The Owners' Manual | Issue 20 | Winter 2021

2021 ▬ issue 20 ▬ winter

issue 20, winter 2021

Photo credit: Lisa Pavano, Meriden Construction Inspection in East Hartford, CT

BL Buzz Around BL..............................................1 Foundations Graduates....................2-3 Welcome Aboard New Employees..............................5-13 New Survey Equipment!.....................18 Question of the Quarter................21-30

FYI Podcast Recommendation............19 Legal Tip...........................................14 IT Tip..................................................15 Wellness Resource.....................16-17 Pet Safety..........................................20 Upcoming Events.............................31

Front & Back Covers: Bloomfield Trail - Bloomfield, CT (photographed by Steven Fraysier, Hartford, CT)

SLT had some festive fun during one of their daily morning meetings prior to the holidays. What is your group doing to keep things fun? Need some ideas? Just reach out to the Marketing Dept and we’ll help out.

Mentoring can still take place in a pandemic! On the East Hartford roadway reconstruction and rehabilitation project, a hands-on approach was provided to show first-hand how our projects are constructed. What has your team been doing? Please share!

issue 20 // 1

Congratulations to the 120 graduates of the 2020 Leadership Development Foundations Program! The Program was fully remote over a period of 12 weeks - quite different than the normal format - but showcased the Agility of all those involved!

In case you were wondering... The next class of Foundations participants will be in Spring of 2021.

issue 20 // 3

BL is on social media! Don’t forget to follow us + engage! Questions? Please reach out to Heather Halotek.

MEET OUR NEW EMPLOYEE OWNERS! JUNE 29 - OCTOBER 19, 2020

issue 20 // 5

J ENNIFER BROWN “MERIDEN OFFICE” ARCHITECTURE | STARTED SEP

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES?

Because a BL employee-owner had been pestering me to come and work here for years. It was a fantastic decision! After 25 years of working in NYC in commercial, residential and interiors, it was time for a change. Working remotely was de fi nitely a factor. I get to live in Brooklyn but work in CT – It’s Revolutionary! TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF I went to school at Syracuse University, with a bit of time in Italy, and a year or two at Columbia. I live in Brooklyn, but have also worked in London and Ireland. I have family in Danbury, CT and Narragansett (ish), RI. My two stepsons live in Austria, my two favorite nephews live in Simsbury, CT, and my Italian-named dog lives with me in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. Yes, it’s a tiny space. No, there is no elevator. No, I am not moving to Connecticut! DO YOU HAVE A TALENT OR HOBBY? I don’t have one talent or hobby that I stick to, but change them all the time. The last one was building a wooden rowboat. It’s here in Brooklyn, but I have yet to take it out – I can’t fi nd anyone who wants to go

for a row in New York’s Harbor. I think the next one will be tennis. WHAT IS A FAVORITE VACATION OR DREAM DESTINATION?

I adore traveling, though not at the moment. My last trip was to Scotland for a few weeks, and my next trip will likely be to Austria or Venice to see my stepsons. One day, I would like to see the Northern Lights, and visit Australia.

IF YOU COULD LEARN TO DO ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I plan to learn to speak another language, but so far, that plan hasn’t worked. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU LEARNED IN THE LAST WEEK? OR SINCE JOINING BL? I have truly learned the meaning of ‘fast-paced’ here at BL, a phrase I thought I was familiar with. I have found my A-Team to be some of the most wonderful coworkers of my career, and I look forward to the future here with everyone. Feel free to video bomb me anytime. It’s a bit quiet in the house.

P AT PADLO MERIDEN OFFICE TRAFFIC | STARTED SEP

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES? The team – for me it’s about people and knowing that you can spend 8+ hrs a day and create a new analysis / product for the client. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF I was born in Poland and moved to the USA as a teenager. I had the pleasure to attend New Britain High School and UCONN for both of my degrees (BS & MS). I’ve always had pets living with me but at the moment I must be content with wild birds that visit my feeder everyday and bee hives that are tended to by others. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR FREE TIME? What free time? Unless I’m sick, I’ll always find something to do, even if it means binge watching a show while I’m trying to get over a cold. Lately, I’ve been attending to house projects around my parents’ house. WHAT IS A GOOD PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED? Do what you love and remember always family first! DO YOU HAVE A TALENT OR HOBBY? I did some calligraphy as a kid, so I can hand draw say Italic for wedding invitations / diplomas /etc. I’ve always been active gardener. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Something with numbers as I’ve always liked math. Only in high school / college I’ve finalized my search.

