Building News And Georgetown News - FTWOODS Construction, Texas.

In Pursuit of our Potential

In a recent article by Dr. John C. Maxwell, he wrote:
The primary reason so few leaders or organizations ever become great is because they get good and then stop. They stop growing, learning, managing, risking, and changing. They use their track record or prior successes as evidence that they've arrived. Believing their own headlines, they are ready to write it down, build the manual, and document the formula. This mentality shifts their business from a growth to a maintenance mindset. The enemy of great is good.

Neither you nor your business ever "arrives." We never get to the place where there's nothing more to be done and nothing more to be said. In the words of Dave Anderson, "Yesterday's peacock is tomorrow's feather duster." What you strutted yesterday; the next day is just cleaning dust off of shelves.

We must distinguish between a "goal mindset" and a "growth mindset." A "goal mindset" has very tangible, numerical goals to achieve over a specific period of time. Nothing is wrong with clearly defined goals, but there's a better way of thinking a "growth mindset." A growth mindset recognizes goals on the journey, but only as part of a process—not as the end results.

As goal-oriented people hit a milestone, we have a tendency to settle very quickly, but when we are growth-minded and hit a goal, we blow right on by because we're constantly learning and growing.

Success has a brutal side: It can make us arrogant, it can make us complacent, and it can close our minds. To survive the temptations of triumph, we must realize that success is not the point and should never be the ultimate objective of an enterprise. The goal of business is to strive to reach our full potential. Defining our full potential by focusing on seeing how far we can go, how good we can get, and how many people we can bring with us. Reality dictates that we will most likely never reach our full potential, but the journey keeps us humble, hungry, and focused. What we become in the process helps us and our organization make the leap from good to great. We must use our successes as a stepping stone, not a pedestal.

As leaders we are tempted to stop working on ourselves. We continue to work hard at our job, but we have a tendency to neglect personal growth. We use our experience and track record as a license never to read another book and an excuse never to attend another developmental course in our field. We point to our acclaim and accomplishments and decide to rely on the skills we have learned in the past to run the rest of our career. We develop an arrogance of intelligence that creates a disabling ignorance. This ignorance disables us, our people, and, as a result, our business.

Growing people grow people. But when we don't grow, we stagnate. It's just a matter of time. Once this happens, we stop the growth of everyone working with us. When as a leader we go flat, our influence with everybody in our organization fizzles and fades. When the leader doesn't grow, the people don't grow, a stagnant leader stunts the growth of the organization.

One of the most amazing things to me is how much room there is at the top. On the other hand, it's jam-packed and crowded at the bottom. On the streets of average, there's traffic and congestion, but success has so few people on the roads. It's amazing how the higher you go, the less people there are. Three percent of the people in the United States have a library card. Six percent of Americans believe Elvis is still alive. Believe it, there's a lot of room at the top.

As leaders we should learn like we'll live forever and live like we'll die tomorrow. Either way, we're covered. Never quit growing and “building relationships.”
FTW

FTWOODS Construction and First Baptist Church Host "360 Degrees - The Measure of a Leader"

FTWOODS Construction and First Baptist Church have come together to host the largest leadership event of the year—360 degrees The Measure of a Leader. This event will take place on Friday, May 5, 2006. It will be a nationwide simulcast event broadcast in many different churches with expected audiences of 80,000. The event will be held at First Baptist Church. The registration fee is $90 and includes: notebook/materials, lunch, and morning and afternoon snacks. For more information please go to www.fbcgt.org or www.maximumimpact.com/mis.

We are fortunate to have two new additions to the FTWOODS Construction Team, Brad Christ and Jason Young.

Brad Christ has joined the FTWOODS Construction team as a Project Manager. He has over nineteen years experience in the construction industry. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS in Engineering Technology. Brad enjoys home improvement projects, deer and bird hunting, outdoor projects, watching his daughters play sports, church & youth outings, and enjoying local Mexican food especially Dos Salas! Brad also enjoys spending time with his three lovely daughters and wife, Kari.

Jason Young is FTWOODS Construction newest Project Engineer. He is a recent graduate from Sam Houston State University where he earned a degree in Industrial Technology for Construction Management. Jason is working closely with S.C. Inman IV. In his spare time Jason enjoys hunting, fishing, and playing sports.

FTWOODS Construction was able to host three students on November 16, 2005 from Tippit, Benold, and Forbes Middle School for the Georgetown Partners in Education 2005 Business Link Day. This day gave the eighth graders a day to participate in a real-life, hands on experience. During the day, the students were able to tour several job sites in different stages of construction. Matt Holley toured the students through the completed TASUS Texas and Don Rodgers guided them at the Round Rock Premium Outlets. We enjoyed having the students spend the day with us and we look forward to next year.

FTWOODS Construction has a number of projects in progress as General Contractor, Site Development Group and Concrete Group. Here is a list of our projects that are currently underway.

