My journey through the inner sanctum of the USG Research & Technology Innovation center continued through one testing laboratory after another, each with its own specialty… With over 100 years of innovation and leadership in the walls and ceilings industry, there is no aspect of the business that has escaped the purview of the USG scientists.
I met Kevin Moyer at the national plastering contest held last year in Long Beach, Calif. I listened as he spoke of the future of the plastering industry and the need for skilled plasterers to meet the expected demand of a trade once in decline, but now on the eve of a renaissance. I asked him then if I could have the opportunity to interview him for Walls and Ceilings and recently our schedules permitted us to get together.
It never fails to disappoint me how otherwise bright and talented craftsmen and women who are experts at their trade will sometimes neglect their own health and safety.
A change in top leadership can, and often does, make a profound impact on the bottom line. On Jan. 1, 2007, the Plasterers and Cement Masons Union made such a change, and I had the opportunity to interview their new general president, Patrick D. Finley, about his background and the challenges he faces in today’s changing environment for unions.
I recently had the opportunity to visit Ft.
McMurray, which is located about 300 miles north of Edmonton, in Northern
Alberta, Canada. It’s not the northern most point on the road but you can see it
from there. The area is a phenomenon because it contains the largest known cash
of petroleum in the world. You didn’t know that? Well, neither did I until
recently. The amount of oil sand in Alberta is enough-at their current rate of
consumption-to provide Canada all of the petroleum it would need for the next
475 years. It’s enough oil to meet the needs of the entire planet for the next
15 years.
My first visit to New Orleans was in February 1990. I was a new labor trustee on a pension and health and welfare plan, and I was there to attend training classes at the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Conference. I was so jazzed, pun fully intended, about experiencing the town for the first time. As someone who likes to eat, listen to music and generally just have a good time can attest, she did not disappoint. From the sights and sounds of Bourbon Street, to the chickaree laced coffee and beignets at Café du Monde, it certainly lived up to its hype.
It begins with a single question, usually offered by an apprenticeship instructor, a union representative or an employer, "Do you want to compete?" How 23 young men and women answered this question may have changed their lives.
The old Patent Office Building located in Washington D.C., has served our country since July 4, 1836. It is the third oldest federal building still in use in our nation's Capitol and as its name suggests, the building was originally the home of the U.S. Patent Office and invention exhibit. Said to be one of the largest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States, this historic structure survived two fires and was saved from the wrecking ball by an act of Congress. It was given to the Smithsonian Institute in 1968, serving as the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum.
"Who am I? Why am I here?" The words uttered by Ross Perot's running mate Admiral James Stockdale, in his opening statements of the 1992 Vice Presidential debate. These words seem appropriate to use for my first column. Allow me to introduce myself.
