San Antonio Construction News January 2021 by Construction News

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A fiery legacy

Boring through Texas

A-1 Fire & Safety second and third generation L-R: Clint and Jerry Williams

The JT Underground Directional Drilling & Utility Construction Inc. team

hile paying his way through college at Texas A&M, Jerry Williams walked up and down the street knocking on doors looking for work until he came upon a fire extinguisher place whose owner said he could work for him that summer. By the end of the summer, that company closed its doors. Jerry was in the fire extinguisher business and has been ever since. In January 1971, Williams went out on his own and started A-1 Fire & Safety. Starting out, he worked out of a barn. Williams’ father, Ray, joined Jerry after retiring from civil service work. The two later joined forces as partners providing fire safety services to the construction industry and many residents of San Antonio. A truly family-owned business, Jerry’s

ou never know what a good day on the job will bring. For Cody and Cecily Bryom, a good day on the job opened the door for a new adventure. While running equipment from one neighborhood to another as a residential excavation contractor, Cody was flagged down and asked to do a project for J.W. Marriott. Little did the Byroms know at the time that project would lead to more commercial work. “We were already in residential excavation, but it pushed us to the commercial side. We just saw an opportunity and decided to take a leap of faith,” says Cecily. As a result, Cecily Bryom started River City Excavation in 2008. With Cody and Nathan Roberson’s help, Cecily has grown River City Excavation into a successful commercial excavation company. “Our very first customer at the J.W. Marriott, DSI – Dynamic Systems Inc., is still one of our customers,” adds

son, Clint Williams, began working at the family business at a very young age. He worked throughout his school years, helping during the summers and after school. “I’ve been here I guess since I could walk. This was one of my first weekend, summer, holiday jobs – working with dad filling fire extinguishers, scrapping out old fire extinguishers, punching out tags, toting fire extinguishers around apartment complexes or whatever needed to be done,” recalls Clint. During the company’s 50-year history, the company expanded with the purchase of Cylinder Maintenance over 20 years ago, Fire King and most recently, Uvalde Fire Equipment just last year. The company purchased their curcontinued on Page 18

hen directional drilling first came out, Todd Busch was working in Illinois as general labor. Soon he was running the first bore crew in the Chicago area. A few years later, says Busch, he started his own company. “Directional drilling was a relatively new industry then and I was pretty good at. I rolled the dice and started my own business doing directional drilling.” That was 1998. In 1999, Busch moved his company, JT Underground Directional Drilling & Utility Construction Inc., to Texas, setting up shop in Schertz, TX. It is a family-owned and operated business whose team believes in hard work and shovel know- how. The JT team, while specialized in directional drilling in both dirt and rock, of-

fers excavation services to local utilities and contractors whether it be hand digging, mini excavation work or mechanical trenching in San Antonio and its surrounding counties. “Our coverage area is basically Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe Counties. Although we are not opposed to going anywhere, we have occasionally done work out towards the border, and we do a few jobs in Austin every year,” states Busch. Busch and his team are skilled in many areas of directional drilling from backyard installations to long haul fiber to steel gas main placement. “We can guide and steer our bore pads under utilities, around utilities and over utilities. Instead of open cutting in a road, highway continued on Page 18

Growing and evolving

The River City Excavation team L-R: Cecily and Cody Bryom and Nathan Roberson

Cecily. “Together we have grown and evolved together.” Having experience as a residential excavation contractor, Triple C Construction, the transition into the commercial market proved to be more challenging, yet more rewarding. “There is a lot more that goes into commercial excavation from dealing with customers and general contractors to just the paperwork, from insurances to getting the job done at the end of the day. It is a lot more intense. What you really worry about on the residential side is production and labor. On the commercial side, I feel like we worry more about paperwork more than we do the actual labor side. The labor side is the easy part and the fun part,” says Roberson. According to Cody, a big part of River City’s business is working with union, mechanical, plumbing and electrical contractors. “For instance, your major mecontinued on Page 18

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

The spirit of giving

t sounds like a scene from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas… “It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.” Despite the craziness of this year and with so many things still up in the air from jobs to projects, schooling for our kids to just daily life, the Construct A Kid’s Christmas Gala really did happen. Granted, it was virtually, and not by means of a gala, but happen it did. And once again, it was truly evident that the construction industry did not forget what Construct A Kid’s Christmas is about. Year after year, the construction industry has opened their hearts and come together to bring joy to the foster children in the San Antonio area and this year was no different. While we did not

gather at a nice venue to mingle with our friends and colleagues, hundreds watched live the online drawing to see who would be the big winner of the grand gala raffle which was revamped to the Bling & Bang raffle and the ever-popular wheelbarrow raffle. The drawing took place at 12 noon, Dec. 4 at the offices the Mechanical & Sheet Metal Contractors of San Antonio (MCA-SMACNA). Bling & Bang winner, Christi Pellerin, Urban Heating & Air Conditioning, won the stunning pair of 2-ctw, round brilliant diamond earrings AND her choice of a Barrett 82A1 50BMG with Leupold Mark 5 scope or a 3-gun bundle which includes Benelli 828U 12ga over-under shotgun, Christensen Arms MPR 6.5PRC rifle and a Staccato STI XL 2011 pistol.

K-W Construction was this year’s wheelbarrow raffle winner, which was donated by the American Subcontractors Association (ASA) San Antonio Board of Directors. It is overflowing with delicious drinks, tasty treats, awesome games PLUS, $1,000 in SPEC’s gift cards and over $400 in gift certificates for local stores and restaurants! The fun did not stop with the noon live drawings. Thousands continued to participate in the online silent auction. Over 150 items were available for eager shoppers to participate throughout the remainder of the workday. The auction closed at 6pm with great success and will definitely make a brighter and happier Christmas for so many of the children in the Bexar County Foster and Child Protective Services pro-

grams. Thank you all for participating. As a result of the construction community’s generosity and desire to donate items for the online silent auction, the purchase of the Bling & Bang raffle tickets and wheelbarrow raffle tickets, the gala committee was able to present a check in the amount of $25,000 to the Friends of the Bexar County Child Welfare Board at the toy drive the following morning. The committee will also be presenting a check to CASA. Next year will be the 21st Annual Construct A Kid’s Christmas Gala. As plans are already underway to make next year’s an event you won’t want to miss, we look forward to gathering together to embrace the spirit of Christmas. Mark your calendars for Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. -cmw continued on Page 3

LC Mosel

Nick Metcalf and Buddy Doebbler during the live drawing of Bling & Bang and wheelbarrow raffles.

Cokinos Young

TDIndustries

Nick Metcalf draws the winning ticket for the Bling & Bang raffle.

You Name It Specialties

Wheelbarrow raffle winner, K-W Construction Inc.

Comfort Air Engineering

Debra Hannasch, Fire Alarm Control Systems Inc – San Antonio and ASA President, draws the winning ticket for the wheelbarrow raffle.

Connally Law

Structure Tone Southwest

Beyer Plumbing

River City Excavation

Niznik Concrete Contractors

Cavalry Construction & Restoration

ABC South Texas

San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Christi Pellerin, Urban Heating & Air Conditioning, Bling & Bang raffle winner

ASA San Antonio

CFC Engineering

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HCA de SA

Quality Power Distribution

Gunn Fleet & Commercial

Leonard Contracting

The Fetzer Companies Inc.

Quality Fence & Welding

KCM Cabinets Inc.

Bartlett Cocke General Contractors

A&B Automatic Doors of Texas – Diamond Sponsor

Central Builders Inc.

Wilborn Steel

Construction News

Ridout Barrett

ESC Safety Consultants

MCA-SMACNA

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

COVID doesn’t stop Santa

he big hearts of the construction industry gave Santa a helping hand again this year. Knowing that so many have been affected by the pandemic of 2020, our construction community brought boxes upon boxes of unwrapped toys to the Construct A Kid’s Christmas (CAKC) Toy Drive Dec. 4 held at the Construction News office. While the CAKC Toy Drive did not have the added benefit of a toy collection from the CAKC Gala that is typically held

the night before, construction companies throughout the city brought this year’s collection total to 919 toys. Since 2000, CAKC’s very first toy drive, the total gifts and toys collected is 30,471. None of this would be possible without the overflowing support from the construction industry. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who donated time and effort to help bring Christmas cheer and happiness to the many children in the Bexar County foster care sys-

tem including Urban Concrete Contractors and CBS Rentals. Since the very first toy drive 21 years ago, Urban Concrete Contractors has provided the truck and driver that delivers the toys from the toy drive to Child Protective Services, and CBS Rentals has provided the scissor lifts that hang the toy drive banner outside the Construction News office. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. – cmw continued on Page 5

Alterman Inc.

Quality Fence & Welding

CAKC present $25,000 check

Acme Brick

Wilborn Steel Co. Ltd.

Niznik Enterprises

San Antonio Construction News â&#x20AC;˘ JAN 2021

A&B Automatic Door

Page 5

Voluteers wait for more toys

United Tools & Fastener

Christmas gathering

While MK Marlow Acoustics & Drywall did not have a big Christmas party this year. They still got together for a small pre-fajita Christmas lunch on Dec. 11 at the MK Marlow offices. -cmw

Truck full of toys

Cavalry Construction & Restoration

Les Moynahan, NECA Executive Director, gives donation check to Buddy Doebbler

Buddy Doebbler speaks with KENS5-TV

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

ACCOUNTING

BONDING What is Work-in-Progress Report and Why is it so Important for a Construction Contractor?

