiday that was both delightful and delicious by design, Mdn Architects hosted its Christmas Luncheon Dec. 11 at Saltgrass Steak House. –mh

‘Tis the season for SaltgrassSubmitted to Construction News

Gaming the night away

The Independent Electrical Contrac-tors (IEC) San Antonio Chapter host-ed its seventh annual Member Ap-

preciation Casino Night Dec. 11 at its of-fice on Bandera Road. The evening’s fun included dinner, casino games and raffle prizes. –mh

L-R: Joey Howard, Mrs. Flores, Lorena Mery, Edward Del Toro

Shannon Cadena wins at the casino tables.

Adrian and Katherine Flores

Restoring comfort and safety

The Christmas spirit surged through the HJD Capital Electric office Dec. 17 with employees coming together

for the annual Christmas Luncheon. –mh

Wired for a holiday feast

“Team Cheer,” which includes finance, HR and administration, with Henry Davila, president

L-R: Gabi Alexander and Tyler King promoted ugly sweaters throughout the office.Ugly sweater participants Violet Mathis and

Ray Martinez

Last year, Blueprint Ministries marked 10 years of home restorations that have helped change the lives of

homeowners and volunteers that work on the homes. The nonprofit organization was founded in 2005 by current board mem-bers Jeffrey Kemp, shareholder in Kemp & Stich, P.C., Perry Sedgwick, owner and president of Sedgwick Construction, and Shannon Davis, CEO of Bridgeway Foun-dation, and former board members Jesse and Sue Minor. Sedgwick is the construc-tion supervisor for Blueprint, overseeing all of their projects, and his wife, Dee Dee Sedgwick, is the executive director. Upon discovering that San Antonio had the largest percentage of substan-dard housing in the nation, Dee Dee and the founders set out to organize volun-teer groups to help fight that statistic. Today, Blueprint Ministries is a li-censed youth camp with a facility that sleeps 150 people. The organization runs 13 weeklong camps each year when

youth from middle school through col-lege ages come from across the country to volunteer. During the year, local groups also come to volunteer. Some local contrac-tors donate materials or volunteer their time. This year, Blueprint had approxi-mately 1,000 volunteers over the summer and 300 during spring break. “Our goal is to make homes warmer, safer and drier,” Dee Dee says, noting that their typical work includes re-roof-ing, flooring, ceilings, and interior and exterior painting. The only things they cannot do are foundations, electrical and plumbing. They also work in connection with Child Protective Services (CPS). One ex-ample is a grandmother who was trying to get custody of her 16-year-old and 10-year-old grandchildren, but her house was in bad repair. Blueprint did the nec-essary work to meet CPS requirements, and she was able to adopt the kids. –mh

This group from Owasso, OK worked with the Alcarez family, volunteeringfor Blueprint Ministries doing home restoration.

Page 28: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 28 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

Round-Up Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

ABCAssociated Builders & Contractors

Jan. 5, 12, 19, 26: Supervisory Leader-ship Program; 6-9:30pm; ABC office; for more information, email Chris Preetorius at [email protected]

AGCAssociated General Contractors

All events are held at the AGC office unless otherwise stated.Jan. 8: Annual Chapter Leadership Meet-ing and Past Presidents Reception, 1:30-5:30pmJan. 12: CM-Lean Exam, 12:30-5pmJan. 15: BCA Membership Mixer; 126 Gonzalez St., Second Floor; 6pmJan. 18: General Membership and Instal-lation of Directors Luncheon; Sunset Sta-tion; noon-1:30pm; speaker is Council-man Ron Nirenberg; for more informa-tion or to make a reservation, call 210-349-4921Jan. 19: OSHA 10-Hour, free, 8:30am-5:30pmJan. 20: OSHA 10-Hour, free, 8:30am-12:30pm

AIAAmerican Institute of Architects

Jan. 25: Chapter meeting; Luby’s, 911 N. Main; noon

ASAAmerican Subcontractors Association

Jan. 19: General Membership meeting; The Barn Door; 6pm; $35 for members, $40 for non-members; speaker is Cherie Foerster, “The Workforce of Tomorrow, Starting Today” Jan. 27: Killer Contracts Seminar; The Gardner Law Firm office; 1:30-4:30pm; $40 for members, $50 for non-members; instructors are Bethany Thompson and Tom WalthallJan. 28-29: OSHA 10-Hour; MEMCO of-fice; noon-5:30pm; $55 for members, $85 for non-members; instructor is Raul Car-illo, OSHA

CFMAConstruction Financial Mgmt. Assn.

