September 24, 2025
Welcome to the seventh issue of our newsletter.
The leaves are starting to change colors which means it’s time for a new edition of our monthly newsletter. As always, if you have a project that you would like to feature in the next issue or know someone that would be interested in receiving our newsletter, let us know.
Thanks for reading,
Ravenna Gemignani
Editor in Chief
Media Consultant
Project Spotlight
This month, we’ve been working on this beautiful home in Asbury Park for Captivating Construction, located close to the boardwalk and across from some lovely murals painted by Bradley Hoffer. From the Zombie Walk to the Stone Pony Summer Stage, there’s always something fun going on in Asbury which makes it the perfect place to live.
Spotlight on Your Favorite Employee at Louis & Sons
In this section, we hope to get you familiar with some of the great people we have working here
José Jr has been with us for two years and took over after his father, José Sr, who worked here for 12 years. He installs batt insulation and manages his crew, making sure every job is done right. He is kindhearted and always happy to help out. He is married and has a four-year-old son named Jese. Outside of work, José likes to play soccer on a team. He also studied tourism in Honduras. José Jr is an invaluable asset to our team and we are so lucky to have him.
First Day of School!
On Wednesday September 3rd, Javier Rangel’s son, little Javier, had his very first day of kindergarten. We know he’s going to have a year filled with new friends, fun discoveries, and plenty of learning. We’re so proud of our Louis & Sons family, both on and off the jobsite.
Special Note: If you would like to share any personal events with the Louis & Sons family, we would love to add you to our newsletter.
Please send any info to ravennagemignani@gmail.com
JAR of Hope’s Chefs For A Cure Event
On September 10th, we attended JAR of Hope’s Chefs For A Cure event at The TillingHouse at Suneagles Golf Club with Martelli Signature Homes. We did the insulation and drywall for this venue and it was great to give back to the community and help the cause. JAR of Hope is an organization that funds research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a fatal genetic disorder that affects 300,000 boys worldwide. The Chefs For A Cure Event features hand-crafted plates from 20 acclaimed chefs in the area to share their culinary talents and fundraise to help find a cure to DMD.
To learn more about JAR of Hope, please visit https://www.jarofhope.org/
News
NJ Dept of Labor and Workforce (NJDOL) Grants $1.5 Million in Funding to Train Minority and Women Veterans in Construction Trades
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce has announced $1.5 million in available funding through NJBUILD’s Women and Minority Veterans in Construction Trades Program. This organization supports women and minorities looking to go into a construction trade through apprenticeship training and job placement. It is open to veterans from the National Guard and Reserve. Retired and transitioning active-duty military members are also welcomed. Since FY2024, NJDOL has given about $8.9 million in NJBUILD funding to 19 organizations which have supported the training of about 809 women and minorities in the construction industry.
To learn more, visit:
Remembering Dan Coles
Last week, I got sad news. My friend Dan Coles had passed away. We are currently working on a project of his in Rumson that he was the construction manager of. The homeowner Hans, kindly called and gave me the news. To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I just talked to him last week. You see, Dan was much more than a friend or client. He was my former boss, mentor, and a person I greatly looked up to. In the summer of 1978, my brother and I were about to turn 13. My father decided this was the time we should go to work. He placed me with Danny and his brother Rob to learn to sheetrock. Bob went with Joe Capari to learn to tape and spackle.
The seventies were like the wild west in the construction and drywall world. Most of the workers were American, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, and Puerto Rican. We had crews like the Joe Irons crew – basically a biker gang who could knock out a house and three cases of beer a day.
George and Charlie, George looked exactly like John Carrodine from the vampire movies and Charlie was a good ol boy with flaming red hair. Louie and Richie who looked like Mutt and Jeff (ask your parents), Chris the Greek, Juan the Puerto Rican, LeRoy the black guy, Fat Charlie, Desi the Hungarian, Steve the other Hungarian, Karl the German, Clyde from the South, and Trent from Oklahoma. He even had a guy from who knows where that wore a vest and a hat made of old ties and a copper wire around his hat to keep aliens from reading his thoughts. He was a good taper though.
Rounding out this cast of characters was Tiny, Dan’s father. He worked for my father delivering spackle, drywall, and supporting the crews. He had a huge belly that he liked to rest a beer can on and in the winter he looked just like a bad Santa.
I think the Coles boys were my father’s favorites. He trusted them with me and I guess me with them. Dan could always make my father laugh.
My father paid me to work with Dan and Rob (a whole five dollars a day) but he made it clear Dan and Rob were my bosses.
They taught me to nail, cut angles, cut out electric boxes and hang drywall. Mostly at first I was a gopher and started out in closets where people wouldn’t notice the missed nails and mangled boards. That summer I learned drywall, but I also learned geometry, fractions, physics, time management, and most of all: life.
Dan and Rob were kind and patient with me. They bought me a coffee every morning, picked me up, and dropped me off home. It’s only writing this now that I really appreciate what they did for me. I guess I took it for granted. They worked piece work, by the board as we still do now. Time really is money when you work this way. I’m sure I cost them money when they had to take the time to show me what to do and fix my mistakes. They worked really hard every day, but were always cheerful. We listened to 102.7 WNEW radio classic rock (back then it was just rock). Dan told me his favorite bands and I learned a lot about music those years.
I worked with them every summer and winter break up until graduating high school. Dan took me to see the Elton John free concert in Central Park and the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
As I got older, he was a confidant of sorts, a big brother or uncle. He gave me advice like: there are no problems, only solutions. Dan was in the US Army in Vietnam, but he never talked about it other than the friends he made with his fellow soldiers. He was an aviator. He took his small Cessna all over the east coast. He was a seasoned sailor and took me out on his catamaran all the time.
Dan moved on from drywall to bigger and better things. We lost touch for a while but since he became a construction manager, he would always hire my company and make sure I got paid.
Dan loved life and people and people loved him. If you ever met him, you know how genuine and charming he could be. Dan started a family a little later than most, but he was so proud of his son, daughter, and wife. On the jobs, he would always take time to boast about their accomplishments. I could tell the love he had for them. I truly will miss my friend, Dan. I will miss his laugh the most.
In this section, I usually give helpful hints on construction, but thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell you about my friend. My advice this month is something you already know but may need to be reminded like I did.
Tell the people you are close to what you think of them and how much you appreciate them. I wish I did that with Dan.
Thanks,
Michael Gemignani
President
Caroline’s Corner – Words of Wisdom
Anyone who has met or talked to our Office Manager will know that she is the most positive, optimistic and wonderful person you will ever meet. She often has quotes that get us through our tension-filled days. We thought we would like to include her in our newsletter in a section we call “Caroline’s Corner – Words of Wisdom.”
“There is peace even in a storm” – Vincent Van Gogh
Cartoon
Jokes
I walked past a homeless guy with a sign that read, “One day this could be you.” I put my money back in my pocket, just in case he is right.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away…if you throw it hard enough
Quotes
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”
― Robert Frost, American poet
“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”
― Karen Lamb, American author
Louis & Sons Drywall, Inc. 