Rising – Stars - Glass Magazine

Rising
stars
The biographers
Staff:
Nancy M. Davis
Katy Devlin
Sahely Mukerji
Freelance writers:
i
Anna America, Tulsa
Ann Lallande,
Annapolis, Md.
Bill Kirtz, Boston
Lisa Rabasca,
Arlington, Va.
Gina Rollins,
Silver Spring, Md.
Young talents shine bright
t wasn’t easy for the 20-under-40 committee at Glass Magazine to pick 20 represen-
tatives out of the 72 nominations. Each sponsor had a fascinating story to tell about
his or her nominee—of persistence, courage, ambition and enthusiasm—and each
presented a special talent unsurpassed by the others.
As a group, the honorees selected represent the best of the flat-glass industry and
present a rich tapestry of diversity. They each come from different disciplines within
the industry and from different parts of the world. They are contract glaziers, glass-
shop owners, department managers, sales managers, engineers and designers.
They also are campers, boaters, motor-sports enthusiasts, soccer coaches, cooks,
fishermen, scuba divers and devoted volunteers who continually give back to their
industry, their communities and their countries. Their companies
vary in size and ownership types, and spread across the continent.
Supervisors and peers nominated their stars through the Inter-
net site www.glassmagazine.net or by mail. Their deadline was
Oct. 28.
Consider nominating the young heroes in your
companies as you get a peek at the lives of this year’s selection
on the following pages. The future of the industry is in their hands;
they chart the course of glass history.
Glass Magazine ® • February 2006 35

Scott E.
Hoover
Product
development is
his game
20 under 40 honorees — rising stars
Scott E. Hoover was attracted to the building-products field because AFG Industries Inc., the company
that recruited him, had 12 sales reps nationwide, not 450 like other big corporations. It would be difficult
to stand out in a large field, he says. Today, the senior manager of marketing and business development
for Pilkington North America has racked up distinguished credits, most recently in managing the
launch of Pilkington’s Eclipse Advantage, an improved MirropaneTM and Optiview antireflective glass.
Of all the facets to his job, Hoover enjoys working on Pilkington’s international product-development
teams the best. The interdisciplinary teams, with members from various departments, use a multiyear phased
process to study products and ready them for the market. Product development remains a singular challenge
Education: 1988, Bachelor of Business Administration, Kansas
State University, Manhattan
Career: 2001-present, senior manager of marketing and business
development; director of sales, Eastern region, United
States; product specialist; Pilkington North America, Toledo;
2000-01, vice president of business development, Mentor
Exchange, Atlanta; 1989-2000, director of marketing and business
development, territory sales representative, Jacksonville,
Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., AFGD Inc., Atlanta; 1988-89, field
sales representative, inside sales representative, AFG Industries
Inc., Kingsport, Tenn.
Personal: Age, 39; born, Kansas City, Mo.; married, wife
Tracy, one son
Diversions: Tennis, golf, playing with the family dog and
doing volunteer work with a nonprofit that matches volunteers
with service opportunities in Atlanta
Connections: 811 Madison Ave., Toledo, Ohio 43697,
404/4677-4971, Scott.Hoover@us.pilkington.com.
Christian
Karl
Janssen
A technologist
with a poet’s
heart
Education: 1992-2000, attended Gnomon School
of Visual Arts, Hollywood; Art Center College of
Design, Pasadena, Calif.; Mount San Jacinto College,
Menifee, Calif.; Oakland University, Rochester
Hills, Mich.; Oakland Community College, Auburn
Hills, Mich.
Career: 1994-present, artist, Christian Karl
Janssen, Fine Art, Digital Fabrication Services,
Alameda, Calif.; 1997-present, principal, artist, Ron
Wood Architectural Art Glass LLC, Sun City, Calif.;
2004-05, partner, art technologist, Derix Art Glass
Consultants LLC, Oakland, Calif.; 1997-99, lecturer,
Mount San Jacinto College, Menifee, Calif.
Personal: Age 32; born, Tustin, Calif; married, wife
Heather, one son
Diversions: Mountain biking, oil painting, meditating
Connections: 25801 Roanoke Road, Sun City,
Calif. 92586, 951/679.6056, ckj@ckjanssen.com.
36 Glass Magazine ® • February 2006
for the glass industry, Hoover says, “just as you’re
introducing a new product to architects, they’re
already demanding something else.”
Hoover’s approach to selling to architects has
changed over the years. These days, architects
“look for people ... who can consult and advise,
even without promoting their own products.” He
manages an array of tools to sell glass to architects
including continuing education programs and
Internet sites with interactive glass calculators.
“Scott is a sought-after authority who has
consulted in multimillion-dollar projects,” says
Stephen Weidner, vice president of Pilkington
North America in Toledo. “He has advocated for
responsible energy legislation and provided
training to architects, manufacturers, fabricators
and contractors alike on product application
and selection.”
Soft-spoken, articulate and an artist at heart, Christian Karl Janssen has been soulfully drawn to art
“since before my first birthday. I began with an insatiable fascination with exploring, observing and
building,” he says.
Ron Wood, principal and partner of Ron Wood Architectural Art Glass LLC in Sun City, Calif., mentors
Janssen and calls him “a tireless, inspired worker.”
Meeting Wood in a digital multimedia classroom triggered his interest in architectural art glass, Janssen
says. “He was there to learn about his Macintosh. Evidently, I was there to meet him.”
