Your Honor

MSI General Corp. employees (left to right) Tony Zulli, Ryan Thomas, Bert Zenker and Ditas Andomenas are winners of MSI’s 2006 Design Excellence awards. Photo courtesy of MSI General Corp.

Building Milwaukee Award winner Steve Tennies (center) is joined by Tom Weiher (left) of Carmel Builders, Menomonee Falls, and Mike Heuser of Kelmann Corp., Wauwatosa. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee/NARI

F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co. Inc., Milwaukee, won a 2006 Projects of Distinction Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin for the company’s roof renovation of the Milwaukee County Courthouse in Milwaukee. Consolidated Construction Co. Inc., Appleton, won three 2006 Projects of Distinction awards for the company’s work on the Airgas facility in Appleton, the Village at Bay Park in Ashwaubenon and the Fox Valley Humane Association building in Grand Chute. Keller Inc., Kaukauna, won a 2006 Projects of Distinction Award for its work on a school project in Mt. Joy, Pa. … Opus North Corp., which has an office in Milwaukee, won The Office Building of the Year Award in the Suburban Mid-Rise Category from the Milwaukee Chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association for the company’s Honey Creek Corporate Center in Milwaukee. … The state of Wisconsin and the design/construction team for the Camp Randall renovation project in Madison won an Honorable Mention Award for Project Leadership from the Construction Owners Association of America Inc. for the project team’s leadership, professionalism and excellence in project management. … Golden Eagle Log Homes, Wisconsin Rapids, took first place for exceptional home design of more than 4,200 square feet from the Building Systems Council of the National Association of Home Builders for the company’s work on a house near Lake Petenwell. … Bassett Mechanical, Kaukauna, won the Supplier of the Year Award in the capital equipment category from Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. facilities in Wisconsin and Texas for Bassett’s ammonia-refrigeration and steam-systems service for the cranberry company. … Bob Flanagan of Flanagan Co., Waukesha, won the Builder of the Year Award from the Metropolitan Builders Association for his efforts on behalf of the MBA and the building industry. Brad Dagen of Rose & De Jong SC, Brookfield, won the Associate of the Year Award for his commitment to the MBA, and Jeff Burg of JFK Design-Build Inc., Pewaukee, won the MBA’s Associate’s Choice Award for establishing himself as a great business partner. The MBA also inducted Jim Cauley, Jerry McGinnis and Bryce Styza into its Hall of Fame. Cauley served the MBA and the Wisconsin Builders Association in a variety of ways during his 28 years as an association member. McGinnis joined the MBA in the 1960s and was involved at both the local and national levels of the association. Styza was president of both the MBA and the WBA as well as vice president of Area Ten of the National Association of Home Builders. … MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, honored four of its employees with 2006 Design Excellence awards. Tony Zulli won a First Place Honor Award for his design of T-Lon Manufacturing in Hartland. Ryan Thomas won two Merit awards for his work on the Pabst Farms Market Place in Oconomowoc and the interior renovation of Temple Emanu-EL in Waukesha. Bert Zenker won an Honorable Mention Award for his design of the addition at Daco Precision in Kewaskum. Ditas Andomenas won a Merit Award for his structural engineering of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Mequon. … Steve Tennies of Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity won the Building Milwaukee Award from the Milwaukee Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry for his focus on community improvements and assistance in growing the home-remodeling industry.

In memoriam

Nick Schanen Jr., Horicon, died Nov. 8 after he fell from the third floor to a concrete ground level at an expansion project at Appleton Papers in Portage. Schanen, 46, was in his first day on the job as a contracted construction laborer for Gunderson Construction Co., Portage.

Peer review

For the people

Community improvement drives Hollmon

Ralph Hollmon

Ralph Hollmon couldn’t afford a new pair of shoes.

So he cut off the top of a cereal box and stuffed it in the bottom of his tennis shoes to keep his foot from rubbing against the ground. With those patched-up shoes, the young Hollmon, now president and CEO of the Milwaukee Urban League, realized an important truth.

“That’s when I really began to understand poverty and how poor we were because we weren’t able to afford some basic things like that,” he said. “When you don’t have a lot of money, it really forces you to be creative and resourceful just in order to survive.”

Hollmon was born in St. Louis in 1949 and moved to Milwaukee’s central city from Memphis with his parents when he was 8 years old. He credits his mother for instilling a strong work ethic and drilling into his head the importance of getting a good education and good job to improve the quality of his life.

Still, the graduate of Milwaukee’s North Division High School didn’t step up his efforts in academics until his freshman year at Iowa’s Midwestern College, when he almost lost his baseball eligibility over lousy grades.

“That would have been devastating to me because I loved to play the game and would have lost my scholarship,” Hollmon said. “That’s when it hit me that I would have to focus more on my education.

“It was probably one of the best things that happened to me because I found out later that I was not quite as good of an athlete as I thought.”

Hollmon transferred to Iowa’s Parsons College and graduated in 1971 with a degree in sociology. He took his first job at the Social Development Commission in Milwaukee, but he soon returned to school, this time for a relatively new program called Urban Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

That was a tough decision for Hollmon, who otherwise could have earned his master’s in social work.

“It was kind of a risky move at that time because it was a new school, and, obviously, the [master’s in social work] was tried and true,” he said. “But as I look back on it now, that probably was one of the best decisions I ever made.

“Subsequently, it has afforded me the opportunity to do some things in my career that I would not have been able to do had I mastered in social work.”

Hollmon worked at the Social Development Commission for 10 years before leaving to join a group trying to improve conditions in black communities by working closely with and influencing elected officials.

After working on former Gov. Tony Earl’s campaign, Hollmon was appointed administrator of the Department of Administration’s Division of State Agency Services, where his responsibilities included managing the state’s procurement program, fleet, printing, mail system, record center and surplus property.

