Giving back

Great Lakes Roofing Corp., Germantown, recently completed a roofing project through its Helping Hands Program. The company provided labor and materials to complete the project for the United States Marine Corps League in Fond du Lac. Great Lakes has donated more than $58,000 in roofing services to nonprofit community service organizations through the program. … The Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association and its Public Works Industry Improvement Program awarded scholarships to Natalie Herb, who is majoring in accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Raymond Alan Meredith, who is majoring in engineering at the UW-Madison; and Jason Roecker, who is majoring in engineering at the UW-Madison. … Golden Eagle Log Homes, Wisconsin Rapids, raised $16,950 that the company plans to donate to the construction of the American Family Children's Hospital in Madison. Golden Eagle raised the funds through events held in conjunction with the company's completion of a showcase project home near Lake Petenwell. … The Wisconsin Insulation Advancement Fund awarded its 2006-2007 scholarships to Adam Lautenbach, Ross Borchardt, Megan McLees, Corey Paulowski, Kylie Christensen, Erin Borchardt, Vanessa Lemminger, Rachel Wells, Cory Vickers, Ann Chodara, Emily Buska, Heidi Christensen and Shannon Paulowske. The amount of the scholarships ranged from $750 to $1,500.

Branching out

R.A. Smith & Associates Inc., Brookfield, acquired Community Engineering Consultants Inc., a Green Bay-based, civil-engineering firm specializing in municipal and site-development engineering. Community Engineering's office will remain open but change its name to R.A. Smith & Associates.

Name change

The Wisconsin division of Adolfson & Peterson Inc., Wausau, recently changed its name to The Samuels Group Inc. The company made the change after Sidney Samuels purchased the division.

The AGC of Greater Milwaukee Education & Research Foundation reaches its $200,000 giving goal as Mike Fabishak (right), CEO of the AGC of Greater Milwaukee, hands over a $5,000 check to Jeff Sapp, development director of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Photo courtesy of the AGC of Greater Milwaukee

Milestones

The Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee Education & Research Foundation achieved a $200,000 giving goal for the past decade. The total was reached through a $5,000 contribution made to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on behalf of the AGC Skill, Integrity and Responsibility Scholarship. … Bassett Mechanical, Kaukauna, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The mechanical contractor started out in 1936 as a refrigeration company. … MasterGraphics Inc., Madison, was awarded a Premier Service Provider designation by Autodesk for service to the architectural design community.

Peer Review

A fresh start

Edmond steps into the construction trades

Cleo Edmond worked as a salesman, business manager, plastics-factory worker, UPS delivery man and even a school bus driver.

But the 31-year-old, jack-of-all-trades finally found a career he wanted to pursue in the construction trades.

A Milwaukee resident and recent graduate of the Entry Level Construction Skills class, which is sponsored by the Building Industry Group Skilled Trades Employment Program, Edmond joined an unindentured worker program at Milwaukee’s Roman Electric Co. in July.

Despite having no prior experience in electrical work, Edmond said he found his new profession gratifying enough to believe he’ll stick with it for the long run.

Cleo Edmond

“I’m having fun, enjoy getting up and going to work in the morning, and my days go by quickly,” said Edmond, whose ELCS classes were primarily carpentry-oriented. “[Electrical is] pretty nice and a lot safer than the average guy would probably imagine.”

While waiting for his apprenticeship to start, Edmond is getting his feet wet working alongside Roman’s journeymen electricians. He said he was instantly struck by the amount of pride tradesmen have in their work.

“It’s their craft and their livelihood,” Edmond said. “The first job I was on, there were carpenters, ironworkers, steamfitters, painters and welders, and everyone was serious about [their trade].”

Edmond is in the early stages of his electrical career, but that sense of pride is already rubbing off on him.

“On our way down to Indianapolis, I pointed out St. Anthony [School of Milwaukee] to my wife,” Edmond said, referring to one of his first jobs for Roman. “I told her that we wired up the basement and put up the lights there.”

Edmond grew up in various residences on Milwaukee’s north side, at one time living above the church his family attended at North Teutonia and West North avenues.

Upon graduation from Rufus King High School, he took business-management classes at Milwaukee Area Technical College for one year before dropping out in 1996 to take a job selling cars.

“[School] kind of wore on me,” he said. “But I tell everybody that once you start, don’t leave, because it is super hard to go back.”

Edmond held numerous jobs over the next 10 years, primarily in furniture sales, but always longed to get out of the suit-and-tie sector.

After the furniture company he worked at for six years closed in May 2005, Edmond, a father of five, took a job as a school bus driver to support his family. That gig carried the added bonus of freeing up his summer to enroll in the BIG STEP training program.

“I have a lot of power tools at home, and I’m pretty handy,” Edmond said of his switch to construction. “I had thought about it but never really knew how to get into it. Then I found BIG STEP on the Internet, which offered entry-level training.”