There are two extremes in architectural art glass, Janssen says. “On one end, artisans exercise virtuosity of craft
in restoration. At the other, advances in manufacturing, digital tools and material technologies have our pulse
racing. As technologies approach the micro scales,
their inclusion in films and transparent media is
inevitable. Pervasive digital processing will avail
sculptable display systems. In the next five to 10
years, limitations will be completely blown away.”
Janssen’s compositing skills are unrivaled,
Wood says. “He arrives at solutions through
mathematical analyses while maintaining a
spanking aesthetic discipline. Using advanced
modeling-animation software, Christian virtually
explores perspectives.”
Janssen’s portfolio includes R17, a Rapid Transit
station of Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp. in
Taiwan; Digital Art Gallery of KRTC; St. Vincent
de Paul Church, Houston; and hotels in Honolulu,
Miami, New York City and San Francisco.
A loving husband and a devoted father of a
1-year-old, Janssen appreciates “the professional
context of celebrating life and opportunities.”

For six years, P. Daniel Laporte has overseen Solutia’s technical-service division, helping glass fabricators
produce laminated safety glass with polyvinyl butyral interlayers. In that time, he’s developed quite
a following. “Dan is well-respected throughout the industry as the go-to person for any lamination
issues,” says Julie Schimmelpenningh, technical applications manager for Solutia Inc. in Springfield, Mass.
“He has a breadth of knowledge that’s very recognized by our customers.”
Laporte takes the “go-to” moniker seriously and spends about 60 percent of his time meeting with fabricators
on their turfs. “I work with laminators to produce good glass, so I do a lot of troubleshooting to identify
ways they can optimize their processes or improve quality,” he says. On-the-spot problem-solving is
what drives Laporte professionally. “Finding a solution right then and there is most fulfilling,” he says.
Through the Glass Association of North Amer-
ica’s laminating technical and laminating education
committees, he’s also the go-to guy for those
considering a start in lamination. “I explain
what’s entailed, consult on plans, help put equipment
in place and help people run and organize
their production lines,” he says.
As fabricators adjust to new challenges in the
wake of two active hurricane seasons, Laporte
plays yet another go-to role promoting customers’
interests. “He’s one of the most important
voices,” Schimmelpenningh says. “He makes us
aware of what customers would like to see and
how we can help them improve their products.”
When not on the road for business, Laporte
devotes his free time to his children and both his
and his wife’s extended families.
P. Daniel
Laporte
The go-to guy
Education: 1990, bachelor’s degree, chemical
engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham
Career: 2001-present, North American technical
service manager; 2000-01, marketing and technical
service principal; 2000, marketing and technical service
coordinator; 1998-2000, senior marketing and
technical service specialist; 1997-98, marketing and
technical service specialist; 1994-97, technical
supervisor; 1993-94, senior research engineer;
1991-93, research engineer II; 1990-91, research
engineer; Solutia Inc., Springfield, Mass.
Personal: Age, 37; born, Chicapee, Mass.; married,
wife Danielle, one daughter, one son
Diversions: Golfing, snowmobiling
Jean Lefrancois is hard to get hold of. No wonder, as he shuttles from Quebec to Florida, fields meetings
with employees and customers, and faces increasingly tight deadlines on construction projects that
must satisfy Florida’s strict hurricane codes.
Employees for Gamma USA, a Miami glass and glazing subcontractor, have had plenty of experience
with hurricanes. They claim a 100 percent no-leak rate during the last three. Much of the credit, says Stewart
Struzer, Gamma USA’s director of operations, goes to Lefrancois, the organization’s vice president.
Lefrancois, who trained as an accountant, attributes his executive expertise to his father, Roland, who
was the president of Gamma Industries. Now 71
and retired, Roland is “like a consultant” and
“the best in the world in glass and glazing,”
Lefrancois says.
He got on-the-job supervisory experience as
early as high school, working on Gamma
Canada crews, Lefrancois says. He deals with
everything from sales to project management to
subcontractors to coordinating incoming supplies
from Quebec. A myriad of high-end projects
include a $10 million, 74-story Miami
building now going up at the rate of a floor a
week.
Lefrancois manages 100 employees, and that
number will expand to nearly 200 later in 2006,
when Gamma USA opens a South Florida fabrication
and assembly plant. He handles this range
of tasks with hands-on experience; he’s even
earned Florida licenses for glass and glazing.
Lefrancois’ biggest challenge: “Finding labor
and keeping to a tight schedule of jobs.”
Connections: 730 Worcester St., Springfield, Mass.
01151, 413/730-2293, pdlapo@solutia.com.
Jean
Lefrancois
Profits from
snow birding
Education: 1994, certified
management accountant,
University of Laval, Quebec
Career: 1999-present, vice
president, Gamma USA,
North Miami Beach, Fla.;
1998, director of finance;
1996-98, comptroller,
Gamma Industries; Quebec
City, 1994-95, accountant,
Dionne, Forest, Kirouac,
Quebec City
Personal: Age, 35; born
Quebec City; divorced, no
children
Diversions: Skiing, hunting
Connections: 15407 W.
Dixie Highway, North Miami
Beach, Fla. 33162, 305/957-
7004, jeanl@gammaonline.com.
Glass Magazine ® • February 2006 37

Tony
Bouquot
Innovation runs
in the family
Molly O.
