Dear People,
With hope for the future, I am running for the State Senate because I believe in future generations, our children and our grandchildren. I want them to experience the best life possible. My beliefs, assets, and experiences will lead Minnesotans to become aware that in facing a changing world, we need to make conscious choices that lead to adjusted lifestyles. My positions on the issues are well covered on my website. Please study vancenorgaard.com. Today I want to talk about trust and experience.
In my careers I have worked next to and across the table from laborers to corporation officers. I have been both a laborer and a large company officer. As a laborer, I expected to be paid for my work. At that time, minimum wage was about $3.00 an hour. Young and inexperienced, I could see only the three dollar wage rate and not beyond.
When I was a company owner and officer, I learned the “beyond†part! I experienced all of the responsibility and accountability that it took to employ individuals. When I hired a seasonal person, that person trusted that I would provide a job with a safe working environment that would last the season. This employee also expected that I, on behalf of my company, would pay all wages on time and in full, ensuring all benefits, trust funds, and compliance with union rules. When I hired an administrative employee, that person trusted that the job would be secure for years to come, plus all of the same trusts in me that the laborer had. In turn, I trusted the laborer and the administrative employee to show up for work and give me their best, quality and consistent efforts.
When I signed a multi-million dollar contract with a utility corporation officer, he trusted that our company would use the safest and highest quality standards to install thousands of natural gas service lines and millions of feet of main ground pipe in highly-populated areas. Service lines and mains carry and deliver natural gas which is combustible and explosive, and there was no room for error. In turn, I trusted that the officer would make sure that my company was paid in full and on time for the execution of the work. Many times work would begin before the signature ink was dry on the legal contracts. I trusted the utility would live up to their agreements.
When I purchased equipment to do the work, the equipment suppliers trusted that they would be paid for their equipment, even though many times the equipment was being used on the job site before any paperwork was signed. All it took was a phone call. And trust.
When I bid a job, all of the employees, all of the suppliers, and all of the utility companies trusted that the job would be bid correctly; however, correctly meant different things to different people. The employees trusted that the contracts were not bid too high; otherwise, there would not be work. The suppliers trusted that our company would get the bid so they could continue to get paid on the equipment they sold us. The utility company trusted that we would bid the contract low enough to fit their budgets, yet bid high enough to ensure a peak quality job.
Financial institutions trusted we would repay them. Surety companies bonded our company, guaranteed our performance, and trusted the people that owned and administered the company.
Now that is experience. You be the judge.
Send a Message: Trust Norgaard’s experience—professionals do.
Vance Norgaard for Senate
www.vancenorgaard.com