Austin Construction News November 2015

The Industry’s Newspaper

™CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONAustin

A new presence for YMCA

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Attention to detail Top Gunn, the company

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The J. Irwin Company in Bastrop has grown from seven employees when the company was formed in Decem-

ber 1999 to roughly 230 employees work-ing all over the U.S. today. Formed by NG Cotton, the company is responsible for installing hundreds of compressors for gathering systems, and numerous processing plants as well as hundreds of miles of pipelines. “We are all into the natural gas indus-try,” says H.W. “Bucky” Clark, who start-ed with the company in 1999 as a welder and is now chief operating officer. “We constructed one of the first two PAQUES treating facilities.” These facilities use technology dis-covered in The Netherlands to provide bacteria, AKA bugs, that eat the most poi-

sonous aspect of natural gas production: H2S or hydrogen sulfide. “It was in response to the Clean Air Act (in 1990),” Clark said. “It cleans up the gas where it is fit for human usage. The gas company we built it for was the first one to ever build it and incorporate it into a high pressure system.” J. Irwin Company counts among its clients many major midstream gas pro-ducers in Texas, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Oklahoma and more. Clark says they make a concerted effort to promote from within. “Ninety-five percent of our supervi-sors started and worked their way up, in-cluding myself,” he says. “We don’t want

L-R: H.W. “Bucky” Clark and NG Cotton have worked together since the companywas founded by Cotton in 1999.

Top Gunn Equipment Rentals Inc. is becoming famous for their humor-ous down home recording for in-

coming calls. General manager Brandon Marrs records a new message every month. If someone is fortunate enough to be put on hold, they’ll hear a different message and great music. The company has two locations, a north store and a south store. The south store has just completed renovations to improve ability for customers to get in and out of the store and allow for more rental inventory. “We are homegrown, locally owned and proud of it,” said Marrs. “We are tech-nically a corporation but try our best to not come off as one. We try to have a good time here at work and with our cus-

The Top Gun team

tomers. And we take pride in not being too politically correct.” Every year on the last weekend in February, the north location has an open house. Jay Gunn, the lone original broth-er and owner, makes more than 100 lbs. of his now semi-famous venison chili. There is a raffle and door prizes. All of the proceeds from the raffle are matched by the company and donated to Austin Pets Alive. They donate the use of equipment to many schools, churches and other charitable organizations in the greater Austin area, as well as give discounts to all current and former military personnel, the Austin Police Department, Austin Fire Department and EMS First Responders.

After the Village People made a hit song in 1978 titled “Y.M.C.A.” that touted a less expensive place for a

young man to find a bed, the organiza-tion has shifted its focus – and its brand-ing – to reflect the mission of youth de-velopment, healthy living and social re-sponsibility. In the years since, the Y has become better known for its programs and ser-vices that focus on whole family health and opportunities for developing a ser-vice ethic. A recent project by general contrac-tor Rizzo Construction Inc. has helped the NW Family YMCA in Austin accom-plish this with a renovation of the facility that was built in the early 2000s. The two-phase remodeling project was started in April 2015 and the facility had its grand re-opening on Oct. 24. Rizzo’s Brian Lauterjung has been with the firm for 16 years and was project

manager. Pat Tims was project superin-tendent. “The project was done in two phases because we had to keep them operation-al the whole time,” Lauterjung says. “There were certain things we could not do during normal hours, so we worked nights and weekends.” For example, one subcontractor, Resfloor Concrete Solutions, owned by Paul Marriott, worked nights from 10pm to 5am to finish the floors. Lauterjung said it was good subcon-tractors like this that helped move the project forward. “We definitely have good subcontrac-tors,” he said. “Everyone was committed.” The project included doubling the child watch area, adding a multi-purpose room, adding a new spin room, enlarging the lobby and reception area and provid-ing a new break room for staff and mem-bers.

Warm wood and an open concept, plus beautiful polished concrete floors,have given NW Family YMCA an updated look.

Page 2 Austin Construction News • Nov 2015

Three decades and counting

Owners Glenn Willis and Leonard Herrera have operated Marble Falls Electric & A/C Inc. for 30

years. “We have worked together since day one,” Willis said. “Leonard works as our superintendent. To stay in business for three decades, we have had to put in a lot of hard work and we hustle every day. In addition, we always have a back up plan.” According to Willis, the company moved to its current location in Marble Falls eight years ago. “Before we moved here, we had a lo-cation in town,” he said. “As the company grew we needed more space. The city of Marble Falls offered us a great deal on our property. We have a nice view, too!” Willis says the company has had sev-eral jobs in 2015 such as a Holiday Inn Ex-press, an eye clinic and other commercial projects.

“We are still bidding on jobs,” he said. “We are also working with new con-tractors. Having a good reputation is im-portant in our industry. Word of mouth advertising has worked well for us.” If a young person wants to work as an electrician, Willis says his advice is to find a good company and gain knowl-edge through training. “I think it takes at least 10 years to be a really good electrician,” he said. “You need math skills, be able to work with your hands and have lots of common sense. “You always have to pay attention to what you are doing. You can’t be afraid of electricity or heights.” Marble Falls Electric & A/C provides residential and commercial electrical, heat-ing and air conditioning services. –ab

L-R: Leonard Herrera and Glenn Willis

Austin Construction News • Nov 2015 Page 3

The eagles have landed

The Austin Construction News (ISSN 1547-7649) is published monthly, by Construction News Ltd., dba Austin Construction News, and distributed by mail to selected construction-related companies in Austin and 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 Austin 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.

If you are a construction-related company in Travis, Hays, Bastrop, Burnet, Blanco, Caldwell or Williamson counties and are not receiving a free copy of the Austin Construction News,

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

CONSTRUCTION NEWS Austin Austin Editor — Cyndi Wright — [email protected] — 210-308-5800

©2015 Construction News, Ltd.

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

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Chapter Safety Award of ExcellenceBest of the BestGeneral ContractorsAmerican Constructors, Inc. Harvey-Cleary BuildersWhite Construction Company

SubcontractorsBeckett Electrical Services, LLCLasco Acoustics & Drywall Inc. Slater Painting Company, Inc.

National STEP AwardsPlatinumAmerican Constructors Inc. Bartlett Cocke General Contractors LLC EBCO General Contractor Lasco Acoustics & Drywall Inc. Solis Constructors White Construction Company

The Associated Builders and Contrac-tors Austin Chapter (ABC) Excel-lence in Construction Ceremony

and Banquet was attended by 240 peo-ple when it was held Oct. 1 at Hyatt Re-gency Austin on Barton Springs Rd. ABC members were recognized for their contribution to the construction in-dustry through competitive programs, including the Excellence in ConstructionAwards, Chapter Safety Awards and the Safety Training Evaluation Program Awards (STEP). –cw

Institutional: $10-$25 million:Joeris General Contractors - San Marcos CISD Bonham Pre-Kindergarten School

Commercial: Less than $5 million: White Construction

Texas PTA Headquarters

Mega-Projects: More than $100 million: DPR Construction - JW Marriott Austin

Residential: Multifamily/Condominiums up to $100 million:

Harvey-Cleary Builders - The BowieOther Construction: $2 – $100 million:

