2020 MVP

Before I get into the MVP process, I wanted to mention I was honored to be on the John Wheaton “Creating Structure” podcast that went online at the end of the week.  It was an absolute blast to do.  A chance to talk about where I came from, marketing, where the glass industry is now and where it’s going, along with a lot more. Please check it out HERE- I appreciate it.  Thank you John. 

 

As this is the last post of 2020, hopefully we can put the unusual nature of this year behind us and see better things ahead.  But first as is tradition here, it’s time for the 2020 Glass Industry MVP race.  Below are my runners-up and this year’s winner. All are very deserving and excellent folks.  The criteria I use to determine this is the following.  People or companies that stepped up and supported the industry beyond the norm.  People or companies who represent our values and push the greatness of what we do beyond the typical approaches. And last I try to not repeat people, so I try to find folks I have not recognized on these lists previously.  There are quite a few runners up in the last 7 years and I don’t have space for that but I did want to once again recognize who the past MVP’s were:

2019  Bill Sullivan 

2018  Nathalie Thibault

2017  Joe Erb 

2016  Chuck Knickerbocker

2015  Jon Kimberlain

2014  CR Laurence

2013  Tracy Rogers 

 

So on to 2020 and first the runners-up:

 

Casey Anderson- ICD. Casey is somewhat recent into our industry but in her short time she’s done an incredible job on many levels. Raising educational awareness, supporting events and advocacy and promoting the overall appeal of glass has been huge.  Personally I am jealous because I’ve seen some of the technical presentations that Casey helped drive and they blow me away- I wish I had that skill.  Casey is a super addition to our world and I think she’ll continue to push the best of us out there.

 

Sam Hill- Oak Cliff Mirror and Glass.  Sam, like so many in the great state of Texas, truly get the meaning of giving back to the industry.  Sam could easily note he’s too busy to help or support but never does and in fact in many times he’s looking for ways to add on or extend the reach of either the regional associations (like the excellent Texas Glass Association) or national ones like the NGA.  Sam has a genuine care for where we are and where we are going and we need more of that throughout our industry and quite frankly our world.

 

Bill and Keith Daubmann- My Shower Door, D3 Glass.  If I only had 2% of the energy that Keith has or 2% of the business skill that Bill has I’d be so much further along in life. (Note both guys have energy and skill- not to short change either!)  These guys are unreal.  They are constantly grinding, pushing, and improving.  And in doing so they are raising the image of our industry with it. But they don’t stop there, they are always open to promoting the greatness of what we all do, and hustling to get into the mainstream- which is so rare for us.  It is no accident that national pubs give them recognition all the time, they are fantastic operators and their support for our industry is a major priority for them. 

 

Now to our winner for 2020… and this person also takes the final spot on my “Influential 15” list that I have been doing the last few weeks to mark the 15 years of this blog. 

The 2020 Glass Industry MVP is Tim Kelley of Tristar Glass.  I think we all can say this year has not been a great one.  Yes, we have all been resilient and made the most of the situation, but this surely has been a challenge.  Tim Kelley absolutely dominated this challenge.  He kept an amazing positive attitude at the start and pushed forward with plans that most would’ve tried to cancel.  His company and people are among the best we have to offer- all class and care- and to me that’s indicative of the culture that Tim has built at Tristar.  Tim pushes to support the industry in every possible way and drives to make us all better. Then for the influential part, Tim is my 15^thand final member of that class and I look at what he’s done, how his company has grown, the people who work and are incredibly loyal to him, and it’s obvious he should be on my list.  He’s raised the profile of the “typical” glass fabricator from “meat and potatoes” to high performance and sophisticated.  End of the day the combo of what Tim has built with how they operate each and every day and the effect they’ve had and are having in the industry truly is influential and it’s been a breath of fresh air for me to experience. 

 

So there you go… this year’s MVP race is in the books and it makes me proud to be a part of this amazing industry and the great people who work in it.  We have all battled this year and it looks like we will have some more adventures ahead until it calms some.  I have confidence though that our community will continue to overcome, continue to put our products on display, and continue to be a great industry to work in. 

 

To all of you who read this weekly, and to those of you who may have just stumbled on this post, here’s wishing you only the best for 2021.  May you have a great holiday season and a HAPPY and HEALTHY New Year! Take Care!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

I used to love the Osborn lights at Disney- and these folks are off the charts too with their Christmas efforts!  But like a friend to me noted, how much is their electric bill?

 

I love dancing.  But in no way, shape, or form should it be in the Olympics.  

 

This story can’t be real. If it is the “luck” here is off the charts!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

 

It was about a year ago I decided to do a “Project of the Week” in this space and it really worked out nicely.  Was fun to recognize some awesome people, companies, and projects that truly showed off the greatness of the materials we produce.  

