TED magazine serves the nation's electrical distributors (TED = "The Electrical Distributor"). It's the official magazine of the National Association of Electrical Distributors and is mailed monthly to more than 28,000 recipients in the business. The July issue included a feature by electrical industry writer A. Lee Chichester beneath the headline "Livin' The Dream," which NAED has graciously allowed us to reproduce below.

McCormick Systems’ CEO isn’t afraid to chase the horizon—and help others while doing so.

Jack McCormick, CEO of Chandler, Arizona-based McCormick Systems, started his career as an electrical apprentice in 1958. He worked his way up the ladder into electrical contracting and then, realizing the need for efficient estimating software, established McCormick Systems in 1979. Today, however, his son runs the business while McCormick concentrates his energies on another project.

“I’m in the office every morning at 7 a.m.,” McCormick said. “I’m here if they need me, but I’m now working another favorite business, the Baja Bush Pilots.”

McCormick bought Baja Bush Pilots (BBP) in 1996 and uses it to follow his heart south of the border. The company not only leads tours to hard-to-reach destinations, but also eases logistical, fuel, and regulation worries for any small aircraft pilots who want to adventure into Latin American air space. “We’ve established a pretty good relationship with all the countries’ equivalents of the U.S. FAA,” he said.

For example, when the Mexican Red Cross needed help supplying aid to the Baja Peninsula’s victims of Hurricane John that occurred in early September 2006, McCormick put out the call to his entire membership. Within three days, 20 pilots had voluntarily assisted in two airlifts of survival supplies to washed-out villages and ranches.

“Our two biggest challenges were getting fuel and finding places to land,” McCormick said. “I have a pretty big plane [a twin-engine Aero Commander], so I was hauling fuel to the airstrips where supplies were picked up by helicopters because of the remote destinations.”

The storm dumped 20˝ of rain on the Baja Peninsula, and much of that drained into Rio Mulegé, which empties into the Sea of Cortez. The village of Mulegé, with around 3,100 people, was hardest hit.

“People build small homes in the arroyos [gullies] to get wind protection, and moisture for their gardens,” McCormick said. “These carry runoff, however, so homes, animals, and some people were washed away during Hurricane John.”

Donations were collected: The Wal-Mart Foundation/Mexico donated water and the Loreto Bay Foundation donated money for fuel. Each pilot, however, ended up picking up two-thirds of the expenses on his or her own.

“Many pilots brought mattresses and clothes with them,” said McCormick. “Some of us went to stores and bought other supplies. The fuel donation covered about two days, but we were down there for 10. The pilots did this out of love for the people, and the best rewards we got were hugs from the people we helped.”

BBP has several trips upcoming, and is expanding its reach with a Venezuelan trip to remote Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world (3,212´). “Folks taking these trips seek destinations most never think about. We’re not tourists, we’re travelers,” said McCormick. “People ask when I’m going to retire,” he said. “I ask them, ‘Why?’ I’m doing what I love and haven’t found a reason to slow down yet.”

What's In The Media

'Chandler 100' Puts McCormick Systems @ #75

The Chamber of Commerce in our home town of Chandler, AZ recently released its "Chandler 100" -- for the first time ever, naming the fast-growing city's top employers. According to Becky Jackson, president and CEO of the CofC: "In Chandler, there are many, many strong anchor companies that contribute a great deal to our economy."

McCormick Systems is proud to have been included, ranked 75th.

East Valley Tribune – article on “Chandler 100”

Guest Comment:
Perspectives On Employment Data

(opinion posted 9/707 to the EleBlog -- www.electricalcontractor.com)

Construction Employment Mystery -- Today's national employment report (as of 8/31) seems to have convinced  the talking idiots on CNBC that the U.S. is in trouble.

But there are mysteries inside that report that defy analysis. Here's one relevant to the EleBlog:

a. According to the construction put-in-place report, spending on residential construction is down more than 17%.

b. According to the seasonally adjusted data for August 2007, there were 987,300 people employed in residential building. The figure for August 2006 is 1,023,100. That's 3.5%.

c. Something DOES NOT COMPUTE.

d. Just to see, I went back to look at the August 2005 report. That says there were 948,800 people employed in residential building -- fewer than for 8/07.

e. Just to repeat -- SOMETHING DOES NOT COMPUTE!!!