Still, taking the plunge into the building trades was no minor decision for Edmond, who refinanced his home to pay bills this summer so he could concentrate fully on his studies.

“Like I told my classmates, I have $8,000 invested in this summer, so I can’t screw it up,” he said.

Edmond excelled in the ELCS classes, earning several certifications in areas such as OSHA 10, first aid, forklift and scaffolding. He was hired by Roman three hours after his last class ended, despite his lack of electrical background.

“There were some areas of construction I knew I didn’t want to do, such as pile driving or ironwork, due to all that noise,” said Edmond. “When you picture the guys on the beam, I didn’t want anything to do with that. But I was pretty much open to everything else.”

Edmond said he would encourage others looking for work to use BIG STEP, but only if they have a true passion for the trades.

“If you are just looking at the money, don’t do it because it will never be enough,” he said. “If you do that, then you are going to find yourself going to work. Like my father told me, ‘If you find a job you love, you’ll never have to go to work.’”

- Joe Grundle

On the horizon

Kaloti Enterprises Inc., New Berlin, is planning construction of a 200-room Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa. … BCI Leasing, Kenosha, is working with the Walworth Memorial Library on plans to construct an estimated $1.96 million, 15,000-square-foot library in Walworth. … Grumman-Butkus Associates, Wauwatosa, is providing consultant services for an estimated $4.18 million HVAC system replacement on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus. … MSA Professional Services Inc., Baraboo, is designing a new Town Hall and fire station for Pine Grove. … SDS Architects Inc., Eau Claire, is consulting on an estimated $5.22 million infrastructure maintenance project on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus. … Sentry Equipment Corp., Oconomowoc, is planning a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing and office building at Pabst Farms in Oconomowoc. … Venture Architects, Milwaukee, is working with the Division of State Facilities on an estimated $24.1 million expansion of the Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center Correctional Facility in Mauston.

On the move

Marshall Erdman & Associates Inc., Madison, is getting started on construction of a new corporate headquarters for the planning, design and construction firm. The new headquarters, at One Erdman Place in Madison's Old Sauk Trails Park, should begin housing employees in fall 2007. … Westphal & Co., an electrical contracting firm based in Janesville, is planning to move its headquarters to Madison. … Rawson Contractors Inc. and Franklin Trucking Inc. are moving their headquarters from Franklin to a new site on Commerce Center Drive in Lisbon. The companies should occupy the new offices in January.

Dotted Line

A burning question with... Wayne Groeschel project manager with Gilbane Building Co., Milwaukee Who is your favorite hero of fiction? "Inspector Clouseau — just because I like that type of movie. There's a kind of humor in his investigative style. He fumbles through it, but he gets there in the end."

Trierweiler Construction & Supply Inc., Marshfield, won a $2.98 million contract to construct improvements to the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison. … Buteyn-Peterson Construction, Sheboygan, took home a $2.9 million contract to construct a disposal site at the Winnebago County Sunnyview Landfill in Oshkosh. … R&R Wash Materials Inc., Ripon, won a $1.39 million contract for reconstruction and expansion work at the Fond du Lac County Airport in Fond du Lac. R&R also won a $1.06 million contract for storm-water greenway work in Sun Prairie. … C3T Construction Inc., Milwaukee, won a $2.36 million contract for renovations at the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Administration Medical Center in Milwaukee. … B.R. Amon & Sons Inc., Elkhorn, landed a $2.12 million contract for road construction work in Elkhorn. … River View Construction Inc., Wausau, will construct sewers, water mains and roads in Kronenwetter after winning a $1.95 million contract for the job. … Haas Sons Inc., Thorp, won a $1.82 million contract to improve County Line Road in Union. … Ptaschinski Construction Inc., Beaver Dam, will reconstruct Highway C in Sun Prairie after winning a $1.81 million contract for the job. … Wanasek Corp., Burlington, landed a $1.77 million contract for infrastructure work in an industrial park in Racine. … Rock Road Companies Inc., Janesville, secured a $1.61 million contract for sewer, water and street construction work in Janesville. … Walters Wrecking Inc., Brookfield, won a $1.46 million contract for asbestos abatement and demolition work on Walworth County-owned buildings in Elkhorn. … Milwaukee General Construction Co. Inc., Milwaukee, secured a $1.44 million contract for apron and road reconstruction work at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. … Northern Clearing Inc., Ashland, won a $1.42 million contract to construct a track and soccer field at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. … Bachmann Construction Co. Inc., Madison, took home a $1.41 million general-construction contract to remodel a building for the Waunakee Utilities. … C&W Trucking Co. of Bayfield, Bayfield, won a $1.29 million contract for utility and road construction in the Bradum Development in Red Cliff. … Burkhart Construction Corp., Butler, landed a $1.19 million contract for the second phase of building renovations at the Milwaukee County Historical Society in Milwaukee. … McCabe Construction Inc., Eau Claire, won a $1.12 million contract to construct utility improvements at the Cashton Business Park in Cashton. … Signature Group Inc., Milwaukee, secured a $1.07 million masonry contract for construction of a new law-enforcement center in Greenfield. … LaLonde Contractors Inc., Milwaukee, will construct improvements to the Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan after winning a $1.04 million contract for the job. … Heartland Construction Inc., Slinger, won a $1.03 million contract to construct a sanitary sewer on Bluemound Road in Pewaukee. … MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, was selected to design and build a 14,900-square-foot retail center and a 62,000-square-foot Pick 'n Save in West Milwaukee. … Riley Construction Co. Inc., Kenosha, was awarded construction-management services for a new Johnson Bank in Kenosha. Riley also was awarded general-construction services for a 550,000-square-foot distribution center in Renaissance Business Park in Sturtevant. … Scherrer Construction Co. Inc., Burlington, was selected as the construction manager for the Crossview Church project in Antioch, Ill.