General Contractor

Jarrell High School-Jarrell ISD
Hewlett Hummer
TxDot Service Center
Caring Place Expansion
Georgetown Community Clinic
Houston & Rodriguez Elementary School-Austin ISD
First Baptist Church
Creedmoor Elementary School-Creedmoor ISD
Hewlett Pond
Town North Nissan

Site Development Group

Reserve at Twin Creek
Shady Oaks
East Transmission Main
Townhomes at Katy Crossing
Brushy Creek Trails East
Twin Creek Ph. 15
Ranch at Brushy Creek #2A
Palm Valley Plaza
Commons at Rowe Lane
Heritage Oaks 3A
Schwertner State Bank
Shadowglen 14A
Shadowglen 15A
Avalon, Ph. 1 and Ph. 2
Shady Oaks, Sec. 4, Ph. 5
Shadowglen Detention Pond

Concrete Group
Saegert Ranch Elementary-Killeen ISD
Skipcha Estates Elementary-Killeen ISD
Loop 1 Extension
Hutto High School-Hutto ISD
Round Rock Premium Outlets
Hutto Elementary School-Hutto ISD
Blake Manor Elementary
Wal-Mart 4 Points
Meadows Elementary School-Killeen ISD

General Contractor

Jarrell High School
FTWOODS Construction was awarded General Contractor for a new 98,000 SF high school for Jarrell ISD. The new high school will provide classrooms 350 students and areas such as a new cafeteria, library, physical education, and fine arts building to support 700 students. The plan for the new school include a library at the main entry, three computer labs; a cafeteria and a stage for performances; a separate band hall and choir room with soundproof practice and ensemble rooms; a Cougar gym and physical education gym; a career and technology building; and three science classrooms with state-of-the-art lab and lecture space.

The FTWOODS Construction team working on the project includes Project Manager Troy Lee and Senior Estimator Mike Mason. The Field Manager is to TBD. Completion of the new school is set for Fall 2007.

Georgetown High School Football Stadium

Future Georgetown High School Football Stadium

Georgetown Independent School District is building a new multi-purpose stadium at the existing high school site. FTWOODS Construction has been given the opportunity to construct the new stadium along with architects, Huckabee and Associates. The stadium will seat 11,000 and will include a 2-story press box and an artificial surfaced track. We are currently in the preconstruction phase and will begin construction Fall 2006 with the budget at approximately $8.5 million. FTWOODS Construction feels very fortunate to have been selected for this project and we look forward to working with both GISD and Huckabee.

Site and Concrete

Palm Valley Plaza
FTWOODS Construction was selected for the Site Development and Concrete portions of the Palm Valley Plaza project in Round Rock, Texas. This $1,324,500 project consists of earthwork, parking lot construction, water and wastewater, and electrical services, storm drainage, curb and gutter, landscaping and irrigation, site concrete and the building concrete. FTWOODS Construction is working closing with owner Cencor Realty Services and engineers Baker-Aicklen & Associates. The team working on the project includes Project Manager Mike Chaney, General Superintendent Don Rodgers, Utility Superintendent Reymundo Hernandez, Excavation Superintendent Chano Carrillo, and Utility Foreman David Lucas. The completion of the project is set for March 2006.

The Commons at Rowe Lane
FTWOODS Construction was given the opportunity to work on the Commons at Rowe Lane for the Site Development portions of the project. This job consists of earthwork, road construction, curb & gutter, wet utilities. FTWOODS Construction has been working with owner James R. Round Rock Premium Outlets under construction Harris Partners, LLC and engineer Pape-Dawson Huffcut Engineers, Inc. The team that worked on the project includes Project Manager Mike Chaney, General Superintendent Don Rodgers, Utility Superintendent Reymundo Hernandez, Excavation Superintendent Chano Carrillo, and Utility Foreman David Lucas. The estimated completion date is set for June 2006.

Round Rock Premium Outlets
FTWOODS Construction was chosen to do the concrete for the Round Rock Premium Outlets located off IH-35. The $4,000,000 job consisted of 500,000 SF tiltwall buildings. FTWOODS Construction has enjoyed working with Hardin Construction during the duration of this project. The Outlets are expected to open Fall 2006. We feel very fortunate to have been able to work on this project and we are proud of the outcome thus far.

Jayda Lynne newborn photo. FTWOODS Construction has another wonderful addition to the family. Katie Caskey had a beautiful baby girl, Jayda Lynne, on November 5, 2005. She was 8.6 lbs and 21 inches long. We are excited to have our family keep growing and we look forward to watching Jayda grow up.

On January 28, 2006, Reagan Woods competed in the Texas State Championships where he placed 3rd place!! This competition features the best lifters from all over the state. The two lifts Reagan performed were the Snatch and the Clear-and-Jerk. The Snatch weight was 65 kilograms (144 lbs). The weight is lifted from the floor to above the head in one motion. The Clear-and-Jerk weight was 80 kilograms (177 lbs). The weight is cleared to the chest then jerked above head. Reagan’s total weight lifted was 145 kilograms (320 lbs). Reagan has been training for 6 months and it is an extreme accomplishment for someone of his experience to place in such a high level competition. Congratulations Reagan!! We are proud of you!