Thoughts from the C.E.O.
As I reflect on 2009, we are very fortunate to be doing well in the financial climate that we have been under. The Union Withdrawal Liability payment ($380,000.00) wiped out the majority of our profit for the year, but that was not unexpected. We have cut many costs and are continually looking into ways of eliminating expenses.
Not only the economic climate, but the increased regulatory requirements make it difficult to operate a business in California. One example of the regulatory requirements is the California Air Resources Board (CARB) diesel emissions standards. At this point we will be in compliance through the end of 2013. We are committed to meeting those, and all other requirements, and continuing to operate a profitable and successful business that supplies for the needs of all our employees.
All of your continued efforts to operate efficiently and with high standards of quality are greatly appreciated. It always has been, and always will be, the employees of Weeks that maintain the good reputation we have in our community.
As we start into this New Year, and new decade, I look forward to working with each one of you to continue serving our customers with the care and quality they deserve and have come to expect from Weeks Drilling & Pump Co.
Thank you all,
Chris
“To the query, ”What is a friend?” his reply was ”A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”
~Aristotle
Weeks Fall/Winter Anniversaries
October:
Greg Campbell 9 years
Marty Campbell 15 years
Christine Judson 3 years
Rick Stevenson 6 years
November:
Dennis Laughlin 6 years
Renee Thompson 5 years
December:
Tony Allen 1 year
Chris Thompson 39 years
January:
Steve Curry 2 years
Ryan Glaze 6 years
Kevin Jones 2 years
February:
Jim Loughlin 20 years
John Marshall 30 years
Doug Pulley 19 years
March:
Diana Briggs 5 years
Daveen Colombo 3 years
Charlie Judson 26 years
“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay awhile, make footprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same.”
~Anonymous
Weeks Family News
We are having our very own baby boom!
Annabelle Lyric Burgess was born to Brandon and Andrea Burgess on September 23, 2009 weighing in at 7lbs 4 oz. and 20 inches long.
We also have four couples that are expecting. Charlie & Deanne Ehlert are having a boy, Dean Timothy (named after both of their fathers) in May. Tim is pretty excited to be a grandpa. J
Matt Weekley and Lorraine are having a baby in May. They are very patient and waiting to find out the sex when he or she arrives.
Greg and Kristy Campbell are expecting #4 in August…I’m hoping for a girl this time.
Chris and Laurie Aaseth are having their first baby in September. Chris is having to learn how to make his own food since Laurie can barely handle the smell. Good luck to him!
Kenny and Megan George are having a boy named Ethan in June. Kenny says, “Megan is healthy and doing fine, ordering him around to get her root beer at 9pm.”
Phillip Thompson and Stephanie Gallagher are engaged to be married on June 12, 2010 in Long Island, New York. They will be honeymooning for 5 weeks in Ireland, London, Italy and Switzerland…not too shabby of a way to start your married life, I’d say.
Ward Thompson had hip replacement surgery in January. He is healing well and will be back to his normal golfing and gardening activities before we know it.
Lucas Judson will be traveling with the Analy Honor Choir to sing at Carnegie Hall in April. They will sing songs directed by the famous and contemporary composer Eric Whitacre. The students have been diligently fundraising and are excited by the opportunity to be the first Honor Choir to travel across country.
Employee Profile:
Judy A. Garner
Family/Background: I’m a native of Sonoma County. I’m the oldest of four middle aged siblings. I’m happily married. A mom to two young men and two stepdaughters, AND granma to five: three boys and two girls.
Hobbies: Traveling with Don, sometimes on our motorcycle. Artsy projects, home improvement projects, and gardening. I also enjoy reading.
Favorite Food: Perfectly cooked fries.
Favorite Movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Favorite book: Bible and The Grapes of Wrath.
Biggest Pet Peeve: Pushy people
People would be surprised if they knew: I’ve been in race riots. (I was the one running.)
If I could invite 4 people (dead or alive) to dinner who would they be: Don, Helen Keller, My dad, and Leonardo da Vinci.
The best advice I’ve ever received is: Don’t sweat the small stuff.
“A mere friend will agree with you, but a real friend will argue.”
~Russian Proverb
How about 99.9%?
When the Ritz-Carlton Hotels won the Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award, the owner of that outstanding organization, Mr. William Johnson, stated that now they would need to work even harder to earn the respect that came with the award. “Quality,” he said, “is a race with no finish line.”
He is correct. Competitive excellence requires 100% all the time. Ever tracked the consequences of the “almost but not quite”? According to some fine research by Natalie Gabal, if 99.9% were considered good enough, then this year alone… 2,000,000 documents would have been lost by the IRS, 12 babies would have been given to the wrong parents each day, 291 pacemaker operations would have been performed incorrectly; and 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions would be written (to cite just a few examples).
