Annual Meeting Celebration
On June 24th, we came together as a company to collaborate, learn, ask questions and celebrate Island Lighting and Power Systems turning 30 years old! It is rare that we can all gather together with the busy schedule and the majority of employees being in the field most days. This year in particular was a special meeting, as it is our 30th anniversary in business. We took a quick trip down memory lane and looked at where ILP started and how it has grown to a highly successful, family business. Even though our owner, Jim O’Neil hates the spotlight, we did of course take the time to congratulate and celebrate the incredible dedication and hard work that he has put into building this company. He truly built it from the ground up and his leadership, honesty and dedication has made ILP what it is today.
We welcomed several guests that provided new content to the group. We had Karl Bertelmann, from B&B Construction and Safety group. He demonstrated best practices for fall safety and protection as well as providing fall equipment to try on. Russell Carlson, from Milwaukee Tools set up a table with some of the latest and greatest tools for the field for everyone to try out. Redwing shoes stopped by with their Mobile Boot van to assist the guys in selecting new work boots, which is always a big hit! At the end of the meeting we had the Kona Ice truck (another small business) from Cumberland, stopped by to cool everyone off before saying goodbye for the day. We really look forward to this event every year to build relationships and strengthen communication, so it will definitely be a yearly tradition going forward.
NEPPA Membership
We were recently accepted as a member of NEPPA (New England Public Power Association). The primary goal of NEPPA is “to develop and unite public utility professionals by advancing their knowledge, capabilities, and voice in the public power industry and workplace. ” We are very excited that two of our employees were accepted into the 4 year Lineworker program. It is a curriculum developed and taught by the Northwest Lineman College’s certification program. It combines hands on training and formal classroom instruction spread out over 4 years. Along with our membership we have access to a variety of in person or virtual training sessions. We are looking forward to a collaborative relationship with NEPPA going forward.
Goodbye to 2021….
As we look ahead to our 30th year in business, we are grateful for the partnerships we have made over the years as well as the new relationships that we have forged this year. Here is a recap of several of our largest projects in 2021. This past year was certainly filled with many ups and downs given the ever present Covid-19 health crisis, but as a company we were able to overcome them and have a successful 2021. We are thankful to all of our talented staff and crew, we couldn’t do it without them. Cheers to a busy and prosperous 2022 for all!
Field of Dreams
” If you build it, they will come.” That quote is from the famous baseball movie, Field of Dreams and is a real life mantra for World Series Park superintendent, Bob Davis. World Series Park was built in Saugus, MA in 2003 and quickly became a premier baseball facility for the city and surrounding communities. The only thing holding them back from having more games and opportunities was the lack of field lighting. Since 2004, Davis has made it his mission to make lights a reality for World Series Park. He has tirelessly worked to receive donations from local business and community members. Finally, in the summer of 2021 Bob Davis’ dream came true. World Series Park is dedicated to advancing the future of Saugus baseball and other local & state teams by providing the best opportunity for playing baseball.
Solar Carports
We recently finished a Solar Carport project with No Fossil Fuel and CMK Construction in Kingston, MA. What started off as a small project lead to building the largest Solar canopy in New England. It is 4.6 mw and is located on 11.5 acres of already cleared land and will have parking spots available for commercial and residential leasing. Solar Carports are one of the fastest growing trends in the solar industry. They offer great long term monetary and environmental benefits. Carports help hedge against the rising utility costs that businesses are facing. Solar Carports can also lower utility costs, stabilize a business’ cash flow and reduce their carbon footprint.
Another thing that makes Solar Carports desirable is that no additional space is needed to achieve maximum efficacy. A roof solar array is limited to the roof size but that is not the case with carports. Carports are ground mounted and utilize the already available parking spaces at the business. These carports allow for significant savings whether it be in the form of credits from the utility company or by selling generated energy back to the grid for a higher price. There is a dramatic increase in this type of project lately with more business’ choosing to go this route in order to save money and become a more sustainable presence in the community.
