Top Notch Award

Congratulations to our Labor partners IBEW Local 697 for winning the 2014 Union of the Year Award at the Top Notch Standards of Excellence Ceremony!

American Red Cross of Northwest Indiana Welcomes New Board Members

MERRIVILLE, IN - (MAY 12, 2014)— The American Red Cross today announced the appointment of three new members who represent a cross section of legal, labor and media organizations to the organization’s Board of Directors. Members will to help guide the strategic direction of Red Cross activities in Lake, Newton and Jasper Counties.

Attorney Sharon Stanzione, Partner of Johnson & Bell LLC; Joree Richards, Business Representative and Referral Agent of IBEW #697; and James Muhammad, President CEO Lakeshore Public Media join an active team of diverse professionals on the board.

“I am delighted to welcome our new members to the Board of Directors,” Gordon T. Johnson, Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Northwest Indiana. “We feel fortunate for the range of knowledge and expertise that they bring into this role.”

Ms. Sharon Stanzione, a lifelong resident of Northwest Indiana, became a partner and shareholder of Johnson & Bell LLC in 2009. Her dedication to civil trial and appellate litigation, and work in front of the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court has helped define Indiana Law. Stanzione also teaches at Purdue University, Calumet, and has given multiple speeches regarding legal education and ethics. Stanzione was recognized by The Times of Northwest Indiana and BusINess magazine in their “20 Under 40” awards.

Mr. Joree Richards, began his career path as a union electrician, and in 2004 was hired as the Area Coordinator of the Indiana Plan. His work with Indiana Plan promoted recruitment of women and minorities to the trades, prepared candidates for programs in the building trades, and placed candidates into construction jobs at a training rate. In 2013 Richards was hired by IBEW Local #697 as their Business Representative & Referral Agent where he promotes a high standard of living and security for IBEW members.

Mr. James Muhammad became President and CEO of Lakeshore Public Media in 2013. He previously served as Director of Radio Services of West Virginia Public Broadcasting where he oversaw major productions, two that have had national distribution on public television. Muhammad spearheaded major outreach projects for the West Virginia Senate Select Committee on Child Poverty, and served on several boards including Public Radio Program Directors Association, Eastern Region Public Media and National Public Radio’s Committee on Signal Expansion. Muhammad is a regular consultant in public broadcasting.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago leads a regional grouping in Illinois and Northwest Indiana that serves more than 9.6 million people. For more information: redcross.org.

Strack & Van Til LEEDing the way...

We are happy to see another LEED facility similar to our own go up! And great job to our signatory electrical contractors who completed the job- L&S Electric and Sweney Electric!

Dave Wilkinson, left, president of Strack & Van Til, and John Ritchie, director of facilities for Strack and Van Til, reveal the new LEED plaque for the Cedar Lake store Tuesday.

For the full NWI Times article click below.

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/strack-van-til-leeding-the-way/article_dd6dfbf4-6e92-50a4-8b39-b86c94b92b35.html

Thank You All!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone that came out and donated blood Friday. The Red Cross collected a total of 140 units of blood, the goal was 128! That's up to 420 lives all of you helped save! GREAT JOB!!!

Certified Electrician-The Quality Connection

Jeff Ban, president of DVG, Inc., a site design and engineering firm, says that his firm has worked with Certified Electrician on a number of different large-scale projects and has had consistently superb experiences. Ban says, “We did site design for Certified Electrician’s new facility and it was a tremendous experience working with their electricians, contractors, and staff. We had to understand the business aspect the service electricians bring to Northwest Indiana. They truly try to find the best business practices for the industry and they look to find win-win situations that involve all parties in the construction process—the contractors, the owners, and the electricians, and they try to find ways to apply their procedures to meet all objectives for all involved. We used only Certified Electrician contractors and installers for all three phases of this massive project. I can say without a doubt their dedication, exceptional service and quality of work surpassed our expectations. There are many different aspects to this project too — a lot of parking lot lighting, field lighting and connections to existing systems. The business approach that the contractors and electricians in the field take has proven to us that they're truly problem solvers. They are really leaders in innovation and their LEED gold training facility at 7200 Mississippi Street in Merrillville reflects that. The solar power systems they have built in, the wind turbine they have recently installed and the storm water measures installed demonstrate that they really are leading the way in site development."