October 23, 2026
Welcome to the 20th issue of our newsletter.
What an exciting month! Stay tuned for a historical restoration project, a fundraiser for a great cause, and an important message from Mike about the upcoming midterm season.
Ravenna Gemignani
Editor in Chief
Media Consultant
Project Spotlight
For the past few months, we have been working on a small community of five single-family homes in Ewing for Hakeem Adebayo. Each home includes 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a basement, and a 1-car garage. These are perfect as starter homes located in a great area and will include a small public park after construction is completed in November.
Builder Spotlight
Hakeem Adebayo
Hakeem Adebayo is an outstanding member of the Ewing community and has built many homes in the area. Recently, we had a chance to interview him to hear more about his building journey.
How did you get involved in construction?
I started building group homes in 2012 for people with disabilities. Then from there, I went on to build single family homes and homes throughout the Ewing and Hamilton area. Now I build homes all around New Jersey and have even built some in Pennsylvania.
How did you hear about Louis & Sons?
I was referred by my excavator, Anthony, and also found out that Louis & Sons even did the drywall in my own home. They did a fantastic job and everything was for a fair price.
What are some of your major challenges you face as a builder?
Supply chain management is one of the major challenges I face as a builder. Normally, you would have to go to separate companies to buy the material and then find somewhere else to complete the installation. I like Louis & Sons because they’re professional and make the process a lot easier because they already have the material and then install it for you.
What are some of your favorite projects that you’ve worked on with us?
The set of homes in Ewing that we’re currently working on is one of my favorites. It’s been a very big project for me.
Project Spotlight
Water Tower at the Ocean Township Historical Museum
First, we would like to thank Guy from GRS Construction for connecting us with the water tower restoration project. We’ve been working with Paul Edelson, director of the Ocean Township Historical Museum, to restore the Stucile Farm water tower that was originally built in the early 1900s. Standing 85 feet tall, the tower once housed pumps that took water from the nearby creek to irrigate the farm.
The new construction will include a meeting room and a stairway leading to the top of the tower. The property was originally owned by the Haupt family and the farm got its name from a combination of the Haupt children’s names, Stuart and Cecile. The water tower reconstruction project has been ongoing for 12 years and with our contributions, the inside will be open to the public soon.
Call Guy from GRS to start your next construction project: 908-770-0665
Employee Spotlight
Marcos is one of the warehouse managers at Louis & Sons and he has been with us for 4 years! He came to us with a lot of experience and stepped up when we needed him the most. In his spare time, he loves riding his bicycle and playing soccer. He has 2 girls and 1 boy and is a proud abuelo to 3 granddaughters now! Marcos is a vital member of the Louis & Sons team and we are grateful to have him.
Chefs for a Cure
On September 24th, we attended JAR of Hope’s annual “Chefs for a Cure” event at the TillingHouse in Suneagles Golf Course. We did the insulation and sheetrock installation for Suneagles with Martelli Signature Homes a few years ago and are active members of their chapter. This event features hand-crafted plates from 20 highly-respected local chefs and all proceeds went to help fund research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This year, NFL player Ottis “OJ” Anderson made an appearance!
Mike’s Message
By the time this article comes out, we will be days away from the midterm elections. I want to urge everyone to get out and vote. I’m not going to say who or what party to vote for. That’s up to you. But, I would like to point out the importance of this election. Depending on who shows up, this could be a major change in the power of government right now. I, like a lot of people, in the past, would just vote for a party line, not really researching who I was voting for. With today’s ability to Google anyone, you can really find out about what a candidate stands for. Maybe cross party lines if a candidate represents your values better than the party as a whole.
The attack ads on TV are often misleading and are not of much help deciding. They go something like this:
“CANDIDATE JOHN DOE VOTES WITH HIS PARTY 100% OF THE TIME. ALSO, HE NEVER RETURNS HIS SHOPPING CART TO THE SHOPPING CART RETURN AREA. HE JUST LEAVES IT IN THE PARKING LOT. DOESN’T HE KNOW THAT A STRONG WIND CAN HURL THAT CART DIRECTLY AT YOU, KILLING YOU AND YOUR BABY! MAYBE HE JUST DOESN’T CARE. HE ALSO HATES PUPPIES.”
