Riders on the stormSteve Holcomb of Emerald Coast Utilities Authority explains to Andrew Pelis the steps the authority is taking to recover from the damage from recent hurricanes. Florida has endured more than its fair share of hurricane damage over the past decade.

Nothing but upside When Compton Petroleum learned of cutting-edge technology that could increase safety, protect the environment and save money, the company moved quickly, as Keith Regan explains. When John Kendrick, manager of environmental, health and safety at Compton Petroleum Corporation learned of a new infrared camera technology that could help pinpoint gas leaks, he began to do his homework and prepare a case for laying out the capital expenditure to acquire the technology. ÔÇ£I put together a PowerPoint presentation with maybe 20 slides or so,ÔÇ

Quality people, quality productThe Conlan CompanyÔÇÖs founder tells Keith Regan that the firmÔÇÖs growth came by focusing on the safety and happiness of the people who make the company tick. When the Conlan Company got its start in 1987, the construction firm focused on office and light industrial projects in the Atlanta region. Later it began to add medical facilities to its expertise. As it grew, it continued to focus on delivering quality projects each and every time out, says Gary Condron, the companyÔÇÖs founder and chief executive officer.

Choate Construction has never missed a deadline, which may help explain its strong and steady growth. Company founder and CEO Millard Choate tells Keith Regan how strong internal process controls ensure projects are done right first timeSince being founded in Millard ChoateÔÇÖs basement in 1989, Choate Construction has experienced dizzying growth.

Forty years after being founded by three like-minded architects, CBT remains focused on creating a strong culture where leadership is valued and creativity fosteredCBT Architects began as a part-time collaboration between three founding principals, Maurice Childs, Richard Bertman, and Charles Tseckares, and secured two early projects, one a small art gallery in Boston, the other, a Greek Orthodox Church in a suburb north of Boston.

Balancing actBeing a construction project manager means juggling a routine with shifting priorities, Matt Irwin explains to Gary Toushek. Matt Irwin has just come from the job site of the project heÔÇÖs working on at the moment, adjacent towers of residential housingÔÇöa 12-story, 136-unit, design-build, low-income family building (designed by architects Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz) and an 11-story, 107-unit seniors building (designed by KMD Associates, local architecture firm Kodama Diseno)ÔÇöin downtown San Francisco.

A place to stay ÔÇö for 50 yearsPhilippe Gadbois of Atlific Hotels & Resorts tells Ruari McCallion about new ideas after the firmÔÇÖs 50 years in the hotel business in Canada. ItÔÇÖs just coming up to half a century since Holiday Inn awarded its first franchises in Canada. One of the two companies selected was Atlific Hotels & Resorts, founded in 1959 and based in Montreal.

Partnering for successA joint venture to widen Interstate 75 in southwest Florida posed a host of design and permitting challenges to Anderson Columbia Company, but itÔÇÖs on track to be completed ahead of schedule, thanks to a strong partnership approach, Keith Regan reports. Transportations officials in Florida have long recognized the need to increase the capacity of Interstate 75 to carry traffic through Collier and Lee counties in the fast-growing southwestern part of the state.

Thomas R. Cutler makes the case for reusable containers, from a financial and environmental point of view. The EarthWorks Group estimates that thirty percent of landfill waste is created by plastic and paper packaging. The use of cardboard and other one-time-use packaging products contribute significantly to this waste. David Madden, President of ContainerExchanger.com noted, ÔÇ£The initial investment in returnable packaging may cost more that one-time use packaging.

Change management and learningAfter developing a succinct vision, and designing an organizational structure that supports the vision and enables the implementation of the strategy, CEOs must prepare their organizations for the planned change and lead the transformation. Part three of a series on managing and leading people by Jon Minerich, Principal, Oliver Wight Americas, Inc.┬á As Mark Twain quipped many years ago, ÔÇ£You know, IÔÇÖm all for progress. ItÔÇÖs change I object to.ÔÇØ This applies only too well in business.