WHAT IS A FAVORITE VACATION OR DREAM DESTINATION? The world – more specifically sail around the world. WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES? “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” Or more recently quote our family lives by “it takes a village to raise a kid” IF YOU COULD LEARN TO DO ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Another language. I F YOU WON THE LOTTERY, WHAT’S YOUR SPLURGE? Sail around the world. WHO INSPIRES YOU AND WHY? It could be anything and/or anyone – a small grassroot event or a person who perseveres through obstacles. Depends on the moment. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SOMETHING HAPPEN TO YOU THAT YOU THOUGHT WAS BAD BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE GOOD? My 6 month vacation due to Covid-19 and being stuck abroad. At first I must admit I was frustrated, but as the time continued I’ve appreciated the fact I got to spend extended time with my father and childhood friends. (see photos – I truly had a great time even with social distancing & no travel restriction) WHAT’S THE HARDEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE? N / A – I don’t believe in rating things like that. Life only gives you what you can handle, some things may seem harder than others, but in the end the path you made was yours.

issue 20 // 7

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES? I was looking for a company (in Hartford) that was growing with a culture that I could enjoy at work. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR FREE TIME? Small renovations on my house. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Generous WHAT IS A FAVORITE VACATION OR DREAM DESTINATION? Grand Canyon WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES? “Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing.” -Seal IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY, WHAT’S YOUR SPLURGE? A house with central AC. WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT BEING A KID? Playing sports in the neighborhood until it became dark out. DO YOU HAVE A TV BINGE/MOVIE/BOOK/ MUSIC WORTH RECOMMENDING? Real Estate Rookie (BiggerPockets) Podcast

K EVIN MASSE HARTFORD OFFICE ENERGY | STARTED JUL

SUSIE

M ICHELLE MURO NORWOOD OFFICE ARCHITECTURE | STARTED OCT

ABBY

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES? After speaking with Bret and Barb J., and seeing their enthusiasm for the company and culture, along with the opportunity to grow with the company, I couldn’t pass on this amazing company TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF After living in Colorado for 19 years, where I met my husband John (first date was 6am game; I was playing in a hockey tournament) we moved to be closer to my family in VT. We have 4, very demanding feline supervisors. “retired CEO” MoChroi (Gaelic for my heart), Executive CEO Abby, my direct Su-purr-visor Susie, and office boy Hobbes. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR FREE TIME? I make quilts on the weekends. Even though it doesn’t make sense to cut up fabric to sew it back together, it’s very relaxing to me. Especially when you have a quality control manager testing the product throughout production. DO YOU HAVE A TALENT OR HOBBY? I grew up on a dairy farm and participated in 4-H, showing and judging dairy cattle. WHAT IS A FAVORITE VACATION OR DREAM DESTINATION? Love visiting Ireland, 2 trips so far seeing different parts each time. Next trip will be to the northern counties and Northern Ireland. WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES? “Mommy just slapped daddy at the dinner table.” – Marvin in RED 2. IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY, WHAT’S YOUR SPLURGE? Build a cabin in the woods on the family farm in VT and a second holiday home in Dingle, Ireland.

MOCHROI

WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT BEING A KID? Being able to fall down and not hurt myself. DO YOU HAVE A TV BINGE/ MOVIE/BOOK/MUSIC WORTH RECOMMENDING? I love to learn about WWII. “Roosevelt’s Secret War” – about the creating of the OSS, the first central intelligence agency. “The Women Who Wrote the War” is an amazing book about the female war correspondents and the barriers they had to break thru. And finally, “The Pillars of the Earth” – best first line.

HOBBES

issue 20 // 9

M IKE MOONAN WARWICK OFFICE LAND. ARCH. | STARTED JUL

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES? It was an excellent opportunity to work for a great company at an office close to home. And the opportunity to help BL grow in the region. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF I was born in Cleveland Heights Ohio and lived there until I was 15. I still have family there. I went to the University of Rhode Island for a BS in General Business Administration and The Rhode Island School of Design for a Masters in Landscape Architecture. I live in Edgewood (Cranston) RI with my wife Kristen, our two daughters Lauren and Caroline, our two cats Cloe and George, and our two dogs, Daisy and Jasper. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR FREE TIME? Reading, traveling, shopping for cars if we need a new one or even if we don’t. I also love watching action or adventure movies that my family won’t watch when I have a night to myself. WHAT IS A GOOD PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED? To memorize names by associating them with the face of a person I know really well. I am a visual person so this really helped. When I see the person again, my friends or relative face comes into mind and I remember their name. DO YOU HAVE A TALENT OR HOBBY? I would say woodworking or building almost anything (but I do not get to do much of it), gardening, lawn care. I love model railroading and built several sets as a kid. Would love to get back into it later in life. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? A professional hockey player. WHAT IS A FAVORITE VACATION OR DREAM DESTINATION? I would love to go to New Zealand or Australia. IF YOU COULD LEARN TO DO ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Probably speak another language fluently, German, Spanish or French. IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY, WHAT’S YOUR SPLURGE? A really nice classic car, say a Mustang, a new Porsche, and a really nice pickup truck and a large enough garage to keep them in. And, of course something really nice for my wife and each daughter. WHAT’S THE HARDEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE? Probably move from Cleveland Heights to Rhode Island. WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT BEING A KID? Playing hockey several times a week and running around outside and getting filthy dirty with my friends like crazy kids. DO YOU HAVE A TV BINGE/MOVIE/BOOK/MUSIC WORTH RECOMMENDING? Breaking Bad and any of the Ken Follett historical fiction novels or series. WHAT IS THE NERDIEST THING YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? Sleep WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU LEARNED IN THE LAST WEEK? OR SINCE JOINING BL? I know it is boring but I learned how to do a complex Project Plan in Vision

L AURA SALEH KOP OFFICE CIVIL | STARTED SEP

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES? I had just graduated from college and was looking for my first full-time job, I saw an open position and had 2 interviews, then the rest was history! TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF Penn State proud, right from outside of Philly but originally from New Jersey. I currently live at home with my mom and our newly rescued dog Winston, but I will be moving out in a few months. I have 2 older sisters, a brother-in-law, and a niece and nephew that are the cutest humans on this planet. See the picture for proof!