“CANDIDATE JANE SMITH VOTES WITH HER PARTY 100% OF THE TIME. ALSO, SHE GIVES OUT TERRIBLE CANDY ON HALLOWEEN. WHO GIVES OUT NECCO WAFERS AND BAGS OF PENNIES? MAYBE SHE JUST DOESN’T CARE ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN! SHE ALSO HATES KITTENS!”
Yeah that’s not helpful. They say all politics is local and that’s true. Focus on what really matters to your own personal situation. Since this message primarily goes out to the builders and homeowners, ask yourself what is really important to our industry. Which candidate would best serve our situation to make our business easier?
Everyone should vote as selfishly as possible. Everyone’s issues get tabulated and at the end, the majority issue is represented. That’s democracy.
Midterm elections tend to have lower turnout. Some constituents believe that if their party is ahead, why bother turning up. Or conversely if their party is behind, their vote won’t count. This really is a problem because polling is so inaccurate these days. Public opinion organizations like the Pew Research Center have extensively documented challenges in modern polling. Declining landline usage and low response rates make reaching a representative sample difficult, leading to polling errors if certain demographic or ideological groups are under-sampled.1
Also, voter apathy is a problem. We have been bombarded by many negative ads, it’s hard to know who to trust. What voters really need is verifiable, relevant information about candidates’ policy positions and records to make a confident choice at the ballot box. Close to 90 million people chose not to vote in the 2024 election.2 You need to look beyond the noise and find who best represents you. You may even leave a couple of seats blank if you can’t decide, but just focus on one candidate.
Keep in mind, if you don’t get out to vote, you really can’t complain about how things turn out. Our forefathers sacrificed everything to give us this right and there are some parties now that would like to make it harder to vote. It’s important that you show up and be counted.
So, as they said back in Tammany Hall days, “Vote early and Vote often!” Just kidding! I really believe that our voting system is the best in the world and is accurate, but if you have any doubt, the only way is to show up and do your part.
A wise man once said, “Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed often and for the same reasons.”
Happy Halloween and Happy Voting, everyone and keep building!
Thanks,
Mike Gemignani
President
Footnotes
- Keeter, Scott, et al. “What Low Response Rates Mean for Telephone Surveys.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 15 May 2017, www.pewresearch.org/methods/2017/05/15/what-low-response-rates-mean-for-telephone-surveys/.
- Kronenberg, Alan. “How Many People Didn’t Vote in the 2024 Election?” U.S.News, 15 Nov. 2024, www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-11-15/how-many-people-didnt-vote-in-the-2024-election.
Cartoons
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 and stories that get us through our tension-filled days.
The History of Halloween
Did you know Halloween started in Ireland over 2,000 years ago? It began as the Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the change in seasons from light to dark seasons. Celts believed that the veil separating the worlds of the living and dead was at its thinnest so they wore costumes to fend off the evil spirits. Christian officials tried to make their own holiday at this time to stop their members from practicing non-Christian festivals.
Pope Gregory III deemed November 1st as All Saints’ Day to commemorate Christian martyrs and saints and November 2nd became All Souls Day to remember those who have passed. Later, All Saints’ Day became known as All Hallows’ Day and the day before became All Hallows’ Eve, then later Halloween. The holiday became popular in the US when Irish immigrants came to the country and shared their traditions.
Source: nypl.org
Jokes
How do you fix a broken pumpkin?
With a pumpkin patch!
What do vegetarian zombies eat?
Graaaains!
What’s the problem with twin witches?
You never know which witch is which.
Quotes
“Anything human is mentionable, and anything mentionable is manageable.”
— Margaret McFarland, American psychologist
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, American author
“Play by the rules, but be ferocious.”
— Phil Knight, Founder of Nike
