Big News on the School Security Front

So the industry picked up a huge win last week, one that you’ll hear more about this week and for sure weeks going forward. Behind a herculean effort by NGA’s Urmilla Sowell and her incredible team of technical & advocacy stars, a new bill was introduced in Congress that could be massive to the glass and glazing industry. I’m speaking of House Resolution 8506. Sponsored by Rep. Charles "Chuck” Fleischmann [R-TN-3], it will establish a grant program to improve school security, with an emphasis on glass & glazing, by providing funding avenues that enable districts to adopt more effective, layered protection strategies for both students and educators. Yes. You are reading the right, and the wording in the resolution was glorious:

(C) securing glass in the building’s exterior through the installation of forced entry or bullet resistant glass;

(D) glass in the building’s exterior through the installation of forced entry or bullet resistant glass;

We need more and more of this out there, and this is an example of the stellar work Urmilla does, along with incredible and caring talents like Karen Wegert, Georgia Oehler, Thom Zaremba, Tom Culp, Nick Resetar, among others. They are doing the work in representing us and advancing causes that are good for us! Kudos to them! As noted above, more on this is coming, especially with NGA holding its Glass and Glazing Advocacy Days this week in DC. Let’s keep this momentum rolling, folks. 

Elsewhere…

Most recent pod

ICYMI! The most recent episode of the “From the Fabricator” podcast is making waves, very positive waves at that. Jason Epps, CEO of Specialty Fenestration Group (USBP, Quikserv) blew people away with his story and approach. JJ Derman of NovaTech got people thinking about diversifying their offerings and how service and support can be very valuable to the glazing community. Really enjoyable pod. Thanks to those guys and thanks to everyone who’s checked it out already!

Watch on Youtube, or listen here.

Dodge Construction update

Dodge Construction had a quarterly update this past week, and the word “uncertainty” is once again in the spotlight. I swear, if I had a nickel for every time that word has been uttered in the last 10 months, I could finally retire and take the greeter job at a Publix in some small Florida town. But that word and that fact are real. With the constant changes in government decision-making and now the war, the construction space has basically been paralyzed. So, needless to say, we’re still in that resilience and patience mode. As I’ve noted before, the hunger is there, the work is being planned, but the volatility out there is delaying progress. 

Industry promotion

One of the hardest working people I have ever known and also a tremendous human got a promotion recently. Scott Goodman was named Technical Field Sales Specialist, Southeast Region for CRL. I love it when the people who grind get that recognition, and Scott absolutely deserves the props. Congrats, my friend, on this new spot, and props to CRL for recognizing it!

Industry recognition

Also, congratulations to my friends at TSI Corporations for their field teams being honored by the Washington Building Congress with the Craftsmanship Award for both the Reston JW Marriott Hotel & Condo and the OB5 project in Reston, Virginia. So cool to see and not a surprise knowing Thomas Cornellier and the team there. Great company and culture! 

Michael Jackson movie

Last this week… the new Michael Jackson movie “Michael” is out and I went to see it, curious about how they’d handle his life story. Well, that whole life story is going to come in future parts. This movie covers Michael from the mid-80s, and I enjoyed it. Well done and the acting, especially by the actor who played Michael as a kid, was incredible. I’m a sucker for music biopics, and so this one was a winner for me. If you grew up in the 80’s and had any liking of Michael Jackson, this one is for you.