Jim Yankle, long-time IFMA member and co-owner of Excel Interiors, Inc., one of two Central Ohio Chapter sponsors featured in this month's newsletter, was preparing for life as an educator when he literally thumbed his way into a career in the construction industry.

Yankle, a student at The Ohio State University, was pursuing a bachelor's degree in education, aspiring to be a school principal or involved in some other aspect of school administration. Even though he had completed his student teaching in Westerville and Columbus schools and was about ready to embark as an educator, Yankle said, "I just didn't feel it was what I wanted to do…I just wasn't satisfied."

Yankle decided to return to his hometown of Youngstown and was hitchhiking-you could do that in those days-along I-71 on the northern edge of Columbus when Kim Kimbrough, an associate of Banning and Pickett, a Columbus development company, offered him a ride.

During the ride, the conversation shifted to Yankle's schooling and his plans for the future. Kimbrough expressed his company's need for bright, young associates with college degrees and offered to pass Yankle's name and telephone number along to the personnel department.

A few days later, Yankle was called for an interview.

"They told me to bring a transcript of my grades to the interview. They didn't ask for a resume, which is something that I have never had to prepare," he said.

During the interview, he was told that if he felt he had the ability to learn construction techniques-he didn't have to do any actual construction, but he had to learn and recognize when the work was done properly-the position of construction superintendent trainee was his.

Yankle worked for Banning and Pickett for four years, leaving as a superintendent to work as a project manager for drywall installation for the J. M. Valan Co. He was associated with Valan for four years also and involved in several major projects, including construction of the American Electric Power headquarters building in downtown Columbus, St. Ann's Hospital in Westerville, and the city's first convention center at the Hyatt Regency Columbus.

In 1982, Yankle joined Maghie and Savage for a four-year stint until he and Tim Maghie, a son of one of the company owners, decided to go into business for themselves and formed Excel Interiors, Inc., a service-based interior construction company specializing in metal framing, gypsum drywall, acoustical ceilings, finish carpentry, and plastic laminate fabrications.

Almost since its inception, Yankle has been an active member of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter. He, too, credits John Cleland as being instrumental in his affiliation with the chapter.

While Yankle has served on the chapter's Membership and Program committees, he is the driving force behind the annual golf outing, one of the most successful and "looked-forward-to" events of the year.

Yankle has been in charge of the event for 12 years, taking over from Pat Kennedy after the first year. The event took a considerable amount of Yankle's time originally, but not so today because "I have things pretty much down pat." For the past few years, the outing has been at the Shamrock Golf Club where for $45 "you can play a round of golf, enjoy a barbecue, and hopefully win some golf prizes," Yankle said.

"The location is convenient for most people, it's a good course, and they offer a nice cookout. I feel most people come for the social aspect, not to play the best course in the city. We don't award grand prizes for the best golfers, but we can afford to give all the players prizes with the generous donations of all the IFMA members."

To this point, Yankle has managed to keep the rain at bay, predicting "It never rains on the golf course when the IFMA organization gets together for an afternoon."

Yankle, and his wife, Davene, a nurse at Grant Medical Center, reside in Powell and are the parents of three children, Dylan, 9; Chandler, 7; and Spencer, 4. The Yankles are heavily involved in the various forms of youth baseball and in Indian Princesses, where fathers organize camping trips and outdoor activities with their daughters.

All this just because of a thumb!

Eleven years ago, Excel Interiors, Inc., invaded the Columbus market as a service-based interior construction company specializing in metal framing, gypsum drywall, acoustical ceilings, finish carpentry, plastic laminate and custom casework.

The company opened for business with two determined and experienced owners, three employees, and a declaration that "If you will give us a chance to perform your work, we will work to your complete satisfaction."

Excel Interiors continues that viewpoint today.

Tim Maghie and Jim Yankle, a long-time member of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter and subject of this month's "Meet the Member," are co-owners of the company. The two had worked together at a company in which Maghie's father was part owner and decided to team up "to enjoy the independence of owning and running our own business, of making the decisions that affect employees," Yankle said.

Even though this is only their 11th year in business, Maghie and Yankle have more than 40 years of combined construction experience.

Nationwide Insurance was among the first companies to listen to their pronouncement and contracted with the fledgling company for the metal framing, drywall, and acoustical ceilings for the Merit Building-now GatesMcDonald.

Since then Excel Interiors has expanded to 90 employees and has been associated with a number of major constructions in the Columbus area, including the Miranova Office Tower, Jack Nicklaus Museum, the Nationwide Arena hockey practice facility, restaurants, and retail operations at Polaris and Easton.

Add to this portfolio remodeling projects at The Ohio State University, Ashland Chemical, Bank One, Riverside Hospital, Grant Medical Center, and at numerous smaller concerns, and you have a fair understanding of the company's growth of the past decade.

While the company at 3777 E. Business Park Dr. on the city's west side continues to think growth, the owners haven't found a need to travel outside the Columbus area because of the strong client base they have developed locally that supports the business.