M ICAH BARRON CHARLOTTE OFFICE ARCHITECTURE | STARTED SEP

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES? Recommendations for BL from colleagues (Robert Burke & Randy Kirschner); interactions with John Ireland and Bob Celata during interview process; competitive salary & benefits offerings; depth of backlog / ongoing work pipeline. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR FREE TIME? I enjoy spending time with my wife and two children, playing video games, running and watching movies. WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES? “All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost….” J.R.R. Tolkien. “We are meant to be equal as people, but not all ideas are equal.” Ravi Zacharias. WHO INSPIRES YOU AND WHY? Ravi Zacharias. He was a Christian apologist that was able to clearly and concisely articulate his beliefs about reality while maintaining and conveying respect for those who disagreed with him. DO YOU HAVE A TV BINGE/MOVIE/BOOK/MUSIC WORTH RECOMMENDING? The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series – books by J.R.R. Tolkien or the uncut movies available by Peter Jackson. Probably need to be a fantasy nerd to enjoy, though.

issue 20 // 11

H AYDEN WILLIS CHARLOTTE OFFICE ARCHITECTURE | STARTED SEP

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES? Employee ownership culture and challenging projects. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF

I grew up in Columbia, SC and went to Clemson University for both undergrad and Master’s in Structural Engineering. I made Charlotte, NC my home after college and designed power generation facilities for twelve years before joining BL Companies. My wife, Colleen, and I have two children Marie (3) and Walter (1). Before children, we lived abroad on a work assignment in Yokohama, Japan for a little over a year. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR FREE TIME? Family time and anything outdoors including boating, biking, hiking, playing tennis and running. Also, watching Clemson sports, go Tigers! DO YOU HAVE A TALENT OR HOBBY? I enjoy grilling and smoking meats. IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY, WHAT’S YOUR SPLURGE? Boat WHAT’S THE HARDEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE? Summited Mt. Fuji WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT BEING A KID? Summer vacation DO YOU HAVE A TV BINGE/MOVIE/BOOK/MUSIC WORTH RECOMMENDING? Blacklist and Parenthood

W ES WOLF HARRISBURG OFFICE NATURAL RES. | STARTED JUL

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO BL COMPANIES? I have worked with BL in the past and new of a few of the employee owners and had very good working relationships with them. Through those relationships I had a pretty good idea about the great culture of the company, which is very different than where I was working. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF I live in Downingtown, PA with my wife and 4 children, 2 cats and 1 dog. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR FREE TIME? I enjoy the beach, surf fishing and working on our 1970 Mustang fastback that I’m very slowly restomoding. WHAT IS A GOOD PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED? My dad told me when I was a stubborn teenager that if you don’t use your mind to work your body will suffer. He was a mason and was speaking from years of working all kinds of jobsites in all kinds of weather. DO YOU HAVE A TALENT OR HOBBY? I’m not sure it’s a hobby, but my wife provides me with lots of home improvement opportunities. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? I have to grow up?

WHAT IS A FAVORITE VACATION OR DREAM DESTINATION? I love going to the Outer Banks at any time of the year. WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES? “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” IF YOU COULD LEARN TO DO ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Fly a WWII era P-51 Mustang IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY, WHAT’S YOUR SPLURGE? A fully stocked, working garage with a lift to work on my restomod Mustang and having time to work on it. WHO’S YOUR CELEBRITY LOOK ALIKE? Used to be Chris Reeves when I was younger, I’ve now morphed to Gary Sinise WHO INSPIRES YOU AND WHY? My wife, Lori. She’s always full of ideas and energy. WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT BEING A KID? Not really having to be accountable for everything. DO YOU HAVE A TV BINGE/MOVIE/BOOK/MUSIC WORTH RECOMMENDING? Yellowstone on Paramount. WHAT IS THE NERDIEST THING YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? Read . WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU LEARNED IN THE LAST WEEK? OR SINCE JOINING BL? That I need to learn a lot about Deltek that I didn’t have to know previously.

issue 20 // 13

You’ve heard the term “AR.” Perhaps you’ve heard that your Director, your Executive Director or your PM needs to attend an AR meeting with Kathy Devito fromAccounting and needs a status update. What is AR and why is it important? AR stands for Accounts Receivable. A receivable is money that is owed to BL by a client. A more formal definition is the following,“… the balance of money due to a firm for goods or services delivered or used but not yet paid for by customers.Accounts receivable are listed on the balance sheet as a current asset.“ More on the balance sheet part below. When we contract with a client, our payment terms specify that all invoices are due to be paid no later than thirty days after the date of the invoice. Many clients pay on time. But some do not. For those that do not, we have to employ multiple strategies. These strategies may involve: 1. Calling the client to inquire as to the status of payment and getting a date certain. 2. Holding, as leverage, deliverables that the client needs until we are paid. 3. Stopping work and/or not attending a hearing or meeting until we are paid. 4. Sending a letter from the Accounting Dept. • Sending a letter from the Legal Dept. • Sending the receivable to a collections agency to have them try to collect – note that the collections agency takes a 30% cut. 5. Putting a mechanic’s lien on the property where we did the work. This ties up the property in the event that there is a sale or a refinancing and gets us paid before either of those events can take place.

