AWI Education Outreach

AWI Education Outreach Event

AWI presents Education Outreach Seminars in a new format: all four seminar topics will be offered at the same time - bring your team to learn and network together! Tours of M. Bohlke Veneer and Formica will also be offered.

Registration Options:

• National AWI Member: $575 per person
• Non-AWI National Member: $825 per person

National AWI Member, register 3+ from the same company*: $525 per person* - use code JUNEMULTI

NOTE: You are eligible for the 3+ pricing discount code if you register 3 or more employees from your company at the same time for ANY combination of the seminar topics (registrants do NOT need to be in the SAME seminar to qualify for discount).

Seminars offered:

• AE: Advanced Estimating (12 hours)
• FM: Financial Management (12 hours)
• PM: Project Management (12 hours)
• CW: Contracts Worshop (8 hours)

IMPORTANT: Each registrant must choose ONE seminar to attend for the duration of the event.

Deadline to register: May 15, 2024

Agenda (see speaker and session details below in "Agenda" sections)

Monday, June 3

• 1:00 p.m. Seminars start (all)
• 6:00 p.m. Ohio Valley Chapter hosted networking social

Tuesday, June 4

• 7:30 a.m. Tours of Formica and M. Bohlke Veneer
• 1:30 p.m. Seminars start (all)
• 6:30 p.m. Group Dinner

Wednesday, June 5

• 7:30 a.m. Seminars start (FM, PM, AE only)
• 1:30 p.m. Seminars end (FM, PM, AE only)

Questions? Contact AWI Education Coordinator Sue Sicilian: [email protected]

Get ready to engage with industry experts, gain valuable insights, and connect with like-minded individuals. Don't miss out on this opportunity to expand your knowledge and grow your professional network. Mark your calendars and secure your spot today!

More details will be provided upon registration.

Book your hotel room today - DEADLINE MAY 15, 2024:

• Hampton Inn & Suites Cincinnati – Downtown $169 plus taxes per night
• Homewood Suites by Hilton Cincinnati – Downtown - $179 plus taxes per night

About the Formica tour: In 1913, the founders of Formica Corporation discovered that high-pressure plastic resins can be used to make electrical parts, replacing the mineral mica, and established the Formica Products Company. By 1930, the company shifted from industrial applications to decorative laminate products, which are still made today at the company’s Cincinnati and St. Jean, Canada plants. On this tour at the Formica North American Headquarters, you will learn how high pressure decorative laminate is made, from raw material to finished product. This tour will also teach participants about important safety measures, efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes and how quality control ensures each sheet of laminate is manufactured to the highest quality.

Tour Objectives:

1. Understand the various materials (papers, resins) used in the making of high pressure laminate
2. Define the manufacturing steps in the making of high pressure laminate.
3. Describe how the various manufacturing stations create sustainable and efficient operations that ensure product consistency and durability.
4. Describe how quality control is utilized to maintain a brand standard for laminate sheets and colors

About the M. Bohlke Veneer Tour: MBVC is a 3rd generation family owned company that has been in business since 1966. We manufacture and supply architectural wood veneer and lumber to a multitude of industries across the globe: architecture firms, furniture makers, private aircraft and yacht industries, and more. Our manufacturing and lumber tours help teach architects, designers, and end users of many wood product industries about our selective forestry practices and vast inventories of sustainable building materials.

Our facility tours are like stepping into an episode of “How It’s Made” Wood Veneer and Lumber Style. You will learn about log procurement in the log yard, log prep in the sawmill, and see flitches being cut on large slicer machines. From there veneer is clipped and on to grading. We also tour our 75,000+ square foot lumber warehouses which house FAS lumber, premium boules, bases and more of over 70 species.