Harvey-Cleary Builders LifeAustin Amphitheatre

2015 Free Enterprise AwardSpawGlass Contractors, Inc.

The Gordon-White Building Restoration and Expansion

2015 Free Enterprise AwardHarvey-Cleary Builders - The Bowie

Commercial: $10-$25 million:White Construction

Austin Board of REALTORS

2015 Best of the Best SubcontractorBig D Metalworks

Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden

Commercial: $5-$10 million:White Construction - Special Olympics of Texas

Mechanical: Commercial: Less than $2 million:TDIndustries - UT FY 11 – Fire/Life Safety &

ITS Renovations (OFPC 102-628)

Electrical: Commercial $2-$10 million:Titus Electrical Contracting - University of

Texas Norman Hackerman Building Finish Out

Sitework / Landscape / Hardscape:Choate USA

Commercial Business Development

Commercial: $25-$100 million:White Construction

Brazos Electric CooperativeIndustrial: $5-$15 million:

Rogers-O’ Brien ConstructionINSYS Therapeutics Pharmaceutical

Institutional: Less than $5 Million:Rogers-O’ Brien Construction

Sheffield Renovation Townes Hall

2015 Best of the Best General Contractor - Flintco, LLCThe University of Texas at Austin FY 11 Fire Life Safety & ITS

Renovations

continued on Page 5


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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.

The small business owner’sretirement dilemmaKirk Quaschnick, PresidentMogul Wealth Strategies LLCMcKinney TX

You’ve poured a lifetime of sweat, time, and capital into building your construction business. You’ve

begun thinking about retirement, and your strategy is to sell your company for a good price, settle back, and enjoy a financially secure retirement. But, like many

business owners, you’ve made the mistake of assuming this scenario will happen, and you haven’t bothered to make other retirement plans.

You need to be realistic. What are the odds of a person showing up at the right time with cash in hand to buy the company for a fair price? For thousands of small business owners each year, no one steps forward. Perhaps the business is too specialized or is tied too closely to the owner’s unique personality and skills. Maybe possible buyers equate retirement sale with a distress sale and make only low-ball offers. Whatever the reason, many owners find that their company has suddenly become a white elephant that nobody wants.

Select and develop a successor. That’s why it’s so important to prime a replacement—someone who will buy your company when you’re ready to retire. Maybe this is a current co-owner (but be careful if he or she is about the same age as you, and planning to retire around the same time.) Or it’s your son or daughter active in the business, or a younger key employee. Business owners in the construction industry who successfully groom their own replacements leave nothing to chance. They realize that there’s no room for error at the point of retirement. Here are some steps you should take:Be cautious. Make sure your heir apparent is the right person in terms of temperament, personality, competence, and personal goals.Set up a probation period so you can terminate the relationship if you find that this person will not work out. During that period, keep everything informal, strictly verbal. Even when you go to a formal agreement, make sure it contains a termination provision.Offer incentives to ensure that your replacement stays until the baton is passed. An ambitious successor needs and deserves gradually increasing authority and benefits. Options include deferred compensation or the opportunity to acquire partial ownership prior to your retirement. This provides both parties with something to win by sticking to the agreement, and

something to lose if it falls apart.Create a buy-sell agreement. With the help of your attorney, lock in who does and gets what, spelling out all details and caveats, including how to establish the final valuation of the business. This formal agreement protects everybody.Build in a funding mechanism. This is crucial. No matter how good the terms of the buy/sell agreement, it will be worthless if the money is not there when needed to carry out the plan. Under one option, the successor may be able to purchase the company from ongoing profits. Other options include setting up a sinking fund or allowing the successor to simply borrow the money. These options may work but they leave much to chance. Instead, consider a funding vehicle that protects your family in the event of your disability or premature death, such as life and disability income insurance.Have a Plan B. As a business owner, you know that very few things go exactly as planned. What if your business hits tough times or your successor dies, becomes disabled, or leaves because of a personality conflict? Or what if there simply is no heir apparent waiting in the wings? Sometimes, it’s simply best to dismantle the business. Whether or not you have a possible successor for your construction company, you should begin mapping out your retirement strategy today. Your insurance professional or your independent professional advisors can work with you to help you develop a sound business strategy. Kirk G. Quaschnick, CLU, ChFC, ARPC, is the president and co-founder of Mogul Wealth Strategies, LLC in McKinney, TX. Since 1992, Kirk has helped his clients in financial, business, and estate planning, as well as financial advising, investment advisory and wealth management services to business owner executives and individuals. For additional information on the information or topic discussed, please contact Kirk at 214-420-7152, or email him at [email protected].

Revenue recognition –it’s time for changeLeslie Guajardo, CPA, CCIFPPadgett Stratemann & Co., PartnerSan Antonio, TX

Revenue is one of the most important measures used by investors and owners in assessing a company’s

performance and prospects. However, recognition standards differ in accounting principles generally

accepted in the United States (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). For years, we have been hearing about the potential effects of the proposed revenue recognition standards and Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09 was issued on May 28, 2014. While the road to a final regulation is still being paved, the rule-makers are getting closer every day.

Earlier this year, the Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to defer the effective date of ASU 2014-09 for one year. As a result, public entities would apply the new standard to annual reporting periods beginning after Dec. 15, 2017; nonpublic entities in 2018.

The new guidance is aimed at removing inconsistencies and weaknesses in existing requirements; providing a framework for addressing issues; improving comparability of revenue recognition across entities, industries, and jurisdictions; and providing more useful information to users of financial statements through enhanced disclosures.

The key to understanding the major changes is to first understand the five steps to consider with each contract:

1. Identify contract with the customer 2. Identify separate performance obligations in the contract 3. Determine the transaction price 4. Allocate transaction price to performance obligations 5. Recognize revenue as performance obligations are satisfied

In most cases, entities would apply this five-step model to each contract awarded. However, in situations where the entity combines multiple contracts for purposes of revenue recognition, the standard states an entity can account for a portfolio of similar contracts together if the contracts are entered into at or near the same time, the contracts are negotiated with a single commercial objective, the amount of consideration in one contract depends on the other contract, and the goods promised are a single performance obligation.

Conversely, one contract could result in several performance obligations. If you determine you do not have separate performance obligations, the revenue recognition process remains basically unchanged. If you determine you do have separate obligations, you would continue with steps 3-5 above, which require the contract amount to be allocated among the performance obligations. Each obligation would then be accounted for as a separate job.

If a contract modification or change order arises, the contractor must determine whether it should be accounted for as part of the existing contract or a new one. If the modification changes only the transaction price, the entity would apply the requirements for allocating the new price to the existing obligations. If the modification changes the scope of the project so that a distinct obligation arises and the entity has a right to consideration that reflects the standalone price of the additional good, the change would be accounted for as a new contract.

The AICPA has formed 16 industry task forces to help develop a new Accounting Guide on Revenue Recognition that will provide illustrative examples for how to apply the new standard, with construction contractors being one of them. So, get your CPAs involved and be prepared to plan early.

Leslie V. Guajardo, CPA, CCIFP, is a partner at Padgett, Stratemann & Co., L.L.P. She can be reached at 210-253-1530 or [email protected].


Renovation: Less than $4 million: DPR Construction - University of Texas MER

Clean Room Build Out

Electrical: Commercial Less than $2 million:Titus Electrical Contracting

Cheesecake Factory Restaurant

Other Specialty ConstructionMore than $1 million:

Big D Metalworks - Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden

Institutional: $25 - $100 million: American Constructors - Austin ISD Performing Arts Center

Historic Restoration/Renovation: Less than $25 million: Flintco - The University of Texas FY 11 Fire Life Safety & ITS

Renovations

Healthcare: $25-$100 million: Rogers-O’ Brien Construction - Forest Park Medical Center

continued from Page 3 — The eagles have landed

Congrats to the Diversified Pure Chem team for winning the TACCA-Greater Austin annual Golf Scramble, held Oct. 1 at Plum Creek Golf Course in Kyle.