New Lease Accounting Rules: What They Are and How they Affect Contractors

Eric Schmalz, Principal Schmalz & Associates Surety Bonding Liberty Hill, TX

Michael Z. Moore, CPA, CCIFP Ridout, Barrett & Co., P.C. San Antonio/Austin, TX

f you are a construction contractor engaging in projects with duration over 12-months, I would highly recommend discussing the merits of using the percentageof-completion method of accounting with your CPA. Percentage of completion is considered the most accurate method for matching the revenue created through billings and the costs created by work performed. The foundation of this method of accounting is the comparison of total job cost versus cost to date as the project progresses. And we see this information presented on work-in-progress reporting. Evaluating your cost incurred against your total cost estimate on a regular basis through the life of a project can be a powerful management tool. These reports allow owners, estimators, and project managers to periodically assess progress and profitability and attempt to stay out in front of problems. Even if you don’t view work-in-progress reports as important, I can promise you that your bonding and banking companies do! A bond underwriter is taught to track profits by project for any deterioration or fade. It is likely that your banking and bonding will require interim financial reports including work-in-progress schedules. They will want to track your progress and remain confident the management of the construction company is periodically appraising project performance and updating cost estimates. Below I will lay out the key elements that form the work-in-progress reports and, ultimately, your percentage of completion financial reports: 1. Total Contract Price. Pretty straightforward, your total contract value will include all direct cost, profit and overhead on a project. 2. Estimated Total Cost. This will include every dollar of direct labor and material expense it will take to complete the project. By adding your total estimated cost and estimated profit together we have our total contract price. 3. Cost to Date. Running total of costs incurred to date on your project. 4. Billed to Date. Running total of the amount billed to date on your project. Using these four project values, we can compute the various measures of a project in progress listed below and gain some insight into the accuracy of our estimates and management of project cash flow. Percent Complete. Calculated by dividing Total Cost by Cost to Date. A good gauge of overall progress. Profit Earned to Date. Calculated by applying your percent complete against total profit. So, if you have incurred 50% of total estimated cost, you

have thereby ‘earned’ 50% of your total estimated profit. Revenues Earned to Date. Your Cost incurred to Date + Profit earned to Date = revenue earned to date. This is important as we consider what you have earned against what you’ve actually billed. Billings-In-Excess of Earned Revenues. Also known as “over-billings”, occur when Billings to Date exceed Earned Revenues to Date. Over-billings also show up on your balance sheet as a liability entry as it is technically not earned. Many bond companies view projects in a modest over-billed state to be healthy as the contractor has the potential to extract additional unearned cash flow from an owner or G.C. Earned Revenue in Excess of Billings. Also known as “under-billings”, occur when Earned Revenues to Date exceed Billings to Date. As with Over-billings, the Under-billings also appear as a balance sheet entry, on the asset side as you’ve incurred cost for which you haven’t billed. While under-billing may technically improve your working capital calculation as an asset for accounting purposes, your bond company may view systemic under-billings as evidence of poor billing practices and cash-flow management. Under-billings create an opportunity for an owner or G.C. to benefit from you “financing” the work you’ve performed! I know this is boring stuff when you’re a construction contractor used to building and action! But there is real value in reviewing project costs monthly and producing a work-in-progress report as part of your quarterly financial package. Schmalz & Associates is an agency exclusively supporting contractors bonding needs. Eric Schmalz was an underwriter and manager for over 15 years working for Top 10 surety companies and now helps his contractor clients establish and maximize their bonding. Please call 512-640-6444, email eric@schmalzsurety.com or visit the website at www. schmalzsurety.com We’d love to help!

he construction industry is an assetintensive industry with prevalent and routine leasing activities that are recorded as either a capital or operating lease under the existing lease accounting rules. Under current guidance, if your leases do not qualify as capital leases, they are considered operating leases and the monthly payments are recorded as rent expense. The core principle of the new lease accounting standard is that any leases that are over twelve months in duration will need to be presented on the company’s balance sheet as a rightof-use (ROU) asset and a lease liability, either as a finance or operating lease. The finance lease liability under the new standard is treated similarly to the capital lease liability under the old standard, but it is the change in treatment of the operating leases that the construction industry should be concerned about. The addition of the operating lease liabilities on the balance sheet could seriously affect the company’s working capital, bonding capacity and debt covenants. Working capital (current assets less current liabilities) shows a contractor’s ability to service upcoming obligations and is one of the most critical components of the financial statements, and is a major factor in the determination of the contractor’s bonding capacity. Under the new leasing standard working capital will decrease as the next twelve-month’s worth of operating lease payments are added to current liabilities, and the leased asset will be added to noncurrent assets. Bank loans that require you to maintain certain financial ratios could be negatively impacted by the new lease standard as well. For example, a maximum debt to equity ratio could pass under the old standards, but fail after the operating leases are added to the balance sheet as liabilities. The new lease standard originally issued in 2016 was set to be effective for the 2021 calendar year for private and notfor profit companies, but in June of 2020, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that provided an effective date deferral to the 2022 calendar year for private companies that have not yet issued their financial statements reflecting the adoption of the guidance. The deferral was intended to provide near-term relief for entities for whom the lease adoption was imminent. The accounting standard update pushes the new standard’s effective date back a year to 2022 giving private companies another year to analyze their leasing activities and to adopt the new guidance in their financial statements.

The FASB issued the new standard in an effort to improve lease accounting by providing a more faithful representation of a lessee’s rights and obligations arising from leases; by providing fewer opportunities for organizations to structure leasing transactions to achieve a particular outcome on the balance sheet; by improving understanding and comparability of lessee’s financial statements; and by providing users of financial statements with additional information about lessors’ leasing activities and lessors’ exposure to credit and asset risk as a result of leasing. If your company has not adopted and made the transition to the new lease accounting standard than I suggest you contact your CPA as soon as possible for help analyzing your leases against the new lease standard and the affect it will have on your balance sheet and financial statements as a whole. Your CPA will also be able to help explain the changes and their affects to the users of the financial statements such as your bonding agent and banker. At first glance, adoption of the new lease standard seems relatively straightforward but as many public companies (who already adopted the standard) can attest, adopting the new lease standard can be quite complex and time-consuming, with many important nuances that can affect the amounts initially recorded. I recommend you start having conversations with your bonding agent and banker as soon as possible to see how they are addressing the change in the lease accounting standards and its affect on their internal processes and calculations, and to express your concern on how the new lease standard could potentially affect your bonding capacity and bank covenants even though you have not made any major changes to your operations. Early communication with these parties is key to make sure everyone is on the same page and to eliminate any potential surprises when you issue your year-end financial statements that reflect the adoption of the new lease standards. Michael Moore, CPA, CCIFP has more than 12 years of experience in public accounting specifically servicing the construction industry across Texas and holds the Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional(CCIFP) designation from the Construction Financial Managers Association(CFMA). Michael joined Ridout, Barrett & Co., P.C. in 2015 and became a partner with the firm in January 2020. Ridout, Barrett & Co., P.C. has been providing professional accounting, tax and business advisory services to the South and Central Texas construction industry for over 34 years. Visit www.ridoutbarrett.com for additional information about Ridout, Barrett & Co., P.C. and the services we offer.

San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

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OSHA

LEGAL Know Your Rights: Limitations and the Discovery Rule

Construction Cranes and Qualified Riggers Joann Natarajan Compliance Assistance Specialist OSHA Austin, TX

James Richards, Attornet at Law Cokinos | Young PC Austin, San Antonio, DFW, Houston,TX

very construction professional should know two key legal deadlines: 1) the statute of limitations and 2) the statute of repose. The statute of limitations is a law that prevents the initiation of a lawsuit after a certain period of time has passed. While different causes of action are subject to different limitations periods, the period of time is generally between one and four years. The statute of limitations begins to accrue on the date the injury occurred. For example, if the claim involved allegations of defective construction, the limitations period would begin to accrue on the date the defective work occurred. Importantly, however, a legal principal known as the discovery rule can extend the initiation of the limitations period to the date the injury or condition is discovered. On the other hand, the statute of repose is the outer-most period of time one can bring a lawsuit, regardless of when the injury is discovered. For construction defect based disputes, this period of time is currently 10 years from substantial completion of a project (although legislation has been proposed in recent years to shorten this period of time). While substantial completion may be the date a certificate of occupancy is issued, this is not an absolute rule. Therefore, if a defective condition is discovered, even for the first time, 11 years after substantial completion, there will be few avenues that would justify a legal action. Accordingly, owners, design professionals, and contractors must pay specific attention to when the injury was discovered as well as when substantial completion occurred in order to best protect their rights. The most fact intensive issue in this process is often determining when the limitations period began to accrue. We recently passed the 27th anniversary of a significant case regarding the limitations period for construction defect claims in Texas. In Bayou Bend Towers Council of CoOwners v. Manhattan Construction Co., 866 S.W.2d 740 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, writ denied) the Court held that even if the cause of a leak was not known, the limitations period begins to accrue at the time the nature of the injury should have been discovered through the use of reasonable diligence.

