Kim Marks

Take a swing at a second career

Keith Gockenbach, retired chemical engineer, author and professional golfer

Special Focus: Small Business/ Entrepreneur

As many as eight million people in the U.S. have finished one career and started a second, says Keith Gockenbach, a chemical engineer who retired to pursue dual second careers as a professional golfer and author.

Gockenbach chronicles his quest to play in the PGA’s Champions Tour for players 50 and older in his book, Inside, Outside, and On the Ropes: Life Lessons from Q-School and The Majors (www.insidetheropesgolf.com). He reveals the day-to-day struggles to revive the dream of his adolescence fairly late in life and shares the lessons he learned – lessons that can also apply to job hunters and those seeking a new, perhaps more gratifying career.

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Kim Marks

Re-education makes sense for Corey Gibson

Corey Gibson

As owner of a small construction business in Colorado, Corey Gibson built vacation homes for more than 17 years. In 2009, he moved his family to Georgia to be near his aging mother. He found that Gwinnett is flooded with good construction workers just like him who have, “all the experience and skill sets, but not the education.”

Wanting to be more than a little fish in a big pond, Gibson enrolled in the Commercial Construction Management program at Gwinnett Technical College and is on track to complete his degree in the fall.

“Going back to school as a 40-year-old was very intimidating,” he admits. “My biggest fear was being the old guy at school.”

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Kim Marks

Gwinnett UPS drivers honored for safety record

Ten Gwinnett residents are among 1,235 worldwide United Parcel Service (UPS) 2011 Circle of Honor inductees. Honored for driving 25 years or more without an accident, this raises to 5,842 the total number of UPS drivers who have reached this safe driving pinnacle. In all, 48 Georgians are in the 2011 class.

Each Gwinnett driver’s home base is the UPS Pleasantdale Hub in Doraville. These drivers are: Mark Warner of Dacula; Robert Day and Suzanne Sidwell of Duluth; David Eve, Arthur Fischer, Kelvin Harris, Todd Pirlot and Larry Wilson of Lawrenceville; Gary Williams of Snellville; and Kelvin Standifer of Stone Mountain.

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Kim Marks

Mitsubishi Electric expands in Gwinnett

Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (Mitsubishi Electric) will expand its operations in Gwinnett County by moving to a new facility in Suwanee, Ga.

Watch Video. Governor Nathan Deal donned a hard hat and wielded a shovel at a groundbreaking event for the company’s new division headquarters along with company executives, community leadership, Industrial Developments International (IDI) and Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development. Mitsubishi Electric has signed a lease with IDI, a leading full-service industrial real estate company, for a build-to-suit building on a 33-acre site at Huntcrest Business Center on Satellite Blvd.

A division of a U.S. subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating is a leading marketer of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) and split-ductless air-conditioning and heating systems for both commercial and residential use. The company has operated in Gwinnett County since 1992 and employs approximately 200 people. The expansion and consolidation from the company’s current 350,000-square-foot footprint across three buildings to 559,407 square feet in a single location will provide the company more adequate space to support its growth. Nationwide, Mitsubishi Electric expects to employ an additional 60 people in 2012 and projects it will increase its employment to more than 400 employees over the next 10 years.

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Kim Marks

Partnership yields faster processing

A.S.A.P. Technologies, Inc. owners Maria Elena Grogan and Dennis Grogan, Sr. with son Dennis Grogan, Jr.

Thanks to a Sage Peachtree customer “listening tour” earlier this year, A.S.A.P. Technologies, Inc. in Buford has streamlined its monthly inventory reporting by 60 percent.

A.S.A.P. Technologies is known for its vast industry knowledge and stellar customer service – something clients like Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation validate, having named them supplier of the year since 2005. This distributor and fabricator is a national supplier of silicones, sealants, tapes, adhesives, heat shrinking and coatings for many industrial applications. Supplying to industries such as aerospace, aviation, military, electronics and telecommunications, they track every item ever sold as part of the company’s ongoing inventory management process.

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Kim Marks

Mitsubishi Electric opens industry-first engineering center in Duluth

Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating Engineering Center in Duluth, Ga.

Mitsubishi Electric has opened an industry-first engineering center in Duluth, Ga. The Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating Engineering Center is the only dedicated facility in the U.S. geared toward developing split-ductless and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology solutions specifically for the North American market.

“Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating’s parent corporation, Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyo, realizes there is enormous potential in the North American market for products based on split-ductless and VRF technology,” says Bill Rau, senior vice president and general manager, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating. “The Engineering Center will give Mitsubishi Electric a serious competitive advantage, as we can develop split-ductless and VRF technologies more closely aligned with the unique needs of American customers.”

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Kim Marks

Could you save me if I collapsed?

As you wrap up the interview the candidate blindsides you with, “What happens if I collapse on the job?” Okay, that’s one interview you won’t soon forget.

What is your plan? Life-threatening emergencies can happen anywhere. Roughly 80 percent of all adult collapses are cardiac related. Sure, everyone knows to dial 9-1-1. Unless the victim receives cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation within minutes of collapse, few resuscitation attempts succeed.

The American Heart Association reports 300,000 victims suffer a sudden cardiac arrest in the U.S. each year. Even more staggering is that less than one-third of these victims receive bystander CPR mainly because most Americans don’t know how to perform it.

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Kim Marks

Critical Care MedFlight transports Gwinnett citizens home after a medical incident while traveling

Critical Care Medflight crewmembers, respiratory therapist Russ Bongiovanni (L) and paramedic David Layton (R)

Air ambulance transport teams plan for anything to happen. Critical Care Medflight’s company-owned fleet is fully equipped and staffed as flying critical care units. Providing seamless bed-to-bed transport from one healthcare facility to another, the flight crew is trained on therapies for advanced life support to address a patient’s current or “new onset” medical conditions.

Dispatch relays the assignment. Take-off in 60 minutes for Jamaica: premature baby needs a higher level of medical care closer to home.

This type scenario plays out nearly 500 times a year for Critical Care Medflight (CCM). Based at Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville, CCM transports Gwinnett and metro Atlanta citizens home to an area hospital like Gwinnett Medical Center, or conversely, returns visitors back to their home medical facility.

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Kim Marks

Altruism is an autumn aspiration

With the season of giving upon us, you may feel compelled to lend a helping hand. Maybe the idea has been percolating all year, or it’s a new thought.

Appeals for help are a constant barrage. It’s time for a plan. You know of other businesses that participate in community outreach, volunteerism or charitable fundraising projects. Sounds great, but how do you choose the right direction that aligns with your corporate culture, your schedule, your bottomline?

Steps for building your wish list:

  • Decide if you want to share time (volunteering), talent (skills, goods, services), treasure (financial support) or a combination of these.

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