Clarke
Go-getter and
a green fan
20 under 40 honorees — rising stars
Education: 1992, master's degree in mechanical engineering,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; 1990, bachelor's
degree in mechanical engineering, University of Dayton,
Ohio
Career: 1997-present, director of engineering and product
design engineer, Patio Enclosures Inc., Macedonia, Ohio;
1993-97, manager of engineering, product manager, Tubelite,
Reed City, Mich.; 1989-91, design engineer, Delphi
Division of General Motors, Dayton, Ohio
Personal: Age, 37; born, Dayton, Ohio; married, wife Carolyn,
two daughters and one son
Diversions: Playing and coaching soccer, reading
Connections: 720 E. Highland Road, Macedonia, Ohio
44056, 330/468-0700, tony.bouquot@patioenc.com.
Education: Working on a Master of Business
Administration degree, University of Colorado,
Boulder; 2002, master's degree in science,
industrial and systems engineering, Lehigh University,
Bethlehem, Pa.; 2001, bachelor's
degree in science, industrial and systems engineering
Career: 2003-present, vice president of operations,
Alpen Inc., Boulder; 2002-03, process
analyst, records specialist, University of Boulder
Foundation
Personal: Age, 27; born, Aspen, Colo.; single
Diversions: Running, hiking, climbing, camping
and skiing
Connections: 5400 Spine Road, Boulder,
Colo. 80301, 303/530-1150, mclarke@alpeninc.com.
38 Glass Magazine ® • February 2006
T
ony Bouquot might have ended up in his current career path by accident, but he recently discovered
that a knack for designing, manufacturing and patenting door enclosures runs in his family.
Since he joined Patio Enclosures Inc. in 1997, Bouquot has been granted patents for three separate
window and door designs. A fourth remains pending.
A few years ago, Bouquot learned that his great-grandfather designed, patented and manufactured a very
rudimentary door-closing device. An advertisement for his great-grandfather’s device hangs in his office.
Bouquot had been working at General Motors in Dayton, Ohio, as a design engineer, but moved to
Michigan in 1993 when his wife took a new job there. He then found a job at Tubelite, a manufacturer of
storefront systems, entrances and curtain walls in Reed City, Mich., and discovered he was more comfortable
in the glass industry than in the auto business. He also liked the environment of a smaller company
where he wasn’t pigeonholed and could work on different projects.
“I wear many hats” at Patio Enclosures,
Bouquot says. They range from the manufacturing
of existing products to the design of new ones.
Since joining Patio Enclosures, he has redesigned
the company’s year-round and seasonal sunrooms.
The product lines that he designed represent
a third of Patio Enclosure’s sales volume.
“He has used his position to improve both
product design and product management,” says
Craig Cox, Patio Enclosure’s vice president of
manufacturing.
Although Bouquot spends much of his time
thinking about sunrooms, his current home doesn’t
have one. However, he says he picked out a location
for his future year-round sunroom.
Molly O. Clarke puts her love for the environment to work at Alpen Inc., a company her father
started during the 1970s in Boulder, Colo. She recently received her U.S. Green Building Council
Leadership and Energy and Environmental Design certificate.
“I love the people in the green building community,” Clarke says. “People are more energy conscious
now. It’s nice to work for a company that pushes the envelope.”
Even though Clarke grew up around the company and worked there while she was in high school, she
never expected to join Alpen after earning a degree in manufacturing.
“I was looking for something different,” Clarke said after working elsewhere as a process analyst. “I
didn’t feel challenged. Here, every day is challenging.”
Alpen fabricates high-performance insulating glass and windows. Its suspended, wave-length selective thinfilm
technology provides a combination of trans-
parency and infrared reflection, allowing glass to
block summer heat, retain winter warmth, eliminate
ultraviolet rays and maximize passage of daylight.
Alpen officials use the Heat Mirror film from
Southwall Technologies in Palo Alto, Calif., in their
glass panels and provide a 10-year warranty on the
units. Robert Clarke, president of Alpen and
Clarke’s father, was the original research and development
manager for the company that became
Southwall Technologies. For the past 25 years, he
has been a consultant to the company, selling its
products on a part-time basis all over the world.
Clarke oversees all computer-based orderentry
and glazier-quotation operations, as well
as generating Alpenglass performance simulations
for architects and heating, ventilation and
air-conditioning engineers.

Although his father spent decades in the glass industry, Tim Czechowski never planned on going into
the field, and instead studied printing and graphics. He went into packaging design and enjoyed the
creativity, and the fact that he was involved in cutting-edge graphic technology.
Czechowski’s ultimate goal, however, was to work for himself, and he started realizing that creativity and
technology could be similarly combined to create exciting new glass products. In 1998, along with his father,
Wayne, he co-founded Artwork in Architectural Glass Studios, specializing in cast glass, slumped glass and
textured glass products. With offices in Newport Beach, Calif., and in Good Hope, Ga., just outside Atlanta,
the company now numbers among the industry’s leaders in the specialty art-glass sector.
“We approach things differently from most
other companies, and really look for ways to
think outside of the box,” Czechowski says. AAG
has been a pioneer in developing products such
as anti-slip glass flooring; AAG Dichro-lam, a
laminated product that changes color according
to viewing angle and light; and Cast Glass
Medallion curtains. Some customers consider
the company’s work as art, Czechowski says, “but
while it’s creative, we are more into value engineering
than a true artist would be. We’re artsy,
but we are also businessy, and at the end of the
day, safe products are our No. 1 goal.”
