News and Events

Straight from the classrooms of  University of  Maryland, we bring you….Nancy Rogan, Jared Freeman and Cassie Thompson.  We welcome them to the ETC internship program and hope they enjoy their Spring semester with us.

HEY SUPER BOWL FANS!  DIDYAKNOW….

8 million pounds of guacamole are consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.

14,500 tons of chips are eaten along with that guacamole.

The average number of people at a super bowl party is 17.

5% of Americans will watch the game alone.

Of the top 10 most watched television programs of all time, 9 of them are Super Bowls.

Budweiser has been the exclusive Super Bowl beer advertiser for the past 13 years.

The Super Bowl is measured in Roman numerals because a football season runs the span over two calendar years. The year the season began in 20010 and ends in 2011.

Since the 1980s the Super Bowls have always started around 6pm Eastern Standard Time.

More drivers are involved in alcohol-related accidents on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year (except St. Patrick’s Day), according to the Insurance Information Institute.

35% of people who attend the game write it off as a corporate expense.

Over 700,000 footballs are produced annually for official NFL use and 72 of them are used for the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl fans spend more than $50 million on food during the 4 days prior to the super bowl.

Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest winter grilling day of the year.

The Marlyn Condominium is one PRIME TIME  property that we have had the pleasure of working with for several years.  When they talk about “location” this property sure takes center stage.  Located in a beautiful part of Washington DC, it’s  just minutes from all the excitement this city has to offer!  We are so glad that Zalco has added APRIL STEWARD to this property’s  famous cast and crew.  She is doing a wonderful job handling the daily challenges  of a condominium.  There’s no doubt she’s got what it takes (along with a great board & staff) to keep this star-property shining bright!

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is reconnecting with old friends and visiting with colleagues outside of the office.  It’s great fun hearing about every one’s holiday traditions, their plans for the coming year and reflecting back on 2010.  Please enjoy a few pictures of ETC with our extended professional family.  Great to see everyone again….look forward to working with you in 2011!

What a pleasure running into one of our professional friends, Nick Cowie of Cowie and Motts, PA (Balitmore, MD). and his lovely wife Elizabeth.  It was very exciting to hear of his most recent accomplishment of passing  new legislation to further protect our condominium owners when it comes to warranty claims.  To find out further information on this topic please read the  following article: Warranty_Reform_Legislation_Comes_To_Maryland_(Beacon) 

For any of our clients who have communities which are experiencing construction defect issues, Nick will (without fee or obligation) review and analyze the community’s documents and meet with the board at the condominium to advise them of: (1) the statutory warranties that apply and when they expire; (2) the importance of a transition study; and (3) his recommendations for obtaining proper developer repairs.  I guess you can say….membership (with ETC) has its privileges!! 

Thanks Nick for all you do to better the condominium industry!

Sometimes you just have to get nose to nose with a problem area on a building façade to figure out why it is leaking or cracking.  So our staff routinely finds themselves in the basket of a boom lift to check out a building.  We have offered to take Property Managers with us to see the problems up close, but no one has taken us up on the offer.  The view is great from 12-stories up in a small basket.  Our staff is not afraid of heights so it is OK if you are.  We’ll let you know what we find.

You may remember a month or so ago I introduced you to one of our newest engineer and told of her upcoming nuptials.  Well, the big day came and what a lovely day it was.  Please allow me to introduce….Mrs. Alicia Afroilan (Walker).

Most of us thought  Tom Dugger, one of ETC’s longest staff members, would remain a confirmed bachlor forever;  however we were wrong. One day life decided to throw Tom the most perfect woman and together they had the most perfect baby.  Now how’s that for a perfect ending!  Please allow me to introduce Tom and his lovely daughter Ella.

Days after purchasing her very first house, Lorena Michel,  decided a house was not a home without a puppy.  The problem was when she went to pick-out her loyal companion, she couldn’t say “no” to just one!  Please allow me to introduce you to the newest members of the ETC team.…poopie & wee-wee. I do hope they out grow their nicknames soon.  Lorena’s new house and roommates will  be thankful!!

BEST WISHES TO ALL OF YOU!!

This father and daughter team are out to make a change and we are proud to support their efforts!

It is now official… Chris Carlson of ETC, was elected President of the Baltimore-Washington Chapter of the ICRI (International Concrete Repair Institute) for the 2011 Calendar year. 

The BW-ICRI Chapter has the largest membership of any chapter in the world with about 160 representatives of local consulting firms, construction companies, material suppliers, and property managers.  Our local chapter includes many of the founders of the concrete repair industry including many nationally recognized industry leaders. The chapter is actively involved in community outreach through work with Habitat for Humanity, Carver Vocational Technical High School, and last year awarded eight scholarships to deserving college students as well as those in the industry seeking to improve their skills.  

The Chapter has been recognized nationally as the Chapter of the Year many times (most recently last year) and Chris hopes to continue this tradition of excellence and leadership in the industry.

We’d also like to give mention to Chris’s daughter Molly, who will be traveling to Kenya to work at an orphanage in June 2011.  One of her intended projects is to provide  basic computer training to the children. She is hoping to take many donated laptops to be left for their use.  If anyone has old laptops they would consider donating, please let me know (nothing special, just operable).   Receive a tax deduction while helping orphans in Kenya.

Several of our staff attended the University of Maryland Career Fair in College Park, MD.  It was a pleasure talking with such exceptionally strong candidates for full time employment, as well as  internships.  In attendance for ETC were two Maryland University Alumni, one in which came to us as a young intern several years ago.  We are  hopeful this year to find another perfect match for our company!