Table of Contents

• COMMITTEE REPORTS
  • MEMBERSHIP REPORT
  • SOCIAL REPORT
  • SPEAKER COORDINATOR REPORT
  • TREASURER REPORT
• LEADS
• NOTABLE MENTIONS
• BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
• MAIN SPEAKER

Committee Reports

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

No report.

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

No report.

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

Main Speaker

• 06/23/06     Guy Sawyer
• 06/30/06     Ziad Fahmy*
• 07/07/06     Ralph Cunningham
• 07/14/06     TBD
• 07/21/06     Dave Spiess

Spotlight Speaker

• 06/23/06     Bob Becker
• 06/30/06     None
• 07/07/06     TBD
• 07/14/06     TBD
• 07/21/06     TBD

* Althea Bussert's son-in-law Ziad Fahmy will speak at out June 30th meeting.  He is a Fulbright Scholar, and is a doctoral student at the University of Arizona, soon to be awarded a doctorate in Middle East Contemporary History. We can look forward to an insightful talk about the modern history and present conditions in the Middle East.

Treasurer Report

No report.

Leads Report

37-42, 37-53, 40-41, 15-24, 15-53(3), 25-13, 38-34, 53-28, 23-34, 20-13, 20-31, 16-17, 29-13, 11-17, 11-19, 11-47, 17-11, 17-40, 48-30, 20-45, 20-44, 41-45.

This week's leads focus...

• Stuart Schindler
• Dave Spiess
• Greg Stewart

Notable Mentions

Chris Curran told a lawyer joke.  Is that even allowed?

Business Spotlight

None

Joe Zingale
Anderson/Witt Insurance Agency 

Joe wasn't sure what to talk about today so he brought in a box of stuff to take up time.  He pulled out a camera and took pictures then said  "That's all l got!" 

But we begged for more...

Joe was born in Cleveland in 1951 and lived there until the 8th grade.  His dad took a new job and moved his family to small town at Lake Eerie.  They had a great home there on the lake. It was a little town and a great place to go to school. Since it was small, Joe was able to do anything he wanted.  He was a star punter for the football team (of course the strong wind gusts probably made him look good). 

After high school he attended a little college in upstate New York.  It was mainly an engineering school but he got his industrial distribution degree there which is basically the degree you get when you didn't know what you want to do.  He took a lot of business courses which ended up helping him later in life. But the biggest thing he got out of college was his wife Vicky.  Their first encounter was very romantic ... it was at a beer blast.   He remembers...well, not much...it was a beer blast.  But he does vaguely recall his approach resembling a tackle.  He got her number and called her over and over again until he wore her down.  They have been happily married for 34 years.  They now have three incredible kids.  His family is the best part of his life. His kids inspire him. 

After college Joe took a job with Detroit Diesel where he learned a lot.  It was a great first job.  He worked with lots of different departments.  They were going to promote him by sending him to Egypt to run the bus fleet there.  He thought this was great until he heard that machine guns had to be installed on top of the buses. 

He decided to take another position which required security clearance.  No machine guns necessary but it did require a lot of travel.  This meant Vicky was alone in Detroit. There home was broken into.  Nothing was taken but it scared her.  Joe needed a job closer to home.

He found another job near home but this one required long hours.   Joe paid his dues at this job.  He worked for an insane genius and learned a lot about running a business and managing people.  

Joe's dad had a growing garbage business in a small town in New York.  Joe decided to take a position in this business and let his kids grow up around family.  They had a wonderful house on the lake but the property taxes alone where $13,000.  Someone made him an offer on the house and he took it.  He moved and went to work with a waste management company.  He did this for 10 years.  

In 1997 Joe moved his family to Arizona.  He transferred here with the waste management company but kept his eyes open for a new business to buy.  During this time his nephew, Jeff Berghoff, asked for Joe's help doing a business plan. Jeff was a landscaper with a lot of contacts with high-end residential contractors.  His first job was great and  lasted 2 years.  Things were taking off with Jeff's business and he asked Joe to hang around a little longer to help.  Joe is still there and represented the company at MABE.

At one point the company ventured into design by creating their own landscape lights. Adam Lighting is the new company that resulted.  But Berghoff Design Group now concentrates on high-end residential landscape designs.  They have also added a maintenance side to the business to service clients after their installations. 

Please don't give them any leads!  They can't keep up with the work they have.  Joe is sure it won't last forever.  There may come a time that he begs us for work.

A few words on waste...

There was no hazardous waste before1980.  That is when the government stepped in and said "you can't dump that in your back yard".

Types of waste:

Ignitable - Substances that spontaneously burn or combust at a temperature less than 140°F are considered ignitable (flammable). They can be liquids, solids, flammable gases, or oxidizers. Typical ignitable substances include solvents, paint, lacquer thinners, and stripping agents. These substances yield dangerous wastes that pose a fire hazard. Corrosive - Corrosive substances are acidic liquids (pH less than or equal to 2), alkaline liquids (pH greater than or equal to 12.5) or liquids that corrode steel at a rate greater than 0.25 inch per year. Wastes from these substances can dissolve most materials; specialized containers are necessary to resist corrosion. Extreme care must be used when handling them for they tend to burn the skin. Reactive - Reactive substances are very unstable and readily, rapidly, or violently change when mixed with or exposed to water, heat, pressure, or other materials. These substances, especially cyanide or sulfide compounds, may generate toxic gases under mildly acidic or alkaline conditions. Chromatic acids, perchlorates, and peroxides are common reactive substances. Wastes produced from reactive substances are hazardous since they may explode. Toxic - The toxicity characteristic of a waste is determined by having a laboratory analyze an extract of the waste using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP).  The results of the analysis are compared to the regulatory limits of 40 constituents, primarily heavy metals, organic compounds, and pesticides/herbicides.  If the extract from the TCLP contains levels of any of the 40 constituents at or above regulatory limits, the waste is considered a hazardous waste. Examples of toxic wastes include contaminated soils and sludges, waste solvents, paint residues, wastes from chemical manufacturing and pesticide/herbicide wastes. Some toxic waste are acutely hazardous if they are fatal to humans in low doses are capable of contributing to serious irreversible illnesses.

Joe Zingale 15+ year member Member since October 1997

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Berghoff Design Group 7000 East McDowell Road, Suite 100, Scottsdale, Arizona 85257 Phone: (480) 481-3433 • FAX: (480) 481-3533 E-mail: joe@berghoffdesign.com • www.berghoffdesign.com We offer fully licensed expertise in the design and construction of fine gardens. We specialize in creating unique landscapes that reflect the client’s personality and lifestyle while enhancing their home. Working on projects ranging from small courtyards to five-acre estates, we always provide the highest standards of design and craftsmanship. Our range of design/build services include swimming pool, spa and water feature design, patio / hardscape layout, fireplaces, irrigation systems, planting and lighting.