Overall Employment - Another Mystery -- According to the August employment report, nonfarm payroll employment declined by 4,000 from July. Yet according to the BLS "Birth/Death Model," economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics "assumed" 120,000 jobs were created by small firms in August.

Simple math tells you payroll employment -- as actually can be ascertained -- declined by 124,000 from July to August.

This ain't tragic. But it might be worth thinking about, and keeping an eye on.

According to the August report, "over the last 3 months, total payroll employment changes have averages 44,000 per month." That's a 3-month increase of 132,000, which ain't much.

A quick check of the Birth/Death page shows that BLS economists have assumed 282,000 jobs into existence in June-July-August. That means the net loss in payroll jobs in the past three months is 150,000.

Again, this ain't horrible. Essentially, the economy has hit a slight job-creation bump in August, which accounts for most of the 150K REAL loss in payroll jobs this summer.

Total Construction Employment -- If you know how to navigate at www.bls.gov, you can find the data for employment in various niches. The revised construction industry figures for July and August are as follows:

        JULY -- one revision down, one to go -- Construction employment at 6,198,000 in 7/07, on average . . . up 7,000 (in other words,   virtually flat) from July 2006. The figure is up 50,000 from 7/06.

        AUGUST -- initial report, two revisions to go -- Construction employment at 6,177,000 in 8/07, on average -- down 53,000 from August 2006, and down 21,000 from July 2007.

That July 2007 construction employment figure made it the 2nd-highest figure of all time (August 2006, at 6,232,000, was higher). However, construction employment has been down from comparable months in 2006 in four of the eight months in 2007 thus far (with July and August as yet subject to revisions).

EleBlog take: BLS data for overall construction employment (omitting the residential mystery noted a few items ago) is weaker in 2007 than it was in 2006 . . . but not by much. Note that the high in 2001, when construction was still booming, was 5,625,000.

Electrical Contractor Employment -- From the BLS website, I obtained the info that -- subject to revision -- employment of production workers in electrical contracting was 753,600 in July. Yes, this is "behind" the overall construction total (which, in the previous item, was for August); the subcontractor numbers are always one month behind.

July's number was up 1.57% from the 741,900 in June. It was up 4.4% from the July 2006 figure.

In the history of electrical construction, there have been only 17 months in which employment in electrical contracting exceeded 753.6K. All of them came in 2000-2001.

How good is 753,600? Damn good. In 2005, the July production-worker employment figure in the EC biz was 683,700, and the high for the year came in November at 693,700.

SPECIAL! -- TOP SUBCONTRACTOR LISTS

Follow the links below to find lists of top local subcontractors -- including, in many cases, separate lists of top electrical contractors in the geographic areas covered. Source: The Dodge regional magazines published by McGraw-Hill Construction.

Alaska, Oregon, Washington -- 21p list: -- http://tinyurl.com/yws44h
Story: http://tinyurl.com/yvvv8g

Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico -- 34p list: -- http://southwest.construction.com/images/C_TSR.pdf
Story: http://tinyurl.com/2o5has

California -- 5p list: -- http://tinyurl.com/2vntv2
Story: http://tinyurl.com/334qb7

Idaho, Utah, Wyoming -- 1p list: -- http://tinyurl.com/2r2nr5
Story: http://tinyurl.com/36f74j

 Colorado: http://tinyurl.com/38m5b5

 Texas -- 12p list: http://tinyurl.com/2jxfzx

 Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee
14p story + list: http://tinyurl.com/2oahr6

Illinois, Indiana, eastern Missouri, Wisconsin -- 17p list: -- http://tinyurl.com/2ugpwd
Story: http://tinyurl.com/344kj4

Florida, Georgia, N + S Carolina -- 21p list -- http://tinyurl.com/3aasob
Story: http://tinyurl.com/2trtr4

New York -- top 50 list (5p) -- http://tinyurl.com/2pexdw
Mini-Chart – 3p: http://tinyurl.com/2sh4gj
Story: http://tinyurl.com/2rkvkz

SEE US AT NECA

We're in Booth #201 -- please come and see us!

The NECA Show will take place Oct. 6-7-8 at San Francisco's Moscone Center -- all electrical contractors (whether members of NECA or not) are invited to attend. This year's show will take place on a Saturday-Sunday-Monday. Show hours:

Saturday, Oct. 6 -- 12 noon to 5 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 7 -- 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 8 -- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

See www.necaconvention.org/tradeshow to download a trade show discount coupon (PDF).