Bayou Bend Towers is a condominium regime in Houston, Texas that was substantially completed in 1981. The coowners of the condominium were aware of leaks as early as 1982 and retained experts to detect the source of the leaks and repair them. Although the co-owners claim they did not discover the cause of the leaks until 1990, the Court held that they had been on notice since the discovery of the actual leak, not the cause of the leak. At the point of discovery of the injury (in this case the leaks), the discovery rule imposes a duty to exercise reasonable diligence and undertake further inquiry to discover the extent and nature of the injury. It is irrelevant if corporate officers change and later learn of the injury. Although certain defenses and the type of project (public vs. private) can alter the limitations timeline, the Bayou Bend case continues to highlight the importance of closely examining at what date the injury occurred for purposes of calculating the limitations period. Therefore, at the outset of any legal matter, it is important to complete the following check-list to best protect your rights: • When was the project substantially complete? • When was the alleged injury (condition) discovered? • Is there a way the claimant should have been on notice of the injury (condition) prior to the date they alleged it was discovered? While the above list is only part of a good legal strategy, it involves a series of questions every construction professional should know. Timing is everything in construction, both during and after a project.

hen is a qualified rigger required? Employers must use qualified riggers during hoisting activities for assembly and disassembly work (1926.1404(r)(1)). Additionally, qualified riggers are required whenever workers are within the fall zone and hooking, unhooking, or guiding a load, or doing the initial connection of a load to a component or structure (1926.1425(c)). Who can be a qualified rigger? A qualified rigger is a rigger who meets the criteria for a qualified person. Employers must determine whether a person is qualified to perform specific rigging tasks. Each qualified rigger may have different credentials or experience. A qualified rigger is a person that: • possesses a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or • has extensive knowledge, training, and experience, and • can successfully demonstrate the ability to solve problems related to rigging loads. The person designated as the qualified rigger must have the ability to properly rig the load for a particular job. It does not mean that a rigger must be qualified to do every type of rigging job. Each load that requires rigging has unique properties that can range from the simple to the complex. For example, a rigger may have extensive experience in rigging structural components and other equipment to support specific construction activities. Such experience may have been gained over many years. How-

ever, this experience does not automatically qualify the rigger to rig unstable, unusually heavy, or eccentric loads that may require a tandem lift, multiple-lifts, or use of custom rigging equipment. In essence, employers must make sure the person can do the rigging work needed for the exact types of loads and lifts for a particular job with the equipment and rigging that will be used for that job. Do qualified riggers have to be trained or certified by an accredited organization or assessed by a third party? No. Riggers do not have to be certified by an accredited organization or assessed by a third party. Employers may choose to use a third party entity to assess the qualifications of the rigger candidate, but they are not required to do so. Does a certified operator also meet the requirements of a qualified rigger? A certified operator does not necessarily meet the requirements of a qualified rigger. Determining whether a person is a qualified rigger is based on the nature of the load, lift, and equipment used to hoist that load plus that person’s knowledge and experience. A certified/ qualified operator may meet the requirements of a qualified rigger, depending on the operator’s knowledge and experience with rigging. natarajan.joann@dol.gov 512-374-0271 x232

Golfing at Sonterra

James Richards is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and regularly represents contractors, owners, individuals, and related professionals throughout the State of Texas. James is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with Highest Honors (summa cum laude) and SMU Dedman School of Law, cum laude.

The Texas Air Conditioning Contractors Association (TACCA) Greater San Antonio Chapter hosted their 30th Annual Golf Tournament on Nov.16 at Sonterra. The Century A/C Supply team L-R: Don Rackler, Jon Wayne; Charlie Gallagher and Stephen Abila, Century A/C Supply and Douglas Morris, Air Tech were the tournament’s first place winners. -cmw

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Michael D. Rosenberg President Rosenberg Indoor Comfort San Antonio, TX

hey say you don’t know what it is like to walk in someone’s shoes until you do it yourself. For Michael Rosenberg, he thought it was best to do just that before he committed to his life’s path. Luckily, the construction industry was the path for him. Tell me about Michael Rosenberg. Where were you born? Where did you grow up? I was born in Madison, WI but soon after, we moved with my father’s job to upstate New York. My parents moved the family back to San Antonio when I was two years old and I have lived here for the last 46 years, except for the years that I spent at college in Austin. Where in San Antonio did you grow up? What was it like growing up there? I grew up living in Hidden Creek, on the northwest side of town. Our neighbors were all very close, and I enjoyed getting together with them as a kid. We are still in contact with some of our old neighbors from 35 years ago.

San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Tell me about your parents. What did your parents do for a living? What was your family life like? My parents both grew up in San Antonio. My father is a registered professional engineer with an electrical engineering degree from UT. While in Wisconsin and later in upstate New York, he was the General Manager of a telecommunications wire and cable manufacturing company. In 1974, he had an opportunity to move back home to San Antonio and work for a heating and air conditioning business. My father was responsible for sales and engineering. In 1986, He decided he was ready to venture out on his own. Along with my mom, they started their first heating and air conditioning company, Metro-Tech Service Company. They sold that company to a consolidator, Blue Dot Services, in 1998 before partnering with me and our service manager to start Rosenberg Indoor Comfort. What were your interests growing up? I would say my biggest interest growing up was running. I started to run track in elementary school and continued through high school. I ran both sprint events and the sprint relay in high school. I always enjoyed practicing and trying to get better. I was fortunate enough to compete in the Junior Olympics in Syracuse, NY. What was competing in the Junior Olympics like? How did you do? The best part was participating in the opening ceremonies and competing against some really fast kids. There were athletes from all over the United States. How did you do? I ran the sprint relay with three other guys from high schools from all over San Antonio. We did not win, but the stiff competition really helped push me to work harder to get better. Tell me about your education. Where did you go to school? Did you go to college? If so, where? Did you get a degree? What was college life like? I graduated from Clark High School in 1990. Then I attended the University of Texas in Austin where I received my Bachelor’s Degree in business management. College was a really good experience for me. I joined the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity where I met a lot of great people. I had a really good time in college, and I got to experience one of the greatest cities in the US.

L-R: Michael Rosenberg with his sons, Evan and Cole, and wife Susan

What was your introduction to the construction industry? My experience in this industry started when I was in high school. During the summer, I would go to work with my parents. I did tasks like sweeping the warehouse and filing. I did whatever was asked of me, and I learned a lot about how an air conditioning company worked. I entered into the family busi-

The Rosenberg Indoor Comfort team L-R: Tom Hull, Betsy and Lee Rosenberg and Michael Rosenberg

ness full-time following my graduation from college in 1994. My first job was purchasing manager. What did you do before getting into the family business? I went to work right out of college. The only job that I had other than working for the family business was working at Super Salads during one summer in high school. I was a salad bar re-stocker and dish washer. What was it like working for them? I actually enjoyed going to work. I remember having a good boss at Super Salads. How long did you work there? I worked at Super Salads for one summer. Did you always know you would join the family business? During my freshman year of college, I wanted to be a doctor. That summer I wanted to get a taste of what a doctor deals with in a hospital environment. A family friend allowed me to follow him one day on his rounds. That one day talked me out of wanting to be a doctor. I have so much respect for doctors and what they have to deal with. My sophomore year, I changed my major to business and I asked my parents if they would be interested in having me in the family business if I went that route. The answer was a resounding yes! What were the challenges of taking over the family business? How long did you work for the family business before you took the reins? What was the first year(s) like?

San Antonio

I took over as President when we started Rosenberg Indoor Comfort in March 2003. It was a little scary thinking that I would be in the front office instead of my dad. Ultimately, the transition went fine due to the great team we have and the support and teaching from my parents. Are you married? Do you have any children? I have been married for 14-1/2 years to Susan. She is a college professor at UTSA teaching in the College of Liberal Arts. Her main focus is classics and archaeology. We have two kids and a dog. Our oldest son, Cole, is in the 7th grade at Hobby Middle School, while our youngest son, Evan, is in the 3rd grade and attends Blattmon Elementary School. My kids are both into Mindcraft and playing video games. What are your hobbies and interests outside of work? I really enjoy traveling, especially to Colorado each year. I also enjoy traveling to places in Europe, especially Italy. My main hobby outside of work is spending time with my family and friends. What do you do for fun? I enjoy watching movies and riding bicycles with my kids outside. What is the greatest part of your job? The hardest part of your job? The best part of my job is making our customers happy! It is the best feeling when we receive a review from a client that is really happy with our work. The hardest part of my job is time management. I have so many things that I want to accomplish, and each day goes by so quickly. -cmw

CONSTRUCTION NEWS

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Page 9

Spreading joy

Industry FOLKS Maria Mendez

Machine Shop Service Tech

HOLT CAT

San Antonio, TX

The proud team of Capco General Contractors ready their Angel Tree donations for delivery to the Salvation Army.

apco General Contractors wrapped up their annual Angel Tree toy drive benefiting the Salvation Army at the beginning of December. The Angel Tree program, started in 1979 to bring the community together to share the Christmas spirit with the less fortunate, aims to ensure that all of San Antonio’s children have a gift underneath their tree on Christmas morning. For the Capco team, this has become an honored tradition since 2017. “It is so heartwarming watching our office fill with toys for these children each year. We knew this year would be tough with the pandemic, but everyone was so eager to help. I was amazed to see the angels get adopted even quicker than in

years past,” says Capco Marketing Manager Jennifer Danuff. This year, Capco’s goal was to adopt 100 angels through the help of employees, clients, suppliers and subcontractors. With 2020 so heavily impacted by COVID-19, it was more important than ever this holiday season to help the increasing number of those in need. Fortunately, the pandemic did not stop the team from reaching their goal. In fact, half of the angels got adopted within the first week of the month-long fundraiser. Next year, Capco hopes to increase their goal, spreading the joy of the holidays to as many children as possible. -cmw

edication, determination and a drive to learn all things construction are what led San Antonio native, Maria Mendez, to successfully complete the HOLT student internship program and accept a full-time position at HOLT CAT after graduation. Although Mendez works in a male-dominated industry, her interest inspired her to follow in the steps of close family friends who are mechanics she grew up admiring. Today, she works as a San Antonio Machine Shop Service Technician 3 and is a highly respected team member who carefully rebuilds, repairs and maintains Caterpillar equipment. As a Shop Service Technician 3, her job is to thoroughly inspect machines for any issues and provide preventative maintenance as needed. She evaluates the machines and provides customers with her assessment. She completes the repairs and maintenance needed to get the machine in condition to operate. HOLT CAT is one of San Antonio’s oldest businesses that rents and sells construction equipment and parts. The HOLT student internship program is designed to prepare high school students for careers in a variety of fields to include diesel engine and heavy equipment repair and maintenance, welding, manufacturing, finance, supply chain, business and information technology. During their second semester, participating high

school juniors are brought on as parttime, paid employees and rotate through different shops and business units to get an understanding of the various types of operations. Students who demonstrate exceptional performance and embody the values of HOLT CAT are invited to continue their internship through the summer and during their senior year, with the goal of coming on board as a fulltime employee after graduation. The internship program has expanded to 11 school partnerships throughout Texas, with the goal of providing career opportunities for students in the communities HOLT serves. “The greatest thing I learned during my internship here at HOLT was that I was never alone. No matter what, there was always someone to lend a helping hand or give me advice. I never felt like it was all on me and that stays true to this day. We are like family here at HOLT, always ready to help each other out and build each other up. We are all one team working towards the same goal,” said Mendez. “Every day is different. I always come across an opportunity to learn something new. These challenges I come across keep me intrigued and wanting to learn more.” -cmw

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Change is good

Resource Guide Associations and Construction Education

Service Providers L-R: Arnold and Todd Barrett in front of the new company logo.

