Masonry Magazine May 2003 Page. 12
Contractor
to Contractor
MCAA member contractors respond to the industry issues of the day.
Rob Greer - L.F. Jennings, Inc.
L.F. Jennings, Inc.
Falls Church, Va.
L.F. Jennings, Inc., is a progressive leader in the world of masonry. This fact was proven once again by their Best of Show Brick win at the MCAA Masonry Showcase Excellence in Masonry Awards in March. We spoke with Rob Greer, estimator for L.F. Jennings and Certified Craft Trainer in Masonry. Most of you will recognize Greer's name through his tireless work in the industry, including positions as Regional Vice President of MCAA, President of the nation's capital chapter of MCAA, and co-executive director of the Masonry Institute of Washington. Here's what he had to say about L.F. Jennings and the industry as a whole:
Masonry: Since L.F. Jennings' beginning in 1952, what do you think has been the key to your company's growth and success over the years?
Greer: We always strive to exceed our clients' expectations for quality and service. The old adage of "on time and under budget" goes without saying with L.F. Jennings. I've been here for ten years now and we've made every schedule that we've taken on. The satisfaction of our clients has been the key to our success.
Masonry: L.F. Jennings won Best of Show - Brick and second place in the Commercial & Industry category at the MCAA International Excellence in Masonry Awards in March. Tell us more about this project and what you feel made it stand out as the overall winner.
Greer: The first impression you feel is the impressive design. The architecture combines face brick, splitfaced CMU, and pre-cast stone that work in harmony. The building colors and textures present a soft feel to the residential area while satisfying the business requisite of the client. There are special shapes that show the diversity of masonry materials. The flexibility of masonry is also demonstrated by the "barrel" feature, which incorporates compound radial arched soffits. The soffits seem to be floating in mid air. Hickok Warner Fox, the architect, has a real vision and imagination with masonry.
Also, the craftsmanship is one of the most superior works I've seen in the 28 years I have been in the masonry business. The honor it has received is well deserved. My hat's off to our foreman and his crew.
Masonry: I see that L.F. Jennings has worked with JDG Communications to create a corporate marketing and branding solution. How has this helped your business?
Greer: It provides a consistent platform for current and potential clients to see and hopefully understand our capabilities based on our reputation and the many award-winning completed projects.
Masonry: L.F. Jennings has an amazing website that highlights a lot of its different projects and capabilities. How has it fit into your marketing campaign and what has it brought to your business that traditional marketing could not?
Greer: It's hard to stay out in front of all of your potential clients and keep them up-to-date on all of the types of projects and level of quality of the many projects we complete. The website helps us with this; it's always current and available to our clients who want to know our capabilities. Instead of the costly and time-consuming process of continuously printing and mailing updates, we can e-mail our latest web site to our clients and potential new clients.
Our employees are our diplomats to our clients.
Masonry: Rob, you are a Regional Vice President of MCAA and have participated at a higher level in the masonry world for sometime. What would you like to say to the masons who don't participate at all?
Greer: I look at it two ways: 1) they're getting a free ride, but 2) they're missing out on all of the opportunities for further education and networking with the industry as a whole.
There are people out there who are paying their dues for the promotion of the product that they make their living at, meanwhile the non-members are benefiting from someone else's sweat. Moreover, the ones who don't participate or contribute, monetarily or by committee involvement are missing a tremendous asset to their company. Contractors need to be involved in the associations to maintain and increase the level of product being used. The more mason contractors that participate, the more masonry materials will be utilized in buildings in the future. Everyone connected with masonry should participate in the promotion of masonry.
Masonry: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about the masonry industry?