When we got there, [the workers] were mixing concrete by hand. We chipped in and rented a small cement mixer to make the job go faster.

At first, we had to pull nails out of old boards, straighten them and use them again. We finally got some money up and bought some new nails.

Betty Montgomery believes the money should be given to the Bureau of Workers' Compensation. That's why she did that. Others apparently have different opinions.

Most of our workers are on the phone all day or need to be interacting with co-workers. We don't have a formal policy either way. They're smart enough to know when it's OK to use them.

[A shortage of skilled workers] can stop growth or even shrink a company. Especially as we move out of a product-based economy and into a knowledge-based one, finding people who have the skills to do what your company does is about the only competitive advantage you can have anymore.

The employment report certainly was positive for most workers. I can't find an area where the unemployment rate didn't decrease for any particular group.