General Contractor

Suppliers Subcontractors

ore than 55 years ago, Arnold Barrett has been in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) working with his father, Herchell Barrett, doing commercial and industrial service work at the family business, Barrett & Sons Inc. As the second generation, Arnold was extremely proud to have his two sons, Todd and Clint, join the company business to lay the path for the third generation. In January 2017, Todd assumed ownership of the business and oversees all of the day-to-day operations of the corporations as president. Under Todd’s leadership, the company has transitioned from service and retrofit work to doing more design build and consulting work. “Two years ago, we doubled. We got into a lot of new niches. Service, of course, what granddad and dad started things with has gone down,” says Todd. “Finding good technicians isn’t an easy task anymore. “We’re still who we are. We’re family. We still maintain around 10 employees. We don’t chase all the competition. As of yearend, 96% of our work is referred. We have our core customers. We now do res-

idential all the way up to light commercial, heavy commercial, service, retrofit, design build and consulting. The only thing we do not handle is centripetal chillers,” says Todd. “One of our biggest niche areas is in residential wine cellar service work.” Todd insists that transitioning into more design build construction and consulting work merely fell into their laps. “I’m pretty much out of the day-to-day operations around here. I stay out on the bases and construction jobs. I have a couple of engineering firms that utilize my 55 years of experience on a consulting basis,” adds Arnold. “A lot of what we do is educate. We are getting a lot of clients that call us and throw out ideas and asking our input,” Todd continues. Transitioning into their new niches has led the way for other transitioning. With their client base changing, Todd realized that the company as a whole needed to transition. With that, Barrett & Sons Inc. has changed its logo, while at the same time retaining its values and business model as they maneuver into new niches. The new logo, simply reflecting continued on Page 17

Giving back

s COVID caused construction to slow down, Comfort-Air Engineering and Primo Plumbing chose to give back. Comfort-Air and Primo Plumbing are able to keep their employees busy and working 40 hours a week by assisting and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. Comfort-Air and Primo Plumbing sent six men the first week of November

and sent an additional six men to help build walls for a new home In Rancho Carlota. “It has been an honor to help families in our community build a place to call HOME just in time for Thanksgiving,” says Patrick Freund, owner Freund Enterprises – Comfort-Air Engineering and Primo Plumbing. “Thank you, Joe, Eddie, James, Anthony, Lupe and Eric!” -cmw

Truck & Equip Dealers

Top: L-R: James Byrd, Lupe Montoya, Eddie Lopez, Eric Flores, Joe Rubio and Tony El-Amin. Bottom: Comfort-Air Engineering and Primo Plumbing volunteers help build walls for Habitat for Humanity during COVID.

San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

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t Photos Trevor Boatright and Brandon Dewbre teamed up on a pair of Chaparrosa Ranch studs. Both deer scored 156” and were killed in December with Steve Schultz Outdoors.

Ready, Set, Go - 2021 by Capt. Steve Schultz Sponsored by: Waypoint Marine, Shoalwater Boats, Fishing Tackle Unlimited, Shimano Reels, E-Z Bel Construction, Costa Sunglasses, Simms Fishing, ForEverlast Fishing Products, PowerPro, Interstate Batteries, MirrOlure, JL Marines Power-Pole, AFW and AFTCO Clothing.

or the last several months I’ve been staying busy guiding deer hunts on the Chaparrosa Ranch. It’s been a blessing and a well-deserved break from being on the water for almost nine months straight. I must say it’s a great place to social distance from the everyday world. The only downside is being away from my wife and kids, but they get to come visit and hunt when I get a break from clients. Our hunting season will be rapping up by the time you are reading this column and I will be gearing up for the 2021 fishing season. I’m really looking forward to another banner year on the water. As most of you know, last season’s fishing stayed strong throughout the entire year. I really don’t see why it won’t be the same again this year. As of now we have had a warmer winter than normal. This should get the fish moving in late February and early March just like last year. Barring a hard freeze with temperatures staying in the 30s and low 40s for an extended time, we should be in store for another banner year. For you hard-core anglers, January and February are the months to key on large sow trout. Wade fishing trips usually are more advantageous then fishing out of the boat. We will be keying on shorelines and rock structures in the Baffin Bay Complex. Those of you who would rather stay in the boat can still be successful drifting over deep rock structures not accessible to waders. Typically, we begin our day throwing soft plastics or suspending

lures when wading. If we are fishing out of the boat, soft plastics or live shrimp under a popping cork usually is the technique for best success. The key to having a successful day is being able to read the water around you and have confidence in your ability to catch fish. I’m excited to announce that this month I will be taking delivery of a 2021 Shoalwater 23-ft cat. This is the ultimate saltwater fishing machine that will get you in the shallowest of bays where the trophies live. The new Mercury 300HP outboard will be the power behind this rig. These engines have made a bold statement in the outboard industry and I’m excited to be a part of their Pro-Staff. My 2021 fishing calendar is open, and I have already started to book trips for the upcoming year. To schedule your next bay fishing trip or hunting trip, give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-813-3716 or e-mail me at SteveSchultzOutdoors@ gmail.com. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram @Steve_Schultz_Outdoors. Good Luck and Good Fishing.

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Ken Milam’s Fishing Line Since 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country, You can hear Ken on the radio as follows: The Great Outdoors: 5-8 am Saturday on 1300, The Zone, Austin and The Great Outdoors: 5-7 am Saturday on 1200 WOAI San Antonio The Sunday Sportsman: 6-8 am Sunday on 1300, The Zone, Austin All on iHeart Radio

Happy Better New Year!

e have finally cleared 2020. That year was a high hurdle to jump. We experienced so many unexpected trials last year that we could never have anticipated! To be fair though, we got to see some amazing things like the birth of another grandbaby and the development of the Covid-19 vaccines, and more ways to fight it. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty excited and hopeful for the new year. Just the notion that we can slowly start getting back to normal in the coming months has me feeling optimistic. I sure hope 2021 lives up to my expectations! Expectations have a lot to do with fishing you know. We sure have been seeing some folks come fishing with some funny expectations lately. I wonder if it is because these last several months people have had more time to follow all kinds of fishing and hunting shows and podcasts and such on social media. There sure is a lot of them to choose from now too. They can be pretty entertaining. Now for the reality check. If you have ever tried out a new recipe for biscuits like your Granny’s or a new way to barbeque a brisket or maybe a video for how to replace your headlights, then you know how much difference there is between what you see and what you get! The creator of a video can’t know your oven is 15 degrees off and that’s not what Granny’s biscuits tasted like, or you don’t have all the tools called for in the repair video; and the barbeque, well good luck with that one! I think barbeque must have a certain measure of love and luck to come out just right. The same goes for fishing shows and such. You can learn some things from

watching fishing experts in lots of places. Just try to remember it is just a show. Over my forty-year fishing career, I have been the focus of some of these shows. What you must remember is that you get the most action per second of footage, if it is heavily edited so you only see the very best moments of what might have been a day or two of shooting. I’m amazed at how many people come on a guided fishing trip expecting it to be four hours of that kind of canned action! To get the most out of a fishing trip, guided or on your own, do yourself a favor. Leave the expectations at home. Approach every trip with an open mind and open eyes and ears. Just be there and experience what the day brings. No two guides are alike, nor are their boats or the body of water you are fishing. The weather is never the same and always keeps you guessing, and the fish have a big say in the whole process too. We can only give it our best effort and do what we can with what we get. That’s my philosophy anyway. I only hope I can follow my own advice about my expectations for 2021!

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Worth the wait!

Mike McGinnis, Allen & Allen Company, shared this photo of son Ryder’s first “real” buck. He waited two years for this opportunity. -cmw

Ryder McGinnis and older brother Tyler pose with Ryder’s buck.

Check out the spread and size of Ryder’s buck!

Twig eater

Impressive!

Girls hunt too!

