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Greetings!
I recently had the opportunity to be a guest lecturer at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (my alma mater!) for the Construction Management Department's CM 313 class. Professor John Wathen asked me to discuss the details of a current project underway at Seals/Biehle followed by a discussion and further detail of the deliverables of the project. The students were asked to review the site plans and put together a presentation which included a phasing plan of the project, schedules, activity sheets, cost assessment, and a strategic risk assessment.
I returned a few weeks later to observe the presentations and offer my feedback... I don't know if it was the nostalgia of being back in a CM lab, or the overwhelming sense of Mustang pride, but being there, in that classroom breathed hope into me - hope that amidst the cynicism and the uncertainty of what the future of business holds in this country, our youth still offers promise. To say I was impressed with these presentations would be a gross understatement - I was captivated by their analytical skills, depth of knowledge, solution-based thinking, and mostly, their enthusiasm.
It was an honor to be back on campus, sharing my personal experiences and lending myself to an interested group of young, future construction managers. So, if the opportunity arises for you to give back to your school, or to a young man/woman interested in entering your field or industry, I highly encourage you to take that opportunity and run with it...you won't be disappointed!
Sincerely,
Matt Seals
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Seals and Porte Offer a Glimpse into the Challenges Facing Visalia's Retail Future
Matt Seals, chairman of the board of the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, and Mike Porte, chairman of the board of the Visalia Economic Development Corporation, raised questions and offered insight into the future of Visalia's retail plan. Seals' and Porte's analysis was featured as a three-part series in the Visalia Times Delta for three consecutive weeks in February, which looked at the past, present and potential future of Visalia's historic role as the regional retail leader. The articles identified the growth plans for Tulare to the south and Selma to the north and illustrated the direct impact this growth will have on Visalia's share of the regional retail business; the correlation between loss of retail sales and the significant loss of sales tax is alarming for Visalians. Access to retail stores is more than a matter of convenience; it directly affects the City's budget, parks and recreation and public services. Seals and Porte urged the Visalia City Council to develop an aggressive regional retail strategy not only to compete for retail market share with surrounding cities, but to curb any future potential loss of business volume in Visalia. "The game has changed and it's time for Visalia to look at a regional retail strategy that will serve us for another 30-plus years, not one that will peter out in another five years. If Visalia wants to maintain its regional retail role, it will need to physically position itself to do so by seriously looking at sites for these uses along SR 99." The following are links to the articles in the three-part series: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102040333 http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102110331 http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102180324
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Checking in at COS' New Tulare Campus College of the Sequoias' (State Center Community College District) Tulare Center for Agriculture & Technology is well into construction, with Seals/Biehle facilitating the concrete portion of the project. Seals/Biehle's services to the project include site & architectural concrete, structural footings, slab-on-grade, cast-in-place columns, and elevated structural decks for the new college campus, which includes multi-level buildings, facilities and parking lots. The total square footage of the project lies just shy of 118,000, with completion slated for January 2012. The $2.5 million contract to provide concrete services was awarded to Seals/Biehle in late April 2010, which joined the list of projects Seals/Biehle has provided services for at COS, which have included the remodel of the existing Admissions and Records Office and mechanical improvements to classrooms. 
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"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
--John Quincy Adams
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