Pictured: Todd McAlister (executive director, TACCA), Russell Pryor (DPC),Marcus Tackett (DPC), Blake Marken (DPC). –cw

Fore and score! Submitted to Construction News

Good shot!

On Oct. 1, the Central Texas Mason-ry Contractors Association (CTM-CA) had its annual Sporting clays

event at Capitol City Trap and Skeet. Con-grats to the winners! –cw

1st Place Team - AHI Supply LP, L-R: Allen Rhoden, AHI Supply Cast Stone; Marvin Bragewitz, Texas Lehigh Cement; Eddie Hell, AHI Supply General Mgr.; James Hanson, AHI

Supply Sales

1st place individual:John Williams, Alamo Concrete2nd place individual:Josh Abel, AHI Supply 3rd place individual: David Allbritten

“Pay-if-Paid” still means“Pay-if-Paid”Shelly Masters, PrincipalCokinos Bosien & YoungAustin, TX

In the not too distant past, construction contractors of all tiers were highly concerned about the enforceability

of “pay-if-paid” clauses in construction contracts, making payment by a general contractor to a subcontractor “contingent” upon the general

contractor’s receipt of payment from the owner. Many were confused about the difference between pay-if-paid and pay-when-paid clauses, with good reason, as even Texas courts were often split on their interpretation. Many others were simply concerned about paying without being paid (general contractors) or getting paid (subcontractors). Despite the passage of law aggressively sought by contractor groups defining contingent payment clauses and their enforceability, many general contractors and most subcontractors fail to use the law to their benefit even today.

Contractors often put contingent payment clauses in their subcontracts. Contracts without pay-if-paid clauses are dangerous to general contractors because they may be forced to pay subcontractors and suppliers without ever receiving payment from the owner. The contractor uses these clauses to avoid financial disaster, by spreading among the subcontractors the risk of nonpayment if the owner fails to pay the contractor. Pay-if-paid clauses are dangerous for subcontractors because these clauses shift the risk of owner nonpayment from general contractors to subcontractors. A “pay if paid” provision in a subcontract provides that the general contractor is only obligated to pay the subcontractor if it is paid by the owner. Subcontractors frequently attempt to negotiate the removal of such clauses or revise them to become pay-when-paid clauses. In reality, however, subcontractors often lack the leverage needed to completely negotiate away such clauses. Texas law does not prohibit the use of contingent payment clauses, but does restrict their enforceability against “innocent” subcontractors if the owner’s nonpayment is due to its own insolvency or the misconduct of the general contractor or another subcontractor. If the contingent payment provision is interpreted as a pay-if-paid, then there are four exceptions to the application of the clause: (1) the owner’s or upstream contractor’s refusal to pay is caused by the principal’s failure to meet its obligations; (2) the contingent payment clause is contained in a sham contract; (3) the downstream contractor provides timely notice objecting to the enforcement of the contingency payment clause; or (4) the enforcement of the clause would be unconsdonable The application of any of these exceptions will depend heavily on the facts and circumstances of the claim. Pursuant to the law codified in Section 35.521 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, the contingent payment clause is an affirmative defense of a general contractor to a claim for payment in a civil lawsuit for breach of contract. There are some exceptions and

safe harbors of which subcontractors in Texas may take advantage so long as they meet some critical notice deadlines not unlike those required by the Texas mechanic’s lien statute. Also, §35.521(i) states that a contingent payment clause cannot be used to invalidate the enforcement or perfection of a mechanic’s lien for labor performed or materials furnished. Likewise, no party can be forced to give up its rights to object to the enforcement of a contingent payment clause. Despite improvement in the volume of Texas construction projects, lawsuits for lack of payment on construction projects are filed almost daily. The contingent payment law provides an avenue of collection for subcontractors and suppliers suffering from nonpayment. Conversely, it establishes a method to further protect their enforceability for general contractors or other upper tier contractors. However, it has no effect on those in the construction industry who unknowingly or intentionally fail to avail themselves of the protections of the law they worked so hard to get. Shelly Masters is a principal in the Austin office of Cokinos Bosien & Young. She represents clients in the areas of construction, labor and employment, commercial, and products liability law. Cokinos Bosien & Young has been representing the construction industry for over 25 years. Her firm has additional offices in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (512) 615-1139.


Gene and Janice Rampy

OwnersCentex Mechanical

Bastrop, TX

Gene Rampy is a big man (he played linebacker in high school and was offered a college scholarship), and

he’s got the big heart to go along with it. He describes he and Janice “as one”, and his faith in God is a bedrock. He also has a great sense of humor, a work ethic straight from his father and a belief in the basic good of people. All of these things have combined to bring Centex Mechanical, in Bastrop, to the suc-cessful place it is today 32 years after Gene and Janice started it in their garage.

Where were you born? I was born in Elgin at Fleming Hospi-tal, now the Elgin Recreation Center. My mom and dad moved to Elgin in the ‘40s. He worked at Butler Brick Yard for 30 or so years. My mom was a house-wife. There were four kids. I was the baby and I married a baby – Janice was also the baby of her family. Janice was an Air Force brat and her parents retired to Elgin in 1976. We met in high school and started dating when she was 15 and I was 17.

When did you get married? We got married Aug. 11, 1979 when she was 18. We’ve been married 36 years.

Tell me about growing up in Elgin. My dad retired when I was 6 years old. There’s nothing easy about working at a brick plant, but he had moral fiber. He taught me to be a man of your word and to be on time. For me, being on time is 15 minutes early. If I’m late, there’s something wrong. We were so poor, we couldn’t pay at-tention! But, I didn’t know it.

How has that formed how you think of people today? People who are born with money don’t know what it’s like to go from noth-ing to something. They have no concept

of getting from point A to point B. I started working when I was 12, working on farms and driving a tractor. I was quite a hustler. I bought my first car at 15. By my senior year in high school, I was attending school, doing football practice and working 40 hours a week at the Super S grocery store.

What position did you play in football? I was a linebacker from seventh grade on. They put me on varsity as a sophomore, but I asked to go back to ju-nior varsity after a couple of games. I didn’t want to sit on the bench. I ain’t about warming a bench. I went back to varsity as a junior and senior and started every game. I had a chance to go to college on a scholarship but it was pretty far away and there was a girl involved!

Besides marrying that girl, what did you do after high school? After high school, I went into the electrical trade for two years as a helper, but I didn’t like it. I did an AC/refrigeration course at Capitol City Trade & Technical School in Austin. After that I worked for Sears in the service department for two years with a friend from the trade school. They told us we were going to work on AC, but it was mostly refrigerators and appliances. I didn’t go to school to work on appli-ances. I spent the next four years working for a variety of AC companies, then I went out on my own. I got my master’s license.

What helped you make that leap – to opening your own business? I guess ‘cuz I didn’t know any better! Janice is awesome. She did the books. She was working at the time for the state comptroller. We are a team. If pops didn’t teach me anything else, he taught me a business needs to be built with moral character. You are sup-posed to be the professional. You have to treat everybody the same. We do what we say we are going to do. He used to preach it pretty heavily. He passed when I was 23. Janice is my mentor. We are both the youngest and maybe the hardest work-ing of our families. We are one.

