The Kids Are Alright

One of the coolest things at GlassBuild this year was something not many may have realized. On Day 3, more than 200 students from local schools were brought onto the show floor to learn about and experience our space. They visited several booths, went through the skills competition area, and heard from leaders in our space about how this industry can be great for them.

The Las Vegas Sun newspaper sent an award-winning reporter, Hillary Davis, to witness it all, and she filed this excellent report. Check it out, and kudos to everyone who took part in the “See Yourself in Glass” day at GlassBuild. Hopefully we’ll get a bunch of those students in our world.

In the meantime, we must keep at it! Our trade is better than all, and you can see the work you’ve done when the project is finished. Not many electricians (the popular trade career for the young) can say that. 

Elsewhere…

ICYMI, my latest podcast episode is up, and it’s burning up the internet lines. Funny thing is that I never knew Hugo Ramirez—I ended up seeing a post of his on LinkedIn and followed him—and I only knew Mike O’Neal a tiny bit. After this pod dropped, I heard from so many people, things like, “I love Hugo, brilliant guy” and “Mike is the greatest; can’t believe you didn’t know him,” and now I am wondering why I was so late to this party! Anyway, I’m now in their fan clubs like so many of you. Fun pod to do, great thoughts shared. Please check it out!

VIDEO

AUDIO

Next week: a new episode with a massive leader in our space and a glazing company that is absolutely crushing it out there.

Travis Nevins Moves to Finishing Solutions Network

Congrats to Travis Nevins on his new gig. He is now the director at the Finishing Solutions Network, a network of high-end subcontractors. He’ll connect them with owners, end-users, developers, and general contractors. Wonderful and exciting move by Travis.

He noted he’ll still be active on LinkedIn, and I’d assume he will be in Glass Magazine, too. His insights have been pretty significant over the past few years, and I’m glad they won’t be going away. Extremely talented guy, so I am happy to see that rewarded. Congrats!

AGMCC Annual Meeting

FYI: The AGMCC Annual Meeting is coming up Nov. 10-12 in Chicago. All members of the design, construction, and glazing community are welcome to attend. Hear the latest news about certifications, network, collaborate, and discuss the future of our industry. It will be my first time at this event, and I am excited to learn and network.  Find more information about the meeting

ABI Outlook Remains the Same…

The latest Architectural Billings Index was released when we were all at GlassBuild, and I completely missed it. It was same ole, same ole there. Pretty much on the same path as the last few months, so I guess the positive is it’s not getting worse? Not much more needs to be said.

…But Executive-Level Outlook is Positive

According to the Business Roundtable Outlook, CEO confidence continues to be positive. It has been up for five straight quarters, and its index is well above historical averages, at its highest level since Q2 of 2022. We all see it. Work is sitting there, and just needs to get broken loose. Otherwise, what in the world would these guys be confident about?

JD Power Airport Rankings

Last this week, the yearly JD Power Airport Rankings. My guy Lyle Shimazu is waiting by his computer to see if his beloved Portland airport has made the cut.

So, here goes… JD Power breaks airports down into three categories: mega, large, and medium, and the overall customer satisfaction rating gives them the rankings. Let’s look at the top 10.

Mega

10. Orlando

9. Boston-Logan

8. JFK. The work W&W did there helped this ranking, I’m sure.

7. Miami

6. San Francisco

5. Las Vegas

4. LaGuardia

3. Phoenix

2. Detroit. Should be No.1, but I am biased.

1. Minneapolis-St. Paul. Obviously the Viracon guys stuffed the ballot box, LOL.

 Large

10. John Wayne-Orange County, CA. Too low! Great airport, though, but I thought it’s more medium than large.

9. Southwest Florida

8. Salt Lake City

7. New Orleans

6. Nashville

5. Raleigh-Durham

4. Kansas City

3. Dallas-Love Field

2. Portland-OK. Lyle, No.2…lucky!

1. Tampa

Medium

10. Jacksonville

9. Albuquerque

8. Pittsburgh. I wonder if this is old one or new build. The new one—done with so many industry stars like Vitro, United Architectural Metals, DM Products, Clover Architectural, Spectrum Metal Finishing, and more—is incredible.

7. Cincinnati

6. Palm Beach

5. Hollywood-Burbank

4. Milwaukee

3. Indianapolis

2. Ontario, CA

1. Charleston, SC! Wow, Charleston keeps getting praise in every area.

So, there ya go, always good for debate. Though on some, I gotta wonder where that satisfaction comes from, and I can’t believe great airports like San Diego didn't crack the top 10, but at least it beat Austin. (When Austin gets expanded, it’ll be better, but for now- it may be one of the worst) See the entire study

Read on for links of the week…