Meeting Minutes:
Friday, July 22, 2005
Volume 12; Issue 23

  

Table of Contents

Committee Reports

Membership Report
 (Click here to go to the Membership page)

We have 3 possible new member applicants on the table:

  1. Mike Whalen posted part 1 of the membership application for Don LaBarge.  Don probably won't be able to join us until the fall.
     
  2. Phil Passante has a friend that has been a private eye for 16 years.  Hopefully we will see part 1 of his application soon.
     
  3. Lisa Wolfe has submitted an application for Ken Mokowitz.  Click here to view his application.

We would like to get these potential members in as soon as possible.  We are going to print new brochures within the next 60 days and would like to include them.

Social Report
 (Click here to go to the Social Event page)

Red Kangaroo Wines will host a MABE social on August 13th.  The cost will be $50 per person.  Space is limited.  Roger will bring in sign-up sheets next Friday.

Dave Spiess suggested a group trip to Los Angeles to view the King Tut exhibit.  Advance tickets are $30 a piece.  Since there was interest, Dave and Althea Bussert will get more information and put this event together.

Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)

Main Speaker

Spotlight Speaker

Treasurer Report

We have a few members that still owe quarterly dues. 

Leads Report

16-28, 16-19, 35-03, 35-40, 35-02, 20-43, 20-13, 17-11, 29-13, 29-10, 29-07, 51-32, 13-10, 13-26, 13-25, 03-43, 04-14, 31-24, 31-41, 31*32 (x3), 14-38, 43-47, 40-19, 40-32, 48-28, 48-34, 09-33.

This week's leads focus...

Business Spotlight

Jana Greene was today's Spotlight.  Jana brought in a bucket of roses for people to take with them on their way out the door today.  Jana's business is holiday oriented.  It is a mad rush for a few days out of the year and then it slows down.  She would like to focus on corporate business that would be steady throughout the year.  Her service is a great compliment to any human resource department.  Sending employees flowers is non-offensive and a great moral booster when sent for birthdays, anniversary, births, etc.  On a personal note, Jana did have gastric bypass surgery done and she has lost an incredible 122lbs as of this morning and she feels great!

Notable Mentions

We will print new brochures within the next 60 days.  Please make sure to submit any updates to Stuart Schindler.  It was suggested by one of our newer members that we also include an index page in the next brochure.

Board elections are just around the corner.  Althea Bussert and Roman Okonowski will be leaving the board and we are looking for two members to fill their spots.  You must have been a member in good standing for at least 12 months to be nominated.

  • Nominations will be held on August 5th. 
  • Speeches will be given on August 12th. 
  • Elections will be held on August 19th. 
  • The new board and president will take over September 9th.

At a recent board meeting it was decided that the bylaws need to be carefully reviewed and revised. The goal is to have the newly revised bylaws in place by the first quarter of 2006.

Main Speaker 

Mark Grant
GTI Contractors, Inc.

Mark Grant was born in Indiana but his family moved here when he was in the 3rd grade.  He has been a Tempe guy ever since.  We found out this morning that fellow member John Gruber was his high school English teacher.  Talk about a small world!

After graduating from high school Mark bounced around in the oil fields as a redneck.  He worked in Texas and Wyoming.  But it didn't take long to realize that he didn't fit in with the oil business so he moved back to Arizona.

He enrolled at Mesa Community College.  He worked all day as a framer, went to school in the evening and studied late at night.  This hectic scheduled lasted only a couple of semesters.  Mark decided to drop out of school and go into the construction business full-time.

Mark was a foreman for a couple of local companies before taking on a partner and starting Grant Interiors in 1984.  This partnership did not work well and after 5 years they parted ways. 

The period that followed was difficult for Mark both professionally and personally.  He took a position with Wepac Construction but the job came with a heavy burden.  He did all he could do to make it work but in 1993 he decided to start his own company, GTI Contractors. 

Mark handles most every aspect of the business including sales, estimating, scheduling, etc.  The only thing he doesn't run is the office.  He leaves that to his wife Leslie. 

GTI Contractors is a commercial contracting firm specializing in new commercial, tenant improvement and remodel construction projects.  But Mark has an extensive background in construction so he is able to expand to do other projects including those in the residential area.  In fact, he joined MABE in hopes of being able to expand and grow his business.

The construction business has become very competitive.  It's a tough business to be in, especially if you don't have an architect in your back pocket.  For Mark, word-of-mouth is his best form of advertisement.  Several suggestions were made today on how to get leads for Mark.  He usually deals directly with property managers so they would be great leads for him.  If you or anyone you know is remodeling or moving into a new location, he is the person to call. 

[membersonly/archives/former_members/grant.htm]

 

 
Back to Top