ISSUE 3, 2020 Get to Know Roger Insyxiengmay Pg. 3
Block Kits Sold to Restaurants
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Ready to Make a Positive Impact? Pg. 10
A MESSAGE FROM PAUL It’s hard to believe that half of 2020 is gone. My wife and five kids are enjoying the break from e-learning, but they miss the usual summer of organized sports, swimming pools, barbeques and camps. Your families are the same, I’m sure. In the first half of 2020, each of us was confronted as never before—at home and at work—to stay healthy and focused. The upcoming 26 weeks look to bring even more of the same challenges as we renew our commitment to make a positive impact on individuals, their families and our community for generations to come. As we celebrated Independence Day with family, friends and coworkers, it was important to reflect on what unites us: the unshakeable belief that all men are created equal and that each of us is endowed by our Creator with the right to our lives, our liberties and our individual freedoms to pursue happiness. This shared truth is more important than any of our differences. We are not yet out of the woods, but as each of us continues to work smart and hard to stay healthy and committed to the success of our team, we will prevail. We all share a certain pride and confidence: pride that we are working together in a difficult job that few can do and confidence that our commitment and efforts will secure the future for each of us. Blessings to you and your families,
Paul Ozinga
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Get to Know R&D’s Roger Insyxiengmay Did you know Ozinga has a Research and Development laboratory dedicated to providing solutions for engineers, architects, builders, contractors and even owners? Our R&D lab technicians help our concrete perform better and be more sustainable. Roger Insyxiengmay is one of our mortar lab technicians and he describes a typical day at work.
What do you do, and how is your day spent at work? My time in the lab is divided between the main lab and mortar lab. In the main lab, I assist the team with anything relating to concrete testing: running mix trials, casting cylinders/ beams, measuring cylinder resistivity, modulus of elasticity testing, and compressive strength testing. In the mortar lab, I test cementitious and supplementary cementitious materials from our suppliers in accordance with CCRL (Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory).
How long have you been at Ozinga? I’ve been at Ozinga for a little over a year. Although I’ve only been here for a short time, Ozinga has been a part of my construction career since I was a student at Middle Tennessee State University. As patrons of MTSU’s Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program, their support aids CIM students with continuous learning experiences, both domestically and internationally.
Do you have hobbies outside of work? My main hobby is working on cars. I’ve always enjoyed the personalization aspect and increasing the performance of cars. I also enjoy traveling, working out, playing basketball and riding bikes. The next hobby that I want to get into is photography. 3
Pat Tellano Pat Tellano retired from Ozinga in January after nearly 50 years of dedicated work. We caught up with her recently and asked her a few questions about retirement. What have you been up to in the last 6 months since retiring? Well I didn’t expect the pandemic would hit, so all my plans of traveling or going anywhere fun are on the back burner. I have been doing a lot of reading and working on jigsaw puzzles; I even made a few no-sew blankets. Do you ever miss coming in to work? I don’t miss working, but I do miss the people. They were my family. I always worked with a good team and that made all the difference. You are fondly remembered by many because of your sloppy joes. When did you first start making those and why? I first started making sloppy joes when I worked in Alsip many years ago. I would take the day off, get all my ingredients and bring in a big crockpot to feed everyone. As the years went on, I needed way more than one crockpot to feed all the hungry people who wanted to eat. It was a lot of work, but it was known as “Pat’s Sloppy Joe Day” and it was my way of saying, “I love you guys.” How can you best sum up your time at Ozinga? It was a blessing; I’m living the dream and had a good run.
Calling All Ozinga Retirees
Sharon Simons is working on a coworker resource group for retirees. If interested, please contact Sharon at sharonsimons@ozinga.com or 312.432.8109. If you have a story for the newsletter, contact Alma Ponce at almaponce@ozinga.com 4 or 708.326.3154.
Pat Tellano’s Famous Sloppy Joes
Recipe Corner
5 lbs. lean ground beef 2 ½ cups ketchup 2 ½ cups Open Pit – Original 3 tablespoons yellow mustard 3 tablespoons sugar Hamburger buns *Makes 30 servings; freezes well.