Eastern moose are the third largest subspecies of moose. Males stand on average 5.6 to 6.6 ft. tall. They modernly range throughout Eastern Canada, New England and northern New York. L-R: Jack McKinney and Ken Schilling of Voges Drilling Company trekked to northern Maine to hunt this Eastern Canada moose. -cmw

Burnell Gates, B.G. Metals, started his Sunday morning off to a good start. He shot this beauty the morning of Dec. 6. -cmw

Hunting isn’t just for men. On Nov. 21, Rose Lozano, Lozano Construction & Trucking, proved she is just as good a shot as any. She harvested this nice 8-point buck on her ranch, 3 L Ranch, in La Salle County. -cmw

Fond memories

Fond memories Robn Traugott, granddaughter of Mike Traugott, Traugott Inc. Painting & Decorating, made some great Thanksgiving memories this year with her grampa and this “badass” buck. - cmw

Start ‘em out young

A family that hunts together…Diehard hunters, Chris “CB” Christians, Lynwood Building Materials and wife, Ashley, enjoy a beautiful day during the 2020 deer season introducing their new doe to the wonders of the beautiful outdoors, sitting in a blind at Star Light Ranch in Yancey, TX on Dec. 12. L-R: CB, Quint, Ashley and Lucy Jean Christians, born on Nov. 11. -cmw

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

P P

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US 281 - Loop 1604 to Stone Oak/TPC Parkway

rior to 1987, US 281 north of Bitters Rd. existed as a four-lane surface divided highway with traffic signals at major intersections. In 1990, TxDOT completed work to upgrade 281 to a six-lane freeway from Bitters Rd. to Loop 1604. North of Loop 1604, the road remained as a four-lane surface divided highway with the only traffic signals at that time being at Encino Rio. Since then, tremendous development has taken place along the 281 corridor north of Loop 1604 all the way to the SH46 area in Bulverde. Meanwhile, US 281 in that area has remained a four and six-lane divided highway with several more signals added at major intersections over the years due to safety and traffic demands. The Levy Company Inc., with the help from a few of their valued subcontractors, is responsible for the electrical scope of this project which includes the relocation of the existing telecom, temporary and permanent traffic signals, illumination, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and signage.

traffic patterns, construction isn’t quite linear and often you will see parts of certain items or areas completed when available. “This has been the most challenging project I have ever been involved in due to the phasing, hard rock and pace at which Webber has been able to build the job,” adds Levy Company Foreman Leroy Granado. This project currently stands at 93 percent complete according to the TxDOT Contractor’s estimate and is forecasted to be finished sometime this spring. “This is a marquee project and we are excited to be a part of it for many reasons including its history, visibility, impact and size. This is the largest project to date by TxDOT’s San Antonio District,” says Levy Company President Harry Levy. The Levy Company is a heavy highway and electrical construction company located in San Antonio, TX. -cmw The Levy Company San Antonio, TX

Aerial view of US 281 reconstruction

US 281 SB approaching LP 1604

The Levy Company will be installing five traffic signals including the elevated T-Ramp signal for the Via Park & Ride. There will be approximately 230 light poles, seven closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) for viewing the corridor, 12,500sf of extruded signs, 1,300 lf of drilled shafts and 116,000 lf of conduit installed among many other items to bring the electrical package of this project together. “The projects phasing was layered and complicated based on the existing superstreet and high traffic volumes in the area. The temporary signals were built to accommodate three to five phases of traffic depending on the exact location allowing for the building of the new frontage roads. Once that was completed and traffic could be diverted to the frontage roads, the focus was on getting the new main lanes and direct connectors completed,” says Levy Company Project Manager Dusty Viebrock. Due to the complicated nature of phasing and

Via Park & Ride T-Ramp signal

Audie Murphy Memorial Veteran’s Hospital hospital continues to use these areas. Due to the existing circumstances, the AirCO team had to work with, it required them to think outside of the box in finding solutions and scenarios to get the new HVAC equipment installed. One such solution was figuring out how to get two chilled water coils into the hospital and into their final resting place. These coils weigh 1,500 lbs. each and span over 12 ft. long. The AirCO team had to figure how to get them into the second floor and then up to the mechanical room that sits in the interstitial space above ceiling. The solution was partnering with a crane and rigging company to hoist the coils through a second-floor window and then lift the coils into the mechanical room with rigging equipment. This unit is now serving three operating rooms for the hospital. It is in difficult situations and projects like this one,

Chilled water coils are hoisted to the second floor.

AirCO team members lift the chilled water coils into place.

udie Murphy Memorial Veteran’s Hospital has been open since 1973, serving veterans for nearly half a century. With a hospital this old, many cannot imagine the challenges a 48-year-old hospital can bring to the project. This is yet another reason AiRCO Mechanical takes a lot of pride in doing such a difficult job that many would turn away from. As AiRCO Mechanical’s branch in San Antonio has grown, opportunities to help improve the HVAC systems at Audie Murphy Memorial Veteran’s Hospital have not been passed up. AiRCO takes great pride in helping to make sure our veterans have a functional and operating hospital that can serve them as they served our country. The overall project consists of changing out a total of 10 HVAC air handling units that serve three floors of the hospital. AiRCO Mechanical has already replaced two air handlers that serve multiple operating rooms. It is also AiRCO’s task to make sure the areas being affected are kept with temporary cooling and heating as the

that AirCO Mechanical relies on teamwork. Being able to do a construction project takes many to complete. Not just having your own team work together but having others work together is the formula to success. This is not just for the challenging projects but for any project. AiRCO looks forward to making and maintaining many new relationships with contractors. “Too often we get so immersed in our work and projects that we fail to sit back and appreciate the valuable service that we, as a construction company, provide to our greater communities. We must never forget that, in the end, AiRCO’s ultimate product, for any project, is the most valuable commodity a building contains throughout its life – comfort,” says Operations Manager Rob Huddleston. AiRCO Mechanical is a mechanical contractor providing heating, cooling and energy solutions in Central Texas. -cmw Statue of honor outside the Audie Memorial Veteran’s Hospital in San Antonio

AiRCO Mechanical San Antonio, TX

San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

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Norton Rose Fulbright

Norton Rose Fulbright lobby

he new iconic Frost Tower was San Antonio’s first high-rise in over 30 years, with Frost Bank occupying the first 16 floors of the building and leasing floors 17-24. When Norton Rose Fulbright decided to occupy the 17th and 18th floors, as an international law firm, they wanted their space to go well beyond the standard of a Class A office space. Their desire to create a world-class space was instrumental in their selection of METRO as their general contractor. Among the many unique design elements of this project was a new steel staircase in the lobby of the space, connecting the 17th and 18th floors. To accommodate this compelling feature, METRO had to remove over 300 square feet of existing concrete slab, including an existing structural concrete joist, to create the opening for the staircase. To further complicate the task, the steel to support the opening and the staircase had to come up in pieces and be assembled and erected on the 17th floor. The staircase was finished out with glass guardrails, stainless steel cladding, and large format porcelain stair treads from Italy. The staircase is now one of the most prominent features in the space. An additional challenge unique to the space and the tower was the installation of the angled exterior glass panels used to create the curved aspect of the structure. Though this created a compelling look for the exterior, it was a challenge for building out the interior.

Main conference room

Stairwell connecting the 17th and 18th floors

Our team had to develop a customized method to get the wall seams to meet up with the various angles of the building’s walls. This exemplary project was recognized by the San Antonio chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) with an Excellence in Construction Award! METRO is a full-service general contractor in San Antonio. -cmw METRO San Antonio, TX

Conference room

Broadway Office Development project

Broadway Office Development located at Broadway & Pearl Parkway

ounded in 1986, Sharp Glass is a 2nd-generation, San Antonio-based glazing contractor committed to the quality fabrication and installation of glass, aluminum and specialty products for commercial and industrial applications. Sharp Glass has worked on a number of notable projects throughout San Antonio, and this project showcase highlights the glass fabricator’s partnership with Joeris General Contractors on the Broadway Office Development scheduled to be completed in early 2021. The Broadway Office Development will be an eightstory office building with an accompanying six-story mixed-office and retail development located on a 3.1acre lot off the northwest corner of Broadway and Pearl

Parkway, just on the other side of HWY 281 from the Pearl Brewery. The project includes an eight-story, client build-to-suit office building which will house the new Credit Human Federal Credit Union Headquarters over a structured parking garage (podium style project) and a four-story multi-tenant office building over a structured parking garage (podium style project). It took the team nearly six months to fabricate the roughly 1,500 glass panels for the project using a preglazed fabrication process. Pre-glazing moves a project forward more efficiently because more labor is done in the shop and reduces install time. Sharp Glass utilized an aluminum framing system with custom dies from Kawneer to achieve the look of this project. In addition, the

company performed the interior finish-out at the Credit Human Federal Credit Union space which included smoke baffles, glass partitions, mirrors, a bullet-resistant door and transaction window, and shower enclosures. “We are very proud of our work on the Broadway Office Development project,” said Sharp Glass CEO Kyle Sharp. “It is one of Sharp Glass’ largest fabrication and installation projects to date.” Sharp Glass is a San Antonio-based glazing contractor committed to the quality fabrication and installation of glass, aluminum and specialty framing products for commercial and industrial applications. -cmw Sharp Glass San Antonio, TX

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

In memoriam…

obert Randall Cauble passed away Nov. 19. He was born to parents Samuel Randall Cauble and Cora Myrle Dose in Wenatchee, WA on Feb. 22, 1941. Two weeks after he was born, his father, who most people called Jack, his mother, Myrle, and older sister, Myrle Ann, moved to Bakersville, CA. The family lived in Bakersville for two years before moving back to San Antonio, TX. Known as Bob, Robert grew up in San Antonio. He went to work when he was 12 years old at an icehouse where he catered to the drive-through customers. In middle school, Bob played football. When he broke three ribs and his shoulder, his parents would not let him play again. That is when he took up tennis. In high school, he won state three years in tennis. Bob did well in school all the way through. He was smart and quick with numbers. After he graduated from Jefferson High school, he went on to San Antonio Junior College (SAC). While at SAC, he continued playing and winning at tennis. After two years at SAC, Bob felt a need to help his parents and could not continue his education. He began working in the construction industry with his uncle. While working on the ceiling of Bethel Temple in downtown San Antonio, he was in an accident and lost the sight in one eye. That never stopped him from doing anything. Being the strong man he was, he learned to compensate for being blind in his right eye. He soon found himself doing a lot of big jobs and running the work. Through the years, Bob was a part of many great projects in San Antonio. When he would tell the story of working from swinging scaffold on the first Marriott, you wouldn’t be able to forget his bravery after hearing how the wind would blow the scaffold 30 feet away from the building only to swing back to it with a force. Bob was a force in and of himself. Anytime the Tower of American comes into sight, Bob comes to mind. He was as tall and proud as the tower he helped to build. When Bob decided to start his own lath and plaster company, he may have sat behind a desk, but he was always a friend to every worker. Like the downtown San Antonio Public Library that his business assisted with the exterior walls, Bob could tell a colorful story. Many of us will remember sitting with Bob across that desk attentive to the wisdom being shared. Respect for the people around him was a top priority. The opportunity to refurbish The Majestic Theater meant a great deal to Bob. It was a project done humbly, knowing that his grandfather had done the original plaster work. Bob lived a life of respect for others. As a construction subcontractor Bob’s business was a part of many landmarks. Bob ran RR Cauble Lath and Plaster until his health no longer permitted him to. His company did the exterior walls for buildings at Sea World, Fiesta Texas, numerous H-E-Bs, schools, government buildings and more. He was well known in the construction industry and people often called him for information about the industry. He won many awards and also held many offices in the construction arena. If you remem-