Wayne Czechowski gives his son credit for the
company’s rapid rise. “Through his marketing,
sales and creative endeavors, he keeps AAG on
the edge of industry trend-setting fashions in
specialty glass,” he says.
His 10 years as an installer couldn’t prepare him for Wilma. However, only hours after the hurricane
swept through Miami last October, Jose Angel Fontela led his 11-person American Glass & Mirror
crew out with plywood to give temporary help to residential and commercial customers whose
windows were destroyed. And soon afterward, while other installers were making excuses, he was making
deliveries.
Fontela, with his wife and office manager, Alexandra, came to America from Cuba in November
1995. He had no formal schooling, and experience only as a bartender, but quickly found work as an
installer with ReadyWindows, Miami. And last July, with hustle and business savvy, he bought American
Glass & Window from owner Eni Sanchez.
Today his shop has an annual revenue of
approximately $750,000.
Matthew Staton, president of Tai Management,
who manages a chain of Miami area boutique
hotels, was a customer who Fontela serviced
hours after the hurricane. Staton deals
with plenty of subcontractors every day and
lauds Fontela’s dedication. “He comes in at very
short notice and delivers when others fail miserably—sometimes
within six to eight hours,” he
says. He recalls the care that Fontela took to
make sure that elevator glass, in particular, was
up to code.
Staton also appreciates Fontela’s business
ethics. In one emergency, he says, “he could have
put me at the end of the line, but they came out
the same day. There was little money but he was
loyal.” Even when some hotel owners lost
invoices or delayed payment, Fontela still came.
Tim
Czechowski
Schooled in
the art of glass
Education: 1990, bachelor's degree in printing
management and graphic arts, Georgia Southern
College, Statesburg, Ga.
Career: 1998 to present, co-founder and coowner,
Artwork in Architectural Glass, Good Hope,
Ga.; 1999-2000, marketing services packaging
design and technology manager, Schering-Plough
HealthCare Products, Berkeley Heights, N.J.;
1996-99, senior packaging design manager, Colgate-Palmolive,
Topeka, Kan.; 1990-96, packaging
design manager, Nestlé Food Co., Glendale, Calif.
Personal: Age, 37; born, Portsmouth, Va.; married,
wife Lisa, first child on the way
Diversions: Golf, running, computers and software
Connections: 20101 S.W. Birch, Suite 276, Newport
Beach, Calif., 92260, 949/251-0075;
tim@aag-glass.com.
Jose Angel
Fontela
Coming through
in a crisis
Career: 2005-present,
president, American
Glass & Mirror,
Hialeah, Fla.; 1999-
2005, installer, Ready-
Windows, Miami;
1995-99 installer,
PenaLuma, Miami
Personal: Age, 36;
born, Havana; married,
wife Alexandra, one
son and one daughter
Diversions: Fishing
Connections:
1580 W. 35th Place,
Hialeah Fla. 33012,
305/216-1504,
alexandraagm@
hotmail.com.
Glass Magazine ® • February 2006 39

Alfonso
Marin-
Garcia
In search
of a dream
20 under 40 honorees — rising stars
Career: 2000-present, second shift supervisor,
computer numerically controlled glass cutter
and optimizer, production assistant, Mammen
Glass & Mirror Inc., Irving, Texas; 2000, welder,
sole proprietor, San Antonio, Texas; 1997-2000,
lathe operator, sole proprietor, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Personal: Age, 31; born, Jalostotitlan, Jalisco,
Mexico; married, wife Lupita, one son, one
daughter
Diversions: Playing guitar and spending time
with family
Connections: 2924 Rock Island Road, Irving,
Texas 75060, 800/327-8076,
www.mammen.com.
Ed Geyman
Spanning
the distance
Education: 1996,
bachelor’s degree in
political science, philosophy
and law, Binghamton
University,
Binghamton, N.Y.
Career: 1996-present,
vice president and chief
operating officer, Carvart,
New York City
Personal: Age 31; born,
Odessa, Ukraine; wife
Sandy, one son
Diversions: Cooking,
wine, travel and guitar
Connections: 180 Varick
St., Suite 1218, New
York, N.Y. 10014,
212/675-0030, ext. 31,
edg@carvart.com.
40 Glass Magazine ® • February 2006
In Spanish, one might say “La Fontana de Oro;” in the United States, people call it the American
Dream—a dream 31-year-old Mexican immigrant Alfonso Marin-Garcia knows quite a bit about.
“When I was young, people would say ‘I want to go to the United States, where you can achieve what
you want.’ They had big dreams,” recalls Marin-Garcia, shift foreman for Mammen Glass & Mirror Inc. in
Irving, Texas. “I have dreams, too. [People] in this company give me the chances to [fulfill them].”
Marin-Garcia left Mexico in 1996 and moved to California, knowing little English, but possessing the
desire to learn and succeed. He made his way to Texas and started working at Mammen in 2000.
From the start, Marin-Garcia had a plan, goals and the drive to achieve them, says Chris Mammen, president.
“He quickly learned the basics, and in his 90-day review stated that his short-term goal was to become
supervisor, and his long-term goal was to operate his own company or become a manager for Mammen Glass.”
In 2005, Mammen managers promoted him to second-shift supervisor. He earned the position through
knowledge and ambition, apparent in his decision
to use the company’s tuition-reimbursement program
and enroll in English classes, Mammen says.
“We like to support any employee who is willing
to take the initiative that Alfonso has—coming
into the country the right way, performing
the job the right way,” he says. “In an age when it
is difficult to find decent employees, much less
high-caliber self-starters, Alfonso is a rare breed.”