Jan 26: Chapter Luncheon; Petroleum Club, 8620 N. New Braunfels; 11:30am-1pm; speaker is Lori Warren, senior vice president, Spurs Sports & Entertainment; to RSVP, contact Stephanie at 210-828-6281, ext. 1575, or [email protected]

ECATEarthmoving Contractors Assn of Tx

Jan. 23: Winter Board of Directors meet-ing; Holiday Inn Express meeting room, 2801 East Main St., Uvalde; 3:30pm; plan-ning for the 2016 annual meeting Jul. 14-Jul. 17 in Duncanville and for the next Land Stewardship Workshop in the spring as well as other items of business; all members and prospective members are welcome to attend; for more informa-tion or business with the board should, contact the executive secretary at 830-629-1620 or through the ECAT website at www.earthmovingcontractors.com

GSABAGreater San Antonio Builders Assn.

Jan. 8: 31st Annual San Antonio Housing Forecast; Omni Hotel @ the Colonnade,

9821 Colonnade Blvd.; 7:30-11am; pre-sentation by Jack Inselmann, Metrostudy; tickets are $65 per person, $700 per table of 10 until Dec. 18For more information on these events, contact Lucy Gale at 210-696-3800 or [email protected]. 29: Annual Chili Cook-Off & Washer Tournament; Raymond Russell Park; 4:30-9pm; chili team entry fee $450, tick-ets $35 per person pre-sale and $45 at the door

HCA de San AntonioHispanic Contractors Association

Jan. 20: 2016 Board of Directors Installa-tion; The Quarry Golf Course, 444 E. Basse Rd.; 6-8pm; $30 members, $40 non-members, cost includes dinner, mixer, presentation and installation; for more information, call 210-444-1101 or visit www.hcadesa.org

IECIndependent Electrical Contractors

All events are held at the IEC office un-less otherwise stated.Jan. 4: IEC office and school re-open, 8amJan. 11: Accelerated School begins, 5:30-9:30pmJan. 16: Electrical Maintenance Techni-cian Class, 8am-5pmJan. 18: Continuing Education Class, 5-9pmJan. 21-22: IEC of Texas meeting, AustinJan. 26-28: IEC National Business Sum-mit, Albuquerque, NMFor more information on these events, call 210-431-9861 or visit www.iecsanan-tonio.com

MCA–SMACNAMechanical Contractors Association

Sheet Metal & A/C Nat’l Assn.

Jan. 6: Regular & Associates meeting; Oak Hills Country Club; 11:30amJan. 13: Joint Labor/Management Meet-ing Plumbers, Pipefitters; MCA-SMACNA office; 11amJan. 20: Joint Industry Fund meeting; Oak Hills Country Club; 11:30am

NAWICNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Jan. 6: General meeting, The Petroleum Club, 5:30pm

PHCC Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors

Jan. 9, 16: Plumbers Continuing Educa-tion class, PHCC officeJan. 14: Membership Meeting; Petro-leum Club; 11am; speakers from the Tex-as State Board of Plumbing Examiners and the City of San Antonio Develop-mental Services – Plumbing Division; $25 members, $30 non-members; to RSVP by Jan. 12, call 210-824-7422For more information on these events, visit www.phcc-sanantonio.org

TACCATx. Air Conditioning Contractors Assn.

