Mary Ellen Rudisel Jordan

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Mary Ellen Rudisel Jordan
Architect Mary Ellen Rudisel Jordan

I lost a good friend last week.  Mary Ellen was in a fatal car crash Thursday evening heading home from a client meeting in Wabash.    She was an Architect that I worked with for the past two decades on projects too numerous to count.  Some of them large, some of them small, some of them award winning, some of them mundane.  She often referred clients to me with no expectations other than that I would treat them well.  I often returned that favor, referring clients to her.  I never hesitated to do so, knowing that she would do all in her power to meet their needs and respect their wishes.  She had no ego and was excellent at listening.  Her ability to do thumbnail sketches on the fly with clients would often lead to the client being able to realize their vision in a way they couldn’t without her help.  When I had roughed out a design for a client, I sometimes would send it to Mary Ellen and she would make some minor change that would make things “pop”.  She did this just as a favor as with the proposed fireman’s memorial here.  Her input was always appreciated.

Sketch by Mary Ellen of the proposed Woodcraft Camp Museum
Sketch by Mary Ellen of the proposed Woodcraft Camp Museum

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NFIB “Small-Business Confidence Sputters, Again”

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Graphic borrowed from www.nfib.com/sbet

I received the results of an NFIB survey today that I thought would be worth sharing.  You can read the entire report here, but the gist of it is contained in this quote:

“After two months of incremental but solid gains, the Index gave up in June.  This appears par for the course, given that there is no reason for small employers to be more optimistic and lots of things to worry about,”  said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg.  “Washington remains bogged down in scandals and confidence in government’s ability to deal with our fundamental problems remains low.  Economic growth was revised down for the first quarter of the year and the outlook for the second quarter is not looking good.  Nothing cheers up a small-business owner more than a customer, and they remain scarce and cautious while consumer spending remains weak and more owners are reporting negative sales trends than positive ones.

It certainly doesn’t help that the endless stream of delays and capitulations of certain provisions of the healthcare law adds to the uncertainty felt by owners.  Until growth returns to the small-business half of the economy, it will be hard to generate meaningful economic growth and job creation.”

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Culver Fall Fest

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With Lakefest almost upon us, the Culver Chamber of Commerce is already looking ahead to the Culver Fall Fest.  One of the events they would really like to push is the Scarecrow Contest.  The scarecrow contest has withered, so to speak, over the last few years.  The Chamber believes if they can get a good turn out for this, they can draw in media for a news spot on the scarecrows and thus the rest of the events.  They think critical mass on this will be a minimum of 50 scarecrows.  Put your creative thinking caps on and see what you can come up with!

The entry fee for the contest is $10 and there is a $200 prize for the best scarecrow.  To help support this, I am offering to reimburse the entry fee for any Easterday Construction Co., Inc. employee or employee family member.  (I will ask that they credit Easterday Construction on their entry so we can keep track.)  I will also offer a $100 prize to match the Chamber $200 prize if an ECC entry win!  Kathy and Julie have already accepted the challenge.  Any ECC entries will be highlighted and credit here.

Ronald Liechty’s Birthday

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Ron Liechty
Ronald Liechty

I was fortunate to be invited to attend Ron Liechty’s 80th Birthday Party at the Conservation Club on Saturday.  It was a surprise party put on by his family and it was nice to see the community come out to celebrate with him.

I’ve known Ron for over a decade and I am pleased to call him a friend.  My initial introduction was through Easterday Construction’s work on Garden Court projects.  Up until this year Ron has been the President of Garden Court.  This is a case of a client becoming a friend… A goal I have with all of our clients.

If I hadn’t met Ron through work, I’m sure I would have known him through other associations.  It seems like he has been an ubiquitous fixture in Plymouth and Marshall County over the last several decades, serving on various boards and in many cases taking on the leadership and spearheading projects.  He is an example of someone giving back to the community.  This is an example I try to follow and try to encourage others to pursue.

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