How do the two of you work together? I’m the rah-rah guy. Janice has to be more of the person who holds employ-ees to our expectations. We have a great group here. Julian has been with us for 16 years. David has been here 10 years. Deb is our Swiss-army knife office manager. We really promote the whole team concept. All of our em-ployees are essential. We are all on the same page.

You were born in Elgin but you live in Bastrop now, right? Yes, we started the business out of our garage in Elgin. We kept most of our

equipment at a storage center. In 1997, we bought this current loca-tion in Bastrop. It was a gift from God. We spent less on this building than we would have on a new car – even at 1997 prices. We also moved to Bastrop at that time. Since then, we’ve remodeled and ex-panded the business location.

Tell me about your family. We have two kids. Chase is 31 and an AC tech. He’s an extremely talented and gifted young man. He started working here early. He came out of high school with a tremendous amount of experi-ence. He was already making good mon-ey. He was very equipped to either go to college or work in the AC business. Jessica is 27. She also grew up work-ing in the business. She will tell you what she learned working in our business has given her invaluable life skills and confi-dence. Jessica chose college and an edu-cation degree. She’s thriving as a second grade teacher in Irving. She and Josh were married last year. We have two granddaughters - Kate-lyn and Reese (Chase and Ali’s children). They’re so much fun. Those girls are all about Janice and I when they see us. I love being their PaPa.

What do you do for fun? I’m a golfer and Janice likes to work in the yard, native plants and birds.

Where do you like to go on vacation? Every two years we travel courtesy of Robert Madden Industries, our local Car-rier distributor. We have been the number one small market Carrier dealer in Central Texas for eight of the last 10 years. That includes the nine counties surrounding the great-er Austin area. Becoming a Carrier dealer was the

best thing we ever did. In my opinion, Robert Madden Industries is the top AC wholesaler. Not because they send us on a trip every two years, but because they really care about us. They are awesome. The trips are eight to 10 days. We’ve been to Costa Rica, Sonoma Valley, CA., twice to Maui… That’s our big vacation. It’s all-inclu-sive. Next October, they’ll be taking us on a high sea’s cruise. We’ll start out in New York and cruise as far as Nova Scotia.

Tell me about how you are a dog whis-perer. I love animals. I had coon dogs as a kid. One time I went to a guy’s house on a call and there was a big, female Dober-man. There was another AC company there as well. I don’t mind competition! The homeowner had me wait inside while he talked to the other company and he told me, she won’t bite you but she’s skittish and she won’t let you touch her. When he walked back in, she was up there sitting on my lap on the couch with me, watching TV. His jaw just dropped. He told me I was a dog whisperer! It’s more just an instinct. I can tell when a dog is not going to play nice, but I also have dogs come up to me when they won’t go up to any other person vis-iting the home.

You’ve had a good year this year. Aside from Janice taking care of her parents. They are both in failing health and she and I spend time making sure they have what they need. The business has had a really good year – probably the best year ever. I attribute that to a growing county and to the glory of God. –cw

Gene Rampy attempts to convince granddaughter Katelynto join him in his favorite hobby – golfing.

Gene and Chase Rampy are pictured with John Bingman. Centex Mechanical donated a complete HVAC system to Mr. Bingman after he lost his home in the 2011 wildfire.

www.constructionnews.net


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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

You know Texas is blessed with weird extreme weather. It is notorious for having just about every kind of

weather you can think of happening at once in the state on the same day. This year though has been exceptionally strange. We started out the year still suffering from the drought. Spring and summer brought good beneficial rains to some, devastating floods to others, and mostly skipped the rest of us. Thank goodness we did catch some good inflows for our Highland Lakes. A lot of the storms skirted the northwestern Hill County, but did drop enough moisture on some of the watershed to give us a couple nice shots of fresh water. Lake levels have improved, and even though they are on their way back down, we sure are thankful. Then late summer flipped the weather coin on us. An awful lot of Texas didn’t see more than a spit of rain for two or three months. All that wonderful moisture we gained earlier greened everything up, gave us back our wildflowers and made ranchers hopeful about restoring their herds. Our wildlife also reaped the bounty of new growth. Food and water and cover were plentiful for them, so the deer had a great fawn crop with lots of twins, and antler growth on the bucks for this year is really nice. By late summer all the overgrown vegetation started baking in the sun becoming nothing more than a fire hazard. You will need to take extra care about the wildfire threat at the hunting lease this year. The water tanks and creeks started drying up,

forcing every thirsty critter in the wild to have to travel further in search of water. If you are hunting this year, a good water trough might draw more game than a feeder. Does have been getting separated from the fawns (if not abandoning them altogether), so we see an awful lot of deer getting run over, as well as those darned feral hogs. If you are out on the roads for hunting trips or holiday travel, stay safe. Don’t speed or tailgate because you never know what might run out in front of you. So far on most lakes the fish haven’t been able to quite make out what they should do. The number of daylight hours is telling them they need to start feeding hard to get ready for spawning in the spring. They try to bite, but the water temperature is so high yet that it seems to spoil their appetite. Hopefully by the time you read this in Nov. summer will finally be over and everything will be back on its seasonal track. Then it will be “Fish on!” because they are gonna be hungry. I hope by the time you read this we will have cooled off and started getting some rain! Don’t forget to get out and vote for Proposition 6 on Nov. 3! We need to pass this amendment to protect our right to hunt and fish in Texas into the future! Some states have already failed to protect this fundamental right simply because nobody bothered to show up and vote for an amendment to keep what they already had. Please don’t let this happen in Texas!

Weather Roller Coaster…. are we going up or falling down?

Kenneth Priess Construction, Fredericksburg, Tx, Oct. 3, 2015

Hot sun rising over Lake Buchanan

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H & E Equipment Services was established in 1961 when Frank Head and Tom Engquist

recognized a trend of growth along the Mississippi River. They decided to take advantage of the increasing opportunities that were developing in the earthmoving and construction equipment business. More than 50 years later, H & E is one of the largest integrated equipment companies in the nation with 73 branches across 22 states. So, that is the meaning of H & E, named after the founders. The company recently opened a new branch in Freeport, TX, its 15th store in the state. Shawn Young, branch manager of the Austin location for almost five years, foresees some exciting changes coming to that growing market as well. According to Young, plans are currently underway to move to a more convenient location and updated facility. He expects this relocation to happen in a year or two

What’s in a name?

with a large grand opening event to be announced once the move is complete. “With the recent slowdown in oil-industry activity south of here, we saw a lot of equipment freed-up to flood the Austin market, but that hasn’t affected our business negatively. In fact, we are experiencing record growth,” said Young. “We recently updated our entire equipment fleet, and we are excited about plans for a new facility so that we may continue to provide our customers with the service they deserve.” Young leads a team of 16 salespeople, technicians and support staff who he describes as an experienced, close-knit group that works well together and with customers. The staff is active in several local and statewide industry associations, and actively supports local CTSA events. H & E is a full-service company, specializing in used and new earthmoving, aerial lift, forklift, crane, and general equipment sales. They also offer equipment rentals, parts, and service, as well as training. –rd

Austin Branch Manager Shawn Young

Concrete fete

Three hundred forty-one design pro-fessionals, contractors, material suppliers and distributors from

around North America kicked it up in downtown Cowtown Oct. 14-16. Hosted at Fort Worth’s Hilton Hotel, the Interna-tional Concrete Repair Institute’s (ICRI) Fall Convention was the second largest ever held by the association. Attendees enjoyed a chapter party at Billy Bob’s Tex-as Club, a large group tour of AT&T Stadi-um, a golf tournament and a project awards reception. –mjm

The group took a tour of the AT&T Stadium.