We are in an ever increasing price conscious market where quality and personal craftsmanship are left out of the equation. People in the water well industry set their standards by the way we’ve conducted our business profile for the last 107 years. Weeks still desires to maintain our name under the banner called “Quality”. While many of our competitors got their start here at Weeks Drilling, I feel they have overlooked the importance of “Quality” in their work. I have lost track of the phone calls our department has received over my tenure here at Weeks, asking for us to come out and right a wrong done by our competitors. We have gone to an independent firm (Diamond Certified) to further the quest in excellence in; customer satisfaction, pride, trust, and “quality” of our work. So don’t underestimate what sets us apart from the rest…“Quality.”
~Randy Burgess
“A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view.”
~Wilma Askinas
How old are you?
Take this quiz and see.
(Scoring and answers at the end of the newsletter.)
1. Name the Beatles._________, _________._________._________
2. Finish the line: “Lions and Tigers and Bears, ______ _____!”
3. “Hey kids, what time is it?” _____ ________ ________ _______.
4. What do M&M’s do? ______ ___ ____ _______, ___ ___ _____ _____.
5. What helps build strong bodies 12 ways? ________ _______.
6. Long before he was Mohammed Ali, we knew him as _______ ______.
7. You’ll wonder where the yellow went, ____ ____ ________ ____
_______ ____ _________.”
8. Post-baby boomers know Bob Denver as the Skipper’s “little buddy.” But we know that Bob Denver is actually Dobie’s closest friend, _________ G. ________.
9. M-I-C: See ya’ real soon; K-E-Y: _____? ___________ ___ _____ ____!
10. “Brylcream: __ _______ ____ ____ ___ ____.”
11. Bob Dylan advised us never to trust anyone _____ ____.
12. From the early days of our music, real rock ‘n roll, finish this line: “I wonder, wonder, wonder…wonder who: ____ ______ ____ _____ __ _____?”
13. And while we’re remembering rock n’ roll, try this one: “War…uh-huh, huh…yea; what is it good for?, ________ _________.”
14. Meanwhile, back home in Metropolis, Superman fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and ___ __________ ____.
15. He came out of the University of Alabama, and became one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. He later went on to appear in a television commercial wearing women’s stockings. He is Broadway _____ _______.
16. “I’m Popeye the sailor man; I’m Popeye the sailor man. I’m strong to the finish, _______ __ _____ ___ _______. I’m Popeye the sailor man.”
17. Your children probably recall that Peter Pan was recently played by Robin Williams, but we will always remember when Peter was played by ______ _______.
18. In 1962, a dejected politician chastised the press after losing a race for governor while announcing his retirement from politics. “Just think, you won’t have _________ _______ to kick around anymore.”
19. “Every morning, at the mine, you could see him arrive; He stood six foot, six, weighed 245. Kinda’ broad at the shoulder, and narrow at the hip. And everybody knew you didn’t give no lip to_____ _____ , _____ _____ _____.”
20. “I found my thrill, ___ _________ _____.”
21. _____ ________ said, “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, __________ _____ _____.”
22. “Good night, David.” “_____ ______,______.”
23. “Liar, liar, ______ ___ _____.”
24. “When it’s least expected, you’re elected. You’re the star today. _______! _____ ___ ______ ______.”
25. It was Pogo, the comic strip character, who said, “We have met the enemy, and ____ ___ ____.”
“Be slow in choosing a friend, but slower in changing him.”
~Scottish Proverb
News From The Upper East Wing
Hello boys and girls! I hope everyone has completely recovered from the holidays; all the food, family, Christmas cheer and broken bones…
What an interesting year (or so) we had in the drilling department. Things started off with us drilling holes at the Geysers for the installation of seismic activity equipment, which eventually led to the shutdown of the job because of the seismic activity! This shook us right into deep hole destiny. We drilled 3 wells that were very near or just over 1000 feet. From a 16” steel cased irrigation/ frost protection well (which should work very well because of the 110 degree water it makes) to a well for use at a power generation site, to a simple(?) domestic well that looks like it will likely finish at or just over 1000 feet (keep those clay balls comin’ Ron!) I think we’ve seen it all this past year.
For those interested in numbers, and those who aren’t, you may find this interesting: We closed out 2009 with 45,671 feet drilled. That equates to: 8.65 miles, or from our Sebastopol yard to the middle of Lake Ralphine in Eastern Santa Rosa or from our Ukiah yard to Rocky Creek Rd. in Redwood Valley (as the crow flies) and ultimately a whole bunch of tripping pipe. Sorry Ukiah folks, I just couldn’t find a cool landmark to name in an 8.65 mile radius from the shop. It is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,283.55 joints of drill stem which if it was all piled together would weigh a whopping 799,242.5 lbs. or 399.62 tons – the equivalent of 12.1 TH-60 drill rigs!
