& CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS
April 2017
BUILDINGTOGETHER
DOING THINGS THE HARD WAY Recently, I was enjoying lunch and conversation with an owner of a trade contractor and we got onto the topic of achieving excellence. After describing to him the efforts of our talented employees to achieve greatness in everything we do, they said, “You do things the hard way!” He meant that, and I took that as a compliment for all of us. "Yes!," I said. "At E&V, we do things the hard way!" I know this seems contrary to the popular belief that we should look to do things the "easy" way, but I truly believe the effort that goes into doing anything well, takes hard work! Now, don’t get me wrong, as an owner here at E&V, I also appreciate the quest for efficiency, simplicity and doing things the “smart way." But to even begin to develop those efficiencies takes hard work! Here are just a few of the examples of what I mean by this belief:
- Our newly revised Quality Standards Manual took hundreds of hours of hard work to make, and (that I'm aware) it's the only one of its kind in the industry! The easy way would have been, to just tell everyone, “Do your best,” and accept it. - Hiring great people that fit our culture we have developed at E&V, is hard work! It would be easy to hire off an application or resume and “assume” that person will do a great job because of their education or experience. However, it takes meeting the person, and getting to know them to determine if they will in fact be a good fit. - Constructing high quality buildings that our clients love, takes hard work! - Reducing or eliminating debt, fixing the faucet instead of hiring a plumber, and just being a good person and citizen, takes hard work!
- Our highly successful and award winning safety program and culture takes a continuous, Herculean effort by nearly all of our employees. It would be “easy” to print out some safety guidelines and ask everyone to follow them; instead, we developed a World Class Safety Manual that took many hours of hard work. Our Safety Committee meets every month to ensure we are staying on course, to be the safest in the industry. The team of employees responsible for putting on our monthly World Class Safety Meeting, work diligently to plan an informative, efficient meeting.
So, I would like to encourage all of you to, “Do things the hard way!" Be honest with yourself and assess the effort you currently give to your family, your friends, your job and even yourself. I truly believe, you will reap the rewards both professionally and personally by doing things the hard way!
Tony Roussey VP of Operations
RSVP Today Elzinga & Volkers invites you and a guest to join us on,
Book Release 70 Year Anniversary Celebration, New Tulip Time Attraction and Office Space Tour 4:00 – 7:00 PM | Open House 5:00 PM | History Book Release 5:30 PM | Tulip Time Unveiling
Appetizers & Drinks • Parking available at the ramp off 7th Street RSVP to Morgan Weaver by April 28th: E: morganw@elzinga-volkers.com P: (616) 395-1414
COME AS YOU ARE - STAY AS LONG AS YOU CAN!
Our Little Fighter– "No Fear Nolan"
Wedding Bells! WELCOME TO THE E&V FAMILY! Let’s give it up for our excellent newcomers and welcome them to the E&V Family!
Julie Beckhusen
Office Administrator - Coldwater
Nolan is currently spending a couple of weeks at home and is doing better. He has a few appointments coming up and everyone is praying for the MIBG scan and biopsies to show no cancer cells.
Mike Roney Field Manager
COLDWATER GRAND OPENING Please continue to keep the Brouwer family in your prayers. For more updates, visit Nolan's FB page: Nolan-"No Fear Nolan"
The weather was perfect on April 17 for our Coldwater grand opening.
101 Best and Brightest Committee Update Recruitment, Selection and Orientation The Recruitment, Selection and Orientation Committee is excited to continually impact our employees in great ways. Here are some ongoing improvements to our process: Increasing internal exposure to job postings - We are continually looking for ways to fill open positions by referral. We will be posting internal jobs in our monthly newsletters and on our Facebook Page. We are completely revamping our website this year and plan to make our career page more visible and user-friendly. Implemented a new onboarding program – In 2016, we improved our onboarding process by developing a guide called, “Blueprint for Success.” There are guides customized for new project managers, office team members and field personnel. The program enhances the onboarding experience by encouraging interaction with employees in many different areas of the organization, not just their assigned department. The process is continuously improving and expanding. BUILDINGTOGETHER | April 2017
Upcoming plans – In 2017, we will be rolling out our “Sieve Analysis” program, which will help guide each employee as they seek advancement in the organization. The committee has a new group of team members this year and they promise to continue the growth in recruitment and orientation. If you have any great ideas that you’d like to share please reach out to one of the team members. The committee members include: Julie Cole, Tami Grinwis, Nick Novakoski and Steve Null. We look forward to continuing to make our company Unmistakably E&V together! It's important to keep employing great people and we are committed to hire character first to ensure the sustainability of our culture. If you know someone that would be a great fit for our organization, let us know!
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WHAT WE’RE BUILDING RECENTLY AWARDED
ITC Hudsonville, MI Rapids, MI Med- Express - Grand Renovations Exterior Improvements Fast Stats
»» ITC is moving their headquarters from Holland to Hudsonville, where we are renovating their new building. »» The value of the project is $1.2 million. »» This 16,000-SF renovation project is design-build with Dixon Architecture. »» Completion is scheduled for mid-July. »» Project Manager: Maria Nykerk »» Field Manager: Mike Chrisman
GETTING STARTED
DeBoer Bakery - Holland, MI Addition and Renovation Fast Stats
»» The renovation is approximately 1,300-SF and the addition is 1,900-SF. »» DeBoer's project will consist of a new bakery, deli counter, retail space and an outdoor dining area. »» The value of the project is $1.1 million. »» We will be performing several self-preformed trades, including: concrete, steel, general trades and interiors. »» Project Manager: Jordan Gougeon »» Field Manager: Joe Shashaguay
UNDERWAY
Holland Hospital OR - Holland, MI Renovation Fast Stats
»» The project is located in the "core" of the hospital and broken into two large phases. »» The team faces some challenges with night work and a high-activity, sterile environment. »» OR 1 is scheduled for hand-off early May and total project completion is anticipated at the end of July. »» Senior Project Manager: Mike Parker »» Assistant Project Manager: Jared Andersen »» Field Manager: Nate Stuart »» Field Engineer: Chris Workman
WRAPPING UP
Pine Rest - Flex Unit - Grand Rapids, MI Renovation Fast Stats »» This project is named "Flex Unit" because some spaces can be utilized by two different patient populations. »» Pine Rest hosted a staff and trade partner open house to allow those involved with the project to celebrate the accomplishment. »» Project Manager: Brett Lesiewicz »» Assistant Project Manager: Max Schmidt »» Field Manager: Ryan Geurink
BUILDINGTOGETHER | April 2017
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HALL PASS
Ryan Geurink and his daughter visited Blandford Nature Center with her class to learn more about sugar bush, and harvesting/preparing maple syrup!
WE'RE HIRING!
E&V employees are enjoying time off with their kids at school related functions!
Jereme Reeths and his son enjoyed "Pizza and Pops Day" at his preschool by making their own pizzas!
Tami Grinwis and her husband, Rob, spent an afternoon at Western Michigan University visiting her daughter Mckynann who had her artwork displayed.
STAY-CATION 2017!
We're always interested in your quality referrals for positions like Project Management, Estimating, Field Management, Carpentry and other trades for the positions right here in Holland and nationwide. Referrals can be directed to Tony Roussey at tonyr@elzinga-volkers.com
Congratulations!
Jackson Shafer
Eric Shafer and his girlfriend Megan welcomed their baby boy into the world on March 31, 2017. He was 5lbs and 15 oz!
BUILDINGTOGETHER | April June 2016 2017
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