As many of you may already know I am active in ABC. You might wonder why I give so much time to ABC. Watch this video and it will give you a very good idea why.
I love the USA and all it stands for. Construction is a vital part of our American economy. I think workforce development is a key to making the construction industry better.
Let me preface the video by telling you that I am a college graduate and I have a daughter currently in college. So obviously I’m not opposed to going to college. I am opposed to sending everybody to college.
I can also tell you from personal experience that at Willmar Electric the compensation for the top level non-college graduates is higher than the college graduates.
If you have teenagers you need to watch this video. If you want to develop a better workforce you need to watch this video.
http://workforceunderconstruction.com/featured/success-in-the-new-economy-technical-skills-vs-college/
If you are interested in more check out this even shorter video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSRaglKr3lk
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Going Lean
This is going to be a very short blog. Many people at Willmar Electric have been studying and reading about subject of LEAN construction. The book we are focusing on is "2 Second Lean" by Paul A Akers.
It is a great book. To learn more check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pDcmUvtL6w
To learn a lot more check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPUmY8WnnpU
The website http://www.2secondlean.com/ has many more interesting videos that will get you fired up about continuous improvement.
It is a great book. To learn more check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pDcmUvtL6w
To learn a lot more check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPUmY8WnnpU
The website http://www.2secondlean.com/ has many more interesting videos that will get you fired up about continuous improvement.
Friday, January 10, 2014
A Tale of Two Basketball Players
My oldest daughter Anne has gone off to college. That means we only have two children living with us full time.
Mike is a junior in high school. Sara is a freshman in high school. They both play basketball and that means my wife, Sue, and I get to spend our winter in the stands watching a lot of basketball.
Mike was recently promoted to the varsity. It is dream come true for him. (As a former basketball player that had to quit for health reasons in the middle of my sophomore season I will admit it is a dream come true for me as well.)
Well done Mike you are awesome. I was told by the coach that it came from hard work and practice.
Sara is a very good basketball player but has had injury problems the last two years. It has cut into her playing time and made getting on the court hard this season. But she is gutting it out and has told me that “she has three years left” and we are sure she will get back to 100%.
As a parent it is fun to watch your children play basketball. Especially fun when they score points.
But Mike’s position as the new guy on the varsity and Sara’s health means we haven’t seen huge point totals out of either of them.
That leads into the next two stories about this basketball season.
A few weeks ago we saw Sara sitting in the stands watching Mike play and talking to a girl that is about 3 years younger than Sara. Later that day that same youngster posted on Social Media how awesome Sara was.
It isn’t anywhere close to the first time we have heard from somebody about what a huge positive impact Sara has had in the life of a young child. In fact we hear it a lot. Sara wants to grow up and be a 4th grader teacher. It seems like a perfect fit.
Over Christmas break we were told on multiple occasions about how a younger high school player was excited because something made him more like Mike Chapin. The player had brought up many examples of being like Mike. But younger player wasn’t talking about jump shots or rebounds. It wasn’t Mike’s basketball life that he wanted be like.
He wanted to “be like Mike” the person.
If Mike or Sara finishes their basketball careers with 1,000 points we won’t be as impressed with them as we are with these two stories.
(P.S. We are sure that the same stories are going on at Bethel but we don’t know those students parents and siblings.)
Mike and Sara are People Making a Difference for People!!!
Mike is a junior in high school. Sara is a freshman in high school. They both play basketball and that means my wife, Sue, and I get to spend our winter in the stands watching a lot of basketball.
Mike was recently promoted to the varsity. It is dream come true for him. (As a former basketball player that had to quit for health reasons in the middle of my sophomore season I will admit it is a dream come true for me as well.)
Well done Mike you are awesome. I was told by the coach that it came from hard work and practice.
Sara is a very good basketball player but has had injury problems the last two years. It has cut into her playing time and made getting on the court hard this season. But she is gutting it out and has told me that “she has three years left” and we are sure she will get back to 100%.
As a parent it is fun to watch your children play basketball. Especially fun when they score points.
But Mike’s position as the new guy on the varsity and Sara’s health means we haven’t seen huge point totals out of either of them.
That leads into the next two stories about this basketball season.
A few weeks ago we saw Sara sitting in the stands watching Mike play and talking to a girl that is about 3 years younger than Sara. Later that day that same youngster posted on Social Media how awesome Sara was.
It isn’t anywhere close to the first time we have heard from somebody about what a huge positive impact Sara has had in the life of a young child. In fact we hear it a lot. Sara wants to grow up and be a 4th grader teacher. It seems like a perfect fit.
Over Christmas break we were told on multiple occasions about how a younger high school player was excited because something made him more like Mike Chapin. The player had brought up many examples of being like Mike. But younger player wasn’t talking about jump shots or rebounds. It wasn’t Mike’s basketball life that he wanted be like.
