October 8, 2007

Daily Cable - NECA 2007 San Francisco

Nando Parrado Inspires Attendees

Reluctant to accept the title of "hero," Nando Parrado 's amazing story of survival is however, nothing short of heroic. And he shared this story, and some valuable lessons, with NECA 2007 attendees today.

 
Photo by Rob Colgan
Nando Parrado
Following the plane crash into the frozen Andes Mountains on October 13, 1972, with his Uruguayan rugby team, Parrado and his surviving teammates were met with two options: Survive or Die. Parrado chose survival, but had to undergo impossible odds, and remain alive in unlivable conditions. 

At 1,400 feet in sub-zero temperatures, without food, water or first aid, Parrado and his friends had to depend on each other, their own will to live, and the ability to adapt and do the unthinkable to keep from perishing on the mountain. And survive they did for over two months before Parrado and one other teammate made the grueling 10-day trek to bring salvation back to their comrades.

 
Photo by Rob Colgan - David Hardt
Parrado left the audience with the message that ordinary people can do amazing things in the face of adversity and that an individual never really knows what he or she is capable of. A person just has to live day-by-day, thankful for every day, surviving the hardships, and moving on. Life is an amazing thing, and, as Parrado pointed out, a miracle as well. He said, "I shouldn’t be alive. But every day I thank God that I am able to breathe, and that I am alive." 

 
The line of long-time and new fans eager to meet Parrado stretched out of the NECA booth and down the aisle of the NECA Show following Parrado's presentation.

Parrado shook each hand that was offered, graciously accepted the enthusiastic compliments, and signed several hundred copies of his new book, "Miracle in the Andes."

The book is a new take on Parrado's personal story that grabbed headlines more than 30 years ago and recently spent more than 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

 Award Winners Recognized

Winners of NECA's 2007 awards were announced following their selection in June, and today, they enjoyed a moment in the spotlight at the NECA Closing General Session.

 
Photo by Rob Colgan - Bob White
Association Executive Distinguished Service Award ~ Robert L. White, NECA National

The NECA Association Executive Distinguished Service Award recognizes a staff executive or chapter manager who has made the greatest contribution to NECA’s advancement. White has been on the NECA national staff for 37 years and is retiring as Executive Director of Government Affairs at the end of 2007. He has been instrumental in the success of NECA's Political Leadership Council and ECPAC

 
Photo by Rob Colgan - David Raspovich
Wendt Award ~ San Diego County Chapter, NECA

ELECTRI International – The Foundation for Electrical Construction, Inc., presents this award for leadership and service to the industry. The San Diego Chapter implemented California's first electrical industry Drug Free Workplace program with mandatory random testing and has committed significant start-up funding to the Talent Initiative Program within the Foundation's Education Center.

 
Photo by Rob Colgan - David Hardt
Coggeshall Award. ~ David Hardt

The Coggeshall Award recognizes outstanding technical and training contributions to the industry. Hardt serves on NECA's workforce development committee and has helped refine the VDV national agreement.

 
Photo by Rob Colgan - Robert Bruce
Comstock Award ~ Robert J. Bruce

The Comstock Award recognizes outstanding contributions in labor relations to NECA and the industry. Bruce has been a board member of the National Maintenance Agreement Labor-Management Policy Committee for more than 20 years and served on CIR for two years.

 
Photo by Rob Colgan - Ron Autrey
McGraw Award ~ Ron Autrey

The James H. McGraw Award is given to a person who has contributed a new or useful idea or has performed an industry service over and above normal responsibilities to his own company's progress. Autrey's tireless leadership on the PLC, ECPAC, and the Foundation has advanced the industry's legislative and political agenda.

Management Seminars Are All About Planning – Both Financial and Construction

Despite an early starting time, over 300 people came to this morning's last round of management seminars. Business finance gurus Jim Weber and Dave O'Brien led one the more popular sessions this morning, Personal Finance Planning. The speakers covered the wide range of tools available for estate and succession planning, and many of the session participants were husbands and wives who co-own electrical contracting firms and other businesses and properties.

Linda Garrett of Mel-Kay Electric, Evansville, IN, related her experience dealing with family inheritance issues, complicated by a booming real estate market and a city's quest to seize a company-owned warehouse through imminent domain. "You can never judge a family relationship until there's money involved," O'Brien cautioned. He urged the participants to meet with an estate planner annually and ensure they followed through on any financial trust paperwork and title transfers.

Popular MEI instructor Awad Hanna led a seminar based on his ELECTRI International research project, Pre-Construction Planning Process. Hanna led the students through a complex break-down of the pre-construction planning process that extends through the three project stages of bidding, pre-construction and project execution. "Whether you managed a $1 million company or a $100 million company, a formal pre-construction planning process can lead to increased profit margins and projects success," Hanna told the group. 

NECA 2007 Show Attendees Win Big!

 
Photo by Rob Colgan
Grand Prize Winner Arlan Hanson
NECA 2007 San Francisco ended on a fun—and for a few folks, profitable—note! The $1,500 Ladies Daily Prize, the $1,500 Men's Daily Prize and the $10,000 Grand Prize winners were all drawn today immediately following the closing of the NECA 2007 Show. 

Congratulations to the lucky NECA 2007 San Francisco prize winners!

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