Our veneer manufacturing process can be viewed on our YouTube channel to give you an idea of the scope of our operations:

Seminar Descriptions (each registrant must choose ONE seminar):

Advanced Estimating (AE): The Advanced Estimating Seminar focuses on equipping attendees with tools and knowledge to improve the efficiency of your estimating department.Lecture, reinforcement laboratory activities and group collaboration provide numerous learning opportunities with practical applications that may have immediate impact. Think big picture and create solutions to impact desired areas and reinforce strengths. Join us for a great opportunity to enhance perspective, knowledge and skills of your Estimating Team!

Contracts Workshop: It’s time for subcontractors to Quit Getting Screwed. Every day, subcontractors across all trades face the same critical dilemma: Should I sign a subcontract I don’t understand—one that might even put my company at risk? Or should I refuse to sign and lose the job? This workshop will be taught by attorney Karalynn Cromeens, author of Quit Getting Screwed, to help every subcontractor, no matter how big or how small, understand what those subcontracts mean.
Know which provisions you should expect and which ones to avoid. Identify dangerous provisions that need to be removed, learn the best negotiation techniques, and come to the table armed with fair language that can be substituted for unfair clauses. Signing a subcontract you don’t understand can put your entire livelihood in jeopardy. If you’re a subcontractor, don’t sign another subcontracting agreement without knowing what it means. For more information go to: https://subcontractorinstitute.com/

FOR CONTRACTS SEMINAR ATTENDEES: Bring your contracts and Karalynn will review them for you!

Financial Management (FM): Spend 2 days learning to manage your business through your financials. Learn the fundamentals about your financial statements and capture meaningful information from the balance sheet and income and cash flow statements. Broaden your understanding of financial ratios and methods of accounting. Be introduced to operational accounting and various management tools to include accounts and cost codes, work in progress reports, cost to complete reports, backlog reports, and sales pipeline reports.

This course will bring understanding to financial projections, cash drivers, cash management and financial benchmarking with use of the AWI Cost of Doing Business Survey Report. If time allows, it will also review open book management, contribution margin analysis, estimates and cost tracking, along with banking and surety relationships.

Project Management (PM): Do you react to fires every day? Does the phone control the next hour? Is there frustration at your client/job meetings? COME LEARN SKILLS TO TAKE MORE CONTROL OF YOUR PROJECT!

Project management is supposed to make your life easier. Acquire tools that allow you to find balance between Contractor, Architect, Resources and Man-power. Become the most knowledgeable person about your project. This program is presented by industry peers with considerable experience in project management of varying size projects for diverse companies.

About the presenter teams:

Advanced Estimating (AE):

• Luke Remmert is President at Remmert & Company in Tuscaloosa, AL with extensive experience with estimating and general contracting. He is a graduate of Auburn University with a BS in Building Science.
  
• Jackson Cate is Director of Sales & Estimating ​at Remmert & Company​. He has eight years of industry experience​, including Shop Floor, Engineering, Estimating, PM, Sales. He is a graduate of Appalachian State University​ with a BS in Industrial Design​. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife and son.
  
• John VanErem is the VP of Project Management ​at Adams Group. He has 19 years of industry experience​ in the architectural millwork market​. Adams Group has 100 employees​ and installs 95%​. John is a former AWI HOA Chapter President. He lives in North Port, Florida and loves the endless summer life in Southwest Florida with his wife and two boys.

Financial Management (FM):

• Sebastien DesMarais is President of Hollywood Woodwork in Hollywood, FL. He is Past President of AWI and a member of the AWI Financial Management team.
  
• With over 20 years of experience in financial leadership roles, Casey Taylor brings a wealth of expertise to the woodworking industry. Currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer of Remmert & Company, Inc., based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Casey has previously held key financial positions in various industries, including Mercedes Benz U.S. International and Mayer Electric Supply. Casey has a BS in Accounting from the University of Alabama (2004) and a Master’s in Accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2007). She was licensed as a Certified Internal Auditor in 2005, now inactive, and a Certified Public Accountant in 2007. Casey was also awarded a certificate of completion from Duke University after completing their rigorous Transfer Pricing program in 2017.
  
