President’s Message I think we went straight from summer to winter. Thanksgiving was late this year, which makes Christmas feel quick. Thanksgiving to New Years is a great time of the year. Hard to believe that 2019 is almost over and we start a new decade at the turn of the year, 2020. 2020 will be a busy year. The momentum discussed in the last couple of newsletters remains strong. Fourteen out of the last fifteen weeks has seen the number of employees grow. We have 635 employees as of mid-November. This is our largest level since 2017. The backlog is still on track to end the year at or near $120 million and we have a strong pipeline moving into 2020. We have booked a significant amount of work that goes into 2021 as well. We finished our 2020 Planning Meeting the week before Thanksgiving. Here are some items to watch for in 2020: • Add a Regional Training Supervisor. In 2019, David Steffens was the first Regional Training Supervisor. He worked in the SC and Charlotte areas developing the position. He worked with apprentices, conducted job site skill training, Blue Beam training, 1 on 1 training, and teaches a part of the Foremen ‘On Boarding’ class. • Add a 3 rd Recruiter. With the demand continuing to increase, we will add a 3 rd recruiter. This will allow us to get to more career fairs and high schools, as well as meet the expected demand in 2020. • Craft Worker Courses. We will begin designing technical skill courses for the field. This will be accomplished in conjunction with the Regional Training Supervisors and the future Helper and Mechanic ‘On Boarding’. • Leadership Education. We will have leadership training based on Steven Covey’s Speed of Trust during 2020, from Foremen to Senior Management. • Network & Hardware Upgrades. We will finish the last 3 office change overs to the faster network. When complete, each office will have speeds 10 times faster than previous minimum. Hardware upgrades to estimator computers, laptops and iPads will take place in 2020. • Accubid to the Cloud. 2020 will see the last of our major software applications going to the cloud. Once completed, our desire to have information anywhere, anytime, and on any device will be complete for all major software applications. • Prefab Software. We are looking at software to help bring automation to the workflow in the prefab shop, making all stages of the process visible to all stakeholders. • Watson App. We will develop a Watson app. The app will provide information and notifications and anything else the development committee can dream up. A committee will be formed in January representing all stakeholders to start the design of the app. The No.1 goal we have in 2020 is to do a better job of retaining our employees. We measure our turnover rate. The last two years it has been too high. In 2020, we want it to be 35%, which is best in class in the construction industry. You can help by participating in the 2020 Employee Engagement Survey. It will come out in February. We had great participation and even greater comments last year. I hope to have larger participation and more comments this year. We took the survey to heart and made some changes in 2019 as a result (see past newsletters for those changes). We have more to come in 2020 based on that same survey. The 2020 Town Hall tour will begin in January. We will review what we accomplished in 2019 and look forward to expectations for 2020. We will hit every office over a few weeks. Hope to see you there. 2020 will see us continue to work towards our vision to create an environment where people work smart, work safe, and work together. We strive to reach the vision because we want to continue to have a sustainable business model where the company grows and flourishes over the very long term. Have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year. Take the time to spend with family, friends and loved ones. It ’s a special time of year. Work Safe. Work Smart. Work Together. Tom www.watsonelec.com Check us out on WINTER 2020
Transcript
President’s Message
I think we went straight from summer to winter. Thanksgiving was late this year, which makes Christmas feel quick. Thanksgiving to New Years is a great time of the year. Hard to believe that 2019 is almost over and we start a new decade at the turn of the year, 2020. 2020 will be a busy year. The momentum discussed in the last couple of newsletters remains strong. Fourteen out of the last fifteen weeks has seen the number of employees grow. We have 635 employees as of mid-November. This is our largest level since 2017. The backlog is still on track to
end the year at or near $120 million and we have a strong pipeline moving into 2020. We have booked a significant amount of work that goes into 2021 as well. We finished our 2020 Planning Meeting the week before Thanksgiving. Here are some items to watch for in 2020:
• Add a Regional Training Supervisor. In 2019, David Steffens was the first Regional Training Supervisor. He worked in the SC and Charlotte areas developing the position. He worked with apprentices, conducted job site skill training, Blue Beam training, 1 on 1 training, and teaches a part of the Foremen ‘On Boarding’ class.
• Add a 3rd Recruiter. With the demand continuing to increase, we will add a 3rd recruiter. This will allow us to get to more career fairs and high schools, as well as meet the expected demand in 2020.
• Craft Worker Courses. We will begin designing technical skill courses for the field. This will be accomplished in conjunction with the Regional Training Supervisors and the future Helper and Mechanic ‘On Boarding’.
