Past Details

So in my previous post I talked about my MVP process and I asked for any feedback.  Well you all came through with quite a bit of insight for me to consider, easily the most I have had since starting this process back in 2013.  The one thing I realized is that many of you probably hadn’t seen or remembered the runners up each year.  So I decided to list those incredible folks here.  I have always kept it in my head that I won’t repeat people so I can spread the recognition around, but I think after this year, those who were runners up in the past can be future MVPs.  In any case I think I have an incredible slate for this year (posting in a few weeks) and I am excited to determine the winner and share all!

Previous Runners Up

2013

Dr. Tom Culp

Mark Silverberg

Ed Zaucha

Mic Patterson

Oliver Stepe

Dr. Helen Sanders

Scott Thomsen

2014

John Wheaton

Rick Wright

Tom O’Malley

Bernard Lax

2015

Walker Glass  

Garret Henson

Dip Tech

Kris Vockler

2016

Mike Albert

Thom Zaremba

Urmilla Jokhu-Sowell

SAPA

2017

GCI Consultants

Darijo Babic

Cathie Saroka

Elsewhere…

--  The Architectural Billings Index was in the positive territory yet again last month… so the “plus” trend continues but the number continues to decrease each month.  I have a feeling this coming month we’ll have a below 50 score.  Its not anything to be alarmed about yet, but does bear watching.

--  Greenbuild was recently held and I have to give kudos to so many in the glass industry who stayed away.  That event is not a worthy one in my opinion and the LEED process surely not a valuable one for glass and glazing.  Again one guys opinion here but nice to see more and more companies from our world see the same thing I have seen and noted.

Some quick hits….

--  Speaking of green building but in a more real sense, some positive news via Dodge on the growth of sustainable products.

--  People want more energy efficiency… huh?  What a stunner (for this I really wish I had a sarcasm font)  That said it’s a good thing, no matter how obvious.

--  Vitro Architectural Glass did a very cool survey on expectations… Smart and informative. 

--  Kudos to the super folks at Safti-FIRST for being imvolved in the annual “Giving Tuesday” event and donating turkeys.  Great going here!

Last this week… 2 non industry notes..

--  As a guy who loves to follow the marketing world its been interesting to see how the massive success of the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody” (See it.  Really tremendous) has driven other advertisements and marketing.  Over the holidays I saw several ads that featured Queen or their music.  Love when marketing people can quickly recognize and jump on the right trend.

--  It’s the holiday season and with that comes the onslaught of seasonal movies on the Hallmark Channel.  These movies do incredible ratings and they are huge hits with my wife and daughter and many others.  But the thing that cracks me up is it is literally the same formula for every single movie.  All they do is change the setting and tweak the plot a tiny bit.  Heck in many cases they use the same actors!  In any case it just makes me laugh, but it does prove that when you have something that works, you stick with it.  Classic “if its not broke, don’t fix it” theory.

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Nice to see when celebrities use their place in the world for good.   The fires in California though are heartbreaking.

--  Heavy snow and a camel.  In Philly.  Surely an odd story

--  I hate daylight savings time.. but looks like Japan loves it- especially if it makes a difference in the Olympics to be held there.

VIDEO of the WEEK

This is worth watching to get to the end.  Can the guy talking actually hear the interviewer??  Hmmmm.  The commentary of the viewer from home was fantastic too.

MVP Season Begins

It is once again that time of the year that we start to look back and for me that is my annual awarding of the glass industry MVP.  In one month, with my last post for 2018, I will make the announcement of the runners up and the winner of the award.  I have been recognizing people for this honor since 2013 (list of winners below) and its one of the most rewarding things I can do.  All of the people that I name go above and beyond for this industry and represent our interests extremely well.  2018 will once again be an extremely challenging to choose a winner.  Since I have been doing this I have recognized 40 people all of which made major impacts and I am excited to point out 5 more next month.  If you have someone (or a company) that you think deserves consideration please drop me a line.  Our past winners:

2013- Tracy Rogers

2014- CR Laurence

2015- Jon Kimberlain

2016- Chuck Knickerbocker

2017- Joe Erb

2018- TO BE ANNOUNCED in DECEMBER

Elsewhere…

--  Reminders again-

Thirsty Thursday this week- great insight into NGA.  See what the industries largest association is doing for you and GET INVOLVED!  

Also early bird pricing for Annual Conference ends soon.  Sign up for both ASAP.

--  The latest Glass Magazine review… and I am behind… is for the “Robot Revolution” October issue.  Obviously the recent glasstec event was a major showcase for robots and automation so this issue from Glass Magazine was very timely and helpful.  In depth articles on maintenance, robots, and technology advancements were strong as was Marco Terry’s excellent piece on when to grow a business.  Good stuff as always!  My favorite ad of the month actually goes to GlassBuild America for their piece recognizing all of the sponsors at the show.  All of these companies not only advanced their brand by sponsoring but they also did right by the industry by supporting the effort. It was great to see them all listed on one page.

