I have been writing and posting this blog pretty much every
Sunday since 2005.I have always noted
it was therapeutic for me to do so… so today, this one absolutely is… and its
not specifically about glass but it is about someone who had a major influence
on a few of us in this industry.I
dedicate this post to my Mom.She passed
away early this morning at the age of 85.She read this blog every week and even though she had little idea of
some of the things I talked about here, she loyally read it.Kind of the “Mom” thing to do right?
My mom was the strength and support behind my Dad when he
started a new glass business in the 70’s.He started it when interest rates were rocketing and not exactly the
best economy.My mom was the strength
and support behind my sister and brother who joined with my dad to build that
business. And she was there for me too when years later I went into the
business.So I guess if any of us drive
you crazy, you can point to her influence that pushed us here.
The incredible growth and following success in business that
my brother led us to had fingerprints on it from both our parents, but I think
it was my Mom’s qualities of strength and toughness that allowed us to survive
and then thrive.I always believed, and
still do, that my mom was a “hockey player” in that she was incredibly
resilient.The woman was like a piece of
the best bomb resistant glass out there- she could take the best blast of
whatever hit her (Cancer, Sicknesses, premature passings etc) and handle it
with amazing grace, all while bouncing back usually in an incredible amount of
time.(Like the hockey player who could
loose a mouthful of teeth but still be out on the ice next shift)
So today is tough day and a big loss.It’s the first Sunday blog she won’t read
from me but I know she’d want me and my brother, and sister along with our kids
and grandkids to be strong and battle through it like she always did.We love you and we will miss you Mom… and yes
I will miss my most loyal reader.
Thank you.
My Mom Ettie taking a look at a few of her favorites including her awesome great grand-daughter this past November
We’ve basically reached the end of the year and have finally
come to my final scheduled post of 2018 where I award my annual Glass Industry
MVP award.This was a tough one this
year- I received more input than ever before.Tons of excellent candidates, but in the end I think I chose the most
deserving.The criteria I used for this
honor was the following:
An overall dedication to the betterment of our
industry.That can be through activity
in industry meetings, working on committees, creation of technology, advancing
education etc.Plus my opinion of them
and knowledge of their background helps too.This one is all on me, I ask for input on nominees but I don’t discuss
anything further.
So below I will list the group of runners up and then the
MVP.And I’m not playing favorites to
people who read this blog; as to the best of my knowledge none of the people
listed below read this, even if I have mentioned them in the past.So without further delay… let’s go…
Runners Up
Felix Munson- Anchor Ventana Glass.Felix is very active in the industry- his
dedication to the great Texas Glass Association is huge and his desire to bring
more education and knowledge to all is impressive.He also is very in tune with the growing
glazier certification process and has always pushed his company support for
industry as a whole.In addition he runs
a very good organization with a great reputation.
Jeff Haber- W&W Glass.Jeff may be the single most respected member in our industry.When he speaks, everyone listens.W&W is an incredible company and Jeff and
his family could take a different path and not be involved in the day to day
happened of the glass world, but he chooses to volunteer quite a bit.His impact with conferences like BEC and FTI
are important for educating the masses and he brings a vision and strategy to
everything he does.
Glenn Miner/Rob Struble Vitro Architectural Glass.I paired these two together because on many
items I end up seeing them as a combo deal.The key here is education and the desire to bring more of it to the
industry.Glenn and Rob are constantly
looking at ways to grow the communication of glass and its greatness.The Vitro Glass Education Center is awesome
and the monthly e-mail Vitro sends is helpful and worthy.In addition Vitro continues to step up and be
a partner in many functions throughout the glass and glazing landscape when
others in the same place choose not to be involved.