L-R: George D. Alan Company’s Andy Bautz, Sika Corporation’s Leslie and Bill Light and

Texas Concrete Restoration’s Pete and Carol Haveron enjoy fajitas at Billy Bob’s Texas

Club.

WJE’s Doug Smith and wife Kim at Billy Bob’s for the North Texas chapter-sponsored party Friday evening.

Austin NAWIC held its annual Golf Tournament Sept.16 at Star Ranch

Golf Course in Hutto, TX. Proceeds benefit the Austin NAWIC Scholar-

ship Program. A great time was had by all! Congrats to the winners. First place was Denbow Company Inc., including, L-R: Richard Ethridge, Tim Unger and David Denbow, with Toni Osberry, NAWIC vice

president. Not pictured, Russ Sta-pleton. –cw

Fore-titudeSubmitted to Construction News


When Gypsum Management & Supply (GMS) has its annual convention in Nashville this

month, the attending employees will get to stomp their feet and clap their hands to some exclusive tunes coming to Music City. That’s because as a part of the BUILD AMERICA: GMS EXPO 2015, GMS created a Battle of the Bands that allowed 140 supply yards nationwide the opportunity to put together a band for the competition. Six yards responded and after several video submission contests, three bands were selected to compete in the Nov. 12 GMS Family Jam at The Wildhorse Saloon. It seems fitting that one of those bands, the Lone Star Train Wrecks, is from the other Music Capital – Austin. “We were in shock when we found out,” says band member Lori J. Drake, an employee at Austin’s Lone Star Materials. “I think we all just thought it was for fun. We didn’t think we were going to end up playing in front of an audience of 2,500 people!” All branches were allowed to put together one band consisting of no more than six members, two of whom could be “outside help” (not employees). Other band members include Bruce Bonnet, retired employee, Skylar Molina and Josh Lasseter, current employees, and Gary Hart and Tony Hart, the “guest” help. Playing a mixture of George Strait, Aaron Watson, Dwight Yoakum and Buck Owens, the Lone Star Train Wrecks impressed the judges enough to make it into the final three. They’ll compete against VIP from Nashville and The Flood Plains from Georgia. All bands won an all-expenses paid trip to Nashville and will play at the historic Wildhorse Saloon, along with a guest headliner group. Coming with the Lone Star Train Wrecks is new general manager, Dustin Noles, who replaced Bonnet when he retired. He is excited and ready to bring home a win.

New stars on the horizon

“We are trying to pick the right songs to play since you win by audience applause,” Drake said. “We are trying to pick songs that get the audience to engage, react and dance!” Being in Austin, it’s no surprise that several of the band members are already established musicians. Band members range in age from early 20s to retired. Bonnet plays and sings at his own gigs around the area, Molina and Lasseter frequent open mic nights around the Austin music scene, Drake plays in her church’s Praise and Worship Team, as well as at weddings in the area, and father/son duo Gary and Tony Hart are both practicing musicians with Gary a member of a party band, Caboose, that regularly plays all around Texas. “Gary is actually Skylar’s old music teacher,” Drake said, illustrating the close knit Austin music community. According to Drake, the idea for the band came about from an offhand comment someone made about the possibility of taking part in the competition – and when they thought of Drake’s possible fiddling skills, the idea started to take shape. “I’m the one that helps organize the details,” Drake said. “The young guys, Josh and Skylar, are gung-ho and a driving force. Of course, they think they will get discovered in Nashville!” The band, with the name Bonnet came up with, formed in late spring. Drake says they didn’t really get together to practice except when making their videos to send to the judges. “We got together and practiced, then recorded that night,” she says. But things certainly changed when they found out they were going to compete. “It’s a little overwhelming,” Drake says. “We will practice every Monday night until we go. We are all excited and nervous! We think we have a good chance of winning!” –cw

The Lone Star Train Wrecks are, L-R: Skylar Molina, vocals/guitar; Josh Lasseter,vocals/guitar; Tony Hart, drums; Bruce Bonnet, vocals/guitar; Gary Hart,

bass guitar; and Lori J. Drake, fiddle/keyboard

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To celebrate the 65th anniversary of O’Connell Robertson, the firm hosted a companywide celebration

Oct. 23 at its Austin headquarters. Part of the festivities included the donation of amounts chosen by the employees to 501(c)3 entities related to three represen-tative clients. “Our staff is involved in a lot of com-munity activities and organizations that are related to the work that we do, and we think that really just goes back to our core mission-driven approach,” explains Amy Jones, principal. “We work really hard to make sure that the work that we do touches everyone who participates in it.” William O’Connell, the first archi-tect for the Texas Department of Health, founded the firm in 1950. With experi-ence designing hospitals across Texas, O’Connell started the firm designing medical facilities. After about 15 years, the firm began doing work locally in edu-cation. Austin ISD was a very early client.

Inspired by their work

Focusing on K-12, the firm went from three school district clients to 25 Texas-wide today. In 1978, Noel Robertson joined the firm, adding MEP engineering to its ser-vices. Jones notes, “We found that on the complex healthcare projects it was really helpful to have the integrated engi-neers,” adding that this has proven true in other types of projects as well. Today, the firm has more than 50 em-ployees between its corporate head-quarters in Austin, which has more than 30 staff members, and its office in San Antonio. Both offices include architects and engineers. Of the 65th anniversary, Jones says, “It’s a great milestone for us that has been made possible by the people and the projects that we’ve been inspired by.” O'Connell Robertson is a full-service ar-chitecture and engineering firm that also offers planning, commissioning on the en-gineering side, and interior design. –mh

Employees from the Austin office held a toy drive for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas during their annual holiday party last year. L-R: Allison Taylor, Amy Jones, Becky

Winovitch, Cathy Brandewie, Stephanie Ruiz and Ray Moreno

Bill and Lucy Hargis acquired Amazing Floors in Bastrop in 2002. They’ve been in the flooring busi-

ness since 1993, with Bill being a carpet and vinyl installer since the early ‘70s. Sitting on busy SH 71 just outside of Bastrop, the store and warehouse em-ploy roughly 12 people. “One thing I like about Bill and Lucy is they are really good about taking care of their customers,” says salesman Leon-ardo Vara. “They will bend over back-wards to satisfy their customers.” Vara was a self-employed floor in-staller for 20 years and has been with the company for five years. “The experience I have helps me guide and educate customers,” he says. According to Vara, granite sales ac-count for more than 50 percent of the business, that caters to a 20 percent com-mercial and 80 percent residential market. Other products include stained con-

Amazing ways

crete, carpet, vinyl, hardwoods, back-splashes and more. Vara says stained concrete can be a surprise to some people, due to the fact that the appearance can change by be-ing affected by a variety of factors, such as weather conditions on the day of ap-plication. A new product, Perma Pro Exo-py, has helped with that experience, he says. “It’s very customer friendly,” he says. “It will be the color you expect it to be.” Customers can also buy smaller piec-es of granite – the leftovers of a larger piece. “If someone buys a slab and doesn’t want the remnants, we can sell those for a discounted price,” Vara says. Vara says the owners celebrate em-ployee birthdays and regular holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Last year, they took all the employees out for a day of boat riding in Austin. –cw

L-R: Owner Bill Hargis, Eddie Niedecken and Leonardo Vara work in the shopat Amazing Floors in Bastrop.