IT TIP IT TI TIP TIP T T

BL’S AR PROCESS Now, back to the balance sheet. When a receivable is deemed uncollectible, we need to remove the asset from our balance sheet. This is a direct expense to the business and reduces our income and profitability. In addition, BL undergoes several financial and bank audits each year. Large amounts of AR outstanding over a certain amount of time, including those eventually deemed uncollectible, can negatively affect these audits, unfavorably impact our cash balances and increase our business risk profile. Bottom line |We did the work, we should be paid for it. PM’s should actively work to collect their receivables and use Accounting and Legal as a resource when needed.

LEGAL TIP

Zip Files If you receive a compressed ZIP file from an outside source, save them to your local drive, then extract the zip file into a local folder (ie: C:\Temp). You can then move the extracted files/folders to the network drive as required. There is no need to keep the ZIP file or copy it to the network, as it will take up space for no reason. Internal Email File Attachments

TIP IT TIP IT TIP IT T TIP IT TIP IT TIP ITw P IT TIP IT TIP IT T TIP IT TIP IT TIP IT T TIP IT TIP IT TIP IT TIP IT TIP IT TIP IT If you would like to share a file(s) on the network with your fellow employees, do not send them as attachments via email. Simply copy the folder path and send the location to where the file(s) can be found instead. These file attachments quickly increase the size of email accounts and there is no reason to have them reside on the network, in your sent items folder and in multiple employee Inbox folders. FTP Service BL Companies uses Citrix Sharefile for its FTP (File Transfer) service. There are 60 BL employees spread across all offices and disciplines that have administrative accounts with the service. This allows them to create root folders, create/invite users and assign access rights. If you are not one of the 60 admin employees, you will need to contact one of the admins if you require FTP services. They can assign access to folders on your behalf allowing you to then interact with outside contacts. Detailed instructions and a list of FTP admins can be found on our Intranet. Software Library & Resources – BL Companies Employee Portal issue 20 // 15

QUICK GUIDE TO DECREASE BURNOUT & BUILD RESILIENCE

QU I C K GU I D E

WE L COA . ORG

Members of the WELCOA community spent five weeks exploring the cause and effects of burnout and resilience in the workplace with subject matter expert and WOOPAAH Founder, Stella Grizont, in WELCOA’s inaugural Inner Circle on Burnout & Resilience. This resource provides you with steps from the Work Happiness Method TM that you can take to decrease burnout and build resilience. QUICK GUIDE TO DECREASE BURNOUT & BUILD RESILIENCE

IDENTI F Y WHAT YOU’RE FEELING » Feelings of anxiety, loneliness, grief, and fear are all normal. It’s when we try to bottle up those emotions or pretend like we’re ok, even if we’re not, that we risk making those negative emotions potentially harmful to our well-being. » Label your specific emotions to determine an appropriate action plan. » Practice self-compassion and reframe the situation with a positive mindset when your thoughts are negative. CELEBRATE SMALL WINS » Give yourself credit for small wins and progress you have made. » Acknowledging your progress provides a positive mindset shift. » A positive mindset, even the slightest nudge in a positive direction, gets you on an upward spiral and allows you to look at your day in a more positive light. BE MINDFUL OF EMOTIONS YOU SPREAD » Emotions are contagious. » Mood impacts immunity, productivity, and engagement. » Gratitude is the easiest way to spread positivity - aim to list three things each day that you are grateful for. SET HEALTHY BOUNDARIES » Constantly neglecting or suppressing your own needs puts you at risk for burnout. » A boundary is an agreement you have created with yourself or others to easily express and live your values, in order to be who you want to be. » To set healthy boundaries: • Consider one feeling or value you would like to experience more • Identify one experience that will help you cultivate that feeling • Create boundaries to help you have that experience - consider the people, schedule, mindset, systematizing, and environment factors that may hinder or help you. Members of the WELCOA community spent five weeks exploring the cause and effects of burnout and resilience in the workplac with subject matter expert and WOOPAAH Founder, Stella Griz nt, n WELCOA’s inaugural Inner Circle on Burnout & Resilience. This resource provides you with steps from the Work Happiness Method TM that you can take to decrease burnout and build resilience. IDENTI F Y WHAT YOU’RE FEELING » Feelings of anxiety, loneliness, grief, and fear are all normal. It’s when we try to bottle up those emotions or pretend like we’re ok, even if we’re not, that we risk making those negative emotions potentially harmful to our well-being. » Label your specific emotions to determine an appropriate action plan. » Practice self-compassion and reframe the situation with a positive mindset when your thoughts are negative. CELEBRATE SMALL WINS » Give yourself credit for small wins and progress you have made. » Acknowledging your progress provides a positive mindset shift. » A positive mindset, even the slightest nudge in a positive direction, gets you on an upward spiral and allows you to look at your day in a more positive light. BE MINDFUL OF EMOTIONS YOU SPREAD » Emotions are contagious. » Mood impacts immunity, productivity, and engagement. » Gratitude is the easiest way to spread positivity - aim to list three things each day that you are grateful for. SET HEALTHY BOUNDARIES » Constantly eglecting or suppressing your own needs puts you at risk for burnout. » A boundary is an agreement you have created with yourself or others to easily express and live your values, in order to be who you want to be. » To set healthy boundaries: • Consider one feeling or value you would like to experience more