• Cassy Thomeier is the Chief Financial Officer at Giffin Interior and Fixture, a custom architectural millwork firm in Southwestern Pennsylvania. She earned her BSBA with a concentration in accounting from Duquesne University then promptly decided that the traditional corporate world wasn’t for her. Cassy has managed the finances for companies in various industries for over 20 years. She spent time at Giffin early in her career before departing to work in the family business and focus on raising her children. Cassy returned to Giffin 5 years ago and has been focused on ensuring a strong financial foundation as the company grows. She has a particular interest in data analysis to inform strategic decision making and enjoys exploring the “story” that the numbers tell. Cassy is excited to be making her debut as a member of the Financial Management Education team for AWI.

Project Management (PM):

• Bob Krejci is the owner of Riverside Architectural Woodwork in Cincinnati, OH. He is active in the OH Valley AWI Chapter, currently as Treasurer and also a Past President. He has been a business owner and project manager for over 25 years. He is married & enjoys spending his time visiting his grandkids, travelling and skiing.
  
• Tim Gifford is Territory Manager at LX Hausys in Zanesville, OH. He is a graduate of Bob Jones University with a BS in Mathematics. He has over 20 years of industry experience in project management and estimating.
  

• With a remarkable career spanning 27 years, Dustin Hecht has not only witnessed but also contributed to the evolution of the industry. His entrepreneurial spirit shone through when he took the helm as an owner for over half of his career, dedicating 15 years to leading and shaping his business. In his current role as a senior project manager, Dustin’s expertise and leadership continue to drive projects to success. His commitment to the industry extends beyond his day-to-day work, as evidenced by his active involvement in the AWI Heart of America Chapter since 2007, where he engages with peers on both a local and national level.A proud alumnus of Pittsburg State University, Dustin holds a Bachelor of Science in Wood Technology, a testament to his deep understanding and passion for the field.
  
• Craig Johnson is enjoying retired life in Minneapolis, MN after over 25 years as a business owner and a Past AWI President. He has had a long and active tenure with AWI, which earned him the Honorary Life Member designation. He continues to keep his Project Management skills current with contract work and participation in the AWI Project Management presentation team. He has been married to same redhead for 40 years and is a serious fishing guru.

Contracts Workshop:

A published author, award-winning lawyer, devoted wife, mother to three girls, Owner and seasoned Managing Partner of The Cromeens Law Firm (TCLF), Karalynn Cromeens is a true jack of all trades. She has firsthand knowledge of the construction industry and understands the daily obstacles contractors face.

Karalynn is passionate about protecting the businesses her clients have built and being a lifelong partner in their company’s success. Karalynn is the Co-Founder of Morrell Masonry Supply and Owner of The Subcontractor Institute, an easy-access online educational platform for contractors. In addition to TCLF, and The Subcontractor Institute, she is also the host of the rapidly growing educational construction podcast, Quit Getting Screwed - making cost-free industry insight available to contractors across the country. In 2021, Karalynn published two Amazon Best-Selling books - Quit Getting Screwed: Understanding and Negotiating the Subcontract and Quit Getting Stiffed: A Texas Contractor’s Guide to Liens & Collections.

Karalynn has reviewed and explained thousands of subcontracts in the seventeen years she has practiced construction, real estate, and business law. For years, she has tried saving companies that have signed problematic subcontracts and lost out on being paid for their work. Unfortunately, it was too late when they came to her; she could do nothing to help. She hated seeing clients lose money—sometimes their entire business—over language they did not understand and laws they did not know about. Watching these situations play out daily was the driving force behind her two books, The Subcontractor Institute and the firm’s accessibility efforts.

To understand Karalynn’s foundation, as well as the basis of the firm, we first must understand where she came from- a community she refers to as the “Get Shit Done Crew.” This community made Karalynn who she is today, and now who she works to protect. Providing education to contractors on a national level has become Karalynn’s mission, and she is always doing what she can to help make it a reality.

Event Venue

Hampton Inn & Suites Cincinnati-Downtown, 617 Vine Street, Cincinnati, United States