Jan. 13: 2016 South Texas HVAC Expo; vendor exposition and educational pro-grams; Learning Labs 9am-noon, 1:30-4:45pm; vendor exposition opens at noon; demonstrations all day; free event open to the HVAC industry

Round-UpSubmissions

This is a monthly section for brief company announcements of new or recently promoted personnel, free of

charge, as space allows. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

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

next month’s issue(published 1st of each month).

Email info to appropriate city issue, with “Round-Up” in the subject line:––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––San [email protected]@constructionnews.netDallas/Ft. [email protected]@constructionnews.netSouth [email protected]

Barker Structural announces: Kathleen Bussell, EIT, joins the firm as a project engineer-ing intern. She will work with project managers and engi-neers to design and detail projects and assist with client coordination and com-munication. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan Technological University.Nick Carrisal III joins the firm as an engineering draft-ing technician. With more than 30 years of experience in the AEC industry, he will provide his ex-pertise in structural drafting to a wide variety of projects, assisting the structur-al engineering teams in San Antonio and Las Vegas.Earl Cutler, PE, joins the firm as vice president. He has more than 45 years of experience in the design and con-struction of con-crete, steel and wood structures, including foundations and superstruc-tures. He has overseen many projects in South/Central Texas, including several with Fiesta Texas, Sea World, and major military facilities. In his career, he has en-gineered more than 25 million square feet of new construction, including more than 15 million square feet of elevated post-tensioned construction.Stephanie Mar-quez, EIT, joins the firm as a project en-gineering intern. She has more than five years of con-struction manage-ment experience. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming and her mas-ter’s from the University of Utah. Charli Valadez joins the firm as business develop-ment director. With 20 years of experi-ence, she will be re-sponsible for exe-cuting the firm’s business development plan and the pro-duction of proposals, qualifications pack-ages and marketing materials. She was a marketing major at Kansas University.

Thomas Burr has joined the firm as chief operating offi-cer and senior vice president of Raba Kistner Environ-mental. He has 21 years of experience in the environmental field. Burr received his MS in Environmental Science from Baylor University and his BS in Biology from the University of Oregon.Michael McCarty joins as corporate health and safety manager for the firm and its subsid-iaries, including 14 locations across the state of Texas, Utah, Mexico and New York. He will manage the Enterprise-Wide Health and Safety program, which includes planning, de-veloping, and coordinating compliance with safety and environmental regula-tions. He is Work Zone Traffic Control (WZTC), OSHA, and HAZWOPER certified, among other certifications to train in multiple other areas of health and safety.Eric Rypple, PE, joins as manager, Forensic Services. He will be expand-ing the firm’s Foren-sic Services capabil-ities and staff devel-opment in San An-tonio and other Texas office locations. With 20 years of experience in the engineering field, with 12 years working specifically as a struc-tural engineer, he most recently served as a senior design manager with Environ-mental Chemical Corporation (ECC). He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engi-neering from Texas A&M University.

Raba Kistner announces:

Phillip Krutz has joined Sundt Con-struction as senior project manager for the company’s Tex-as team. With more than 10 years of ex-perience in the con-struction industry, he will work on estimating the structures for the Corsicana project and serve as project manager for the Hausman Road development. He earned his bachelor’s degree in construction management from the University of Nebraska.

Gilmer Gaston was promoted to senior vice president of transportation at Pape-Dawson En-gineers. With 27 years of experience in transportation engineering, he joined the firm in July 2000. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas and the State of Ari-zona. He is also a professional traffic op-erations engineer in the State of Texas.

Michael Torres has joined Big Red Dog Engineering as a civil designer. With experience in com-mercial and public developments, he will be assisting the Single Family team, which focuses on subdivision communities. He earned his associate’s degree in Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) from ITT Technical Institute.