Greg Oehlers- Tristar.Greg is a freaking Legend.Period.I honestly can say I love
this man, and admire all he has done in our world.No matter what is going in Greg’s life his
energy and desire to push the good in our world is never diminished.His presentations are incredible.(Advice if you have to speak on same agenda
as Greg, go before him because if you follow him, it’s simply impossible.) Greg
has always been willing to hear out and TRY new products and services, which
makes him a great friend to every innovator out there.And if he likes what you do, it’s an
incredible endorsement.
OK... so you have the runners up… all incredible people who
do great work and advance and support our world… so who tops them and wins the
title this year????
The 2019 Glass
Industry MVP is Nathalie Thibault- Prelco
Nathalie is a constant presence at the NGA/GANA level as
well as being the current President of IGMA.To put it simply she is involved consistently at every level.Nathalie is extremely well respected and she
brings significant insights to everything she does, and those approaches
usually develop into important guidelines or pieces of education that drive our
industry.She is also very inquisitive
in the most positive way. She asks questions of you because she legitimately
values your opinion.With how incredibly
busy she is, you would think she’d be less open for deep discussions or more
roles, but that has not been the case.Her company is one that brings an excellent reputation, so they truly
practice what Nathalie preaches.To make
things even more amazing is when I found out Nathalie was back in school going
after an MBA.When I asked her about it
I was impressed by her answer- she wanted to push her skills a notch
further.That’s incredible given how
good she already is…Bottom line,
Nathalie is a great example of someone who gets it and truly deserves the
recognition.Congratulations on being
our 2019 Glass Industry MVP!
Elsewhere…
So this is probably the last post of the year unless
something crazy happens… I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone who
reads this blog and communicates with me about it.I truly appreciate it!I believe we have another good year upcoming
and I am excited about so much of what is happening in our world.(Do you think I am excited by Thirsty Thursdays,
Annual Conference and BEC?LOL- I know
promote ‘em like crazy…) In any case I hope everyone out there has a fantastic
holiday season and your and your families have a happy, healthy, and profitable
2019!
I am a big fan of the team at Rowe Fenestration… they are
sharp and great examplesof strong representatives
our industry needs..so I wanted to
share the holiday video they did for their customer base…quick, simple, and classy. Nice work!
Next week my industry MVP will be announced… but this week I
want to recognize two incredible men that have recently transitioned away from
the day to day glass and glazing industry- Jerry and Jeff Razwick, formerly of Technical
Glass Products- TGP.When I had heard
that Jerry and Jeff were no longer with TGP, it was struck me hard- these guys
were forces in their sector of our world and its going to be seriously
different without them out there on a day to day basis.First off, for me growing up in the industry,
Jerry Razwick was this incredible influential figure- I would see his name in
all of the news stories and he was always on the forefront of technology and
innovation in the fire rated space.As I
grew in the industry I finally got to meet Jerry and I was a wreck at first
because he is this legend… but I didn’t need to worry, as he was as friendly as
he could be to me. I also along the way
got to know his son Jeff, who in his own right became a brilliant businessman,
leader and class act.Getting to know
these guys and then so many of the folks that worked with them, it was easy to
see why they were having such amazing success.In addition, and this is a big thing for me, they served and supported
our industry extremely well.They
could’ve pulled their company support when they had explosive growth but they
didn’t and as an industry guy- I will always appreciate that.In closing, not only did Jerry and Jeff truly
care about their industry and their product but primarily I believe absolutely
that they cared about the people who worked at TGP.They were determined to do things the right
way and I think they did exactly that.So this chapter may be over- and I hope Jerry and Jeff stay in contact
with our world- but if not it was a great pleasure and honor getting to know
them and I thank them for all they have done.
Elsewhere….
-- This week the news that Ricardo Maiz would be named
President of Vitro Architectural Glass came out and I’m thrilled.I have known Ricardo for many years and he’s
a tremendous man with talent that I couldn’t even dream of having.He will do a fantastic job in his new
role.
-- Speaking of new roles I also saw Tammy Schroeder was
promoted to Marketing Manager at Linetec. Every time I have ever interacted
with Tammy I always leave so impressed by her talent, approach and vision.She’s been kicking butt at Linetec for 19
years and I am sure with her new gig that greatness will continue!
