ABC Celebrates

Merit Shop Contractors’ Commitment to Excellence

By Dick Lynes,
Chairman of ABC of Wisconsin

Each construction project begins in essentially the same manner.

Someone has a need for space and capability. Someone realizes a concept of what they want built to fulfill those needs. Someone provides project "design/development" drawings and budgets. Someone seeks out the necessary funding to fulfill the project's construction as a result of those budgets. Someone puts together a team of professionals to implement and build the project, hoping to "keep the faith" with the project's original aesthetic, schedule and structural concepts (and within the budget).

At sometime after this point, "the best laid plans oft go awry" and the original concept is "lost in the dust". This does not mean that the project necessarily "went bad;" it just means that the original project objectives cannot be 100% realized for various reasons.

From time to time, however, the team of owners and professionals working together does produce the original project in form and intent, sometimes beyond the expectations of everyone involved. It is by the strict adherence to the precepts of innovation, quality, performance, scheduling, budget and safety that the team constructs a project of exceptional greatness, a Project of Distinction.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the thirteenth annual ABC of Wisconsin Projects of Distinction Awards Program, featuring the great project entries from ABC of Wisconsin members and their teams.

Our judges have dissected each of the excellent project entries for elements of skilled craftsmanship, jobsite safety, scheduling, execution and owner satisfaction. The winning projects are often not the high profile, big budget, massive entities that seem to get so much media attention (sometimes for the worse). The winning project teams are the ones that methodically stuck to the process, asked the right questions, demanded the highest quality, made the right decisions and resolved issues equitably for all, never losing sight of their original concepts and goals.

At this point we need to thank some very important individuals and companies in this year's program.

Our award judges put in many, many long hours of work to select the "Best of the Best". This year's excellent judging panel included:

Ludwig Ridder, Ridder Design
Clair Urbain, Contractor - Tools & Supplies Magazine
Jon Waldhuetter, Moraine Park Technical College
Mitchell Spencer, UW Stout
Chris Thompson, The Daily Reporter
Marc Shelstrom, UW Platteville

And finally, our Projects of Distinction awards program wouldn't be the success that it is without the support and dedication from our sponsors:

Platinum Sponsors

Grant Thornton
Vendura Industries

Gold Sponsors

LYCON
J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
Smith & Gesteland CPA's & Business Consultants
Virchow Krause & Company, LLP

Banquet Sponsors

The Daily Reporter
Town & Country Electric

Please make it a point to thank the individuals from these companies who make our awards program so successful.