QU I C K GU I D E

WE L COA . ORG

CREATE SELF-CARE PRACTICES » Create time for yourself each day for self-care. » Be aware of the difference between Self Soothing and Self Care.  Self soothing activities take the edge off or allow you to escape reality - ultimately these become an overindulgence or drain  Self care activities energize you and help you stay in reality - ultimately these support your long-term well-being

HAVE CONVERSATIONS, NOT CONFRONTATIONS » The most important thing in a conversation is your energy, including non-verbal. » How do you know if you are ready to have a conversation?  In conversation mode, you are: • Ready to exchange understanding  In confrontation mode, you are: • Ready to play offense or defense • Convinced about other person’s response prior to the discussion happening • Fueled by fight or flight  Wait to have a conversation until: • Curious and open-minded • Fueled by loving kindness

• Your energy is positive (or at least neutral) • You can be authentically open and curious • You’ve practiced being how you want to be

MASTER DI FF ICULT CONVERSATIONS Use these nonviolent communication methods from the work of Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. to master difficult conversations. » Open with a positive intention - establish safety by stating a win-win intention that is attractive to you both. » State your observation - these are the facts (what you hear, see, smell, touch, do) free of evaluations, judgements, diagnosis of motives, or strategies. » Express how it makes you feel - communicate with this person the emotional experience (free of thoughts or interpretation) that represent your needs. » Express your need - this could represent your values, wants, and desires (without preferences or strategies for how the needs are met). » Make your request with a clear invitation to take specific action to contribute to the needs expressed (without blame or punishment). issue 20 // 17

New Equipment on the Block!

Don Smith & Jen Marks with the newly

delivered survey equipment. Stay

tuned for our next issue where we’ll be publishing a more detailed article on what sorts of projects this equipment will be used for.

PODCAST Recommendation This Sh!t Works

with julie brown

The people

you meet can 100%

Change Your Life! Networking is how

you meet those people. Which sucks because you hate networking, you think you’re bad at networking, you certainly don’t have time to network, and you can’t possibly network efficiently during a global pandemic? AmIRight? Wrong! May I present to you This Sh!t Works, a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur, CEO, public speaker, author, business development strategist and networking coach Julie Brown - you remember her, she presented to our office last year! There is a direct relationship between people and opportunity, and each week Julie will bring to you her no nonsense tips, tricks and conversations around fitting networking and relationship building into your schedule during and after the pandemic. Her podcast can be found wherever you get your podcasts.

Julie Brown

issue 20 // 19

We love our pets dearly, here are some tips for keeping your furry family members safe.

Don’t let your dog ride in an open truck bed Keep your pet’s head and paws inside the car

Check your pet’s collar regularly Don’t let your cat play with string Keep your cat indoors

Some cold weather-specific safety tips:

Towel dry your pet as soon as it comes inside Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter Wash and dry your pet’s feet and stomach Bathe your pets as little as possible during cold spells Feed your pet a little bit more during cold weather months If it’s too cold for you, it’s likely too cold for your pet, so keep them inside.

Source: AmericanHumane.org and ASPCA.org

Q U E S T I O N O F T H E Q U A R T E R

H A V E Y O U E V E R H A D A

C E L E B R I T Y E N C O U N T E R ?

issue 20 // 21

In the late 80’s when I was working construction, most of my projects were in the Fairfield County area. I had a number of celebrity encounters, but two were particularly memorable. We were hired to construct an addition to a house in Greenwich, CT and upon arriving, learned that it was the home of Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford. It was not the mansion they had overlooking Long Island Sound, but instead, it was a colonial they owned further inland.While working on the addition, we were frequently visited by Kathie Lee who was very particular about how things looked. She had hired an architect, but Kathie Lee was hands-on in the process. I recall on one occasion that I had to go into their garage, and there on the wall, above the boxes, trash cans, lawn tools, and other household items, were dozens of photos of Frank with celebrities, sports figures and other prominent people. Even a picture of Frank and Richard Nixon… in the garage!! I guess they ran out of room inside. It was that, or perhaps Kathie Lee wouldn’t let Frank keep the pictures inside. I never asked.

