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The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net
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Volume 15
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Number 10
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OCTOBER 2016
The family trees
Mixing work and fun
Lee and Debbie Evans pursue their love of trees at Sequoia National Forest when they were near there for a consulting conference.
MW3 Associates employees try not to take life too seriously – making work fun is all part of the deal.
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n Apr. 2006, Lee Evans and his wife, Debbie, were looking for something that would make use of their talents, their college degrees and give them the flexibility to be an active part of their children’s lives. Certified Arbor Care Inc. was born in an effort to fulfill those goals. Now, they are celebrating their 10th year in business. “We had small kids at the time and we wanted that flexibility,” Lee says. “It enabled Debbie to work from home and maintain a family environment, pay the bills, feed the family and be there for the kids’ activities. We keep that philosophy for our employees. We have been very fortunate and very blessed with great clients and great crews. We wouldn’t be here without the support of our family,
friends, clients and our team. “It’s important to us for our team to be there for their families, take the kids to school on the first day of school and such.” Lee, who has a bachelors of Science degree in forestry and Debbie, who has a bachelor’s of science degree in biology and a master’s of science degree in environmental science, both graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. They moved to Austin 15 years ago when Lee received a job offer with a landscape company while Debbie was finishing graduate school. About four years ago, the company, which has 24 employees, became HUB certified as a WBE. “Debbie is the only female Registered Consulting Arborist in the state of continued on Page 17
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W3 Associates, a general contractor that specializes in interior finish outs in Austin, believes its team members become part of the family. “We are looking for members of a family, not crickets!” laughs Denise Mellow, business development and project manager, who insists she is not mellow. Founded by construction manager Geoffrey Whittaker in 2014, the company has locations in Austin and San Antonio. The company offers deconstruction to remodeling services, construction management, and has in-house employees that facilitate construction from ceiling to floor. Products include architectural wood features, architectural glass and construction of office features. “Caring is how we get your project
completed within budget, on time, and without compromise to quality,” Mellow says. “Upon turning over the keys, we are invested in the tenants’ happiness and longevity of their space.” The team atmosphere of the company is fostered through monthly employee birthdays and anniversaries, as well as quarterly outings that include photo scavenger hunts, barbecues, video games, local community work and yearly fundraisers. “’We can so you Can’ is one of our recycling fundraisers that we do monthly,” Mellow says. “We recycle as much as we can from current projects each month and we pick one property manager to continued on Page 17
Stars in the sports world
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ustin ISD’s House Park was originally opened in 1939 along Shoal Creek, just down the hill from the old campus of Austin High School, as a 6,500-seat football stadium. Rather than build a stadium for each high school in its district, House Park now serves the district as a multi-purpose facility. In 2008, the natural grass surface was replaced with artificial turf, and in 2015, Hellas Construction Inc. replaced that turf with its Matrix® synthetic turf, manufactured and installed using Hellas’ Helix technology. “We are the first to have this ‘twisting’ technology,” says Miguel Gutierrez, Hellas communications and graphics specialist. “During the extrusion process, which takes place at Hellas Fibers, the fiber receives an application that makes it twist, like a helix. This ‘shape memory technology’ allows for the fibers to hold
the infill more securely in place to reduce ‘fly out’ or migration and bounce back to its original position.” Infill in a football field – or any athletic field – is an important part to the longevity of the field and more importantly, the safety of the athletes that use the field. “Many different schools use this field as their playing surface,” Gutierrez says. Interestingly, besides Austin, Anderson, McCallum and Lanier high schools, House Park is also the home of Austin Sol, Austin’s professional ultimate Frisbee team. Their inaugural season home opener was Apr. 9, 2016. House Park is also the home of Austin Yellow Jackets of the Independent Women’s Football League. Hellas provides a complete package with their projects, according to Hellas Construction was able to finish House Park Stadium with its trademark turf in just two weeks.
continued on Page 17