• Leadership Education. We will have leadership training based on Steven Covey’s Speed of Trust during 2020, from Foremen to Senior Management.
• Network & Hardware Upgrades. We will finish the last 3 office change overs to the faster network. When complete, each office will have speeds 10 times faster than previous minimum. Hardware upgrades to estimator computers, laptops and iPads will take place in 2020.
• Accubid to the Cloud. 2020 will see the last of our major software applications going to the cloud. Once completed, our desire to have information anywhere, anytime, and on any device will be complete for all major software applications.
• Prefab Software. We are looking at software to help bring automation to the workflow in the prefab shop, making all stages of the process visible to all stakeholders.
• Watson App. We will develop a Watson app. The app will provide information and notifications and anything else the development committee can dream up. A committee will be formed in January representing all stakeholders to start the design of the app.
The No.1 goal we have in 2020 is to do a better job of retaining our employees. We measure our turnover rate. The last two years it has been too high. In 2020, we want it to be 35%, which is best in class in the construction industry. You can help by participating in the 2020 Employee Engagement Survey. It will come out in February. We had great participation and even greater comments last year. I hope to have larger participation and more comments this year. We took the survey to heart and made some changes in 2019 as a result (see past newsletters for those changes). We have more to come in 2020 based on that same survey. The 2020 Town Hall tour will begin in January. We will review what we accomplished in 2019 and look forward to expectations for 2020. We will hit every office over a few weeks. Hope to see you there. 2020 will see us continue to work towards our vision to create an environment where people work smart, work safe, and work together. We strive to reach the vision because we want to continue to have a sustainable business model where the company grows and flourishes over the very long term. Have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year. Take the time to spend with family, friends and loved ones. It’s a special time of year. Work Safe. Work Smart. Work Together. Tom
www.watsonelec.com Check us out on
WINTER 2020
2
WATSON TEAM SPOTLIGHT
Watson Electrical takes 1st place in 2019
NC State Fair Apprentice Contest
Watson Electrical Construction Co. LLC's apprentice Tim Amerson (Wilson/Rocky Mount Construction) won first place in the 2019 NC State Fair Electrical Apprentice Contest. Congratulations Tim on a job well done!
WECC had a total of eight apprentices competing in the NC State Fair Electrical Con-test in 2019. They were as follows: Tim Amerson (Wilson/Rocky Mount) First Place; Jon McMillan (Wilmington) Fourth Place; Cody Jones (Winston-Salem) Seventh Place; Jesse Marban (Raleigh) Eighth Place; Cody Smith (Winston-Salem) Ninth Place; Marcus Hart (Multi-Family); Daniel Orr (Raleigh); and Richard West (Raleigh).
Tim Amerson and Jon McMillan went on to represent WECC at the IDEAL Nationals in Baylake, Florida in November. Both made it into the top 30 with Tim advancing to the top 5. Out of approximately 32,000 apprentices and professionals that competed in contests throughout the US and Canada—only 84 apprentices and 84 pro-fessionals advance to this par-
ticular contest. Tim and Jon were among the 84 appren-tices. Great job guys! Huge accomplishment.
Congratulations to all! You
Make Watson Electrical proud!
Pictured above are Kathryn Castelloes, Apprenticeship Director,
NC Community College System— Tim Amerson, WECC and David
Smith, Senior Deputy Commissioner for NC Dept of Agriculture
Pictured above: 1st Row—Tim Amerson, 2nd Row—Cody Smith, Marcus Hart and Richard West,
Third row—Jon McMillan, Jesse Marban, Daniel Orr and Cody Jones
ABC EXCELLENCE IN
CONSTRUCTION WINNER
We are proud to announce that we won the ABC Carolinas Specialty Project of the Year Award and the Excellence in Construction Eagle Award for our Union Station Renovation project in Winston-Salem.
A main goal of the Union Station pro-ject was to preserve the building's histor-ical characteristics. Working to minimize any damage to the concrete exterior walls, the terracot-ta and the artisan crafted plaster in-terior walls and plaster ceiling, re-quired acute atten-
tion to details. Working closely with the Engineer, Owner, General Contractor and other trades, the project was achieved without sacrificing safety, quality, or power requirements. Congratulations to our Winston-Salem Construction group, Alex Brink, Senior Operations Manager; Richard Ferron, Project Manager; Michael Delk, Field Supervisor; Michael Parrish, Foreman, and their talented team.