A second encounter I had involved another home construction project.This was a brand-new house being built inWeston, CT for Keith Richards (Rolling Stones).The property would have the main house with a smaller (2,500 SF) colonial on property. I believe the smaller house was for Keith’s father.The house was a modern design (for the late 80’s) and had a stucco façade.When completed, the house had a large basement studio with a separate 30x30 guitar showroom with cedar/felt lined shelves for his guitars, a beautiful kitchen complete with pizza ovens, maple floors with walnut inlays and a secret “get-away” room on the 2nd floor that was only accessible via a secret passage. In the yard there was a wonderful garden with speakers concealed to look like rocks (that was new for those days). During construction, Keith’s wife, Patti Hansen, would stop by the project every couple of weeks. Nearly every time she stopped in, she would bring their dog “Doobie” and would bring us tea. Even though I’m not a tea drinker, I would stop each time she came and would sit with her and Doobie to enjoy a cup. She was very down to earth and a delight each time she stopped in.When the project was complete, Keith arranged for a housewarming party for all of us that worked on the project. Keith had a great sense of humor and clearly had a “presence” about him. It was quite the party.

John Jenney, Meriden

Last encounter was in September during a race-for- kids event when my friend and I hadVIP access to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) hospitality tent.

That’s Letterman in the background and we did get a chance to chat with him but didn’t dare to ask for photo – we rather had a conversation for just few minutes.

Of course, we got to meet the drivers – pretty much from half the teams racing as we could walk the pit(s) before & after the race.This was Monterey IndyCar Race.

Pat Padlo, Meriden

I’ve been a Kip Moore fan since he released “Somethin’ ‘Bout ATruck” 2011. Shortly after his first album I got to see him as the first opener for Eric Church and Justin Moore.After his set, I was walking around the concourse and saw him standing there. He was just standing there near a cocktail table with a solo cup, just watching everyone mill about around him. I walked up and said “Hey Kip,” he was like “Hey Man” and we talked for like 10 minutes before we snapped the attached photo and people started realizing it was him. It was unreal.

Tyler Meek, Meriden

issue 20 // 23

I had two celebrity encounters that I recall, and both were many years ago when I was traveling for BL to our regional offices. Nothing too exciting except for a simple hello in both cases. I think that I was traveling to our former RichmondVA office and had to transfer my flight throughWashington DC. I sat directly next to George Stephanopoulos on the tram to the gate. I think he was on George Bush’s staff at that time.The other encounter I had was returning to a hotel after a long day of setting up our former Detroit office. I entered the elevator to go up to my room andVivica A. Fox and her entourage were on the elevator with me.They were ready to party...but I was exhausted.

Dave Parent, Meriden

As a child of the 90’s, I was undoubtedly a huge fan of N’SYNC. On a family vacation visiting friends in Orlando,

FL, we decided to go to Downtown Disney (now

Disney Springs??) for dinner at Planet Hollywood.We saw a crowd gathering around a table and realized it was Joey Fatone (from N’SYNC)! Naturally, pre-teen-Holly lost her mind and had to go over and say hi. Who knew that celebrities enjoy gimmicky restaurants like the rest of us? I cropped out my friends to spare them the embarrassment and don’t mind the grainy 2007-quality photo, but we were all on top of the world!

My son wanted to see Lawrence Taylor for a football signing back in winter of 2015 during a snowstorm. Jason Pintek, Meriden

Holly Linder, Meriden

A few years ago, I was on a ski trip to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany when unbeknownst to me the FIS women’s downhill ski race was on my last weekend in town. I had to check out of my apartment before the race, but I took a chance and bought a grandstand ticket anyway. It turns out that though he travels a lot for work, a friend who lives in Garmisch happened to be in town so I was able to leave my luggage at his apartment after checking out, and he joined me for the race. It’s all about Mikaela Shiffrin now, but back then I ran into (not literally) LindsayVonn after her practice run a few days before the race. I’m not a proficient selfie-taker (I cut myself off, need more practice), but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Lindsay won first place!What else I didn’t know until she gave a little speech after the race: though she has a pronounced accent, Lindsay speaks German incredibly well – her grammar and vocabulary were almost as good as her skiing…

Pete Schirmer, Meriden

I went to aYankees – Mariners game as a kid. Ken Griffey Jr was my all-time favorite player, and as luck would have it, he happened to be getting out of a car to enter the stadium just as we were walking by on the other side of the fence. I snapped a couple of quick pictures with the disposable camera I brought with me (good old 1990s technology) and couldn’t wait to see how they came out when I got home.All the pictures on the film came out great… except the 2 I took of Junior, which got double exposed on each other! That was the closest I ever got to an encounter with one of my childhood heroes.

Ian McPhillips, Melville

issue 20 // 25

I have a story about Tommy (Tiny) Lister, an actor who just recently passed away in the last month actually at the age of 62. He has been in numerous favorite movies of mine, like Friday, No Holds Barred, Batman Dark Night, Fifth Element, and almost always cast as the bad guy. He was probably most famous for being Deebo, the Compton hood bully in Friday. So, I had been spending a lot of time working with my L.A. team on a Transit Center design at the time and it had me traveling from Kansas City, where I lived at the time, to Los Angeles for the week. On one of these trips home, I was on a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles LAX to Kansas City. It had a stopover in Phoenix though where I was to stay on the plane and let passengers deboard. I was first to board and sat in the front row as I was excited to get home.As passengers continued to board after me, amongst the crowd comes Tiny. He is a very large man in real life just as on the big screen. He comes on all smiles, flirty with the crew, and sits down right next to me (I assume for the extra leg room)! I was freaking out.