Page 29: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 29

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HOLT CAT joined forces Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) to offer technical training to veterans exiting military service. This partnership will give military service members the chance to train for and transition into fulfilling civilian careers. L-R: Peter J. Holt, senior vice president, diversified businesses; Brig. Gen. Robert D. LaBrutta, commander, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio; Corinna Holt Richter, senior vice president

and chief administrative officer; Dave Harris, COO and president –mh

Joining the civilian job marketSubmitted to Construction News

Brewing up holiday spiritSubmitted to Construction News

Baker Triangle hosted its office/foreman Christmas party Dec. 16 at Alamo Brewery. –mh

‘Tis the season to celebrate at the driving range! Big Red Dog Engineering hosted its holiday party on Dec. 11 at Topgolf. –mh

Swinging and jinglingSubmitted to Construction News

With two partners leading the way into the New Year, MK Mar-low Company held its holiday

party Dec. 5 at Maggiano’s. –mh

Teaming with joy

Field staff L-R: Rick Lair, corporate safety director; Amando Gomez, warehouse manager; Nathan Van Cleave, production manager; Tony Thomas, general field superintendent

Project management team L-R: Chris Kempton, project manager; Jason Postel Sr., project manager; Ron Crawford, operations manager; Bill Basinger, project manager

L-R: Owners Mark Marlow and Todd Thomas

The estimating team L-R: Ken Wilson and Don Hopkinson

Right: Accounting team David Schultze and

Suzanne Tanner

Page 30: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 30 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

Coming soon to BulverdeConstruction News JOB SIGHT

Quantum Group of Tennessee Inc. is the GC on this project, Bulverde Assisted Living Center. Quantum is owned by Cecil McNatt and the owners of the senior facility are

Drs. Keith and Donna Markey of Bulverde. –cw

Same solar, different state

When Solar Electric Texas was setting up shop in San Antonio, Bobby Sidoma and Zach

Hayes Baker came from their hometown of Tucson to help get the business run-ning smoothly. Both came to help with installs and training of the employees, but ended up relocating to stay with the new company, and they now call the Ala-mo City home. Sidoma started in construction as a teenager working on asphalt trucks. At the end of May this year, the opportunity arose to run the construction side of the business. He saw an opportunity to ad-vance his career, and he says he had al-ready decided that he was going to stay before he even got here. Now, at 42, Sidoma is construction manager. His wife of 15 years moved with him. They have a blended family of seven children, and three of them made the move, too. His wife’s sister and her son also came to live with them here.

Back in Tucson, Sidoma played pro-fessional football for nine years as a cor-ner for the Tucson Blaze. Today, he and his family enjoy toobing, watching mov-ies and eating dinner together, camping and playing paintball. Hayes Baker helped set up the sister company, Solar Solutions Arizona, in Tucson a little over two years ago. He started with the company as a regular crewmember and installer with no expe-rience in solar, though he had always been in construction. He felt it was a good idea and a good career path for him to move. At 28, he is the lead installer and also handles safety and maintenance. Most of his free time goes to building the com-pany. His family is still in Tucson, but his fiancé, Mallory, made the move with him, and they’re looking forward to exploring the local sights. Solar Electric Texas is an electrical con-tractor that specializes in solar. –mh

L-R: Bobby Sidoma and Zach Hayes Baker relocated from Arizonato work for Solar Electric Texas.

At Better Built Enterprises, the office team doesn’t have titles on their doors or on their desks. Everybody

contributes, and founder Jim Srp credits that recipe with the company’s successful growth since it’s inception in 1978. Srp, who is always asked to spell his surname and notes that it’s of Czechoslo-vakian origin and was shortened, gradu-ated from Texas A&I in Kingsville in 1971. He worked in the corporate world before starting out as a general contractor with jobs such as changing doors on Texaco service stations. Today, at 66, he has no plans to retire. “When you’ve been in business for this length of time, the people you work with – suppliers, clients and subcontractors – be-come good friends, and it’s pretty enjoy-able,” observes Srp. “It’s not classifiable as work. I don’t wake up on Monday morning going, ‘Oh no, I’ve got to go to work.’” While his family is in Boerne, his fam-ily also joins him at work. His twin sons,