Robert Randall Cauble

ber doing business with Bob Cauble, you will remember his handshakes. Bob met Carole Ann Clauss at the Dairy Treat on Valentine’s Day. Eight months later they were married on October 30, 1964 at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. The couple celebrated their marriage at Carole’s sister Dorothy’s home with family and friends. Afterwards they made their way to the coast. Carole remembers walking out on Bob Hall Pier. Bob and Carole had three children - Carole Renay, Robert Randall, Jr. and Alex Benjamin. Bob showed his love for Carole and his family in everything he did. Bob’s favorite hobby was hunting and fishing. He worked hard to provide for his family and was blessed. Bob enjoyed Carole right beside him in everything he did. They spent many Saturdays on the lake with family and friends. He and Carole enjoyed vacations where they fished together. Over the years, they hunted with many friends and family on various ranches from Tilden, Fall City, Uvalde, and Harper, TX. Some years ago, Bob was afforded the opportunity to purchase a family ranch. Bob was the strongest man his sons have ever known, and he raised them in the tradition of working hard and enjoying hunting and fishing together. Bob spent many weekends through the year and every weekend during deer season with his entire family. He enjoyed hunting in the morning and a full family breakfast afterwards. The family would work and rest through the day. The evening hunt would be followed by a family meal, where all looked forward to Bob saying Grace. Bob was very strong in his faith which he would always bring up to anyone who would listen. He loved to sing church music and listen to it for hours when he could no longer sing. Sharing the gospel and telling people about his Savior was what he found brought him the most joy. Bob was committed to praising his God in every aspect of his life and spreading the good news of Christ forgiving Grace. When he completed the Bethel Bible series, he advanced his knowledge of the message in the Bible and found one of his true passions in life. Bob served the Church Council for St. John’s Evengelical Lutheran Church for four years. His family and savior were the most important things in his life. -cmw

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October fishing

hey say there is nothing better than fishing in October. For the folks at the Greater San Antonio Builders Association (GSABA), this is true. GSABA hosted their annual Saltwater Fishing Tournament Oct. 16-17. The weather made for a great weekend of fishing with great friends. “We had a great turnout with over 60 boat entries and had beautiful weather at the weigh-in on Saturday. At the Captain’s Dinner on Friday night, it was super cold and had to go buy sweatshirts,” says GSABA Director of Marketing & Special Events Feliz Morin.

The ever-popular event was held at the Port Aransas Civic Center in Port Aransas, TX. -cmw Saltwater Fishing Tournament winners: 2nd Place Guided Stringer: Crown Edge Realty, 22.25 lbs. 3rd Place Guided Stinger: Builder’s First Source, 20.52 lbs. 2nd Place Unguided Stringer: Beyer AC & Heating, 20.83 lbs. 3rd Place Unguided Stringer: GVTC #1, 19.33 lbs. Heaviest Trout: 84 Lumber, 4.93 lbs.

1st Place Guided Stringer: 84 Lumber, 2.98 lbs.

1st Place Unguided Stringer: Hill Country Cabinets, 21.65 lbs.

Most Spots Redfish: Lanehart Electric, 3.01 lbs., 10 spots

continued from Page 10 — Barrett & Sons Inc. just the Barrett name with three shades of green to represent the three generations of Barretts caring on a family legacy. As the transitioning into new niches and areas of construction occurs, a new logo would seem to be a big change for any one company, and perhaps, the biggest change of all is the retirement of second generation Arnold Barrett. Effective Jan. 1, Arnold has decided it is time to join his wife, Martha, who retired some time ago. “I broke the news to Todd about five or six months ago. I’ll still be around. I’m going to put some feelers out to some more engineering firms to see if I can help with any type of consulting for anybody that wants to use a little bit of experience. “The wife and I purchased a small place in Caldwell County a year or so ago

and I want to start spending more time out there, sitting on the tractor. I just thought that while I’m still healthy, I want Martha and I to enjoy this place and anything we want to do while we are still both very healthy. But I guarantee, I am not just going home to sit on the back porch and rock. I come from the generation of people that work,” concludes Arnold. Barrett & Sons Inc., family-owned and operated, provides quality HVAC and wine cellar services to Schertz, TX and its surrounding areas. -cmw

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Association Calendar

Content Contentsubmitted submittedby byAssociations Associationsto toConstruction ConstructionNews News AGC Associated General Contractors

Jan. 6: Workforce Solutions Alamo Webinar: OJT Opportunities for the Construction Industry, 2pm. For more contact Kelly Wilson at 210-349-4921or email kwilson@sanantonioagc.org. ASSP

Basse Rd., 5:30-8pm. For information, contact Victoria Rodriguez at 210-4441100 or email vrodriguez@hcadesa.org IEC Independent Electrical Contractors

Jan. 4: Apprenticeship classes resume. For more info, contact Julie Tucker at 210431-9861

American Society of Safety Professionals

Jan. 18: Chapter Meeting, Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), 6220 Culebra Rd., 11am-1-pm. For more info, go to www. southtexas.asse.org CFMA

SAMCA San Antonio Masonry Contractors Assn.

Jan. 27: General Meeting, The Old San Francisco Steak House, 10223 Sahara. 12pm. For more info, contact Debi Solis at 210-347-2423

Construction Financial Management Assn.

Jan. 26: State of Texas Economy, 11:30am -12:30pm. For more info, email cfmasatx@gmail.com HCA de SA Hispanic Contractors Assn. de San Antonio

Jan. 20: Monthly Meeting & Board Installation Dinner, Quarry Golf Club, 444 E.

continued from Page 1 — A-1 Fire & Safety rent facility, a former veterinary clinic, in 1985. Since then, the old dog kennels have been taken down to use as fire equipment storage and a hydrostatic test shop. “I guess we are the oldest portable fire extinguisher company under the same ownership in San Antonio. There are other companies that were here before us but have been bought and sold. I started in ’71 when I was 21 and we are still the owners,” says Jerry. In celebration of A-1 Fire & Safety’s 50th anniversary, Jerry and Clint decided to honor the company’s 1971 pricing for residential annual maintenance throughout the month of January. “The best dad could recollect, in 1971 they were servicing fire extinguishers for about $1.75. So anybody who wants to bring in a residential fire extinguisher that they have in their house to be serviced for annual maintenance, we will service it for the 1971 price of $1.75 versus the $9.00 plus it is today,” adds Clint. “Additionally, anyone in the San Antonio area that can bring us the oldest A-1 Fire & Safety San Antonio tag (there are a lot of A-1 Fire & Safeties over the years in different markets; we are looking for San Antonio tags) will get $50 gift certificate, a fire extinguisher to take home,

a $500 donation to their local fire department or fireman’s union. If the tag comes from a volunteer fire department, we can donate directly to the fire department; if not, we can make a donation to their union if they have a union. Most of the departments in the area have a way that we can give directly to them or the fire department itself. Of course, year-round, if you find an old tag, we always like to have them. We will give a ball cap or something for it, especially if the tag is from the ‘70s. “Also, I think it will be a fun thing for anybody who wants to come by dressed in their ’71 dress attire and take a picture with our sign, and tag us on their company’s Facebook or Twitter account, we will knock 10 percent off their ticket,” says Clint. “We have been here for a long time and we intend to be here for a lot longer. We are not looking to go anywhere. We want to say “Thank You” to the construction industry. We appreciate you. We have serviced since the ‘70s and you have done a lot to make our business grow. Again, thank you,” says Jerry. A-1 Fire & Safety is a fire and safety protection service provider in San Antonio. –cmw

continued from Page 1 — JT Underground Directional Drilling & Utility Construction Inc.

