(A poem by Edgar Guest)

I watched them tearing a building down,
a gang of men in a busy town.

With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell,
they swung a beam and a side wall fell.

I said to the foreman, "Are these as skilled
as the men you'd hire if you had to build?"

He gave me a laugh and said, No, indeed!"
Common labor is all we need.

We can wreck in a day or two,
what takes builders a year to do."

So I asked myself as I went my way,
"Which of these roles have I tried to play?

"Am I a builder who works with care,
measuring life with rule and square?"

"Or am I a wrecker, who walks my town,
content with the labor of tearing down?"



What are we? Hopefully, we are builders. If that is what we are, then I suggest that we, as Dakotas Chapter NECA and, more importantly, as our electrical industry's spokesmen, respond to the challenges of our future.

Plan to attend your Division meeting and invite a non-member contributing employer as your guest. It is time to be "builders," one and all.