--  I have covered on here the race to be the city that gets Amazon’s HQ2.  Well it looks like that contest is over and apparently the winners were Long Island, NY and Arlington, Virginia. This was stunning given cost of living, traffic etc. in those areas.  Those choices have not gone over well publicly as some of the tenets that everyone expected from Amazon when it started the search were not considered in the end. 

Will Oremus, Tech Columnist at Slate summed it up well with this tweet:

“I know I'm late to this, but the reason Amazon's HQ2 was a farce is not just that they picked two cities. It's that they raised the hopes of cities across the country that could really use an infusion of economic vitality, then picked the two that need it least of all.”

That really nails it- why have 300 communities do this when this is where you end up?  In any case Amazon also now has detailed planning information on every city in the US, deep intel really, that I am sure they will utilize to keep growing.  From a business side it was brilliant.  From a human side, it left me cold. 

--  Check out the design of this building.  I sure hope when it comes to the engineering someone really smart like John Wheaton is involved because looking at this blows my mind.

--  Last this week… note there is no blog from me next week as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday.  As I have noted here many times, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I can’t wait to enjoy it yet again.  But even more so this year- we need to give thanks for what we have and take heed that it does not last forever.  Life can be short, time absolutely flies, so next week, when you gather with your friends and family, take it all in a little deeper.  Thank you.

LINKS of the WEEK

--  I found this cute and funny and surely makes the engagement even more memorable.

--  Serious question on this one… How?

--  This story was everywhere this week, but in case you missed it… the town that rallied around the owner of a donut shop. 

VIDEO of the WEEK

We are here at the Veterans Day time and if you want to show your support and appreciation to the amazing veterans in the United States, please consider donating to these folks.  They do great work to serve the heroes who served all of us!

Rest in Peace Nick Barone

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Recently its not been the best of times, first the tragedy in Pittsburgh, my home town, at a place of worship that I know so very well shook me to my core.  I still can’t even process what went on and I can only hope we can all stay strong and push forward.  Then early last week I got the word that Nick Barone of  GGI passed away.  That was another massive blow to the gut for me.  Nick was a very good man.  Treated me and so many others incredibly well- always with a smile and a story.   I knew Nick as a customer of his and for a short time a co-worker.  He was always a guy you could count on to improve your mood.  He took the time to get to know everyone he came in contact with and could hold a fun conversation with anyone.  He was incredibly good at what he did and it’s devastating to lose him so young.  Our industry, GGI, and especially Nick’s family lost a great person way too early.  My thoughts and prayers to all of Nick’s family and friends and I know I won’t easily forget what he did and how he did it.  Rest in peace my friend.

Elsewhere…

--  So we have to all keep moving no matter what… and to that extent… a few notes of industry events that just opened registration that are must attend events.  First coming up on November 15^th is the next “Thirsty Thursday” webinar and this one is open to all!  More info can be found HERE but this is a rundown of everything the National Glass Association has going on right now and if you want the insight of what is happening at the trade level (you should) don’t miss it.  No membership needed to attend, so click the link and join in.

--  Next registration for Annual Conference and BEC are now open.  Annual Conference is in January and it’s the premiere technical event in our industry.  If you want to stay on top of the guidelines and approaches that are going on in the glass world, this is one to be at.  To register and learn more- click HERE.  Dates are January 22-24 in Naples, FL.

--  Last is the annual BEC Conference in Las Vegas.  I have been honored to be a small part of an amazing team that put together the program for this year and its fabulous.  If you are a glazing contractor- THIS EVENT IS FOR YOU.  The agenda is what your peers have determined include the issues that affect you and your business daily.  Meanwhile for all others it is a networking bonanza.  I visit with more people in 2 days at BEC than I can anywhere else (outside of GlassBuild of course) and that value is off the charts!  Register now- HERE

--  The latest Architectural Billings Index stayed above the mainline but the analysts are starting to hedge the bets some seeing a potential slow down in the near future.  Still positive metrics are there and the Midwest region posted its best monthly score in a very long time.  I think the stock markets volatility may be playing into these numbers as well- it would be nice to see some sort of calming of the markets overall as they herky jerk of the index really does cause some angst.

--  This Deer doesn’t like glass.  Wild story.

--  My pal Chuck Knickerbocker of TGP had this first on his great blog but I wanted to also share here… the ENR Top 600.  Good and interesting poll.

--  Last this week- in my glasstec coverage I left out some very important people. The folks from NGA that I had the honor to work with while there!  This group really is amazing and I am thankful to even be in the same room with them.  So many good things are happening at NGA with Glass Magazine, GlassBuild America, Education, Advocacy and more.  The NGA contingent led by Nicole Harris and including Andrew Haring, Katy Devlin, Urmilla Sowell, Sara Neiswanger, and Jonathan Watson brought an intense work ethic to the floor each day and it blew me away.  What NGA is doing right now is a massive benefit to our industry and I am excited for the future and next steps!

LINKS of the WEEK

No one missed this guy?  Something doesn’t add up

There is hope after all… good work young man!

Wow- don’t spoil the ending of books or else…

VIDEO of the WEEK

Great work by Ford on this commercial… love it!