Happy New Year! Taking the bull by the horns

or a back yard, we can actually drill through the yard with very little excavation and ground damage.” Directional drilling, when it first started out, was all dirt directional drilling. It has advanced to different types of techniques used for rock drilling such as mud motor drilling. JT Underground uses a system run by a compressor like a jackhammer on steroids. The pressure goes through the bore rods and out to the front where the air hammer is. Busch states, “There are a wide variety of soil conditions just in San Antonio and the counties of Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe. It goes from very nice dirt to very hard rock. We’ve purchased equipment that can directional drill in rock. We can drill in all kinds of ground conditions. “When I first started, I was the first individual to run the bore rig for the company I worked for back in Illinois. I really liked it and wanted to be good at it. I actu-

ally got really good at it and started my own business and, hopefully, have instilled that into my company. I have three sons that work for me. I hope I have instilled quality and production into their lives. We are pretty good at what we do. We are not very big, but we do quality work and that is what we hang our hat on.” Since JT Underground Directional Drilling & Utility Construction Inc. was founded, it has been involved in projects in Indiana, Georgia and spent a couple years in Little Rock, AK. Upon moving his company to the San Antonio area, Busch stated he had around eight employees. Today, his company numbers 15 with sons A.J. Busch, Derek Hodgson and son-in-law Travis Robbins at his side. JT Underground Directional Drilling & Utility Construction Inc. is a family run business specializing in directional drilling located in Schertz, TX. -cmw

continued from Page 1 — River City Excavation

The Freedom Solar team in San Antonio

reedom Solar has been servicing San Antonio since 2015 and have installed over 2,000 kW of solar energy in San Antonio. The solar market in San Antonio is really good and probably represents about 30 percent of the total solar market in Texas. Flourishing sales in San Antonio have prompted the company’s move to a new, larger office and warehouse space in the Alamo City. “San Antonio has proven to be an excellent market for us. We had a smaller office and when our lease was up, we knew we needed to move into a bigger spot. We were unable to run the number of crews that we wanted to out of our old office,” says Freedom Solar CEO Bret Biggart. Freedom’s new offices are located in north-central San Antonio at 12861 Wetmore Road near its intersection with Wurzbach Parkway. The new site offers 9,000 sf of office area and 7,000 sf of warehouse area, quadrupling the size of Freedom’s previous locale. Stacked endto-end and filling every square inch of

space, the warehouse can accommodate 7,600 solar panels and will receive more than 2,000 solar modules per month. Freedom Solar has the capability to run four to five crews out of it whereas their old location only allowed for two crews. As the company is currently in gas mode, they are stepping on the gas towards further expansion with a new office in Colorado that opened within the last month and a half. They are also planning to go to Florida in the first quarter of 2021 and North Carolina and South Carolina in 2021’s second quarter. Year-to-date, Freedom Solar has installed 1,999 kilowatts (kW) of solar energy in San Antonio—including 851 kW in the third quarter—and expects to install a total of 3,531 kW by the end of 2020. Biggart said San Antonio residential sales have been positively impacted by incentives offered by CPS Energy, which offers $2,500 per local residential installation. Freedom Solar is a turnkey installer of solar energy panels. -cmw

chanical contractors, your union contractors, usually get the contract for in-pad work and then a different dirt guy or excavation company will get the wet and dry utilities on the outside of the pad. We call ourselves the little dirt guy because we focus only on the in-pad work to five feet outside of the building pad. The other excavation company or utility contractor will take it from there. They either tie into our work or we will tie into them. They take on the outside with the exception of electrical site lighting which will usually be under our bid package,” adds Roberson. In the company’s 12 years in business, Cecily is proud of what they have achieved as a woman-owned company. “We came in slow and built up. We built up our customer base as well as jobs. Now we are able to do larger projects, more demanding projects. I think our skills have expanded as well with the business so with that we have been able to take on more projects.” “The beauty of it, we probably still have a dozen guys that have been with us since our residential company was started in ’98. Out of 120-something combined employees that we have with both excavation companies, those key dozen employees have been with us since the day we moved from residential into commercial. They are the backbone of our company. We learned the different ways of the jobs together and we have literally grown in these 20-something years together. River City Excavation evolved by taking these guys out of the residential side and moving them to the commercial world, and we still do. We have guys that start in residential and when we think they are good enough, we move

them over to the commercial side and they learn the new ways. It is a totally different animal coming from residential to commercial,” adds Cody. River City Excavation services San Antonio and its surrounding areas and is currently expanding into Austin. “We have a small group of employees in Austin that started there and are planning on putting roots there to service the customers that we have and have helped us to be successful here,” states Roberson. River City Excavation is a woman-owned commercial excavation contractor in San Antonio. -cmw

San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Page 19

What are you planning to do different in 2021? I have been trying to be more environmentally conscious. I feel like we have a lot of paper here and since COVID you see how more groups and people are trying to be more aware of our resources and such, so I want to be even more environmentally conscious. Kim Roberts, EIB Contractors That’s a good question. I think as an organization, locally, because we have the resources, will become very involved in the community through charitable organizations. We really weren’t as active in 2020 year due to COVID and also to a growing organization. Being involved in the community is at the core of what AP does and believes. We are very community centric and charitable. Brandon Gaeke, Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) As a company, we are going to continue with our safety measures, follow the safety protocols as mandated and continue to grow. Yvette Robinson, Robinson General Contractors Inc. Professionally, I plan to delegate more of my daily tasks so that I can work more on the business instead of in the business. Personally, I want to work out more and read more books. Michael Rosenberg, Rosenberg Indoor Comfort Expansion. I want to focus on Austin and service our customers there. That is my big push for 2021. Nathan Roberson, River City Excavation We are going to continue to improve our services, grow and expand. Everything has been working good for 50 years, so we aren’t going to do too much different beyond fine-tuning our operation. We are going to stick to our game plan of doing what we do s

and trying to do it as good if not better than anyone else can expect it to be done. Jerry and Clint Williams, A-1 Fire & Safety We currently do a lot of subcontracting. In 2021, we would to get some direct contracts with local companies like CPS or CenterPoint Energy. On another business point of view, I would like to expand our knowledge and our quality through our employees and keep them happy by continue offering them good benefits. Todd Busch, JT Underground & Utility Construction Inc. Directional Drilling Experts From a company point of view, we feel the solar market with the election, going the way that it went, the solar market really has some wind in our back now going forward for the foreseeable future, so our plan is to step on the gas and expand to four or five new markets outside of Texas over the next 12 months. On a personal level, I’m committed to race the Leadville 100 Mountain bike race in Leadville, CO in August. I raced it a year ago and my goal this year is to beat my time of 10 hrs. 52 mins. Bret Biggart, Freedom Solar Power I would like to expand for one, but I would like to get an in-house estimator and secretary so I can free up some of my time. I’m very committed to this place, but it takes me away from home and I would like to be home more. David Bechtold, Bechtold Electric I don’t plan on doing anything different. We plan on doing business the way we have always done, coming in early and going home late, and making sure everything is running smoothly. Travis Budlong, All Service Air Conditioning & Heating

Submitted to Construction News

Round-Up

Sundt Construction Inc. is pleased to announce the promotion of several key members in its San Antonio office. Hayden Boster has been promoted to Project Manager II. He brings over seven years of project experience. Most recently, he has been managing the Canopy by Hilton San Antonio along the Riverwalk. Boster earned his bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from UT at Austin and a master’s degree in construction technology from Texas State University. -cmw Zachary Hladek, promoted to Project Engineer II, has been in the construction industry for over seven years. During his six years at Sundt, he has worked on multiple projects, including the Canopy by Hilton San Antonio Riverwalk, CPS Energy Headquarters and the VIA Stone Oak park and ride. Hladek earned his bachelor’s degree in construction from Texas A&M University. -cmw Jed Heuberger has been promoted to Preconstruction Project Manager. Heuberger joined Sundt over a year ago as a senior estimator. He holds a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering management from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. He is a LEED accredited professional, as well as a project management professional. He is a certified CM-Lean. -cmw

Meagen Garcia, a former intern with Sundt, was promoted to Field Engineer II. She was a valuable team member for Sundt’s CPS Energy Headquarters projects and is currently working on a land development project north of San Antonio. Garcia earned her bachelor’s degree in construction management from UT at San Antonio. -cmw Artemio Patino, promoted to Field Engineer II, served as an intern before joining the company as a fulltime employee. He has assisted the project team on the Canopy by Hilton San Antonio Riverwalk, CPS Energy Headquarters and the One Riverwalk parking garage. Patino earned his bachelor’s degree in construction science from Texas A&M University. -cmw Ridout Barrett is pleased to announce Patty Wetz, a Certified Public Accountant, has joined the firm as an Audit Director. She brings over 20 years of experience in public accounting, providing financial auditing, accounting and consulting services to clients in a variety of industries including not-for-profit, governmental, healthcare, construction, banking, retail, real estate and insurance. She earned her BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio. -cmw

Industry FOLKS Randy R. Guzman Project Manager

Robinson General Contractors Inc. San Antonio, TX

andy Guzman was born in Fort Worth but grew up in San Antonio. His family moved to San Antonio when he was 5 years old. “I grew up with a close family culture where we did everything as a family. Every holiday, birthday, any type of celebration was celebrated with the whole family. This was because I was raised by my grandparents until my father retired from the service. This is where I learned some of my carpentry skills, taught to me by my grandfather.” Guzman went to South San West Campus High School and attended The University of Texas at Austin, and then Palo Alto Community College. For Guzman, college was an eye-opener and was a great experience. Unfortunately, he did not obtain his architectural degree in which he was studying for. “I always enjoyed drawing and art. When I was in high school, we actually had to draw plans as compared to all the different computer drafting programs that are out now.” Guzman has two children. His daughter, Reina Guzman, is 23 years old. She currently attends The University of Texas at Austin and will be graduating in the Spring of 2021 and is majoring in linguistics with a minor in government. “She loves traveling to study new languages and cultures. She enjoys doing pottery and canvas paintings. My son, Randy Guzman, Jr., is 17 and a junior at Judson High School where he is a 3-year varsity golf player. He also enjoys playing video games.” In addition to his two children,

Guzman has a 7-year-old English Bulldog he calls Chicle. Chicle is his baby and is Spanish for gum. “When I am home, she is always stuck to my side. “I wanted to become an architect but when family life came up, I jumped into the construction industry instead. I figured I could work and finish my studies, but work took over life and here we are almost 26 years later. Life sure does fly by.” Guzman estimates projects that are publicly out for bid and sees those projects through to the end. “I help out wherever we need help. I am one of those guys who does whatever it takes to get a project completed even if I have to put on my tool belt and help get items completed. “I enjoy the people I work with. It is a pleasure working for Kurt and Yvette Robinson. I am so glad our paths crossed, and I enjoy traveling to our different job sites throughout Texas.” Cody Engel was the first construction manager Guzman worked under. He showed Guzman the ins and outs of the construction industry and Guzman is proud to call Engel his mentor. Guzman enjoys playing golf with his son every chance he gets. He also enjoys traveling and is a high school and college softball umpire. Unfortunately, this year Covid-19 cancelled a lot of rather large tournaments that Guzman enjoys working. -cmw