Marin-Garcia says he will continue working
toward his long-term goals and creating a good life
for his wife and two young children. “I’m going
to do what I need to do, because [my family]
needs me,” he says. “And because I want to keep
doing more, making more. It feels good.”
Ed Geyman has come a long way from where his heritage in the glass industry began. That distance is
both literal—his family of glaziers emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1990—and figurative—in
the old country, his grandfather was installing window glass and mirrors into custom furniture out of
the back of a pickup truck. Today, Geyman runs a thriving New York City architectural glass company
that has installations in some of the Big Apple’s most prestigious commercial sites.
Upon arriving in the United States, Geyman’s father started doing residential mirror and glass installs.
After graduating from college in 1996, Geyman joined his father to open Carvart Glass, manufacturing
carved and etched panels for the residential market.
The duo started getting more requests for
commercial projects. “Next thing I knew, I was
working with top architects on high-profile
retail and corporate projects … quickly creating
product lines and altering existing ones to cater
to this exciting market,” Geyman says.
In 2005, the company launched an Internet
site and moved into a Manhattan showroom.
Projects include work for Christian Dior, Mercedes
Benz, Sephora and Citibank.
Carvart has 50 employees including production
personnel, draft people, engineers,
craftsmen, artists, glaziers, project and production
managers and sales staff. The company
grossed more than $8 million in sales last year,
Geyman says.
Despite the strides, the firm is not as far
from the family roots as it might seem, Geyman
says. “While the craftsmanship is distinctly old
world, the execution is entirely new world.”

Glass is often used in interior design, but to Sherry E. Gill, it’s more than just a window or skylight,
it’s “a limitless product” that helps her create a mood, be it slick and elegant, calm and soothing, or
exciting and glamorous.
“There are so many types and textures. There are so many color variations, shapes and sizes. Glass can
be changed by cutting, molding, etching, painting and lighting,” says the senior interior designer for Wimberly
Allison Tong & Goo, a design consultant for the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries.
Gill specializes in resort and casino design and continually finds ways to use glass in unexpected
ways, says Michele Phillips, WATG director of
interior design. She cites Harrah’s New
Orleans, where Gill used glass to create a glittering
backdrop for the Masquerade entertainment
area. Backlit glass stairs were set glowing
with changing color lights, while a glass and
stainless steel railing was erected to divide the
lounge from the casino. In the Radius Bar, broken
chips of glass were heated and melted to
look like ice cubes, and a glowing wall was created
using “bubbletoes,” with frosted glass panels
and blue and gold glass “bubbles” attached
for a rock wall effect. Glass curtains made of
chains of glass cubes were hung between banquette
seating, and tempered glass panels line
the walls.
With glass, Gill says, “you can turn a relatively
dull space into a dynamic space.”
Every project Robert Grosze works on involves more than just designing, manufacturing and installing
blast-resistant glazing. “It’s easy to get lost in the details and think they’re just construction projects,
but they’re not,” he says. “Our products represent the main level of protection for workers in those
buildings and they’re relying on what we do to protect them.”
In 2004, Masonry Arts’ revenue was about $23.8 million, and Grosze’s projects read like a who’s who of
high-profile installations: he’s been retrofitting parts of the U.S. State Department and the Pentagon and
installing a blast-resistant curtain wall at the U.S. Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla. Most meaningful to the
vice president of operations and senior project
manager for Masonry Arts in Bessemer, Ala.,
was the Oklahoma City Federal Campus, built
to replace the Alfred P. Murrah building
destroyed during a 1995 bombing. “I met a lot
of survivors,” he recalls. “They came to the job
site. It was healing for them and it caused me to
step out of the engineering details and think
about what my work was for.”
One of the first in a breed of blast-resistant
but aesthetically pleasing public buildings, that
project also demanded Grosze’s best communication
and engineering skills. “The line of dialogue
between architects and blast engineers
seems to be difficult,” Grosze says. But he is
“extraordinarily gifted” at bringing the perspectives
together, says Kenneth Hays, Masonry Arts’
executive vice president. “He’s good at understanding
what the architect’s trying to achieve,
the capability of the technology, manufacturing,
and installation and how it all must dovetail.”
Sherry
E. Gill
Turning dull
into dynamic
Education: 1994, bachelor’s degree in
architecture and interior design, University
of Texas, San Antonio
Career: 2004-present, senior interior
designer, WATG, Newport Beach, Calif.;
2002-04, senior interior designer, Morris
and Brown Architects, Solana Beach, Calif.;
2001-02, project manager, DVA, Gaithersburg,
Md.; 1998-2001, project designer,
Paul Steelman Design Group, Las Vegas;
1994-98, interior designer, Christopher Egan
and Associates, San Antonio; 1992-94,
designer, Insite Architects, San Antonio
Personal: Age, 37; born, Cody, Wyo.; single
Diversions: Reading, sports, travel
Connections: 2260 University Drive, Newport
Beach, Calif. 92660, 949/574-8500,
sgill@watg.com.
Robert
Grosze
A high-profile
blast expert
Education: 1994, bachelor's
degree, construction, Southern
Illinois University, Edwardsville
Career: 2004-present, vice president
of operations; 2000-04,
senior project manager, Masonry
Arts, Bessemer, Ala.; 1999-2000,
project manager, Granite Inc.,
Granite City, Ill.; 1994-99, estimator
and project manager, Cupples
Products, St. Louis, Mo., now part
of Enclos Corp., Eagan, Minn.