Pictured above are: Alex Brink, Michael Parrish, Michael Delk, Rick Ferron, and Bill Brittelli (ECS Group VP)
2020 Benefits Recap
With the start of 2020, here is a summary of the changes in our benefit plans.
Wellness Incentive Plan – If you will be participating in the 2020 Wellness Incentive Plan, the requirements are the same as they were for 2019. There is only one requirement to complete before September 30, 2020 – get a physical (get on your doctor’s schedule early!). Remember to use your BCBS ID card because the physical is covered 100% on our health plan. We said during our meetings in October that the best way to lower claims (and lower premiums since we are self insured) is to keep everyone well. Remember, whether or not you choose to participate WILL have an impact on your health insurance premiums for 2021.
Medical Plan – New cards for 2020 will be issued in December. Check for the correct listing and spelling of any dependents. Please make sure you give a copy of your new card to your doctor at your first visit in 2020. Remember deductibles start over each year including the prescription deductible.
Health Savings Account (HSA) – If you elected the Health Savings Account for 2020, the company contribution will be deposited the first week of January. Cards will be issued in December for use in 2020. If you participated in the HSA in 2019, any balance will carry over.
Supplemental Health Benefits – If you elected one of the supplemental plans for 2020 (critical illness, accident, hospital indemnity), remember, you can claim a benefit for having one preventative health screening per year. Claim forms are on our employee enrollment site.
Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – If you elected the FSA in 2020, cards will be issued in December. Remember, any monies not used by Dec 31, 2020 will be forfeited per IRS rules.
Dental Plan – Our dental plan for 2020 will stay with Delta Dental. There is a separate card for Delta Dental but it will only list the employee name, even with family coverage.
Life and Disability – Our life and disability plans will stay with Aetna for 2020. Remember, reporting a short term disability claim is telephonic. You will report your disability claim (providing you elected STD during open enrollment) directly to the carrier via a toll free number. This should greatly speed up the claim process and getting your benefits started. Details are on our employee enrollment site.
Vision Plan – Our vision plan for 2020 will remain with Ameritas/VSP. Details are on our employee enrollment site.
DON’T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THE MDLIVE APP – As we talked about in October, we have teledoc through BCBS. The program is called MDLIVE. For minor medical needs, this is a great option. Download the app and set up your payment preferences. When you need a doctor visit after normal business hours, you can get online and have a virtual doctor visit in about 10 minutes.
Changes in payroll deductions will be on the first paycheck dated in 2020.
If you have any questions, contact your office manager.
3
HUMAN RESOURCES AND BENEFITS
We have rolled out the Spectrum
Employee Kiosk to all employees! For those employees without access to Spectrum:
• Access Spectrum by following this link
https://watsonelec.dexterchaney.com/
• Logon will be your individual employee number as issued by payroll.
• The password is set as Watson1234! You will be forced to change your password with initial log-in. You must remember your password!!
• The screen will be a dashboard with your check stubs available.
• Click the check date you would like to view (checks are dated Friday).
For those employees already using Spectrum you should see the Employee Kiosk with your regular login.
W2’s will also be available thru this kiosk in late January.
If you have any issues please contact your Office Manager first and they will forward what you may need help with to the Helpdesk.
Welcome to Code Corner
Question #1 – Conductors supplying two or more mo-
tors must have an ampacity equal to the sum of the
full-load current rating of all the motors plus what
percent of the highest rated motor in the group?
A) 25% B) 50% C) 75% D) 100%
Question #2 – A circuit feeding three single-phase mo-
tors with full-load current ratings of 40, 20 and 20 am-
The second half of 2019 has proven to be very successful for our Virginia Region. The results of great communication, planning and execution of the plan are very apparent. Together we will carry this momentum into 2020 and beyond. Our backlog is as strong as it’s been in a long time with the right customers to ensure it stays that way. We must continue to communicate with our customers and ensure they always know we can bring all projects to a successful conclusion. Be the leader and the example on all projects and we will all win.
New projects included in our backlog are:
Williams Hall – JEB Little Creek – The general contractor is M.A. Mortenson of McLean, Virgin-ia. The project consists of a complete renovation of a 4 story BEQ for the Navy located on base at Little Creek, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Jason Potts will be our Foreman, Jared Curry Supervisor and Tony Webb Project Manager
Tidewater Storage Center – This is an addition to an existing storage facility that we completed some years ago. We are working directly for the owner, Mr. Peter Segaloff of Tidewater Drive Storage Facility LLC. This project is nearly complete but didn’t make it into summer edition of the newsletter. Glen Walton is our Foreman, David Montgomery Supervisor and Kris Grauman (CMT) Project Manager.