He wanted to “be like Mike” the person.
If Mike or Sara finishes their basketball careers with 1,000 points we won’t be as impressed with them as we are with these two stories.
(P.S. We are sure that the same stories are going on at Bethel but we don’t know those students parents and siblings.)
Mike and Sara are People Making a Difference for People!!!
Monday, January 6, 2014
Elmo Chapin Day 2014
Today would have been my Grandpa’s 92st birthday. Every year I send out a tribute to him and encourage others to consider leaving their world better than they found it in honor of him. I call it Elmo Chapin day.
Last year I posted this note and I am reposting it today.
Here is how my Grandpa worked. He was a servant. He thought that you should always leave a room or any other place in better shape than you found it.
So if he saw a piece of garbage on the floor he didn’t wonder who put it there. He picked it up and threw it away. If he was leaving a room he turned off the lights when he left the room.
He wasn’t perfect.
At times he left you wondering how a person could so easily notice and take care of three scraps of paper in a public restroom but was unable to clean the stacks of useless piles of paper out of his own office. The temptation to ask him how a 6 year old magazine on a subject he could care less about wasn’t garbage just like the paper towel you picked up off the floor ten minutes ago came to me quite often. His office was always beyond a mess.
My Grandpa not only used this concept on the small level I have suggested above but he carried it out to a much larger level. Thing that he worked on in his life like give to and supporting missionaries at church, starting the alarm division at Willmar Electric, and helping widows or the underprivileged are larger examples of his wanting to make the world a better place. Giving people a hand up in the world made his day.
Finding a job or a place to live for somebody down on their luck was typical of Elmo Chapin.
Over the past few years of my declaring an Elmo Chapin day I have received several warm responses from people about how much they appreciated and loved my Grandpa. They are always fun to receive. I have also seen countless examples of people being like Elmo Chapin. That is even more fun. (Even when it was Dan Williams shutting off the lights on a room full of people leaving us in complete blackness as he left the room. He laughed and we reminded him that shutting off the lights when you leave a room applies only if you are the last to leave!)
But his concern for his fellow man and the world around us was something we all need to try to emulate.
A link to another post on “Elmo Chapin Day 2012” is below.
http://willmar-electric.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-birthday.html
Last year I posted this note and I am reposting it today.
Here is how my Grandpa worked. He was a servant. He thought that you should always leave a room or any other place in better shape than you found it.
So if he saw a piece of garbage on the floor he didn’t wonder who put it there. He picked it up and threw it away. If he was leaving a room he turned off the lights when he left the room.
He wasn’t perfect.
At times he left you wondering how a person could so easily notice and take care of three scraps of paper in a public restroom but was unable to clean the stacks of useless piles of paper out of his own office. The temptation to ask him how a 6 year old magazine on a subject he could care less about wasn’t garbage just like the paper towel you picked up off the floor ten minutes ago came to me quite often. His office was always beyond a mess.
My Grandpa not only used this concept on the small level I have suggested above but he carried it out to a much larger level. Thing that he worked on in his life like give to and supporting missionaries at church, starting the alarm division at Willmar Electric, and helping widows or the underprivileged are larger examples of his wanting to make the world a better place. Giving people a hand up in the world made his day.
Finding a job or a place to live for somebody down on their luck was typical of Elmo Chapin.
Over the past few years of my declaring an Elmo Chapin day I have received several warm responses from people about how much they appreciated and loved my Grandpa. They are always fun to receive. I have also seen countless examples of people being like Elmo Chapin. That is even more fun. (Even when it was Dan Williams shutting off the lights on a room full of people leaving us in complete blackness as he left the room. He laughed and we reminded him that shutting off the lights when you leave a room applies only if you are the last to leave!)
But his concern for his fellow man and the world around us was something we all need to try to emulate.
A link to another post on “Elmo Chapin Day 2012” is below.
http://willmar-electric.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-birthday.html
Friday, December 20, 2013
Merry Christmas and Happy All Year
It’s Christmas time. I am traveling for work this week and have come across many people that have wished me a Merry Christmas. Some say it to me first and at other times it is me that first uses the term Merry Christmas.
Christmas means many different things to people. Those differing views fall along a wide spectrum that has two extremes.
As the name implies Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Everybody at my house (including me) professes that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.
For many Christmas is a gift giving extravaganza. Commercialism runs high this time of the year. Stores are packed and people are celebrating the Holiday Season by spending like crazy and giving very little regard to the birth of our Savior.
Some people are offended when Christians interject religion into the Holiday Season. Many go to court just to keep others from offending them with their religious greetings and celebrations.
On the other extreme, many Christians are offended by the commercialization of Christmas.