Personal: Age, 33; born,
Belleville, Ill.; divorced; one son,
one daughter
Diversions: Hunting deer and
waterfowl, boating
Connections: 2105 Third Ave. N.,
Bessemer, Ala. 35020, 205/428-
0780, rgrosze@masonryarts.com.
Glass Magazine ® • February 2006 41

Ryan
McDougle
The unsung hero
20 under 40 honorees — rising stars
Education: 1997, attended Bowling
Green State University, Bowling
Green, Ohio
Career: 1998-present, customerservice
supervisor, senior sales specialist,
engineer and product specialist,
Oldcastle Glass, Perrysburg, Ohio;
1998-2000, customer-service and
sales, AFGD Glass, Hebron, Ohio;
1996, shop worker, installer,
Napoleon Glass and Mirror,
Napoleon, Ohio
Personal: Age, 30; born, Bowling
Green; married, wife Laura, one son
Diversions: Travel, yard work
Connections: 291 M St., Perrysburg,
Ohio 43551, 800/537-4064, RMc-
Dougle@oldcastleglass.com.
Tim
O’Connor Jr.
Prefers the
hands-on
approach
V
ersatility has become Ryan McDougle’s stock in trade. Bob Syroka, president of Syroka Associates
in Johnston, Iowa, a sales representative for Oldcastle Glass, praises McDougle’s work as an
office manager, consultant and a vital liaison between the front office and Oldcastle’s Perrysburg,
Ohio, manufacturing plant.
McDougle supervises eight people, proclaims a “customer first” philosophy, and will skip lunch to tend
to an employee’s needs.
“Time is flying,” McDougle
says about his hectic schedule.
“It’s a challenging market, [with
challenging] products, and everything
has to stay up-to-date.”
McDougle, who makes
sure to stay current on the
newest trends in the industry,
notes an increased pressure to
deliver the goods. “The lead
time [on projects] is shorter
and shorter, and it’s a challenge
to meet [customers’] needs
because projects’ time lines
have been compressed.”
“He is an unsung hero who
provides a lot of assistance behind
the scenes without the
glory,” Syroka says. He’s “moving
up the ranks fast.”
T
im O’Connor Jr. has done it all himself. He says his hands-on approach has helped him earn
older workers’ trust as he supervises a variety of jobs for his ever-growing Granite State Glass store.
“I’ve come up through the ranks.”
O’Connor helped his father on New Hampshire jobs at age 12 and now estimates projects for Granite
State’s nine-store commercial operations. At the same time, he has managed the company’s Hudson,
N.H., location to increased sales during each of the last three years.
The retail segment of Granite State has eight full-service locations handling everything from auto
glass to shower enclosures, custom mirrors to insulating glass, and from vinyl replacement windows to
storm doors.
O’Connor manages these varied responsibilities with what David Ryan, Granite State’s vice president
of sales and marketing, calls a team-oriented management style and thorough understanding of retail
operations and commercial glazing.
For his part, O’Connor
Education: 1987, graduate, Nashua High School, Nashua, N.H.
Career: 2002-present, retail store manager and retail commercial
estimator and project manager, Granite State Glass, Belmont,
N.H.; 1996-2000, installation foreman, Binswanger
Glass, Richmond, Va.; 1993-96, installation foreman, Bolton
Glass, Mechanicsville, Va.; 1991-93, installer, New England
Building Components, Washington D.C.; 1987-99, infantryman,
U.S. Army, Germany and Saudi Arabia; 1985-87, glaziers'
helper, New England Building Components, Merrimack, N.H.
Personal: : Age, 36; born, Woburn Mass.; married, wife Lisa,
three sons
Diversions: Skiing, golfing
Connections: 162 Lowell Road, Hudson, N.H. 03051,
603/883-8545, timoconnorgsg@adelphia.net.
42 Glass Magazine ® • February 2006
finds that his varied experiences
help him understand employees’
perspectives. His only timeout
from the glass industry was
the U.S. Army, where he served
as an infantryman in Operation
Desert Storm.
He suspects that future success
as a glass-shop owner and
retailer in the United States
depends on finding, training
and retaining good people for
an increasingly com- plex and
demanding business environment:
“It’s a huge challenge.”

At 20, Brandie Overbay had an infant son to support, and Alumco, a manufacturer of aluminum
screens, made her an offer she couldn’t refuse: a job with medical and dental benefits. As a “bug stripper,”
she installed the flaps on screen doors that keep bugs at bay.
Overbay did that for about a week and then made her move. After six months, she had done every job on
the production line, and began working in shipping, packaging products and loading trucks.
“I wanted to learn everything in the plant,” Overbay says. A self-proclaimed “hands-on learner,” she took
turns at inventory control, order entry, accounting and payroll.
Overbay leads the team that designed, developed and implemented Alumco’s first companywide computerized
accounting system, linking operations across five facilities. She has been instrumental in launching
Aluminite Advantage, an electronic order pro-
cessing, manufacturing and delivery system, says
Chad Kegans, vice president of sales. The program
has enabled Alumco to double its business
with existing accounts.
Overbay also improved Alumco’s billing
process by simplifying its pricing system. But
she found her niche in customer service and
sales. “I’m a people helper,” she says, and she
enjoys trying to resolve the logistical challenges
faced by customers.