Michael and Matthew Srp, are project managers at Better Built. His oldest daughter is a doctor in Boerne. His wife, Kimberly Srp, has been involved with the business, but now stays busy with their eight grandchildren, and they have a ninth on the way. His partner who joined the company in 1980, Bob Rathburn, does design build work. He also has family at the of-fice, his sister-in-law, Barbara Rathburn, who was single when she started at Bet-ter Built more than 30 years ago and end-ed up marrying Bob’s brother. Aside from Better Built, Srp has also built up his classic car collection with muscle cars, including his favorite, his three Shelby Mustangs. Better Built Enterprises is a general contractor that does commercial design build. Projects include churches, conve-nience stores, educational facilities, finan-cial institutions, medical, restaurants, office and retail. –mh

The Better Built family in front of their office on West Blanco L-R: (front row) Bob Rathburn, Barbara Rathburn, (back row) Matthew Srp, Jim Srp, Michael Srp

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Page 31: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016 Page 31

Two sides to their market

As branch manager for the San An-tonio branch of CBS Rental & Sup-ply, John Hurse will also be over-

seeing the Austin branch when it opens at the beginning of the New Year. He and district sales manager, Rodney Chan-dler, will be overseeing both locations. With the company for three years, first in Longview and then Conroe, Hurse came to San Antonio as branch manager about three months ago. Chandler has been with the compa-ny for approximately 26 years. Hurse’s as-sistant manager, Victor Warren, has been with the company for approximate-ly 28 years. Warren and Chandler have the most tenure with CBS of all the em-ployees at the San Antonio branch. CBS rents equipment including back-hoes, bulldozers, boom lifts, scissor lifts and forklifts. CBS also sells supplies, in-cluding lumber, adhesives, hand tools and power tools. Balancing the two sides

of the business allows CBS to offer ser-vices and products that often go hand-in-hand. “A lot of the jobsites we go to with our equipment, we’re also delivering sup-plies,” explains Hurse. “We feel our com-bined service offering allows CBS a unique market advantage no one else in the area can provide. We are proud of our past, but we are even more excited about our future growth plans, which include expansion into the Austin market.” Based out of the San Antonio branch, which was established in 1986, Hurse and Chandler will be leading the effort to grow the Austin market in 2016. Established in 1965, CBS Rental & Sup-ply is headquartered in Houston with branches in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Longview, Tyler, Deer Park and Conroe with additional branches opening next year in Austin and Dallas. –mh

L-R: Fred Ramos, John Hurse and Ryan Redding at CBS Rental & Supply’sSan Antonio location on North Loop Road

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Page 32: San Antonio Construction News January 2016

Page 32 San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2016

Picture this!

For their end of the year party, RVK Ar-chitects took to the Canyon Springs Golf Club Dec. 5 where part of the

fun included some hilarious photo ops with these holiday picture props. –mh

L-R: (front) Christina Davis, Meghan Lannom, (back) Judy Zimmerman,Annette Guerrero, Nicki Heiner

L-R: (front) Ryan Ruttger, Kim Wolf, (back) Kyle Brusveen, Joe Cannata,Larry Hicks, Desiree Salmon

L-R: (front) Karen Stacy, Ashley Pena, (back) Kathy Castanon, Jennifer Martinez,

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Representatives of Jordan Foster Construction, OSHA and Security Service Federal Credit Union gathered Oct. 6 for the signing of a partnership agreement with OSHA in

the building of Security Service’s new corporate campus. Entering into the Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health allows OSHA to provide the project

team with outreach, training and other incentives. –mh

Safe and securitySubmitted to Construction News

RCO Construction and RTB Law Group collected nearly 200 toy donations in their inaugural toy drive to help families around the Alamo City. RCO and RTB will be

delivering the toys to various low-profit organizations and public schools on the east and west sides of town to help families in need this holiday season. –mh

Their first toy driveSubmitted to Construction News

The staff of Big State Electric gathered to celebrate their first Christmas at the company’s new headquarters on Aero Street. –mh

A shiny new NoelSubmitted to Construction News