San Antonio Construction News November 2018

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Covering the Industry’s News

Texas Style

P.O. Box 791290 San Antonio, Texas 78279-1290

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CONSTRUCTION

The Industry’s Newspaper Ridout Barrett

Clean kitty

Starry, starry night

L-R: Corban Minor (senior project management), William Bailey (project manager), A. Denese Huntsberry (president/CEO) of ALEO Environmental Enterprises.

Ovidio Flores III, general manager of Skylights Over Texas

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enese Huntsberry’s association with the environment and the public’s welfare can be traced back to the 1970s when she was in the Air Force. Enlisted from 1979–1982, Huntsberry’s first job had her working on airplanes, but when it was discovered that she was highly allergic to hydraulic fluid, she had to cross train into another career field. That career field turned out to be Environmental Health, and she was shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. But the Air Force decided to combine the career fields of Environmental Health and Bio-Environmental Engineering. Huntsberry was selected to go to Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio to write the new curriculum and tests for this new career field. This took her last two years in

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www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 20 H Number 11 H NOVEMBER 2018

the Air Force to complete. “I was one of two people chosen to go to Brooks to help write the curriculum,” she said. After her discharge, the Houston native stayed in the Alamo City and formed ALEO Clean Environments with another partner. Huntsberry went solo in 2003 with her present company, ALEO Environmental Enterprises. That’s twice Huntsberry has used the term “ALEO” in her company name. The reasoning is quite simple: “I am a Leo,” she states. The correct pronunciation is the emphasis on the long-A: “A-leo.” “The work that we do is so important,” Huntsberry said, without any false modesty. She should know, as she has first-hand experience with seeing what continued on Page 20

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o one can ever accuse Ovidio Flores of getting the general manager’s job at Skylights Over Texas (SOT) just because he’s the owner’s son. Flores spent time as a roughneck in the West Texas oil fields, then in home remodeling. In talking about his two and a half years as a roughneck, Flores said, “That kind of work really toughened me up.” When it came time to help Dad (Ovidio, Jr.) with SOT, Dad made Flores start in the very back end of the shop. “I did every position in the back until I learned it,” he said. Now, as GM, Flores has the credentials to run this company. “I know what it takes to get a job done,” he said. Even though Dad pretty much retired 15 years ago, he is still the owner. Flores said that after a big hailstorm a few

years ago, Dad lent a helpful hand back at the shop, as they were working 24/7 due to the hail damage. SOT came out of Ovidio’s grandfather’s plastic company, Texas Plastics Center, which still operates. They make everything plastic, including skylight domes. SOT takes it further: they make and install all the frames and accessories, not just make the actual skylight. SOT does about 35 percent residential and 65 percent commercial. For the commercial, SOT will travel anywhere in the United States to do a job, including New York City, Atlanta and Colorado. “In the skylight world,” Flores explained, “there’s about 10 or 8 major skylight companies that do big commercial continued on Page 20

New elementary based on tradition

he Guido family began building in Texas in 1927 when Louis Guido Sr. and Vincent Fablo constructed the historic St. Francesco di Paola Church and Parish Hall in downtown San Antonio. Trained in Italy as a master carpenter, Louis’ reputation grew with projects like the San Pedro Playhouse and restoration to the Mission San José. Guido Construction Company’s 90 years of experience in construction have been based on the lessons of integrity, value and the quality of craftsmanship carried down from Louis Guido Sr. to his sons Cosmo and Louis Jr. Perhaps this was a key component for the East Central Independent School District when selecting a contractor to construct the new elementary school in the small farming community of Saint Hedwig, TX. The farming community of Saint Hedwig is strong on tradition. It is for this reason that the new elementary was named Tradition Elementary. In addi-

Drone view of Tradition Elementary in Saint Hedwig, TX

tion, it falls in line with the school names of other fairly new schools in the district, Heritage and Legacy. Tradition Elementary is a new, stateof-the-art elementary school with related and ancillary facilities. The new school is a needed addition to San Antonio’s fastgrowing population. The 95,385sf project includes a library, media center, stage and music room, cafetorium, food service area, computer labs, science laboratories and two stories of offices and classrooms. A gymnasium and locker facilities are also provided for the elementary school students. Extensive site work was required to allow for bus lanes, parking and a playground. Exterior construction of the new facility is comprised of traditional slab on grade and structural steel framing, insulated plywood wall sheathing, limestone and metal wall panel veneer, mod bit and metal roofing. The school’s interior is continued on Page 20


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