Brown and drain beef, add other ingredients and heat through about 30 minutes. Pairs well with potato chips and fresh veggies.
Have a recipe to share? Send it to us at internalcomms@ozinga.com to have it featured.
THANK YOU! A big “Thank You” goes out to Joe Garcia from Indiana, Justin Kratochvil and Lisa Kinter from Wisconsin, and Samantha Findlay from Chicago who rolled up their sleeves during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and stepped in as local orientation representatives. New coworker orientations were moved to the local level to maintain social distancing and abide by CDC and Ozinga guidelines. Since the quarantine started in midMarch, Ozinga has welcomed 53 new hires between Mokena, Plymouth, Milwaukee and Chicago. We received positive feedback from our new hires starting at the various locations that they felt welcomed. Way to go, team! Together, there’s nothing we can’t handle!
CHECK OUT THE OZINGA BLOG! Visit blog.ozinga.com to learn more about Ozinga and our solutions. 5
Take a second for safety while driving! Don’t rush into the intersection when your light turns green. Pause two seconds in case crossing traffic disregards their red light. If you are stopped behind another vehicle, wait two seconds after their brake lights go out before you accelerate. This will increase your following distance and give you more room to stop if they unexpectedly hit the brakes. Never tailgate! Increasing the space around your vehicle gives you more options — and could prevent an accident. -Jeff Emrick
Go green and get the Ozinga newsletter in your inbox. Want to be one of the first people to receive the Ozinga newsletter? Do you want to have instant access to the videos and content talked about in the newsletter? If so, register for the digital Ozinga newsletter today at ozinga.com/newsletter and have it sent straight to your inbox. 6
Tips & Tricks: Microsoft Teams: Fit to Frame Have you ever had a Teams video call that looks something like this?
Image of the Month
The newest addition to the IT Surveillance Team.
Easy solution! Simply right click (or tap on iOS) the picture in question and select “Fit to Frame”.
Cyber Safety - Only Make Purchases from Secure Sites How do you know what a secure site is? One easy way is to look for the ‘s’ in https. If it only has ‘http’, it’s not secure. There is also a small padlock symbol that indicates if a site is secure. Click on that to pull up more details.
A Peek at the Geeks: Meet Bradley Jamrozik | BI Architect, since 2013 What did you want to be growing up? At one point I wanted to be a music teacher, but then I spent a week teaching junior high kids at band camp, and after a few months of therapy recovering from that, I decided it wouldn’t be a good idea. What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13? Stop the attitude and listen to your parents already.
What others are saying about Bradley: What is your favorite part about working with this team member? My favorite part about working with Bradley is his willingness to teach. Whether it’s about SQL, computers, board games, video games or anything “Lord of the Rings” related, Bradley is always there to guide you through with extensive knowledge and plenty of sass.
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New CNG Station in New Buffalo Construction is currently underway for the first-ever compressed natural gas station in New Buffalo, MI. Ozinga Energy, a onestop-shop for all alternative fuel needs, is responsible for designing and building this station in a partnership with the City of New Buffalo. This CNG station for New Buffalo is part of the US Department of Energy’s Michigan to Montana (M2M) Alternative Fuels Corridor project, an initiative to support travel by alternative fueled vehicles from Port Huron, MI to Billings, MT. Ozinga Energy is thrilled to be a part of this initiative with the new station in New Buffalo, contributing to long-term success for the US Department of Energy’s project and commitment to use alternative fuels. All of the gas that will be dispensed at this New Buffalo station will be renewable natural gas (RNG). Also commonly referred to as dairy gas or biogas, RNG is the best form of renewable natural gas available today. RNG is produced by the decomposition of organic matter and most commonly derived from organic waste at dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. By utilizing RNG at the station in New Buffalo, Ozinga Energy has an even greater commitment to carbon reduction, as it is considered to be a carbon negative alternative fuel.