Top dollar

The Selmer Co. Inc., Green Bay, won a $5.07 million contract to construct the new Dane County Juvenile Detention Center in Madison.

In memoriam

Dan Nagy, Hartland; Jim Wehr, New Berlin; and Mike Wraalstad, Dousman, died Aug. 14 when the plane they were in crashed near Chippewa Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Mich. Nagy, 30, was a principal with The Spancrete Group Inc., Waukesha. Wehr, 47, was the chief mechanic with Spancrete, and Wraalstad, 59, was the general manager of fleet operations for the company.

Your honor

Kelly Behnke, a design consultant with Wauwatosa-based S.J. Janis Co. Inc., won the Remodelor Salesperson of the Year Award from the Metropolitan Builders Association for her work in the last year. … Valders Stone and Marble Inc., Valders, won the Certificate of Honor Award from the Mine Safety and Health Administration for the company's achievement in reaching more than 203,000 man-hours of quarry operation without a fatal accident or permanent/total disability injury. … CR Meyer, Oshkosh, won the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Program Star Mobile Workforce Demonstration Award for the company's effort going above and beyond its legal obligations to protect workers' safety and health. As a result of the award, CR Meyer's Wisconsin job sites will be removed from OSHA's scheduled inspection list. … Bartelt Filo Inc., Menomonee Falls, won the Gold Award in the $150,000 to $300,000 residential remodeling category in the Metropolitan Builders Association's Sales & Marketing Achievement Awards. … M. A. Mortenson Company, Brookfield, won the Business of the Year Award from Waukesha County Executive Daniel Vrakas for the company's success in the community.

Off the clock

Vogel rides the waves

Pete Vogel remembers the whales.

Vogel (right) relaxes after the first leg of the Spirit of Adventure race around Admiralty Island in Alaska. Photo courtesy of Pete Vogel

The seas were calm off the coast of Juneau. The Alaskan night could only offer a red sky packed with stars at that time of year in 2004. And at that moment, the sailboats in the 200-mile Spirit of Adventure race around Admiralty Island weren’t doing much racing with the wind toned down to little more than a breeze.

But the humpback whales had something to say, and Vogel was listening.

“It kind of makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck,” said Vogel, the president of Vogel Bros. Building Co., Madison. “We were having unusually warm weather. There are snow-covered mountains shooting out of the water. You can hear the whales echoing down the fjords, and you have them breaching nearby.”

Vogel spent 12 days in Alaska for that race, which his team won as a huge underdog. But it was the experience - not the victory - that would draw him back at a moment’s notice.

“The whole race was a true adventure,” he said. “I’d do that race again in a heartbeat.”

If Vogel had the time, it’s hard to imagine him turning down an opportunity to sail. It’s been part of his life since he was a kid in Madison.

“I was always on the water when the wind was blowing,” he said.

When he moved to Florida for two years after high school, the sailing bug went with him. And when he moved to Washington, D.C., around 1979, sailing took over.

“That’s when I started sailing competitively with a friend of my brother’s through college,” he said. “I started crewing for him in a Jet 14 in Chesapeake Bay.”

Vogel mans the helm of the Surprise in the 2004 Spirit of Adventure race in Alaska. Photo courtesy of Pete Vogel

By 1983, Vogel was back in Madison going to college and keeping his sailing hobby alive racing his Laser, a one-man dinghy, for the Mendota Yacht Club. By 1984, he switched to M-20s, which are two-person inland scows, and he stuck with them for the next 15 years, traveling all around the Midwest for races.

In recent years, Vogel said, his nonsailing life grew busy enough that, other than the trip to Alaska, he’s put the sport mostly on hold. But that doesn’t mean it’s far from his thoughts.

“Sailing will always be a part of my life, and I plan at some point to spend a whole lot more time doing it,” he said. “It’s physical in terms of being athletic. There’s a great mental aspect in terms of the physics of it. There’s a strategic part in terms of the wind and optimizing the boat.

“It’s also a good place to kick back and relax.”

- Chris Thompson