Cypress Construction Christmas Party 2012!

 12/21/12 – Today, we celebrated the year past, and the coming 18th year of Cypress Construction Services with a festive Christmas party at Center Street Grill in Santa Cruz! How grateful I am to have had such a good year that we could come together and take time out to appreciate each other, and the fine folks we’ve worked for this year. As usual, it starts out with a long-winded speech by the boss. As I looked around the table at the 16 talented men (and woman) that work for Cypress, many of whom brought their spouses to share in the festivities, I couldn’t help but think about the past year and the many challenges we overcame to be here.

Next up, a rare viewing of last year’s irreverent video chronicling our history - “Cypress Construction…from the beginning.”

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

 

And it was time to eat, drink, and be merry! Hat’s off to Center Street Grill for the great food, service, decorations, and professionalism. They were so easy to work with!

Then it was awards time. I’m very proud to have awarded certificates and gift cards to the following:

Martin Hernandez – Most Improved Employee

Nick Rahall – Best New Employee

Juan Acosta - Most Valuable Player/MVP

Congratulations to all!

Then it was time for our traditional “Great Moments In Cypress History” where I’ve handed out memorable (good or bad) quotes from various jobs throughout the year, and we all try and remember where the quote came from. Needless to say, many were fond memories, and some that we’d rather forget…

Finally, it was the Secret Santa gift exchange, and wishing everyone a Happy Holiday, and a nice, long 4 ½ day weekend!

CCS From the Beginning

The year was 1995. I moved to Santa Cruz to go to UCSC and study psychology. Faced with limited options for part-time work, I chose to put the skills that my parents had taught me to good use as a handyman, rather than slinging coffee at Starbucks. And Cypress Construction Services was born.

Last week, I put together a video history of Cypress - "From the Beginning."  Enjoy!

Cypress Construction Services - "From the Beginning" - 5minutes 17seconds

Cypress at ECHO Fall Seminar

9/20/08 - Cypress Construction is proud to be a member of ECHO - the Executive Council of Homeowners. ECHO is a nonprofit membership corporation dedicated to assisting California homeowners associations (HOAs), and twice annually have these informative and interesting seminars at the Seacliff Inn in Aptos.

Because so much of our business is serving HOA's, it's important to me to not only network within the HOA communities, but to learn as much as possible about the legal, logistical, and maintenance issues that HOAs face. Every Seminar has a cadre of speakers on a given topic, and during breaks, attendees can visit the 9 or 10 vendor booths and learn about HOA-related banking, maintenance, property managers, etc.

This Seminar's theme was Legal Issues facing HOAs in 2008. With excellent speakers and powerpoint presentations, attendees learned from recent HOA-related Case Laws, Funding and Delinquent Issues, and Dealing with Difficult Residents.

For me, it's always a pleasure to be out there meeting new folks, old friends, and sometimes getting to meet customers in person that I'd only dealt with on the phone! Cypress Construction Services has a Trade Show booth that we take to these Seminars.
Of course, one of the great attractions is the raffle prizes that we vendors give way in the raffle drawing at the end of the Seminar. We gave away "Dinner and a Movie in Santa Cruz"- a $30 Gift Certificate from Benten Japanese Restaurant and a $30 Gift Card for the Del Mar or Nickelodeon Theaters.

Thanks to all who attended, and the the good folks at ECHO, who make these Seminars possible.

Cypress Goes To JLC Trade Show in LA!

May 15-16th, 2008-
5 employees of Cypress Construction attend a 2-day trade convention held in Long Beach, sponsored by the Journal of Light Construction.
Juan, Levi, Jose Garcia, Adrian, and Jose Gallardo went to the convention to
learn about the latest building materials, tools, new building techniques, and to brush up on their trades skills.

Signing in to the convention on the first day, they waste no time in getting started making the rounds. Here a vendor demonstrates a new siding shingle product.

New building products, such as hi-

tech vapor barriers, shower drains,

shingle siding panels, solar technology, new framing materials and methods (as shown here)...

In fact, when put to the test, the Cypress crew entered a race against the vendor with the shingle siding panels, and actually installed the old-style shingles as fast as the vendor installed the panels!

Here, they share the spoils of war...

So, despite a flat tire, some glitches checking in, and some interesting stories about the hotel swimming pool, the men learned a lot, and had a great time together. Hats off to you all !