Plymouth Blueberry Festival Each year the city of Plymouth has a festival called the Blueberry Festival. The committee sells fiberglass blueberry replicas to raise money, and various artists paint them in different ways. Ozinga makes the concrete bases out of return concrete, and the festival committee mounts them to the base of the blueberry. Last year, someone vandalized one of them by taking it off the base and throwing it into the river. The city recovered it and brought it to us to see what we could do to help stop this in the future. George Null, plant manager of Plymouth, took on the project and decided to anchor the blueberry into the concrete while the concrete was wet. He also glued the plaque on for them and cut it to fit the base. “I truly enjoy doing this for the community and promoting the Ozinga purpose,” said George. 8
BLOCK KITS SOLD TO RESTAURANTS
At Ozinga, we’re all about finding unique solutions for our customers, especially during COVID-19. At the beginning of Phase 3, Illinois restaurants opened to the public with outdoor seating based on state guidelines. How do you provide not only the space, but safety for your patrons? By utilizing tailored block kit rentals. The marketing and inside sales teams, along with OML sales and dispatch, created a new business model aimed at a brand new customer segment. The goal was to provide the best solution centered around superior safety and one-stop logistics. In addition to a marketing campaign and sales energy directed at Chicagoland restaurants and municipalities, we delivered, set up and then offered pick up for the blocks. This pilot program has the potential to grow into a seasonal campaign.
t to n a w We r from hea
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Have something to share? Email internalcomms@ozinga.com or call 708.326.3154 with your story, news, idea, etc. and look for it in the next issue of the newsletter.
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Community Builders Upcoming Drives During our third quarter, our Community Builders will be hosting drives focusing on children and education throughout each of our regions. If you are able to make a donation, please place it in a donation bin at one of the yards or regional offices. We look forward to making a positive impact with these organizations.
IL South: New Life Church Food Pantry School Supply Drive – July 13–24
IN East: WNDU’s 16 Pack-A-Backpack School Supply Drive – July 13–24 IL North: Bernie’s Book Bank Book Drive – August 3–17 Wisconsin: Children’s Hospital Wisconsin Book Drive – August 3–31 IN West: United Way of Porter County Reading Buddies Stuffed Animal Drive – August 3–31 Florida: Broward Children’s Center – August 10–September 4 Chicago: Open Books Book Drive – August 24–September 4
Looking for Ways to Volunteer And Make a Positive Impact? Wondering what else you can do to help Ozinga make a positive impact on individuals, their families and the community? Volunteer to support a community group, non-profit organization or charitable cause. Already volunteering? Great, we’d like to learn more about your efforts and the organizations that are meaningful to you. Looking for somewhere to start? We can help with that too. Later this year, Ozinga will launch a new online tool called Ozinga Community to assist coworkers in connecting with each other to organize, share and even search for volunteer opportunities. Ozinga Community will also provide a better idea of the total positive impact we’re having together by logging our combined efforts. By sharing our humble efforts, we can make an even stronger impact. If you have any questions about Ozinga Community, please reach out to communityrelations@ozinga.com. 10
Last Day of Chemo for Dan Carr’s Daughter
After 26 chemotherapy treatments, Maren Carr, daughter of Naperville Driver Dan Carr, can finally celebrate finishing her last round. Maren is seven years old and was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of five. Due to recent COVID-19 restrictions, Maren’s family celebrated this milestone with a community parade and had a big turnout of family, friends and neighbors. A ready-mix truck was also included as part of the parade, and it was a big hit among the crowd. Maren’s little sister Greta, who is five, could be seen smiling from ear to ear at the parade. She was Maren’s biggest supporter and best friend throughout all the treatments.
Ozinga has been recognized as a 2020 Better Project Award winner from the US Department of Energy’s Better Plants program. The award is for our accomplishments in implementing industrial energy, water and waste projects at individual facilities. 11
LEARNING
- 2:1 ratio of questions and listening to statements
- Customer satisfaction improves
COWORKER
ALL
WHY
Make a positive impact on individuals, their families and the community for generations.
- 5:1 ratio encouragement/criticism
SERVICE
- Gallup scores improve - Safety scores improve - Best place to work
- Financial scores improve - Operational scores improve
BOTTOM LINE
- Development discussions for every coworker - Share purpose story or safety message to open all meetings
HOW
CUSTOMER
WHAT
19001 Old Lagrange Rd Mokena, IL 60448
- Healthy debate/conflict
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
COMMUNITY - Community impact improves