Daring to go where few - if any - remodelers have gone before, the individuals and companies on these pages have raised the bar for the remodeling industry and dragged the rest of us, occasionally kicking and screaming, with them.

A former vocational education teacher in Parsippany, N.J., Bill Asdal, CGR, has been promoting technical and managerial construction education throughout his professional life.

Lots of people read 'Fixing to Stay,' a study of Americans older than 45 that was released by AARP in 2000.

Don't compare Harrell Remodeling's 1-year-old employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) to that of United Airlines, Enron or WorldCom.

The roots of green remodeling run deep at 25-year-old Shirey Contracting in Issaquah, Wash., a Seattle suburb.

Anyone who has recently tried to purchase commercial insurance knows that rates have skyrocketed.

Even successful remodelers should occasionally look back at the same time they're trying to peer into the future.

Jeffrey Glass, CEO of Construction Concepts Corp. in Stamford, Conn., knows from experience that a great-looking project doesn't necessarily translate into a great photograph.

Bill Simone, owner of Custom Design & Construction in Los Angeles, used to spend at least 15 minutes on the telephone going through the fine points of an open position with each job applicant only to find that many callers weren't a fit.

Trying to make your customer brochure a standout? Why not skip the brochure entirely?