Erickson Living Site and Marketing Center – Both 300016
projects were awarded by Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Baltimore Office. We will perform the site infrastructure work and complete the Marketing Center under these contracts. Robert Adams will be our Foreman, Terry Sensenig Project Manager with Joe Scaggs overseeing the Supervisor role.
Virginia Beach Point One Data Center – This project was awarded by SB Ballard Construction Company. This mission critical project will have a Day One capacity of 2.4 Mega Watts with expansion to 4.8 Mega Watts. Only one of two data halls will be installed at this time. This project has great potential. Our Fore-man will be Mike Tester, Jared Curry Supervisor and Steve Calhoun acting Project Manager.
27th Street Apartments – This project was awarded by Armada Hoffler Construction Company of Virginia Beach. The project is located at the oceanfront and is 18 stories. The first floor will have tenant amenities and a future restaurant. There will be 266 apartments total as well as a roof-top activity area. Joey Lee will be the Superintendent, David Montgomery Supervisor and Jeff Daniels Project Manager.
Virginia Region would like to welcome back two valued former employees: Terry Sensenig, Project Manager and Mike Tester, Foreman. Terry will be taking over the Langley Hospital CUP/Addition and CNU Fine Arts Center and Mike will be our leader at Point One Data Center. Welcome home fellas!
Please have a Safe and Joyous Holiday Season!
Wilmington Wilmington Construction Team recently completed the First Phase of a multi-year project for New Hanover Regional Medical Center with McKinley Building. This phase consisted of transforming part of an exist-ing shell space into approximately 60,000 square feet of warehouse and logistics space in order to support hospital operations from an off-campus location. Contract value for this phase was $986,000 with 6,000 man hours and was completed within approximately 60 days. When the entire project is completed, the 290,000 square foot remote campus will also include a new EMS Facility, along with emergency vehi-cle space, a Medical Training Center and Central Energy Plant to sup-port the entire facility. The Central Energy Plant will be the next phase awarded, which includes a 4,000 amp service and (2) 1.5 KW generators, along with provisions for future switchgear and generators. Construction is ex-pected to begin early 2020 on the CEP, followed by the EMS Facility with both projects completing before the end of year.
Also, we recently completed the WAVE Transit Station in Wilmington with Monteith Construction. WAVE Transit is the local bus system provider that serves the City of Wilmington and its outlying areas. This project was awarded in two phases, beginning with renovations of an older historic building into the transit terminal, followed by the site development scope.
Recent Awards:
UNCW Film Studies with Thomas Construction Co. $650,000
Autumn Hall Shell with Thomas Construction Co. $175,000
27th Street Apartments
Point One Data Center
NHRMC Warehouse Shell Space
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WATSON PROJECT NEWS
Charleston Charleston is excited to announce the start of a nationally and cul-turally historic project.
The International African American Museum situated in downtown Charleston, SC, is right on the waterfront and will signify the re-gion’s historic beginnings. An approximate $85 million project that has been almost 20 years in the making, the groundbreaking took place on October 25, 2019 and construction started shortly after that.
This ground-up museum is a 46,000 square foot, three story building which will tell the story of our African American cultural history. The project is an estimated 20,500 hours over 14 months. This high visibility project was awarded to Watson Electrical by the Turner/Brownstone team. Electrical construction is expected to kick-off early 2020 with project team of George Washington, Project Superintendent; Kevin Sloan, Supervi-sor; and Dale Winovich, Project Manager. A special thank you to Raleigh estimating team of Chris Duven and Mark
Wolschleger for putting together the award- winning bid.
Awarded by Vannoy on August 13th, 2019, the new 5th Floor Upfit for Bank of America is located in the beautiful town of Mount Pleasant, SC. The project has an intricate lighting package and control system featuring some of the most inno-vative products and technology. This 23,572 square foot up-fit consists of offices, cafe, breakrooms, conference rooms, and several multipurpose rooms. The team has worked diligently using prefab material, making installation and production efficient. The project team includes: Dale Winovich, Project Manager, Kevin Sloan- Supervisor, and Michael Pitiak - Foreman.