So what is a guy to do? I do both. We give gifts, send out cards with Christian greetings and don't feel the least bit conflicted.
Why? How could I?
To me it is simple. I think Jesus should be celebrated every day. I am one person and don't believe that I should compartmentalize my life. So everything I do should involve my faith. But I also like to give gifts and enjoy time with family, so I also do the commercial parts of Christmas too.
None of it makes me feel like I have sold out my faith because from Dec 26, 2013 until Dec 24, 2014 I will still be celebrating the fact that Jesus came to earth in human form to die on a cross at Easter as payment for my sins only to rise from the dead three days later and after an additional 40 days he ascended back to Heaven.
Hopefully you will be celebrating our Savor with me 365 days of the year.
Merry Christmas and be happy all year long.
Christmas means many different things to people. Those differing views fall along a wide spectrum that has two extremes.
As the name implies Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Everybody at my house (including me) professes that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.
For many Christmas is a gift giving extravaganza. Commercialism runs high this time of the year. Stores are packed and people are celebrating the Holiday Season by spending like crazy and giving very little regard to the birth of our Savior.
Some people are offended when Christians interject religion into the Holiday Season. Many go to court just to keep others from offending them with their religious greetings and celebrations.
On the other extreme, many Christians are offended by the commercialization of Christmas.
So what is a guy to do? I do both. We give gifts, send out cards with Christian greetings and don't feel the least bit conflicted.
Why? How could I?
To me it is simple. I think Jesus should be celebrated every day. I am one person and don't believe that I should compartmentalize my life. So everything I do should involve my faith. But I also like to give gifts and enjoy time with family, so I also do the commercial parts of Christmas too.
None of it makes me feel like I have sold out my faith because from Dec 26, 2013 until Dec 24, 2014 I will still be celebrating the fact that Jesus came to earth in human form to die on a cross at Easter as payment for my sins only to rise from the dead three days later and after an additional 40 days he ascended back to Heaven.
Hopefully you will be celebrating our Savor with me 365 days of the year.
Merry Christmas and be happy all year long.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Lasting Memory
How long is your memory?
How long of an impression do my actions last for?
Last week I can across three incidents that give us the answer to these questions.
The first incident happened in Fairmont, NE. I was in this small town to watch my son play basketball. He is on the boys JV team and that means from time to time they play at a site away from the regular school. That day’s opponent was Fillmore Central. Their high school is in Geneva, NE but this game was in the neighboring town of Fairmont.
Fairmont used to have a high school of its own. But like many small towns in the Midwest it has been consolidated into a larger district with other small towns. Now it only has a middle school and a rack of pictures of people that went to Fairmont High. (These people all looked silly since the last class was in the early 90s. Lots of big hair and some mullets.)
When the game was over and we waited in the hallway to exit the building I noticed a plaque on the wall and went over to read it. The plaque talked about the 1981 addition and on it was a
list of contractors that did the work. Under electrical contractor was Willmar Electric.
I pointed it out to my wife and she said “aren’t you glad you didn’t make fun of the lighting.”
Other parents asked if I remembered the project. I had to tell them “no, in 1981 I was 12 and I didn’t know which projects Willmar Electric was doing, I was just glad my dad had work!”
The next day I interviewed a guy that wanted to come to work at Willmar Electric. 22 years ago he worked at Quantum Electric. We found 3 of his former co-workers and asked them what they thought of this guy. They all said he was a good worker and that we should interview him. They also relayed an embarrassing story about him from a Christmas Party over 23 years before.
That same afternoon Cory Lownsbury and I went to Kearney, NE to meet with a project owner that wanted to hire us to design and build a project with them. The representative of the owner had worked with us over 16 years ago on a project in Willmar, MN and wanted to work with us again.
They liked our work from 16 years ago, nearly 500 miles away and wanted to work with us.
Seems that what happened 16, 23 and 32 years ago can leave an impact on today.
Seems it is important that we live up to the core value of meeting the customers’ needs and treating others the way they want to be treated if we want to have future success.
How long of an impression do my actions last for?
Last week I can across three incidents that give us the answer to these questions.
The first incident happened in Fairmont, NE. I was in this small town to watch my son play basketball. He is on the boys JV team and that means from time to time they play at a site away from the regular school. That day’s opponent was Fillmore Central. Their high school is in Geneva, NE but this game was in the neighboring town of Fairmont.
Fairmont used to have a high school of its own. But like many small towns in the Midwest it has been consolidated into a larger district with other small towns. Now it only has a middle school and a rack of pictures of people that went to Fairmont High. (These people all looked silly since the last class was in the early 90s. Lots of big hair and some mullets.)
When the game was over and we waited in the hallway to exit the building I noticed a plaque on the wall and went over to read it. The plaque talked about the 1981 addition and on it was a
list of contractors that did the work. Under electrical contractor was Willmar Electric.