That experience led to similar executive positions for Milwaukee County, the city of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and the Private Industry Council from 1988 to 2002.

Friends kid Hollmon that he can’t keep a job, but he notes that working at all those agencies prepared him to serve as president of a small, nonprofit organization like the Milwaukee Urban League.

“Combined, all the things I’ve done in the past have helped prepare me for each of the subsequent jobs that I’ve had, and I really believe that the diversity of the experiences and jobs I’ve had helped to prepare me for the challenges of this job,” he said.

While bouncing around the public sector for nearly three decades, Hollmon always wanted to own a business. Yet shortly after he achieved that dream by starting a general-consulting firm in 2002, he gave it up to head the MUL.

“Once it’s in your blood, it’s kind of ingrained in you,” he said. “I’m a public servant at heart, and if I can make a difference at the Urban League and help improve the community, I think that’s what I need to do.”

— Joe Grundle

Best of the web

The Wisconsin Regional Economic Partnership Web site combines the economic development departments from seven southeastern Wisconsin counties into one easy-to-use destination. The site includes statistics about county infrastructure, employees, employers, programs and much more. — Rick Benedict

Dotted line

C.D. Smith Construction Co., Fond du Lac, won a $5.28 million general and plumbing/HVAC contract for the south campus parking ramp at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. … Haas Sons Inc., Thorp, won a $2.61 million contract to construct street and utility improvements in Menomonie. … Fischl Construction Corp., Madison, won a $1.57 million contract to construct a well house in Mount Horeb. … Berg Construction Inc., Mukwonago, landed a $1.53 million contract to upgrade a wastewater-treatment facility in Mukwonago. … Reichl Construction Inc., Hales Corners, secured a $1.34 million contract for a variety of remodeling projects for the Milwaukee Area Technical College. … Dell Construction Co. Inc., Eau Claire, won a $1.16 million contract to renovate the Hathorn Hall restroom on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus. … Henshue Construction Inc., Madison, will construct the Turner House Lift Station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after winning a $1.14 million contract for the job. … Stodola-Maas Construction Inc., Fond du Lac, won a $1.11 million contract to construct a youth and recreation center for the Sokaogon Chippewa Community in Mole Lake. … M.J. Construction Inc., Milwaukee, secured a $1.10 million contract to rehabilitate a sanitary manhole in Milwaukee. … IEI General Contractors Inc., De Pere, will construct an administrative office addition for the Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters in Kaukauna after winning a $1.04 million contract for the job. … Langer Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc., Milwaukee, won a $1.01 million contract to replace the roof at Sholes Education Complex in Milwaukee. … J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Madison, and Klobucar Construction Co., Beloit, will form the construction team for the $31 million, 106,000-square-foot Beloit College Center for the Sciences in Beloit.

Top dollar

Miron Construction Co. Inc., Neenah, took home a $3.97 million contract to construct a water-treatment plant in Waupun. Miron also won a $1.64 million contract to construct Heritage Hall at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

Assistant coaches Steve Freimuth (left) and Joe Elrick (right) join head coach Denny Lauer following the team’s victory in the National Softball Association World Tournament. Photos courtesy of Denny Lauer

Off the clock

Diamond ringer

It was a tense moment.

The count sat at 2-2 with two outs and runners on second and third. It was the final inning in the tournament’s championship game, and Denny Lauer was on the mound trying to protect a one-run lead for the Black Otters.

A fast-pitch softball pitcher can get out of a tight spot like that in a variety of ways: a curveball, slider, changeup, rise ball or the always-trusty fastball.

Lauer opted for the fastball — from behind his back.

“I struck him out, and he started to come at me with the baseball bat before he came to his senses,” said Lauer, a project manager for Appleton-based Boldt Technical Services, a division of The Boldt Company. “I don’t know why I did it, but it worked out, and it was a great moment.”

Denny Lauer’s team enjoys another victory after taking the title in the American Softball Association Class B state tournament. Lauer is second from the right in the back row.

That was in 1975, and it was pretty clear Lauer knew his way around a softball mound. In a tournament game two years earlier, Lauer noticed a good hitter in the on-deck circle timing his practice swings to Lauer’s pitches.

So on his third pitch, Lauer, who could throw a 76 mph fastball that’s the equivalent of a 114 mph baseball, slowed things down with a changeup and watched in amazement as the hitter in the on-deck circle actually fell over trying to hold back on his swing.

“I almost fell off the mound laughing,” he said. “I struck him out. He was so flustered he didn’t know which way to turn.”

Lauer spent a lot of time flinging softballs on diamonds in Kaukauna, Appleton and all around the state in the 1970s and ’80s. But when his daughter entered grade school 18 years ago, he took a seat on the bench.

Coaching, in one form or another, monopolized most of his free time ever since. He coached his daughters at Appleton East High School, took on a coaching role at Ripon College, opened a Sunday clinic for pitchers and catchers and started coaching a summer league team of 10- to 12-year-old girls.

And while he might not spin quite as much magic from the mound, Lauer is still turning heads. His team of 12-year-old girls — along with assistant coaches Steve Freimuth, who owns Steve Freimuth Masonry in Combined Locks, and Joe Elrick, who owns Triple E Machining in Little Chute — this summer won seven of eight tournaments.

And the crowning achievement came at the National Softball Association World Tournament in Peoria, Ill., where Lauer’s group snagged the title from a field of team’s from across the country.

“I have no idea how we did it,” he said.

National titles are nice, but Lauer’s motivation for sticking with the sport is a little more down-to-earth.

“Right now, my favorite part of the game is seeing the kids do better,” he said.

— Chris Thompson