What all these numbers mean to me as the safety guy is that the drillers and helpers were moving an average of 3062.23 lbs per day (there were about 22,049 hours worked on jobs in 2009 (shop time not included)) with only 2 OSHA reportable accidents in the drilling department (there were 2 others in the pump department). That is one heck of a lot of moving, twisting, swinging steel and I am very proud of all the crews and their commitment to a high level of safety. We even had several new helpers being trained and they were kept safe and sound as well.
I am sorry to say this year has already passed last year in numbers of accidents. In fact we started off on a sour note with our new workers comp carrier Zurich by having to report an accident the day we started with them! Since then we have had several more, so I hope we can remember to keep safety first and foremost in our minds EVERYDAY. There is no job so important that we cannot take the time to do it safely!
I look forward to another year of working with all of you, together let’s make it the safest one yet!
- Doug
Atta-Boys
***Thank you to Matt Weekley for his service, it was like getting a Christmas present.
~Vicki @ Berger Management
***Thank you all very much for the excellent service. This is why I choose and refer anyone that I can to Weeks! Much appreciated.
~Steve Hogle
***Chris Aaseth did a great job. Tenants liked him a lot. He was helpful, polite, and a great guy to have working for Weeks!
~Tim Pooeme
***Thank you for prompt service for our well.
~Steve & Mary Neisingh
***Thank you! Matt Colombo was friendly and efficient.
~Bill Cornell
***Greg was awesome! We would like to request Greg for all our future service.
Thanks!
~Rhonda Findling
***To Miles and Mark,
If you need any referrals, please keep my name on file. It’s been extremely pleasant working with you and your team.
~Annette Clear
***Dear Weeks D & P,
Thanks for everything! Your folks are so professional and knowledgeable, not to mention ‘calming and friendly”! Much appreciation.
~Suzanne Yeomans
***Thanks for the honest work and your integrity is appreciated. Best regards.
~Pat Barlow
***With thanks for prompt response. Matt Colombo was efficient, able, & friendly.
~James Noyes
***Many thanks for the prompt service!!!
~Dr. Robert E. Griffin
Water Treatment Department
I have always liked the old saying, “Hard work makes us lucky.” I’m liking it a whole lot more right now.
Weeks is a construction related company and Sonoma County construction is down over 50%, more than any time since records started in the 1950’s. Some highly respected players in the construction industry are seeking bankruptcy protection. Even a stodgy old institution like Exchange Bank got hammered so hard its president, who placed big bets on construction, left town with a bag over his head. Although the overall unemployment rate is way up at about 10%, for construction workers it is almost three time that.
Here at Weeks we have largely escaped such a dire downturn and I am feeling that hard work on everyone’s part has made us really lucky. Chris Thompson and I are grateful to have a team, in the office and in the trenches, that has worked diligently to get the company through these unusual times, and we thank you. We are not out of the woods but we are confident in the future. The services we offer are in demand and many of them are essential to our customers. One might think that water treatment services, which are in some cases highly desired but not essential, would be greatly affected by the downturn. However, the Water Treatment Department did just fine in 2009.
As we launch into 2010 Greg Campbell has given up his service truck for a pickup truck and is now full time in sales. Greg and Rick have trained Mark and Matt in the intricacies of water treatment and both are now working independently in service and installations. Richard has worked as much in treatment this year as he has in the pump department where he forces electronic devices to do our work and make the cash register ring.
The Public Water System group, Tim, Steve, Tyler and Christine, with help from Rick experienced significant growth in 2009. The next contract system we take on will bring the total to 60. If you see Tim with a big smile on his face you’ll know it’s happened.
We congratulate Mark, Rick, Tyler, Tim, and Greg who took and passed the state exams and either received their public system certification or increased their certification grade level. We now have 8 certified treatment and distribution system operators. All the treatment operators are now at the Grade II level or above which is a significant achievement.
We are looking forward to a successful year in 2010.
Charlie
ANSWERS:
1. John, Paul, George, Ringo
2. Oh, my
3. It’s Howdy Doody Time!
4. They melt in your mouth, not in your hand.
5. Wonder Bread
6. Cassius Clay
7. when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent
8. Maynard G. Krebbs
9. Why? Because we like you.
10. A little dab’ll do ya.
11. over 30
12. who wrote the book of love
13. Absolutely nothin’
14. the American way
15. Joe Namath
16. “cause I eats me spinach”
17. Mary Martin
18. Richard Nixon
19. Big John, Big Bad John
20. On Blueberry Hill
21. Jimmy Durante, Wherever you are.
22. Good night, Chet.
23. pants on fire
24. Smile! you’re on Candid Camera
25. he is us
SCORING:
24-26 correct - 50+ years old
20-23 correct - 40’s
15-19 correct - 30’s
10-14 correct - 20’s
0- 9 correct – baby
Vancouver’s got nothing on us!!!
3rd Annual Weeks Olympics
March 17th, 2010
Bring green food to share!