Overbay’s territory covers Washington State
and Oregon, and parts of Arizona, California
and Nevada. “I love this company,” Overbay
says. “There’s always an opportunity to do something
different with encouragement and support
from managers.”
Rob Reyes II produces an unusual architectural glass product, but he doesn’t like to say he owns BP
Glass Garage Doors. “If people knew, they’d never leave me alone. Everyone wants meetings.”
Instead, Reyes terms himself operations manager of the company he bought in 1996, at age 21.
BP Glass Garage Doors, with an annual revenue of approximately $1.75 million, serves the high-end residential
market. The company does installation, fabrication and sales in Arizona, California and Nevada,
with Reyes active in every facet of the business from bookkeeping to research. Now, as the company
expands to 24 employees, he says, “I have no choice but to delegate.”
Oldcastle Glass estimator Kelly Martinez, based in Los Angeles, credits Reyes with single-handedly creating
and leading the market for an unusual
architectural product.
BP Glass Garage Doors, once called Bryce
Parker, originally did sheet metal and steel construction
catering to the service-station construction
industry. It had been manufacturing and
installing commercial custom glass sectional
overhead garage doors since 1952.
Reyes calls his company’s combination of
glass and extruded aluminum alloy frames
“interesting and challenging,” For the last four
years he’s been “making a big push for research
and development.”
However, his company’s niche has given him
some problems. “I’ve tried hiring structural
engineers, but most of them don’t want to touch
aluminum,” he says.
Reyes tests prototypes himself to produce
what he calls “the strongest glass door on the
market.”
Brandie
Overbay
A people helper
Education: 1990, associate's degree, hotel management,
Centralia College, Centralia, Wash.
Career: 2005-present, corporate account executive;
2002-04, responsibilities in customer service and sales;
2000-01, duties in order entry, customer service,
accounting and payroll; 1999-2000, team leader for the
implementation of Alumco's accounting system; 1995-
99, duties in order entry and customer service; 1990-95,
duties in shipping and inventory control; 1990-91, production
line duties, Alumco Inc., Chehalis, Wash.
Personal: Age, 35; born, Centralia, Wash.; married,
husband Lee, one son
Diversions: Referee high school basketball; community
service volunteer, baseball and football fan
Connections: 137 Sears Road, Chehalis, Wash. 98532,
360/748-9201, boverbay@alumco.com.
Rob Reyes II
Bringing glass
into the garage
Education: 1996, associate
degree, business,
Pasadena City College,
Calif.
Career: 1996-present:
owner, BP Glass Garage
Doors, Temple City, Calif.
Personal: : Age, 32;
born Santa Monica,
Calif.; married, wife
Sheri, two sons
Diversions: Motorcycling,
scuba diving, snow
skiing
Connections: 9412 Gridley
St., Temple City,
Calif. 91780,
626/442/1716,
RobReyes@BP Company.net.
Glass Magazine ® • February 2006 43

Mike
Sebold
Applying sports
to life
20 under 40 honorees — rising stars
Education: 2001, Master of Business Administration,
University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis;
1989, bachelor's degree in business, marketing,
St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, N.Y.
Career: 2002-present, business leader, commercial-glazing
solutions; 1998-2002, North
America sales manager, glazing; 1996-98,
regional glazing specialist; 1995-96, glazing
specialist; 1992-95, sales representative;
1991-92, sales trainee; 1989-91, technical services
representative, Tremco Inc., Beachwood,
Ohio
Personal: Age, 39; born, Cleveland; single
Diversions: : Ice hockey, golf, skiing
Connections: 3735 Green Road, Beachwood,
Ohio 44122, 216/766-5690.
Shawn Kelly
Training the next
generation
Education: 1987,
graduate, Blackford
High School, San
Jose, Calif.
Career: 2000-present,
lead man and
head shower door
installer; 1987-
2000, glazier; Palo
Alto Glass, Palo Alto,
Calif.
Personal: Age, 35;
born, Campbell,
Calif.; divorced, one
daughter, one son
Diversions: Coaching
youth sports
Connections: 4085
Transport St., Palo
Alto, Calif. 94303,
650/494-7000,
www.paloaltoglass.
com.
44 Glass Magazine ® • February 2006
Mike Sebold played Division 1 hockey in college, and the qualities important to that endeavor—
teamwork, skill and innovative play—helped him succeed at Tremco Sealant and Waterproofing
in Beachwood, Ohio.
Sebold joined Tremco fresh out of college, attracted by its training program. He stayed because commercial
construction fascinates him. “It’s fun dealing with big buildings,” he says.
In 2002, when Tremco named him North America business leader for commercial-glazing solutions,
Sebold saw an opportunity to reshape the product line. He raised in-house technical competency;
looked for growth opportunities and identified selected markets in protective and field-installed glazing.
His team developed a line of high-performing architectural products that meet or exceed the industry’s
most stringent performance standards, he
claims, and withstand natural and man-made
disasters. The designers also concentrated on
creating easier-to-install products and ones
that offer more cost effectiveness.
Sebold then made sure he could move the line
and mount a full-court press when it came to customer
service. Now, with 60 representatives,
Tremco has a large North American salesforce for
glazing products. The company has enjoyed a
growth rate in the high teens for three years, he says.
During Sebold’s tenure, says Chuck Houk,
vice president and general manager for Commercial
Sealants and Waterproofing, the company’s
reputation as a glazing manufacturer has
grown “from a little-known supplier to a widely
recognized leader.”