I pointed it out to my wife and she said “aren’t you glad you didn’t make fun of the lighting.”
Other parents asked if I remembered the project. I had to tell them “no, in 1981 I was 12 and I didn’t know which projects Willmar Electric was doing, I was just glad my dad had work!”
The next day I interviewed a guy that wanted to come to work at Willmar Electric. 22 years ago he worked at Quantum Electric. We found 3 of his former co-workers and asked them what they thought of this guy. They all said he was a good worker and that we should interview him. They also relayed an embarrassing story about him from a Christmas Party over 23 years before.
That same afternoon Cory Lownsbury and I went to Kearney, NE to meet with a project owner that wanted to hire us to design and build a project with them. The representative of the owner had worked with us over 16 years ago on a project in Willmar, MN and wanted to work with us again.
They liked our work from 16 years ago, nearly 500 miles away and wanted to work with us.
Seems that what happened 16, 23 and 32 years ago can leave an impact on today.
Seems it is important that we live up to the core value of meeting the customers’ needs and treating others the way they want to be treated if we want to have future success.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Goodbye Metrodome
This past weekend I had the chance to go to a Viking’s game with my father-in-law, my three children and my daughter’s boyfriend. The Vikings are having a lousy season and we live 7 hours away from the stadium but we wanted to go and see one last game inside the Metrodome before it gets torn down. (The Vikings are moving to new domed stadium in 2 years. In order to make room for the new dome the old one needs to torn down and the Vikings will play at the U of Minnesota the next two years.)
We have been season ticket holders for the Vikings for nearly 30 years. During that time we went to countless games and formed many memories. Like most things in life some of the memories are glorious, such as playoff wins and others heartbreaking, such as playoff loses. As we walked into the Dome and sat down I reflected on a lot of those memories. As the game went on I continued to reflect. It seems quite sappy but events from this Sunday’s games continually brought me to past memories.
When the Bears kicker lined up to kick a field goal I thought about Gary Andersen’s big miss against the Falcons. When a Bears defender got called for a horse collar tackle I recalled how on that exact spot Joey Browner broke the leg of a Bronco Running Back with the same type of tackle before horse collar tackles were illegal.
The Metrodome was built in the early 1980’s opening for the Twins in April of 1982. The cost of the project was $55 million. The Viking’s new home is set to cost $975 million (associated infrastructure cost will push the cost over $1 billion). The Metrodome is paid for.
Debt free.
I don’t intend to make this blog a debate on whether or not the Metrodome should be replaced or not. The Metrodome has it flaws and the Vikings think they either need a new home or they need to move to a new city. The votes have been cast and as of today the construction is underway on the new stadium.
The ship has sailed.
But one thing we can say looking back is that the Metrodome, at least by stadium standards, has served us well and has been a bargain. Hopefully in 30 years we can says the same thing about the new stadium.
To be thrifty is to use resources wisely. Looking back I think nearly everybody will agree that the Metrodome is a great example of thriftiness. It was used constantly for thousands of events throughout its history and serve long after it was paid for.
Goodbye Metrodome. Thanks for the memories.
We have been season ticket holders for the Vikings for nearly 30 years. During that time we went to countless games and formed many memories. Like most things in life some of the memories are glorious, such as playoff wins and others heartbreaking, such as playoff loses. As we walked into the Dome and sat down I reflected on a lot of those memories. As the game went on I continued to reflect. It seems quite sappy but events from this Sunday’s games continually brought me to past memories.
When the Bears kicker lined up to kick a field goal I thought about Gary Andersen’s big miss against the Falcons. When a Bears defender got called for a horse collar tackle I recalled how on that exact spot Joey Browner broke the leg of a Bronco Running Back with the same type of tackle before horse collar tackles were illegal.
The Metrodome was built in the early 1980’s opening for the Twins in April of 1982. The cost of the project was $55 million. The Viking’s new home is set to cost $975 million (associated infrastructure cost will push the cost over $1 billion). The Metrodome is paid for.
Debt free.
I don’t intend to make this blog a debate on whether or not the Metrodome should be replaced or not. The Metrodome has it flaws and the Vikings think they either need a new home or they need to move to a new city. The votes have been cast and as of today the construction is underway on the new stadium.
The ship has sailed.
But one thing we can say looking back is that the Metrodome, at least by stadium standards, has served us well and has been a bargain. Hopefully in 30 years we can says the same thing about the new stadium.
To be thrifty is to use resources wisely. Looking back I think nearly everybody will agree that the Metrodome is a great example of thriftiness. It was used constantly for thousands of events throughout its history and serve long after it was paid for.
Goodbye Metrodome. Thanks for the memories.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)