My time in L.A. that year had allowed me to see a few celebrities by accident. Like how I nearly ran into Flloyd Mayweather and his troll-sized body guards, at Roscoe’s Chicken andWaffles (a famous LA establishment in Hollywood), or on another trip home, I hung out in Las Vegas for a night before heading back during the CMA’s (Country Music Awards) and chatted at the bar with Eric Paslay for about an hour before his 11:15pm set. I had met him at the Blue Bird Café in Nashville 6 months earlier to see him perform on the same night he was awarded a prestige’s song writer award for having 3 #1 hits in a year. Back to the story.Tiny was headed to Phoenix for the weekend as part of his Monster Energy Drink promotion gig at a bike event there. On the flight, he was very open about the details of that side job, and his relationships with other celebrities such as Snoop Dogg over the years. He was a very business savvy person, who would use his celebrity status to network and build up other around him. He told me how filming the wrestling movie with Hulk Hogan, the Hulk actually broke his nose during one of the final fight scene rehearsals, and being a broke young actor at the time, Hulk wrote him a check for $25K to get his nose fixed. So, remember how I mentioned Roscoe’s Chicken &Waffles, so Herb Hudson, at least I think it was him, was also on this flight to Phoenix and mid-flight. He got up and was being a real “ball-buster” to Tiny about not being a promoter for Roscoe’s energy drink anymore and going to promote for Monster. Still can’t believe these two were flying commercial even now! Herb was a dapperly dressed gentleman, with the polished shoes, vest, cool guy hat and all. He reminded me of one of those 50’s night club jazz performers, kind of old school like that. Definitely seemed like someone who was as connected as Tiny was, if not more. Can you imagine running into your old boss on your way to the new gig you left him for?Well that is what this encounter was, and I was sitting talking with Tiny while all this unfolded on him mid-flight! It all seemed very friendly, with an undertone of “you owe me something later”. It was made more awkward since Tiny was wearing all Monster garb at the time. It didn’t seem to bother him at all however, and he just went right back into the stories, like that was all somehow part of his plan to be on this flight in the first place.Anyhow,Tiny taught me that if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you must first have a cool thing to sell, then make friends with Snoop Dogg and hope he tweets about you to his 22 million followers.And just like that, you are the next Marshall Fields, or some more modern day relevant tycoon… Bazos? So, the part of this that gets me, is Tiny was 55 years old at the time, and he shared he had a 5-year-old daughter and beautiful young wife at home at the time. He was a normal person, with a huge heart and hunger for life. He passed away in his home alone on December 10, 2020, just last month! An outstanding man and life he led.Was the coolest flight of my life! Randy Kirschner, Charlotte

I met Carlos Valderrama, also known as El Pibe. He is a Colombian former professional footballer. He was in the 1998 World Cup. I saw him at an airport in Colombia while I was doing a layover.Very nice guy and humble.We took a picture together.

RonaldTerrones, Meriden

Every year my family has a Christmas tradition of doing some shopping in Northampton, MA. My kids never miss out on hitting the tiny candy store located on the corner of the main street, and when I say it is very tiny – it fits candy and a few customers. During our 2016 visit, when the boys were just 11 and 14, it was just us in the shop – searching for gummy bears and wax bottle treats when another two people entered. My son Riley (14) tugged on my jacket and said – “I think that’s Jane Doe.” It should be noted that at the time, my son only watched one show on TV and that was Blindspot on CBS.As a teenage boy – this most likely had to do with its attractive lead character and the action sequences. But we both knew which one of the two was the “real” reason. I whispered to him to

go say “hello” as it was hard not to notice them entering the 15 x 20 ft shop. He said,“no way am I doing that.” But I knew how much he liked the actress and as the embarrassing mother of a teenage boy – I went up to her and said,“I hate to bother you but are you Jane Doe?” I did not know Jaime Alexander’s name until she replied – yes, I’m Jaime. – I told her (with my two blushing boys hiding behind the sweets) – that my son hasn’t missed an episode and loves the show.At that point she went up to Riley and started telling some of the secrets of what was to come and about an action sequence she just filmed on a motorcycle.The other person she was with in the candy store was the stunt coordinator from the show. Needless to say, before we parted ways with our candy in hand, I asked if we could take a photo and she was so kind, and obliged. I love this photo because she was so sweet to the boys and the sign says it all.

Heather Halotek, Meriden

issue 20 // 27

When I went to Bryant University, we usually had a couple celebrity guest lecturers a year and in 2013, Olympic gymnast, Shawn Johnson was scheduled to come and speak. Unfortunately, my volleyball team had a game the same night as her program, so we all had to miss it. After warmups we went up to our locker room to change into our jerseys and our coach walks in with Shawn Johnson! She was able to get her right after her program, and we ended up having a pep talk from an Olympic medalist. She was incredibly sweet and very supportive and talked about how winning a silver medal was actually one of her proudest moments because she realized that instead of trying to please everyone, she should just be the best that she could be.

It was definitely an amazing way to get ready for the game!