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Oct: Specialty ContractorsNov: Architecture & EngineeringDec: Construction Equipment

2015Schedule

Legislative year brings changes to industry

David Howell, PE, Deputy Executive DirectorTexas Board of Professional EngineersAustin, TX

As with all odd-numbered years in Texas, 2015 brought with it a legislative session to Austin. The 84th legis-

lature of Texas made a few changes that affected the en-gineering community. Unlike the 2013 session, which

through the passage of the Sunset bill for the Engineering Practice Act, brought us the fingerprint-based Criminal History Records Check (CHRC), the bills passed in the 2015 session should be much more well-received. Some of the bills affecting the engineer-ing community in Texas are:

House Bill 7 – Tax reduction was one of the popular efforts during this session. HB7 was aimed at reducing the tax bur-den on a number of professions. The great news for the engineering commu-nity is that effective Sept. 1, engineers no longer pay the $200 professional fee as-sociated with license renewals or initial licensure. All licensees will see the reduc-tion automatically on renewals state-ments, starting with the September re-newal cycle. The Board is excited to help implement this change that will have a significant effect on thousands of indi-viduals and engineering firms in Texas. Senate Bills 807 and 1307 – Anoth-er topic that was addressed with several bills this session was related to military and veteran licensure. The legislature wanted to make sure that individuals

who served the U.S. would receive as much benefit for that service as possible. These two bills will change the Board processes regarding licensing and re-newal requirements for active duty mili-tary, veterans, and military spouses. House Bill 2439 – There were sever-al bills this session related to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Wind-storm Insurance program. As you may know, since the 2011 Texas Legislative session, the Engineering Practice Act has contained a section regarding Wind-storm Related Design Services. It estab-lished the process for the Texas Board of Professional Engineers to create and maintain a roster of engineers who are qualified to do Windstorm Design so those individuals could be appointed as inspectors by TDI. HB 2439 changed the

Act by repealing the Windstorm Roster section in the Act, but based on imple-mentation requirements for TDI, the ros-ter will remain in effect as it is until the end of 2016. House Bill 2049 – This bill prohibits state and local government entities from issuing contracts with engineers that re-quire a duty to defend. House Bill 2167 – This bill modifies limitations regarding unmanned aerial vehicles to allow their use by engineers and surveyors in their professional prac-tice as long as no people are visible in the images. This change will allow engineers and surveyors to safely access more re-mote locations. While most statutory changes are ef-fective on Sept. 1, any Board rules that needed to be modified for implementa-tion of these bills or others, were brought to the Board at its August meeting and were posted for comments and input. The earliest adoption of revised rules would be in November, with a potential effective date of mid-December. This is also a good time to look back at the previous session and give an up-date on the implementation activities since then. As I said above, one of the most significant bills of the 2013 legisla-tive session was Senate Bill 204, which was the Sunset bill for the agency. The bill reauthorized the agency for another 12 years and made some changes to the Board’s enforcement authority. One of the most contentious changes made by

the Sunset bill was the requirement for all active license holders and new applicants to obtain a fingerprint-based CHRC prior to renewal in 2014. Starting with the first renewal quar-ter in March of 2014 and continuing through the last renewals in December, we had roughly 46,000 PEs have their fin-gerprints taken for the CHRC. During that year, we also had approximately 4,200 new applicants go through the process. Almost 91% of those individuals had no criminal records at all. For the re-maining 4,300 records, TBPE was able to view the record in the DPS system. For security reasons, TBPE did not import criminal records into our system. Of the 50,000+ individuals that went through the CHRC process in 2014, there were six enforcement cases opened against li-censees and at least 50 applicants who have had to comply with additional re-quirements prior to approval. The CHRC process is only required to be completed one time for a PE license. While this process is still in place and will continue for new applicants and reactiva-tion of inactive licenses, the bulk of the CHRC for PEs has been completed.The Texas Board of Professional Engi-neers and staff continue to protect the public and look for ways to serve the reg-ulated engineering community as effec-tively as possible. Visit our website (www.engineers.texas.gov) and keep an eye on your email for news, updates and announcements. –cw

More BIM for your buck

Lorraine M. Dailey, PresidentLMD ArchitectsSan Antonio, TX

Lorraine M. Dailey, owner of LMD Architects, was an early adopter of Building Information Modeling (BIM)

and she has been a passionate advocate of the technology ever since.

“When it first made its debut into the architectural field about 10 to 12 years ago, LMD immediately recognized the value of the parametric modeling in BIM and switched from AutoCAD, which had been the main method for producing our documents electronically, over to BIM,” says Dailey. “The value of it is extensive.” One of the primary benefits, she says, is building a three-dimensional model that can be presented to the own-er. The owner can see the design rather than having to visualize from two-dimen-sional documents. This makes it possible to do 3D-gen-erated walkthroughs of the building and its design, which can cut down tremen-dously on the costs of changes later as it is being built. The architect can work through all of the systems and complex structures in the building prior to it being under construction.

Another benefit is conflict detection and risk mitigation, she adds, explaining, “As we’re doing our documents, if there is going to be a conflict between structural and mechanical or structural and one of our exterior building envelope compo-nents, we’ll be able to see that in the model and catch it prior to, of course, be-ing a costly modification out in the field. So, conflict detection is a huge value.” Dailey estimates that using the com-puter to calculate and catch potential conflicts increases overall project quality by 50 percent. She has also heard that us-ing BIM helps reduce risk as far as predict-ing outcomes by 30 to 40 percent. “Studies have shown that with BIM, you can achieve up to a 20 percent reduc-tion in building cost by making smart choices during the building modeling phase,” she adds. “You can achieve up to 33 percent reduction in costs over the

lifetime of the building, 50 percent re-duction in conflicts and rework during construction, because of the parametric modeling and being able to work every-thing out in the model. When you draw in 3D, it’s called a parametric model. “So, when we make changes in a door – say a door size changes – we change that door in the model, and it au-tomatically changes throughout our doc-uments. That door may be depicted in 15 other places in our documents on sec-tions and elevations and in schedules. So, we change it one time, and it automati-cally gets changed throughout. So, there’s less chance for human error of us missing making a modification or updat-ing the size or type of a component, be-cause it happens in real time with one modification.” This also saves the architectural de-sign team a significant amount of time. By streamlining the process, the team is able to be more efficient in its work. They can even do an upfront building lifecycle cost analysis and an energy cost analysis for the owner in switching out different components. The computer then calcu-lates how, for example, a wall that is all glass impacts the energy and solar loads

of the building, making it easier to exam-ine the sustainability also. “The cost of construction, designing and building a building, is only 10 per-cent of the cost of the building over the lifecycle of the building,” she explains. “So making smart choices upfront can save a tremendous amount of money for the owner in utility, operating and main-tenance costs. With BIM, since it’s all co-hesive, we plug in those systems and we’re able to tell the owner, ‘Yes, these particular air conditioning units are go-ing to cost you X dollars more, but here’s the value of what it’s going to save you over a 30-year period.” Dailey notes that as more consul-tants and contractors get involved in the BIM process, the model encourages col-laboration between the design and con-struction team as they work together to make everything fit and function cohe-sively. Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, LMD Architects is a WBE and HUB business. The firm primarily works on public projects, such as emergency medical ser-vices facilities, with a focus on criminal jus-tice architecture, such as correctional facili-ties. –mh


Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

ABC Central TexasAssociated Builders & Contractors

Dec. 2: Christmas party and auction

ACEAAustin Contractors & Engineers Assn.