Yankle says the company, for the most part, has let its work speak for itself.

"We have been able to employ good quality people, many of whom have been with us since we started the company," Yankle said.

The owners also say it is important to maintain good communications with employees, to value them, and to listen to their problems and concerns when they occur.

"We have an open-door policy and we urge our employees to communicate with us. We want to be available when our employees have questions or problems." Yankle said.

Excel Interiors has been an IFMA sponsor almost from the beginning, and the association "has given us a chance to meet those involved with facilities so if they are moving, renovating, or building new they will give us the opportunity to bid their work.

"That's exactly what IFMA has done. Not only have we developed good business relationships with many of the members, we also have developed good personal relationships. They know what we do and they know where to turn when they need people for their projects," Yankle said.

If Bill Weiss could turn the clock back, he says he might opt for an "outside" career "as a golf-course superintendent at a nice, private golf club and own a landscaping business on the side."

Right now, however, he's cleaning up on the inside as president of Fiber-Seal of Central Ohio and Fine Fabric Care of Columbus.

Fiber-Seal of Central Ohio, a company Weiss and his sister, Susan Mulgrew, started in 1980 provides interior maintenance-care programs for corporate office space and higher-end residential homes. Fine Fabric Care, a company Weiss started four years later, provides carpet, upholstery and fabric-panel cleaning services for the same upscale clientele.

Weiss said he started the second company because, "We were having a difficult time finding carpet cleaning companies that met our standards of quality. As we started to do more high-end, upscale office space, this division became invaluable. Most carpet cleaners were unable or unwilling to do many of the jobs we considered normal, and by 1988 there was almost nothing we could not do related to interior maintenance and care.

"That year we also developed a system for cleaning and maintaining fabric panel workstations. This is still one of the biggest parts of our business. We clean and maintain more fabric panel workstations than any other company in Columbus.

"We are a niche-type company serving a specialized market, and we have done a good job of building an outstanding reputation. In this business, you deal with many types of fabric and panel systems, and you simply must know what you are doing," Weiss said.

The companies' clients, both commercial and residential, read like a "Who's Who of Columbus and Central Ohio." Commercially, the Huntington National Bank heads the list with Weiss responsible for the bank's executive offices and other bank properties, the Huntington Business Banking Center at Easton, and Huntington Mortgage.

Other companies and organizations that call upon Weiss to help maintain their offices include American Electric Power, the Columbus Foundation, The Ohio State Bar Association, Sterling Commerce, Vision Service Plan, Scioto Country Club, The Limited, and the Vern Riffe Center.

Additional commercial clients consist of a number of the city's largest and most prestigious law and accounting firms, and The Ohio State University and Franklin University. On the residential side of the ledger, many of the area's more recognizable families use Weiss' services for their homes.

Mulgrew conceived the idea for the company. She was a journalist writing for interior designer publications when she learned about Fiber-Seal headquartered in Dallas. She decided to become a "licensed associate" with the company and Fiber-Seal of Central Ohio was born with Mulgrew as president in charge of sales, and Weiss, a student at Ohio State, as operations manager.

In 1997, Weiss bought out his sister and now owns both companies. Since then, Weiss has concentrated more on the commercial side of his business and the company has since doubled its sales. He also moved the businesses into a new building last year at 1000 Shuster Lane that provides for future growth and expansion.

Both Weiss and his sister became members of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter during its early days, and Weiss remains an associate member and corporate sponsor.

"My ex-partner was very active with IFMA," he said. "She wrote the newsletter and I was the amateur photographer at events such as the golf outing or sponsor night. I find the networking invaluable, and the membership is a fun group of skilled professionals so it hardly seems like work being involved with the organization."

Weiss and his companies have been profiled in both The Columbus Dispatch and Business First. In 1999, Business First selected Weiss as one of the top 40 business people under the age of 40 in central Ohio.

During the Dispatch interview, he was asked to detail his management philosophy. Weiss responded:

"Treat all employees fairly and with respect. Give employees the proper tools and training to do the job correctly. I firmly believe in three strikes, you're out. If the employee does something wrong, first you correct them and explain why. The second time they are put on notice for the same mistake-probation, if you will. The third time they are out unless there is a good reason."

In explaining his plans for the future, Weiss told Business First:

"For the next five years, I plan on continuing the growth of both companies. If this part of the plan is successful, in 10 years I would really like to take a more active role in community affairs and the charities that I am already involved with. I also would like to get a few more rounds of golf in each year."

In addition to IFMA, Weiss is a member of the Association of Legal Administrators, American Society of Interior Designers, the International Society of Cleaning Technicians, and the Association of Fabric Services.

He also is supportive of several Central Ohio charities, including Goodwill Rehabilitation, Breast Cancer Research, Childhood League, Lifecare Alliance' Meals on Wheels, the Wexner Center, and Secret Santa.