JocelynTaylor, Meriden

I have some others, but this is probably the best one as I was hockey player at the time, love the Boston Bruins and Bobby Orr while he was playing. When I was a freshman in high school, I won the Bobby Orr Sportsmanship award.There was an awards dinner and I met Bobby Orr as he hosted the event.That year I played on five hockey teams and always jumped in a game if a goalie was needed, usually in the “House League”. Quite often this was after I already practiced or played a game. I was 15 years old and sometimes played goal for even the pee-wee level.

Mike Moonan, Rhode Island

My closest college friend is Emmy-award winning method actor Michael Chiklis although I must admit we have lost touch since I last spoke to him by phone when he called from his house next door to Richard Dreyfus in L.A. I have many stories but the one I’ll share is when Mike (whose nickname is “Chik”) played three different roles in shows during our senior year and Mike had to have unique haircuts for each role.The first was a Medieval warrior and he had to have a Mohawk . Mike came to my apartment and I applied sufficient quantities of beer to make him comfortable while I took a razor to his head.The second role was a 60-year old balding guy (imagine pattern balding leaving a partial ring of hair around the back of his head from ear to ear. More beer was required to prep. Mike for succumbing to the razor for that hairstyle because the last thing you want as a college senior is to look like you’re 60 years old. Lastly, Mike played a part that required complete baldness. I forget the role, but once again, Mike was in my apartment consuming beer while the razor was carefully applied!

John Carroll, Meriden

In 2016 I was participating in local grassroots drifting (motorsport) events with a group at a new track in New Hampshire called Canaan Motor Club.The location and track style/ versatility attracted professional race teams to rent for testing and practice. During one of the events the Subaru

Rally Team was on site finishing a week of testing with driver Bucky Lasek before a race. Bucky was not only a professional driver but also a professional skateboarder with something like 20 X Games medals that I watched growing up. It was really fun to see a real race team, cars and trailer set up for testing and how they operate; Bucky also seemed interested in what we were doing and walked the pits to check out cars and talk to drivers like a normal person. What makes this story interesting is not just meeting Bucky Lasek. Being that drifting is a motorsport not widely accepted by some facilities and Canaan being a brand-new track and management, random drivers meetings throughout the day were common.These were usually to talk about what was going wrong, too many offs, oil leaks, coolant leaks, spins, crashes etc.Around lunch time the manager called a drivers meeting that began like any other, telling some drivers to cool down and take it easy too many tires off track and finished by saying “who drives theVolvo?”.All my friends look at me, I am terrified and reluctant to speak up because I believe I’m about to get publicly shamed for doing something wrong. I raise my hand and say it’s me, Bucky walks in front of the group, hands me new signed race shoes and says he enjoyed my driving and car.The track manager knew exactly what he was doing and set it up to make me feel that way. Huge relief I wasn’t kicked off the track and lots of laughs. My friends still joke about the shoes.

Dan Bycenski, Hartford

issue 20 // 29

I’ve met several celebrities over the years, but the most unusual (i.e. embarrassing) was “meeting” David Bowie and Iman. For five years I worked in the BL office in Manhattan and lived in the Meatpacking district where celebrity sightings are common. On weekends I would roller blade up and down the Hudson River linear park for exercise. On a Saturday afternoon I was leaving my apartment which had a deeply recessed entry.As I rolled around the corner of the entry recess onto the Greenwich Street sidewalk I met (bumped directly chest to chest into) David Bowie and his wife Iman, who were walking hand-in-hand. Luckily I was moving very slowly and cautiously around the blind corner. I immediately recognized the very distinct couple. I apologized and said “I’m really sorry about that. My fault.” He was very understanding and said “Not at all. No problem mate.” The picture below is not from that incident, but I think it demonstrates how very recognizable and fashionable the couple was.

Rainer Muhlbauer, Meriden

So the first picture is the cover of the September 1981 issue of Interview magazine. Interview was published by AndyWarhol, as shown by the second picture.

The third picture is my brother’s wedding party and was published near the back of the magazine.The bride’s family owned the Mets in 1969 when they won the world series and was somehow connected to Standard Oil.As noted in the caption, the guest list included Mick Jagger and his wife Jerry Hall,AndyWarhol himself, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Joseph Kennedy, Jr, and many others from the 1980s Manhattan Jet Set. It was quite the wedding.

Sam Haydock, Meriden

Fridays @ Noon: Weekly Audio Conference Calls with our CEO (“Moving Forward” Meetings)

Safety Day will be held by your Department’s Safety Committee Representative on January 27th (or close to that date) to review the 2021 Safety Manual and pertinent safety information for your Dept. Back to Basics Day will be held on February 3rd (or very close to that date) - a representative from the QA/QC Committee will be scheduling this mandatory meeting.

Monday, February 15: President’s Day (day off!) Saturday, March 20: First Day of Spring

issue 20 // 31

2021 ▬ issue 20 ▬ winter

NEWSLETTER TEAM: Julia DeFrances Jessica Fasi Heather Halotek Lisa Pavano Jocelyn Taylor

CONTRIBUTORS: David Parent Julia O’Brien

Question of the Quarter Participants (thank you!) New Employees (6/29 - 10/19)