“Too often, construction jobs are still considered a ‘man’s’ job,” said Harrell Remodeling CEO, Iris Harrell. “We’re working to dispel this myth and let girls know that they are extremely capable of succeeding in a career in the building industry, if that’s the path they choose to take.”

At the workshop-which took place at the Harrell Remodeling office in Mountain View-the young girls rotated from station to station, learning about plumbing, electrical work, carpentry and painting, tools and energy conservation. Each station offered specific information, such as how to replace a faucet washer and screen, replace smoke alarm batteries, caulk, touch up paint, weather stripping and using a hammer.

“It was an eye-opening experience for the girls,” said Harrell. “It was great to see them realize that-whether they want a career in construction or simply want to do a home repair-they are fully capable of succeeding.”

“And, they looked like they were having a lot of fun with their projects,” she added.

Harrell began the workshop with a discussion on women in construction, preparing for a career in construction and the skills needed to run a remodeling company. The workshops also meet Girl Scout Ms. Fix-It badge requirements developed by the Scouts.

“It’s important for me to educate young girls and women about the opportunities available to them in the building industry,” Harrell said.

“My goal for Ms. Fix-It is to empower girls to believe in themselves as construction workers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, or whatever they want to be.”

“She and her mother planted all kinds trees on their own properties and in areas by creeks where they would never [go back to] see them grow,” Harrell says.

They would also break the law by crossing the county line near their Dallas home to recycle illegally, such was their dedication to their mission.

Harrell, who grew up in rural North Carolina, was raised with different values.

“We would just find a place in the woods to dump something,” she says. “Where I come from, something new is better than something used or recycled.”

She became even more mindful of her impact on the environment as the owner of a general contracting company.

“We have a lot of impact on the dump,” she says. So several years ago she had a trainer from the nonprofit Build It Green conduct a two-day green building course for her architects, designers and production staff, who earned certification as green builders. About a year ago, the organization conducted a continuing education course for Harrell’s company.

In order to make their knowledge more complete and to fill in any gaps, she also had a consultant from Santa Clara County’s Green Business Program coach them. The company is certified as a green business from that program as well.

She and her staff have learned a lot.

“We make sure that the demolitions we do are more deconstructions. We are taking less to the dump. The person we use to demolish buildings recycles a lot. As a company, we are identifying products that are more sustainable,” Harrell says.

In addition, they are focusing on energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems and appliances in their remodels.

Lisa Rose, senior management analyst with the County of Santa Clara, heads the county’s Green Business Program. She has seen an increase in the number of businesses that are interested in learning more about reducing their impact on the environment, as well an increase in the number of green consultants.

“People are [learning about this subject] for both civic reasons and to increase the bottom line,” she says.

The Green Business Program, which is available in all nine Bay Area counties, will send a consultant to small and medium-sized businesses to assess what they are doing and make suggestions for improvement.

Businesses can become certified by the organization as green by performing a certain number actions from a menu of choices.

“There are a lot of things they can implement that can save them money,” says Rose. “It just makes good business sense. They protect not only the health of their employees but the community at large.”

The program is designed for specific industries, among which are auto repair, hotels, office/retail, landscapers, printers, restaurants and remodeling contractors. There may soon be programs for dental offices in the county.

So far, about 160 businesses in the county have become certified.

Another local company that is trying to lessen its environmental impact is The Sereno Group, a Los Gatos realty company, which became certified by the Green Business Program in April.

Sean Manning, a Realtor with the company, says they were looking for more ways to become involved with the community. They formed several in-house committees, one of which deals with environmental issues.

So they asked the Green Business Program to send a consultant. “The initial goal was to find out how to become more energy conscious. They did a walkthrough and gave us a great direction,” he says.

Among the many actions they took to become certified were initiating a recycling program and installing a more energy efficient fluorescent light system, for which they got a PG&E rebate that covered most of the cost, according to Manning.

“They spoke at our office meetings and we were very impressed with them. They were extremely helpful and gave us lots of ideas,” he says.

Article written by Danek S. Kaus who is a freelance writer based in Mountain View and first appeared in the Sept. 21, 2007 issue of the San Jose Business Journal.

As part of a Beautiful Day project, Jensen and other volunteers installed an electric wheelchair lift, so that Romayor can now exit her home independently and with ease.

“It was very hard for her to get out of her house,” said Jensen. “She was very excited to learn about the lift.”

But the wheelchair lift wasn’t the only home improvement Romayor’s home received. Jensen and more than 100 volunteers and 10 businesses—working with San Jose’s code enforcement department—also built a two-car garage, extended the driveway, landscaped and fenced the front yard, repaired stairs and removed three bins of trash.

Romayor lost part of her right leg about two years ago due to diabetes. Since then, she has been unable to work or take care of her home, which is located southwest of downtown San Jose. Her daughter Alex Romayor, who lives with her, works a graveyard shift so that she can take care of her mother during the day.

“They were both very happy to receive our help,” Jensen said.

Beautiful Day is an organization that was launched by WestGate Church in West San Jose two years ago and today counts more than 30 churches among its members. Jensen learned about Beautiful Day from his pastor two years ago and has been donating his time, energy and design + build skill set to Beautiful Day volunteer efforts ever since.

“These are wonderful projects to be a part of,” Jensen said.

When houses are cited in blight—due perhaps to numerous complaints from neighbors—the city often contacts organizations like Beautiful Day for volunteer help. The city, Beautiful Day and local businesses—such as KB Homes and 84 Lumber, who donated materials for the Romayor home—come together to improve the home’s impact on its residents, community and environment.

Harrell Remodeling is a leading provider of Universal Design—also known as Aging in Place design. Harrell Remodeling prides itself on its ability to meet the unique needs of individuals with disabilities using a design + build approach that is as tasteful and elegant as it is functional and comfortable.