Nov. 5: Monthly Luncheon, Dave & Bust-ers, 9333 Research Blvd., AustinNov. 10: 2015 Fall Golf Tournament, Ter-ravista Golf Club in Round Rock.For more information, check aceatx.com

AGCAssociated General Contractors

Nov. 10-13: General Industry Train the Trainer (OSH501) at the AGC office.Nov. 12: MEDIC First Aid BasicPlus class; 8-2 in the AGC boardroom. Call 512-442-7887 for more info.Nov. 17-19: Ergonomics (OSH225) at the AGC office.

APHCCAssociated Plumbing Heating Cooling

Contractors of America

Nov. 18: Are you lucky or are you good? Risk Management Academy from 9-4 at Ridgewood Country Club in Waco.

NARINat’l Assn. of the Remodeling Industry

Nov. 12: Night of Excellence CotY Awards, 6-11pm at Norris Conference Center. Call Kayvon at 512-375-2601 for more info.

NAWICNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Nov. 4: Chapter meeting at Big Daddy’s Burgers & Bar, 9070 Research Blvd. Guest speaker Larry Moore on online security. Networking, 5:30pm, meeting 6pm.

SFPESociety of Fire Protection Engineers

Nov. 4: Chapter meeting, 11:30am, San Marcos Activity Center, San Marcos. Pro-gram: Regulating laboratories – a chal-lenge for designers and enforcers. Check sfpe-asa.org for more info.

TABTexas Association of Builders

Nov. 10-12: Fall Board Meetings & Excel-lence in Leadership Dinner at The Westin Austin Downtown. Check texasbuilders.org for more info.

TSATexas Society of Architects

Nov. 5-7: 76th annual Convention and Design Expo, Kay Bailey Hutchison Con-vention Center in Dallas. Check texasar-chitects.org for more info.

USGBC-Balcones ChapterU.S. Green Building Council

Nov. 5-6: “40 Years of Serious Commo-tion” symposium and gala events. Check usgbc-centraltexas.org for more info.

Surveyors from Texas and beyond lined up to attend the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors (TSPS)’s

64th Annual Convention & Tech Expo, hosted Oct. 8-11 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. “It’s a great opportunity for our sur-veyors to network and learn about new technologies through our exhibitors as well as our through the education and classes that they get,” TSPS Executive di-rector DJ Kyle says. An Oct. 8 skeet shoot at Elm Fork Shooting Sport marked the event’s “point of beginning,” followed by a golf tourna-

Landmark eventment at Tenison Highlands Golf Course, a past president’s dinner and a TSPSA open house. Meetings for the board of direc-tors and the association’s membership were slated for Friday, capped off with an alumni reception. The weekend got underway with educational sessions, a luncheon and a trade show with 65 exhibitors. TSPS host-ed a “When I’m 64” awards gala Saturday evening, featuring Beatles tribute band “A Hard Day’s Night!” The convention convened Sunday afternoon after a sec-ond day of exhibits and educational ses-sions. –mjm

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What’s your favorite movie and why?

“Tombstone.” We need more Wyatt Earps in the world.

Brandon MarrsTop Gun Equipment Rentals Inc.

My favorite movie is “Tombstone” from 1993. I watched it with my brother and my dad so many times back in the ‘90s. We still use one liners from the movie today.

Abby BeMentConstruction News

I have several movies from life that I love. “Gone with the Wind” “Sound of Music” and “Pretty Woman.” One favorite (Pret-ty Woman) is one that stands out to me. It was a story of a sweet girl, played by Julia Roberts, who made some bad choices but inside she was so much bet-ter than her outside persona. She was a lucky girl to find a decent man (Richard Gere) that she fell in love with and he fell in love with the real girl. Love the ending - ”Anything can happen in LA.”

Catherine Case LarsonDCA Construction, LP

My favorite movie, hands down, has to be “Steel Magnolias!” I love the way you cry and laugh all at once!

Tiffany FincherJourneyman Group

“Somewhere in Time” with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour. I’m always a sucker for your classic love story – and this one is timeless and beautiful.

Terri FlemingRogers-O’Brien Construction



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tune with the local environment. “When we are working, we are al-ways in tune with the local environment,” Clark says. He says the company’s success can be attributed to its reputation in the in-dustry. “We are proven to do it efficiently, do it right, and above all, do it safe,” he said. He said the company is not worried about the oil and gas industry. “Oil is going to survive,” he said. “It’s like a worldwide currency. People are go-ing to trade in oil.” –cw

In 1988, Jay, Don and David Gunn were using trailers on weekends to haul furniture. With the trailers sitting idle all week they decided to rent them for $20 per day and a new business was born. The original name was Three Gunn Enter-prises Inc. and eventually operated over 300 rental trailers in an average of 20 to 50 stores. In Jan. 1996, all trailers were sold and the new company evolved, Top Gunn Equipment Rentals Inc. The com-pany still offered trailer rentals for $20 per day and offered vehicle inspections. The original north store now operates in a 10,000-sf warehouse and showroom. Today, Top Gunn continues to ex-

pand their product lines and offers multi-tudes of rentals and sales of new and used equipment with the ability to repair and maintain most by certified mechan-ics. They also offer phone support. The lineup of equipment includes contrac-tors’ construction and heavy equipment, homeowners’ equipment needs, trailers, and lawn and garden tools. They have ev-erything one needs to get the job done. Trey Davis manages the north store with 17 team members and Gonzalo Or-tiz manages the south store with six team members. Their tag line is “We’ll shoot you straight!” –rd

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Round-UpBIG RED DOG Engineering | Consulting recently announced that Shannon Boyd has joined the team in Austin. Boyd will serve as a vice president for the company and Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) practice leader in the Austin office. Boyd was previously a vice president at local Austin MEP firm Bay & Associates for the past 11 years. Boyd holds a BA from St. Edwards University in Austin and is a Certified Plumbing Designer (CPD) as designated by the American Society of Plumbing Engineers and is a green building LEED accredited professional (LEEP AP). No photo available.

LJA has promoted Bob Bardin, PE, to senior project manager in the firm’s Hydraulics and Hydrology Division. Bardin has more than 15 years of civil engineering exper-ience specializing in hydrology and hydraulics. His expertise includes numerous drainage studies for master planned communities, FEMA flood insurance studies, flood reduction analyses, storm water detention design, and open channel drainage design. Bardin will manage the H&H staff in the completion of studies in support of land development projects across the State of Texas. He is a graduate of the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

Kyle Hunt has joined Stanley Consultants as an environmental p r o j e c t principal. Based in the firm’s Austin office, Hunt will focus on business develop-ment, introducing the company’s wide range of environ-mental services to energy, infrastructure, and industrial clients in Texas and the surrounding states. Hunt’s environmental experience includes nearly 25 years of environmental sampling, testing and monitoring. He formerly held positions as director of sales and business development for Sutron, a leading environmental monitoring firm, and as quality assurance manager for URS Corporation. A native Texan, Hunt has a chemistry degree from Texas State University.