The Refinery project will be a mixed use office space and commercial retail
building. The building is 46,496 square feet broken up into three floors and fea-tures an amphitheater for outdoor entertainment and performances. It is located just off of Highway 52 in the heart of North Charleston and sits between both the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. The project was awarded by our new customer, FLY-WAY. Beginning in early October and finishing August of 2020, Charleston Division is excited to show off our workmanship and complete this project on time and under budget! The contract amount is $670,000. The project team will include: Project Manager – Cherie Clubb, Supervisor – Kevin Sloan, and Foreman—Timothy Brown. We welcome Mr. Timothy Brown to the Watson team! 161838
Winston—Salem, NC Winston-Salem Division is enjoying the cool, brisk air and soaring high on our brand new Eagle wings. What an honor it was to be recognized by the Associated Builders and Contractors of the Carolinas. We received the 2019 Specialty Con-tractor $1 Million to $2 Million Project of the Year Award and the 2019 Eagle Award for the Union Station Restora-tion & Renovation Phase II! We are so grateful for the hard work and dedication of each team member, all of whom worked tirelessly to complete this project. We are also thankful to each trade involved with the project, New Atlantic Contracting, and for those who continued to work, after the project was complete, to allow us to receive this special recognition. Our hearts are filled with gratitude. Thank you!
We have been awarded the following project:
Lincoln Financial Group G2, G7 & G10 Lighting - This project was awarded by the owner, Lincoln Financial Group of Greensboro, NC. Project con-sists of renovation of lighting to LED lighting and light controls to nLight® in the Greene Building on three levels. Jacoby Waren is the Foreman on this project. We are thankful for our great rela-tionship with Lincoln Financial Group and are happy to be working with them on this project and some smaller projects.
Thank you, team, for all your hard work and keeping us all safe this year. We are excited for another year of learning and growth.
From Left to right with the awards are: William Brittelli (ESC Group VP), Mike Delk (Field Supervisor), Alex Brink (Senior Ops Manager),
Tom Headlee (President WECC) and Michael Parrish (Foreman).
The Refinery Office Bldg
International African American Museum
6
WATSON PROJECT NEWS
Charlotte, NC
The Pines at Davidson, Davidson, NC
Project awarded by Rodgers Builders in the amount of $5,194,798. This project is broken down into four separate con-tracts consisting of a healthcare building, community center, villas, and site lighting. The Healthcare Building is a two-story addition with a new connector to existing nursing wings to be renovated. The Community Center is a 28,400 square foot reno-vation consisting of multiple kitchens and dining areas with an addition of a fitness center and game room.
The new construction on campus consists of two 44,000 square foot adjacent 4-story villas featuring one and two bedroom up-scale residences with a parking garage under each villa. The site renovation consists of relocated parking and the relocation/addition of site lighting throughout the campus. The project team consists of Supervisor Matt Adkins, Project Su-perintendents Andrew Baldwin, Tony Herman, and Javier Reyes, with Pro-ject Managers Shameko Straite and Joel Padgett.
We would like to welcome to the team Shelby Cardello, Billing Administrator for Commercial Division in Charlotte. She is a wonderful addition to our team and look forward to her contrib-uting to our success here in Charlotte.
Multi-Family Overture Providence, Charlotte NC
Multi-Family Region (Charlotte, NC Location) has recently completed the Overture Providence Apartments with general contractor, Greystar Development and Construction.
This project was a 235,565 square foot Active Adult 55+ Apartment Home complex consisting of one large manor building with 175 residential units, full clubhouse with fitness center, lounge and miscellaneous amenity areas including a pool and court-yards. Our scope of work consisted of electrical distribution, general wiring of units and common areas as well as fire alarm system, data/CATV distribution systems and full site lighting install.
Our project team consisted of Foreman, Elser Saavedra; Supervisor, Stacie Herrera; Project Manager, Mike Leigh and many other employees that helped contribute to a successful project. This is the third completed project with Greystar with a fourth scheduled to complete in the first quarter of 2020 and hopefully many more to come.
We would also like to welcome Dale Vanhoy as a team member to our region, Dale has been a dedicated Watson employee for 38 years and has spent the past 19 years as a project manager for our Winston-Salem location. He will come to Multi-Family full time at the beginning of 2020. We welcome Dale to Multi-Family and look for-ward to his contribution to the team.
