Electrical Association

Community News

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

JJ Levenske, President of Northway Construction... Thanks to JJ Levenske for driving down from Baxer to give an excellent presentation on how electrical contractors benefit by working with a team to do Best Value bidding. He explained how it provides a great opportunity to provide the best value based on ideas, innovation, reputation, history, as well as price. While price is important, it is only part of the equation. Thank you to Jesse Grant of Jim's Electric for recommending JJ as our speaker.

David Crary, Hindsite Solutions... Thanks to David for giving an excellent presentation about how smart scheduling and meticulous billing can add thousands of dollars to the bottom line of an electrical contractor in the service or residential business.

Mark Opdahl, Center for Energy & Environment... Thank you for giving a helpful update on rebate programs for residential electrical contractors.

Jen Danich, Eaton/Cutler Hammer... Thanks to Jen for introducing their certified residential electrician program. Their program takes a contractor through every phase of the business so they can have a much greater chance of succeeding.

John Benz, Federated Insurance... Thanks to John Benz for discussing the changes in health insurance and how they will affect electrical contracting businesses. Federated also deserves our appreciation for hosting the appreciation dinner at the MEA Spring Conference.

Doug Seaton, Seaton, Beck & Peters... Thanks to Doug and his law firm for sponsoring our hospitality suite. It also gives members a great chance to get some ideas and insights from one of the best lawyers in town.

Prewire Specialists, Inc... On Thursday, April 22, Prewire Specialists, in cooperation with the DNR, participated in the Earth Day cleanup project in the Lafayette Park area. Since 2006 Prewire has supplied and supported staff volunteers to help with the project. This year Prewire Specialists provided 27 people to help clean up our neighborhood, and hosted a lunch for the volunteers afterwards.
As a company, Prewire Specialists is concerned with the environment. They recycle all used cardboard, office paper and cable. The mechanic shop recycles all used oil, oil filters, tires, batteries and auto parts. In addition the fleet is maintained for peak performance, thereby increasing gas mileage and reducing our consumption of fossil fuels. The DNR has offered its thanks to Prewire for supplying the largest number of participants from the private sector in our area.

Thank you to all of our sponsors, hosts, distributors & manufactures who help make all of the MEA CE classes exciting, fun and educational!!

• Cottage Grove – Werner Electric. Deb Ricci and the Werner Electric Team for hosting the class at their location!
• St. Paul – Dakota Supply. Gregg Miller and Team for hosting the class at their location!

Sympathy

Earl P. Gappa... was born September 2, 1924, and died Thursday, March 4, 2010, at the Madelia Community Hospital. He was 85 years old. Earl married Mary Rich on June 23, 1946, in Algona, Iowa. Earl worked many years as an electrician and established Gappa Electric in 1962. He retired in 1990. He was a member of the MEA for many years. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and traveling with family and friends and spending time with his grandchildren.

Congratulations

Fluke... Fluke was awarded a $1.4 million contract under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create new calibration technology to set a standard to evaluate electricity flowing on to the smart grid for calibrating Phasor Measurement Units. Source: Electrical Apparatus Magazine, March 2010.

Roy Stoel, Minnesota Electric/Borders States... Roy Stoel who worked out of the Willmar office of Minnesota Electric Supply before and after it was acquired by Border States, has retired. We wish Roy the best of luck with his retirement and we thank him for his many years of support for and involvement with MEA and the electrical industry.

Moves and New Locations

States Electric Manufacturing Company... States Electric has changed its name to "States Manufacturing Corporation" to better reflect the depth and breadth of the company's services. The name change took effect February 26, 2010.
Their new structure includes four divisions: Electrical Solutions, Precision Metal Fabrication, Equipment Shelters and Painting Services. The Electrical Solutions Division has two product groups: Power Distribution & Control Systems and Panelboards & Industrial Control Cabinets, States Manufacturing, 650 Ottawa Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55422 763-588-0536, www.statesmfg.com.

Education & Meetings

DLI Workers' Compensation Policy Summit... The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) will sponsor its annual Workers' Compensation Policy Summit. June 14-16, 2010, at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, Minn. Go to www.dli.mn.gov/Wcconf10.asp for more information.

76th Annual Safety, Health Conference... The conference will focus on "staying connected." The conference will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center, May 12-14. People involved with workplace safety and health can connect through peers, speakers and exhibitors to share experiences, learn best-practices and exchange workable solutions. Complete information is available online at www.minnesotasafetycouncil.org.

Construction Industry Mixer... June 9 (4-6pm) Cooper 1607 Park Place, St Louis Park. Members from more than a dozen construction associations will be in attendance. For more information, go to MEA's website: www.electricalassociation.com.

Fall Protection: What's New; Best Practices, Rescue Plans... Find out what's new in fall protection – anchors, anchor systems, deceleration lanyards, harnesses, life lines, connecting hardware, self-retracting lifelines, beam systems and more – and what's outdated. Learn why some new approaches to fall protection need to be used when you're confronted with difficult fallhazard scenarios. Visit www.dli.mn.gov/OSHA/ConstructionBreakfast.asp for complete information or to request to be added to the Construction Breakfast mailing list. Note: As of Oct. 1, the MN DLI no longer accepts cash as payment for licenses, inspections, copy requests and other services including the Construction Breakfast seminars. Accepted methods of payment include checks, money orders and electronic payments that can be made via the DLI Web site.

Retirement

MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation Director Collins retires... Jim Collins, MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation director, retired in March, after more than 35 years of state service. Collins was presented with a plaque by federal OSHA honoring his years of service.