-- Please don’t forget about Thirsty Thursday this week-
Security Glazing for Schools is the subject and it’s really a good
presentation.Register here.
-- Once again this year I had the honor of being on the BEC
Program Planning committee and I can tell you that agenda has really come along
nicely.Most people will say they come
to BEC for the networking- and that will obviously still be in play, but this
year, the depth of the subject matter, with a supreme focus on the glazing
community, makes the event even more valuable.Obviously as a former host and chair of this event, I am extremely
biased, but I sincerely see it worth your time.
-- Here we go again story of the week… Headline of this story is
“Glass Towers Are So Passé. What Will Replace Them?” and so I was ready to go
crazy… but the article was less inflammatory than the headline and quite
frankly the author actually showed a job or two with a great amount of
glass.I think there are people who
truly don’t understand the way glass can interact with the other building
materials and people are not designing the 1980 style all reflective glass box
anymore.Anyway read for yourself and decide…
Last this week… for my friends in Denver and Kansas City… is this really a thing? “Denverization”is
the theme…
I’m not a big Avengers guy but have seen the movies and they
are what they are… good mindless fun… and for more of that we are getting next
installment in April… here’s the new trailer that was released Friday and it already
has 52 million views!
Well 2018 is quickly coming to a close… we’ve now reached
December and the end of the year is clearly in sight.I have been asked quite a bit recently on if
they’ll be any major deals before the year ends.Typically year-end is a target date for deals
and in the past we’ve had a few big ones hit in mid to late December.This year, I think we may have a couple but
based on what I am hearing it will be on the smaller side… but you never
know.So while this month is one of
holiday and celebration, it may also produce some interesting news… stay tuned!
Elsewhere…
-- I’m going to be a pain with reminders, but I only do it
because it’s worthy.First one is Annual
Conference- coming In January.Last week
it was announced that Lisa Rammig of Eckersley O’Callghan & Partners will
be the featured presenter and folks it is worth coming to this event just for
that.I briefly met Lisa at glasstec and
she’s incredibly intelligent and has awesome insight at the architectural
trends and drivers in our world.Seriously a must see.Add this
into the other subjects slated to be discussed like AB262, IBC, ASHRAE, and
full technical meetings and you really can gain a ton of intel by being
there.If you have any questions, feel
free to ask me, otherwise please sign up today.
-- MAJOR Thirsty Thursday alert on a crucial subject… School
Security.Glass plays a big role and
this webinar gives you a very true and in-depth background what is happening in
that world and how our industry fits in.If you are doing anything in this space or want to do something than
this is where you have to be to get up to speed.Check it out on December 13thand register HERE.
-- Time for the monthly review of Glass Magazine…. This is the
Metal Companies issue and features the annual Top Metal Companies report along
with stories continuing labor challenges; edge grinding, and a great take on
the tariff adventures out there. Cover to cover yet again very solid
issue.As for the ad of the month… I
have to give it to Trex Commercial Products for their snazzy ad that really
showed the awesomeness of glass.(I’m a
sucker for great shots of glass in use) Tremendous work as always by Tessa
Miller and her team at Trex.
-- Speaking of railings, if you watch the TV show “New
Amsterdam” the set they use has an incredibly cool railing and structural wall
setup.If anyone out there knows what
this one is or supplied the materials, let me know- would love to pass the
kudos on.Good stuff and again, shows
glass in a fabulous way.
-- Last this week… I came across this fun and snarky look at
what the new Amazon HQ2 in New York City could look like… I swear this story of
Amazon opening in NYC is going to take 50 more turns before its said and
done.In any case, I like the fun look
at it….
This may be the best video I have ever posted.Hang-glider guy not strapped in and holds on…
for dear life… incredible.It was a
serious feat for him to hang on there.Check it out!