The Multi-Family Group has recently been awarded the following projects:
Project Contract Awarded By
Youngblood Apartments, Charlotte, NC $2,128,000.00 Carocon Construction
Pringle Square Apartments, Charlotte, NC $1,865.000.00 Carocon Construction
Watson Energy Solutions
Winston—Salem Service Department recently completed Kimberly Park Elementary School – This project was awarded by Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools and consisted of over 600 new LED
lights in all the classrooms, restrooms, and other areas, 200 Phillips retro EvoKits for the cafeteria, corridors and office as well as upgrades to all Exit and Emergency lights to egress lighting. Kenneth Dean (Serviceman) did an excellent job leading this project. We are thankful for the good relationship we have with Todd Mabe and his team at the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools. We are looking forward to more opportunities to work with them in the future.
7
WATSON PROJECT NEWS
Solar
2019 has been another amazing year for Watson Solar. With the help from some old friends and the addition of some new, at 122 Mega Watts, we have booked more work this year than any year prior. Much of this work will keep us busy through Spring of 2020.
Cypress Creek Renewables has once again been one of our largest customers for the year with about 35 Mega Watts. Most of this work is one project, Ruff Solar, located in Ellenboro, NC. This is a project that we had been tracking since the fall of 2015; four years later, we’re finally build-ing it. Being near the mountains of NC, dramatic elevation changes over the 200-acre site have made this project a bit of a challenge. In addition to the elevation changes, the site is built around several large wetland areas and has a state-maintained road running through the middle of it. No doubt this will be a challenging project, but our team lead by Superintendent, Kevin Hickin, will get it done.
We picked up our second project with Pine Gate Renewables this year. Rankin Solar is a 13 Mega Watt site located in Florence, SC. This is another project that took a while to get underway; we’ve been tracking this one since fall of 2017. The aggressive three-month construction schedule, combined with manufacturer delays, have made this an ex-tremely challenging project. The good news is our project team, led by Project Supervisor Adrian Locklear, is doing a great job of find-ing solutions to meet project needs.
In 2019, we added three new clients to our expanding customer base:
Renew Petra has awarded us 27MW of work over seven projects located throughout eastern NC.
Sun Tribe Solar has awarded us our first project in VA. We were introduced to Sun Tribe by a former project manager at Cypress Creek Renewable. Although not a large project, G Port did allow us to plant a Watson Solar flag in VA, which was a 2019 goal for us. Sun Tribe has a focus on Virginia with healthy backlog in 2020. Based on the performance of our project team, led by Foreman, Gary Rankin, and new Project Manager, Jonah Marsland, we are hopeful that this is the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship.
Strata Solar awarded us four projects in NC, totaling about 25 Mega Watts, that will be successfully completed by the time this article is released. Based on our performance, we were just recently notified that we will be awarded Myrtle Solar, our first 20 Mega Watt utility scale project, located just outside Suffolk, VA. We targeted Strata over two years ago with the intent of building a long-term relationship. There has been a lot of hard work put in from our entire team building and cultivating this relationship. We look forward to continued success and growth with Strata.
Staying safe, targeting and executing our projects while expanding our geographical area and growing our capacity will continue to be the focus for Watson Solar in 2020. Next up in 2020…Georgia!
Ruff Solar
Rankin Solar
KPES Library
KPES Cafeteria
8
SAFETY
Reminder on License Plate Renewals
Automotive Rentals Inc. (ARI) is handling our license plate renewals. ARI sends out prerequisite letters identifying
vehicles that are in need of registration renewals. Below are the steps that ARI takes during the registration
process. North Carolina requires the safety inspection to be completed before the license plate can be renewed.
Therefore, proof of inspection is required to be sent back to ARI. The driver of the vehicle must give a copy or a
legible photo of the inspection certificate to the Office Manager, who will then email it to ARI. The email address is
on the prerequisite letter. Once ARI has a copy of the inspection certificate, they will renew the license plate and
mail it to the location office.
1st prerequisite letter is sent 90 days in advance of pending renewal date to the Office Managers
2nd prerequisite letter is sent 60 days in advance of pending renewal date to the Office Managers
3rd prerequisite letter is sent 30 days in advance of pending renewal date to Office Managers and Tim Pearson
If the driver does not comply, ARI will not move forward with registration and the registration date gets pushed out
to the following calendar year.
If the driver of the vehicle waits until 15 days in advance of the pending renewal date, ARI will not have time to
renew the license plate and mail it to the location. At that point, the renewal will be required to be handled locally.
GET YOUR VEHICLES INSPECTED PROMPTLY!