 

Our last Project of the Week for 2020 is an incredible decorative beauty from Goldray Glass.  This is the Moraine Valley Community College Rec Center and this digital print is awesome.  Wow.  Huge kudos to Cathie Saroka and her great team at Goldray and special mentions for the architects at Demonica Kemper on an awesome design and the team from Precision Wall Systems on the install.  Also kudos to super rep Tony Kasprzak as I spotted this one on his LinkedIn feed. Bottom line, it’s projects like this- and all the others I showed throughout the year that make glass and glazing the best building product segment out there!

Get ready for The Glass Age

Will 2022 be the year of Glass?  I have mentioned this a few times but there is an excellent international move afoot to make 2022 officially the year of glass and would begin the “The Glass Age” in our world.  Obviously I love it.  This past week the folks leading this effort had a live debut of their pitch and it is something to see.  While it covers every single aspect of glass, our world has a nice little part of it, and I was especially jazzed by a specific mention of bird friendly glazing along the way.  The presentation can be found HERE and it is very well done and worth the view.  I will have more information and updates on this as there will be opportunities for all of us in this industry to get involved and help push this over the finish line! 

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  Good news for an old friend.  Jeff Ziesche who I have worked with a few times in my past and have pretty much known all my life has started his own manufacturers rep firm based in Florida.  JAZ Sales & Consulting has launched and I am very pumped for him and also the excellent companies he’s representing. Good times ahead for all!

 

--  I am also honored and excited that I will soon be on the John Wheaton “Creating Structure” podcast.  We recorded it this week and it was a blast- I’ll share on my various platforms when it is live.  But speaking of that excellent set up that John has, this past week he had the legend Mic Patterson on.  Unbelievably good listen.  Mic is super.  BUT BUT BUT Mic made a comment that got me going.  He mentioned the “Battle for the Wall” and said that it was the glass industry’s way of pushing for more of the wall and more business.  For me that is not accurate.  The battle for the wall is trying to keep what we have since others want to reduce window to wall ratio and really do not like glass products.  Mic did though bring up serious thought-provoking comments on what we should be doing with regards to educating the design community and getting our true message out there among many other interesting insights.  Give it a listen HERE

 

--  How about this…. a story this week came out that said water filled IG units could replace regular IG units some day.  Read it all HERE but I don’t see it.  Vacuum Insulating, especially things like what Michael Spellman has going on in with tVIG will disrupt.  Will these?  Check it out and weigh in. 

 

--  The AIA released their Committee on the Environment (COTE) awards and the use of glass and glazing was pretty significant.  We are looking good here folks.  If you worked on one of these projects let me know- you deserve props!  Here’s the story. 

 

--  Last this week 2 more on to my “Influential 15” – one I think is a pretty obvious choice and the other may surprise but to me, he’s always been extremely influential in the way our industry operates.

 

First up is the obvious one... Don Friese.  What Mr. Friese built at CR Laurence was beyond game changing and quite frankly was legendary.  CRL did not become this incredible brand by accident.  Mr. Friese and his people worked it, they hustled, and they earned their spots.  The people that learned under him and in that system make up many of our best leaders in the industry today.  Upon selling the CRL a few years ago, Mr. Friese was incredible to his employees and truly changed many lives... and now post CRL he is still changing them with his foundation and specifically his support of the education aspect of the glass industry.  I do not know Mr. Friese very well, spoke to him maybe twice, but I see his fingerprints all over from folks that were with him for years to those who only spent a short time, and for all of them and this industry he was incredibly influential. 

 

The second choice this week is Garret Henson of Viracon.  Garret has been instrumental in growing high performance glass and getting more and more acceptance of high performance glass in the market.  Both what he does individually and how he’s led his insanely talented staff (superstars like my pal Cameron Scripture) to push architects and designers into better products for our world is huge.  Garret also gives back; he’s sat on the BEC planning committee for years and many times had to do serious heavy lifting in trying to line up speakers and subjects.  He did all of it without delay or complaint.  So for me it checks two big boxes of mine- did the person affect our world and did the person support our industry- for Garret it’s been a resounding yes.  Garret is also an excellent guy, a classy and sharp representative of our world in front of designers and developers all over the US. 

 

By the way, comically for years people have accused me of being on Viracon’s payroll because I have always been complimentary of them on my blog.  I do hold people like Garret, Cameron, Seth Madole, and of course Kelly Schuller (and many others there) in high regard.  But for the record, I have never worked for them, and in fact have never even been able to sell them as much as an inexpensive sponsorship for GlassBuild- so believe me, my positive thoughts here are from their performance in our world and nothing more. 

 

Only one more person to go on my influential 15- and that person will be revealed next week in my annual Glass Industry MVP post.  Who knows that individual may even be the 2020 MVP as well as making this list… tune in next week to find out!

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

Good on this delivery guy for the save!

 

Businesses trying to survive now run into other issues- what a brutal beat here.

 

Big time storm here- wow.

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

 

Super Sky continues to post some stunners and this past week Brian Thomas and the team had a great one that included excellent work from Viracon and Linetec.  This is the Reading Hospital and Medical Center that was sold by my good pal Ted Bleecker.  I love the natural light just flowing through.  Inside and out just a combo of great design and great execution from everyone involved.