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Hill country golfing

he Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors (PHCC) had an amazing day of golf at their 7th Annual Golf Tournament. The event was held on Nov. 4 at the beautiful Hyatt Hill Country Resort. One hundred five golfers took to the greens for a beautiful day in the sun with lots of fun. “Thank you to our amazing sponsors that continued to support San Antonio PHCC during these COVID times! There were over 100 golfers and a wonderful committee that helped make this a successful event,” boasts PHCC Executive Director, Heidi Trimble. -cmw Golf tournament winners: 1st Place: State Water Heater - Jake Allen, Pepco; Alfred DeLeon, Ferguson; Michael Kempf, Ferguson and Tom Gould, Brandt Mechanical 2nd Place: Hughes Supply - Alex Sessums, Brenner Gold, Colton Bolin and Aaron Teer 3rd Place: Jake Ladd, Frost Bank; Chris Butler, Legana Luxury; Mark Misenhimer, Comfort Air and Garrett Freund, Comfort Air Longest Drive off of a Golden Throne: Mark Misenhimer, Comfort Air Putting Contest: Chase Anderson, Shafer Services

1st Place: State Water Heater

Shafer Services - L-R: Jimmy Shafer, Charlie Groth, Rob Jalnos and Chase Anderson

Aiding construction’s future

L-R: Daniel Salinas, Victoria Rodriguez and Deborah Martin.

he HCA de SA believes in giving back and supporting the future of the construction industry. Over the past 10 years, HCA de SA have been able to award approximately $80,000 in scholarships to the Alamo Colleges Foundation. Even in these challenging times, their 21st Annual Golf Classic was a great success and so they are pleased to continue their legacy of giving. Board president, Daniel Salinas of Central Builders, presented Deborah Martin with the Alamo Colleges Foundation a check for $4,000 to be given to students pursuing a construction related degree. “Thank you to all who support our mission to promote and support Small, Minority, Woman and Veteran-owned Business Enterprises in the Construction Industry. If you are interested in being involved in our association, please visit www.hcadesa.org for more details,” says HCA de SA Executive Director Victoria Rodriguez. -cmw

San Antonio Construction News â&#x20AC;˘ JAN 2021

JOB SIGHTS

Page 21

Senior Fire Alarm Technician Rodney Ramos, Fire Alarm Control Systems Inc. trims fire alarm panel power supplies at Ft. Hood Barracks Bldg. 41009. -cmw Thomas Gonzales and Luis Valdez, Beldon Roofing Company, demo JP Hart Lumberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing roof system in preparation for repairs. -cmw

L-R: Dino Senac and Pete Torres, KCM Cabinets Inc., finish up the reception counter at the new Ironside Laundromat project. Leonard Contracting Inc. is the general contractor for the project. -cmw

The Levy Company US 281 project on-site crew L-R: Leroy Granado, Micheal Page and Leonel Gutierrez. -cmw

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San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Recognition of excellence

espite the lingering pandemic, the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) South Texas Chapter did not let COVID-19 get in the way of recognizing the winners of the Chapter’s 2020 Excellence in Construction awards. The ABC South Texas Chapter went through the normal phases of the recognition process - applications, acceptance of project submissions and judging. Unfortunately, the Chapter was unable to host their prestigious awards gala and presented their award-winning members in-house at the ABC South Texas Chapter offices. - cmw

Specialty Contractor Mechanical Industrial $2 Million to $10 Million: A/C Technical Services LLC Vista Ridge Water Supply Project

Specialty Contractor Electrical Commercial $2 Million to $10 Million: Central Electric Enterprises & Co. Southwest High School Renovation Phase II

General Contractor Commercial Less Than $2 Million: Harvey-Cleary Builders - City View Reposition

General Contractor Institutional $5 Million to $10 Million: Joeris General Contractors Ltd. Eleanor Kolitz Hebrew Language Academy

Specialty Contractor Mechanical Commercial Less Than $2 Million: TDIndustries Inc. North Central Baptist Hospital 8th Floor ICU

General Contractor, Residential/Multi-Family Projects & Condominiums: Galaxy Builders Ltd. Medio Springs Ranch Apartments

General Contractor Commercial $2 Million to $5 Million: The Koehler Company - Turning Stone Animal Hospital

General Contractor Institutional $10 Million to $25 Million: Joeris General Contractors Ltd. Central Catholic Convocation Center

General Contractor Renovation Less Than $4 Million: Robins & Morton - Hospitals of Providence Transmountain

General Contractor Renovation $4 Million to $10 Million: Metropolitan Contracting Co. LLC - Norton Rose Fulbright

General Contractor Healthcare Less Than $10 Million: Robins & Morton - North Central Baptist Hospital

General Contractor Special Projects $2 Million to $10 Million: SpawGlass Contractors Inc. - Capitol Park Little League

Specialty Contractor Electrical Commercial Less Than $2 Million: Central Electric Enterprises & Co. Botanical Gardens Phase II

General Contractor, Residential/Multi-Family Projects & Condominiums: Galaxy Builders Ltd. Medio Springs Ranch Apartments

General Contractor Commercial $5 Million to $10 Million: Metropolitan Contracting Co. LLC – The Lynd Company

General Contractor Pre-Engineered Building All Contract Amounts: Leonard Contracting Inc. Barkaritaville Pet Resort

General Contractor Historical Restoration/Renovation $2 Million to $10 Million: Metropolitan Contracting Co. LLC TRTF Velocity

San Antonio Construction News • JAN 2021

Page 23

Building along the way

Industry FOLKS Alexis Tudhope Human Resources Administrator JR Ramon Demolition San Antonio, TX

lexis, who was born and raised in San Antonio, graduated from East Central High School and believes that San Antonio has provided her with a vast amount of diverse, multicultural experience. Alexis started college at Palo Alto College and eventually began taking online classes at Lamar University. “College life with children creates for a much less exciting, but far more fulfilling, college experience.” She is currently pursuing a degree in Sociology. “I enjoy learning more about people, their behavior and the way they choose to interact with each other. It provides me with a better perspective working in Human Resources.” Alexis met her husband Scott in high school, but their relationship began several years later. “Scott is smart, selfless, my hero and my best friend. We have been married for 10 years and I cannot imagine life without him.” She has four children, Zachary, 26; Scotty, 21; Chandler, 20; and 9-year-old Miles. She has two grandchildren, 2-year-old Xander and 18-month-old Ellie. Zachary, who served in the U.S. Navy for six years, works with her at J.R. RAMON. Scotty is in college and he enjoys playing the bass and drums. Daughter Chandler is currently working and will be starting school in the spring. She is very talented and creative. Miles, her baby, loves music and playing video games and giving his mother a hard time about going to school. She has two dogs. A 5-year-old

German Shepherd named Bo, and the biggest ninny there is. “He is allergic to everything, but he’s super sweet.” Holly is a 2-year-old Boston Terrier who loves to cuddle. She also has two cats, Bagheera and Nala. Alexis began her construction career while in California. “I lived in California for six years, and while there, I started working for a civil engineer who also owned a soils engineering company. I did pretty much everything in the civil office - payroll, contracts, permits, payables and receivables - and eventually started helping in the office at the soils company. “Here at JR Ramon, I oversee the company’s human resources department. I like the family environment at JR RAMON, and I enjoy the people I work with.” Alexis’ dad has always been a big influence in her life. “I’ve always looked to him for guidance in any big decisions in my life. He’s just always seemed to be the most sensible person around me.” Beyond the hustle and bustle of work, Alexis enjoys spending time with family, having get-togethers at the house and playing games, going back to California to visit her friends, going to the beach, seeing the mountains and going to Disneyland. “I am obsessed with all things Disney!” -cmw

David Bechtold, owner of Bechtold Electric

avid Bechtold had been doing electrical work since high school. He came up through the trade learning while working for a couple of companies for long periods of time along the way. He also had a lot of work of his own on the side. As a matter of fact, he had so much work of his own, he was too busy to go to work and took that as a sign to start his own company, Bechtold Electric. “I was always afraid to start my company, but the company I was working for happened to get slow. I took a leave of absence and just never went back. It’s been exciting. I stay busy. I’m fortunate. I don’t look for work as I have been working off of referrals. If you give a good product, people come back,” says Bechtold. Just a small electrical shop, Bechtold and his crew do new construction, remodels and light commercial. They also perform a little bit of industrial when needed, but Bechtold says that those jobs are few and far between. “I got all my training in the field for the companies I worked for,” adds Bechtold. “I

eventually started running my own jobs, got all my licenses and here I am. It’s different, but I have no regrets even though being an electrician isn’t what I thought I would end up doing for a living. “When I started in the electrical construction field, I was young and didn’t think I wanted to do this forever. Now I am fully dedicated to it. I really like the work. I’d rather be in the field working than in the office doing the paperwork.” Bechtold Electric, a small electrical shop, started out in Bechtold’s home and now has an office off O’Connor Road. The company proudly services San Antonio and its surrounding areas but says Bechtold, “We are a small contractor, but where ever our contractors want me to go, we will go. We just came back from doing a job in Dallas.” Bechtold Electric has a new website and is excited about their referral program they offer. “I want to thank all my contractors that have put their trust in me and my company. I couldn’t have gotten this far without them.” -cmw

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San Antonio Construction News â&#x20AC;¢ JAN 2021