Working In A Cold Environment Workers who are exposed to extreme cold may be at risk of cold stress. Hypothermia, frostbite, trench foot and chilblain are all examples of illnesses that can be caused by extremely cold or wet weather whenever temperatures drop. These weather-related conditions may lead to serious health problems. NIOSH offers the following tips for dealing with cold stress-related illnesses. A victim of hypothermia, a condition in which the body uses up its stored energy and can no longer produce heat, may exhibit shivering, confusion and blue skin. If you suspect a co-worker is suffering from hypothermia:
• Request immediate medical assistance.
• Move the victim into a warm room or shelter.
• Remove wet clothing.
• If conscious, warm beverages may help increase the body temperature.
Once the victim’s temperature has increased, keep the person dry and wrapped in a warm blanket, including the head and neck.
If you have frostbite, indicated by tingling or stinging hands; numbness; or bluish or pale, waxy skin:
• Get into a warm room as soon as possible.
• Unless necessary, do not walk on frostbitten feet or toes.
• Immerse the affected area in warm (not hot) water, or warm the affected area using body heat. Do not use a heating pad, fireplace or radiator for warming.
• Do not massage the frostbitten area – this may cause more damage. General tips to protect yourself from the cold while working include:
• Wear several layers of loose clothing for insulation.
• Tight clothing reduces blood circulation to the extremities. Be aware that certain clothing may restrict movement, which can result in a hazardous situation.
• Protect the ears, face, hands, and feet in extremely cold or wet weather.
• Boots should be waterproof and insulated.
• Include chemical hot packs in your first aid kit.
• Avoid touching cold metal surfaces with bare skin.
**** Code Corner Answers: Question # 1 — A Question# 2 — A ****
Craig Myers recognized for leadership: Wilson-Barton Partnership dinner held Posted Friday, September 27, 2019 - Excerpt from The Wilson Times
The Wilson-Barton Partnership honored local businessman and community leader Craig M. Myers with its 2019 Business Leadership Award Thursday at a dinner on Barton College’s center campus.
More than 200 people from the Wilson community, Myers’ family and friends crowded under a large reception tent to celebrate Myers’ accomplishments and the partnership between Barton and the Wilson business community.
Myers is the chairman and CEO of Watson Electrical, where he began working as a junior in high school in Raleigh along-side his father, who worked as a company superintendent. His brother, Scott, is now regional vice president of multi-family with Watson. After graduating from college, Myers transferred to Watson’s Wilson office where he worked for two years before being transferred to the Wilmington division. In 1990, he was promoted to division manager, where he
oversaw the expansion of service offerings. In 1998, Watson was sold to Building One Services (later Encompass Electrical Technologies), and in 2000, Myers was promoted to vice president of operations, which brought him and his family back to Wilson.
Jack Wiggins III, the Wilson-Barton Partnership Steering Committee chairman, presented Myers with the Business Leadership Award.
“This recognition may be awarded to me, but it’s earned by many,” Myers said. “I’d like to recognize my family, the people who made me who I am today. My work ethics and character were developed with the help of each one of them. We have always been a family of love and caring for each other.”
“And then there is my Watson family, who makes going to work every day enjoyable. We have a great group of team members who strive for the same goals and successes that I do. Their hard work and dedication make it easy to become a leader at Watson.”
The Wilson-Barton Partnership Steering Committee was created in 2004, and in 2005, the committee proposed the annual Business Lead-ership Award. Award criteria include making significant contributions to business and/or industry; strong leadership qualities; innovative and/or entrepreneurial qualities; and being community oriented.
Thomas Branch 10 Years Raleigh
Donnie Wilson 10 Years Greenville
Robert Adams, Sr 10 Years Virginia
Jacob Grant 10 Years
Charlotte Service
Stephen Grenier 20 Years
Fayetteville
Lewis Carlton 20 Years
Wilmington Service
Robert Sanders 20 Years
Charlotte Service
10
Worrying about not having enough money for retirement is a major source of stress for a growing number of people. The fact is, retirement is expensive, and the sooner you can get an idea of what you will need to fund a comfortable retirement and take steps to grow your nest egg, the less stress you will have. It takes educating yourself, adjusting your spending habits and committing to savings. The following tips and tools can help you take control of your financial future for greater peace of mind, whether retirement is several decades or just a few years away.
Get a ballpark estimate of what you’ll need. Some experts estimate you will need at least 70 to 90 percent of your pre-retirement income to maintain your standard of living once you no longer work. Free planning tools can help you get the estimates you need to plan your financial route, starting by tracking your current expenses.