“Demolition took a lot longer in phase two,” Lauterjung says. That’s because the original walls were grout-filled CMU block that were re-placed with metal studs and drywall. “One key feature was the new recep-tion and break area because we put in a lot of stained wood walls and ceilings,” he says. “When you walk in, there is a real open feel to it. The branding and design is so different from what it was.” Andrew Logan, architect with Runa Workshop, the architectural firm on the project, says that was the idea. “The building was built in the early 2000s,” Logan says. “A lot of the interior space was not maximized due to curving walls. Our goal was to get them added program space without adding onto the building. We wanted them to be able to fit more people and programs into the interior spaces.” Logan says the firm cleaned things up by using straight lines that direct peo-ple to programs. “We also freshened up the building with contemporary materials and color palettes,” he says. “The main program el-ements we added are a reconfigured re-ception desk and a break room with one long wood element. It softens and warms up the lobby.” Other design elements included us-ing previous circulation space to create a new multi-purpose room within the ex-isting footprint and an interior graphics package that re-emphasizes the YMCA brand throughout the building.

Rizzo and Runa Workshop have worked together before on a fitness cen-ter finish out. “They are great to work with,” Logan says. “We worked closely to resolve any issues.” Principals at Runa Workshop and Rizzo Construction have worked with the Y before and say the organization is a great client. “We have a long-standing relation-ship with the YMCA,” Lauterjung says. Rizzo Construction Inc. is a small firm owned by Bob Rizzo in Austin that does commercial work including from small fin-ish out to full ground-up projects, including site development. –cw

Everyone worked together to keep the Y open while completing two phases of

remodeling.


Fish wish

SpawGlass Austin Division held their annual SpawGlass City Limits Client& Subcontractor Appreciation Festival yesterday at beautiful Shady Springs.

Everyone had a great time! There was barbecue and music by SpawGlass’ Mike Sanfordand the feature band was Jason Boland. –cw

Submitted to Construction News

Appreciated!Submitted to Construction News

SpawGlass spirit

SpawGlass celebrated College Spirit Day on Friday, Oct. 2. Employees took part in acontest this year to see which team member had the most college spirit. The winner(selected by an outside party) was Laurie Ingle in Human Resources. She won a $25

H-E-B gift card. Pictured, L-R: Kirby Baird, Jeff Eubank, Mark Harrington, Nicole Griffith,Doug Worrell, and Lee Urbanovsky from the Austin office. –cw

L-R: Gina Guerrero, David Cervantes and John Elam hold down the fort at Water Street Millworks in Bastrop. –cw

Chill millConstruction News ON LOCATION

Over 500 AGC members, families and guests en-joyed the beautiful Texas Disposal System (TDS) Exotic Game Ranch on Oct. 8 for the annual Aus-

Daniel Bejarano, Spire Consulting Group, takes aim.

L-R: Doug Longtin, Shawn Parker, JE DunnL-R: Mackenzie, Mark, Brandy, Jake Broderick,

Capital City Tile & Stone Inc.

Jeremy and Audra Buxton’s children, Hansel-Phelps,Koen, Gavin and Logan

L-R: Charlie Hamilton, Rogers O’Brien, and Toni Osberry, AGC

L-R: Ashley McNish, Abby Finger, Tim Spooresand Aja Spoores, LaForce The Knight Security Systems team

A live auction featured many goodies and lively bidding. (photo by JJ Photography)

Attendees load up on some yummy fish. (photo by JJ Photography)

tin AGC Fish Fry. From skeet shooting to safari bus tours, good food, networking and live auction fun, the Fish Fry offered plenty of opportunities for industry professionals

to relax and enjoy the evening. The silent auction helped raise funds to support the AGC Student Chapter at Texas State University, and the skeet shoot helped support the Construction Lead-ership Council (CLC) organization. –cw


As she waited at the airport for her son to arrive, thoughts were already going through her mind.

From the time she knew he was coming home, the plans began to develop. But this was no ordinary airport or homecoming. Betsy Reed Schultz was at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware waiting for her only child, Captain Joseph William Schultz, to be brought home from Afghanistan. With that knock on the door two days earlier, Betsy had become a Gold Star Mother. How could she honor her son, who lost his life in the service of our country, and at the same time help other Gold Star families who struggle with the same grief she had just come to know? Reesa and I spent time with Betsy at her home in Port Angeles, WA. in July. From her front porch you can see the first Captain Joseph House under construction. Being a Gold Star family ourselves, her vision for the foundation hit close to home. “There have been so many Gold Star families created since 9/11,” said Schultz. These families are sometimes referred to as the forgotten families. After the services, memorials and the first year of activities have come and gone, you try

The forgotten families

to go on with your life, but other people don’t remember that missing person anymore. “The Gold Stars continue to feel them, see them and care. They have a broken heart that will always be there and other people don’t see it. It’s different for everyone else. Sometimes it’s easier to let the families slip into the missing. Many times they are a forgotten family,” Schultz says. The Captain Joseph House Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation created to lend support to the 7,000 families of our military’s fallen heroes since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism on 9/11. The remodel of the 1910 Tudor-style craftsman house is 55 percent complete and plans are being made for the first guests to arrive in 2016. It will be a place for Gold Star families to come and enjoy a peaceful setting. “There are other services for families but nothing quite like this. There certainly isn’t enough recognition and awareness of Gold Star families and the sacrifice their family member has made to provide the livelihood and freedoms that we have,” Schultz says.

The plans include keeping the setting small and intimate for families. “We are serving a much smaller group of families at any one time, unlike other Gold Star programs,” she says. “We will serve no more than three families at one time for the same timeframe Sunday to Friday so they have four full days and a travel day on either side. This gives them the time to bond with the other families who they will have with them throughout this journey.” The one-time visit for the family will be an expense paid five-night, six-day respite/retreat in the scenic Pacific Northwest. While there, each family will also have their own chauffeured van to explore the area. The families will be coming from all over the country and from all branches of the military. Long-range plans are to have four other Captain Joseph Houses around the country. I asked Betsy to tell me what it will mean to her when the first group arrives at the house next year. “The sense of knowing I have created an opportunity for the families,” she explained. “They have to take the risk of coming here and finding out they can

laugh again - they can cry - but they can laugh and have a good time. That takes risk because you have to step out of the life you have now been living. “I think everyone who leaves here is going to leave the Captain Joseph House more peaceful, not just because it made them feel better because they came here, but because of what I was able to give of myself to them. They are not taking away. They are giving a part of themselves. That is the healing. “I will feel like we have given people the step up to move forward in their lives from where they are when they came and when they leave,” concluded Schultz. The days we spent with Betsy were interesting and gratifying. Her endeavor in life is to care for other Gold Stars in a unique way that will help with their healing process. She’s a fast moving dynamo who has defined - and will - accomplish her goal. I have no doubt about that.

by Buddy Doebbler, Publisher

For more information or to help the Captain Joseph House Foundation,

check the website at: CaptainJosephHouseFoundation.org.

Captain Joseph House

L-R Betsy Schultz, Reesa Doebbler, Mary Stokes Cort(Gold Star grandmother) and Charles Smith (Captain

Joseph House architect)

Gold Star Banner

Austin Construction News November 2015

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