Time to Shine

The University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Ambulatory Services Addition takes home a Top Projects award, and the project team, led by J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., Janesville, enjoys the fruits of its labor.

The construction industry keeps its nose to the grindstone every day all year long.

When one project reaches completion, the next is ready to begin. There's just no time to relax.

But once a year, Wisconsin Builder puts its foot down and makes builders, engineers, architects and subs step back, just for a moment, to admire their work. And when the industry takes the time to look, it realizes that there's a lot to see.

On April 21, Wisconsin Builder held its annual Top Projects awards ceremony at the Country Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Waukesha. About 300 people from every profession in the construction industry and from all across the state showed up to honor the best projects of 2003.

Marc Marotta, secretary of the state Department of Administration, kicked off the night with a discussion of the construction industry's relationship with the state. And then it was time to honor the 20 projects that, for a variety of reasons, distinguished themselves from the competition in 2003.

Those projects ranged from the big attention-getters such as Lambeau Field and the Al McGuire Center to the small gems, such as the Boys and Girls Brigade's Camp Onaway project in Waupaca and the Centralia Center in Wisconsin Rapids.

But the night wasn't all about business. It gave old friends a chance to catch up, and, most important, it gave the industry a chance to take a breath and enjoy its accomplishments.