Visit: www.investor.gov/tools/other-resources.com
See how much Social Security will contribute. On average, Social Security will provide about 40 percent of your post-retirement budget. To close the standard of living gap when you stop working, you’ll need to look into other sources of income like employer-based retirement plans and savings and investing. Find an estimate of your Social Security benefit in the year you plan to retire.
Visit: www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator
Contribute all you can to your workplace retirement savings plan. If your employer offers a 401(k) plan, automatic deductions from your paycheck make it easy to contribute. Many employers contribute up to a certain match, but not more if employees contribute beyond the match. Over time, compound interest can make a big difference—just try to never touch your savings plan until you retire!
Pay off your debts! No investment strategy pays off as well as, or with less risk than, eliminating high interest debt. Most credit cards charge high interest rates–as much as 18% or more. The wisest thing you can do is pay off the balance in full as quickly as possible. Once you’ve paid off your credit card balance, you can budget your money and begin to save and invest. For expert credit counseling and advice on paying down debts
Visit: www.nfcc.org
Learn about savings and investment options. IRAs (individual retirement accounts), for instance, allow you to save and invest money for retirement on your own that’s not linked to wages or contributions from an employer. To find out more about IRAs, mutual funds, investing in the stock market and other options to make your money grow.
Plan to continue working beyond normal retirement age. Each year you delay taking your Social Security benefit beyond the normal retirement age (currently up to age 70), qualifies you for an 8 percent higher amount in your monthly Social Security check. Working longer can postpone the need to dip into your savings and allow it to continue to grow. To see how much you may receive at your full retirement age
Visit: www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/agereduction
Supercharge your savings strategies. Small savings can really add up! Every time you get a raise, for instance, increase your 401(k) contribution to get the matching dollars from your employer, for example. Or round up to the nearest dollar each time you make a purchase and stash the remaining cash away. For more everyday savings ideas,
Start downsizing to free up cash. Live a thriftier life. Look at every item you purchase to see if there is a more affordable option. Ask yourself if you “really need” the pricier item or is it better to feel more secure in retirement. For example, you might choose to move to a smaller, less expensive residence, downgrade your car or cable plan, limit dining out in favor of more potlucks, trade a pricey gym membership for home workouts, shop at outlet clothing stores or food stores for bulk items, and so on.
Retirement planning depends on many individual factors. Consider working with a professional financial advisor for guidance.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
11
Using credit cards can be a helpful way to manage finances. Yet incurring mounting debt from high interest rates with high finance charges, especially on multiple cards, is extremely distressing. Here are tips to help reduce your existing credit card debt and things to know before signing up for another card.
Tally the credit card debt you have. Write down the balances, minimum payments and interest rates for each card. Then rank them from highest to lowest interest rate, regardless of balance.
Aim to pay off the card with the card with highest interest rate first. Then move on to pay off the card with the next highest rate and so on. This will save you money over time, keeping your interest rate in check.
Or, you can pay off the card with the lowest balance first, then proceed to the card with the next lowest and so on. Though a more expensive route, this strategy can be the fastest way to reduce debt on individual cards and boost your confidence to pay off cards.
Put any extra money plus the minimum monthly payment toward the card you’re paying off first.
Continue to pay the minimum monthly payments on all your other cards.
Don’t make any new purchases on the card you’re paying off.
Repeat the above steps until all your credit cards are paid off.
Remember, pay your balances on time to avoid paying late payment fees!
Each of your credit card balances directly affects your credit score, which measures your creditworthiness (how likely you are to pay back a debt, based on your credit history). Late and missed payments can lower your score, making it difficult to for you to borrow money for a mortgage or car, for example—you’ll pay more for the money you’re able to borrow. On the other hand, the longer your credit history and consistency of payment, the better your score.
Have debt on multiple cards? Consider debt consolidation. Rolling your various debts into one monthly payment can help simplify or lower your payments. Before you consolidate, talk to a qualified credit counselor.
Before signing up for a credit card…
Know the APR (the annual percentage rate) of the cards. This is the interest rate (fee the lender charges). The higher the interest rate, the higher your finance charges each month (the dollar fee charged for paying over time instead of all at once.). When you’re trying to pay off your debt, higher interest rates hurt you because much of your payment goes toward the finance charge.
Use an online calculator to determine the true cost of paying off the card with interest. If you’re unable to pay the balance on your card each month, you can end up paying more for your purchases due to interest rates. Look for a calculator to discover the cost of paying only the minimum each month.
Need help to dig out of debt? Visit the Federal Trade Commission at
www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0145-setting-credit-card-debt Or the U.S. government Information Services:
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