In 18 years at Palo Alto Glass in Palo Alto, Calif., Shawn Kelly has gone from know-nothing
apprentice to lead man responsible for training the next generation of installers. “I like training
people, seeing them start without knowledge of the business and getting them to the point of going
out on a job by themselves,” he says. “I like seeing their satisfaction and gratification.” In making pros
of greenhorns, Kelly strives to be calm and encouraging while reinforcing a can-do attitude and strong
work ethic.
Kelly takes pride in jobs well done. “My
greatest reward is in seeing a smile on the customer’s
face and knowing I’ve done something
good,” he says. Even more fulfilling has
been Kelly’s role as coach for his children’s
baseball and soccer teams. “I don’t just coach.
I touch on the similarities between sports and
life. If you want something you have to strive
for it,” he says. Experiences on the field have
paid dividends at work. “I’ve learned a lot of
patience, and that people aren’t all the same
and you have to work with those differences,”
he says.
Kelly’s winning ways translate into jobs
done right the first time, all the time, says Jerry
Stellman, general manager of Palo Alto Glass,
a company that brings in an annual revenue of
$2.5 million to $3 million. “He was just a kid
when he started here but he’s matured into one
of those people that I can send on any job and
know it will be taken care of.”

The first thing customers notice about Thomas Thompson III is his age; then they’re wowed by his
professionalism. “I never met a young man with the class and business acumen he had,” recalls
Cookie Gold, a customer. “I thought it was amazing for a kid his age.” Thompson is general manager
of the Denver-based Colorado Classic Sunrooms, overseeing sales, design and construction of custom-built
sunrooms, skylights and conservatories.
Thompson cut his teeth as a laborer constructing sunrooms, installing skylights and absorbing all he
could from co-workers. Early on, he proved his mettle as a salesman, winning clients from much older
and more experienced competitors. “When he was just 19, he was selling $50,000 to $100,000 sunrooms
and coming back with $40,000 deposits,” says
Thomas Thompson Jr., company president. “This
would be after the customer had spoken to salespeople
from other companies, but they bought from this
young kid.” In 2004, Colorado Classic’s annual sales
were $1.25 million.
Thompson III also has a knack for design and project
management—the more complicated the better—including
sunroom additions made to harmonize
with Victorian homes in some of Denver’s oldest
neighborhoods. Customer service is never far from
his mind. “I strive to give them exactly what they
want,” Thompson III says. “Now that I oversee all
our crews, my goal is to make sure the construction’s
done right.” That attitude resonates with clients like
Gold. “He did a great job. He’s a very special young
man,” she says.
This fourth-generation glazier knows you have to leave home to come home.
Dave W. Vincent began his career as a teenager sweeping floors in the family’s business, Center Glass
Co. in La Mesa, Calif., and rose to be chief estimator for major construction projects in the United States.
Vincent wanted to learn every aspect of the glazing business and says the only way to do that was to venture
out on his own. In 2001, he joined friend Robert N. Hoyt, founder of Division 8 Inc., with whom he had
worked closely years earlier at Center Glass. The move caused a family rift that lasted nearly a year.
As chief financial officer, salesman and estimator for Division 8, based in Lemon Grove, Calif.,Vincent
gains the well-rounded experience he sought. He jok-
ingly cautions, “Be careful what you wish for.”
His father, who always had encouraged Vincent to
leave protective cover to grow, has come to accept his son’s
decision. However, it’s been a challenge. With no cash and
no track record with prime contractors, Division 8 has had
to accept small, bread-and-butter jobs. This summer, its
workers juggled 30 projects, an experience that unnerved
the partners because they wanted to personally supervise
every job to ensure quality and protect their reputation.
Vincent expects that 2006 will be Division 8’s breakout
year. The startup has outgrown Hoyt’s garage, where it was
launched, and it boasts a backlog of $12 million worth of
contracts. Hoyt praises his partner’s contribution. “David’s
solid foundation of monumental sales experience, coupled
with irrepressible charisma, has moved this company into
the forefront of the glazing industry in San Diego.”
Leaving his father’s side was tough, Vincent concedes,
but now that he’s his own boss and equal partner
in an up-and-coming company, his family members
are closer than ever.
Thomas
Thompson
III
Young in age,
mature in acumen
Education: 2000-03, attended
Metropolitan State College,
Denver, and University of Northern
Colorado, Greeley
Career: 1996-present, general
manager, salesman, crew leader,
laborer, Colorado Classic Sunrooms,
Denver
Personal: Age, 24; born Aurora,
Colo.; single
Diversions: Camping,
boating
Connections: 1030 W.
Ellsworth Ave., Unit F, Denver,
Colo. 80223, 303/715-0777,
tommyIII@coloradoclassicsunrooms.com.
Dave W.
Vincent
Left protective
cover to grow
Education: 1986-87, Grossmont
College, San Diego; 1988-89,
Cuyamaca College, San Diego
Career: 2001-present, chief
financial officer, sales representative,
estimator, and co-owner,
Division 8 Inc., Lemon Grove,
Calif.; 1985-2001, chief estimator,
estimator, field foreman,
glazier, Center Glass Co., La
Mesa, Calif.
Personal: Age, 38; born, San
Diego; married, wife Dawn, one
son
Diversions: Camping, wake
boarding and off-road motor
sports in Baja, Calif.
Connections: 7850 North Ave.,
Lemon Grove, Calif. 91945,
619/741-7552, dave@
division8inc.com.
Glass Magazine ® • February 2006 45