Month: October 2016

Oct 27, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

Halloween is the spookiest day of the year!

According to Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, statistics show more vandalism insurance claims are filed on Halloween than any other day of the year. Don’t let your business be a target for vandalism. Make sure you take the proper precautions to protect it.

Lock it up

Whether you close early or on time, make sure the last person to leave checks to ensure all doors and windows are locked. Also, make sure any important paperwork or money is locked up and secure. If possible, bring in any equipment from outside and store away.

Sound the alarm

Always turn on your alarm system before you close, but, especially on Halloween night, test and ensure this is set up to ward off burglars. If you do not have an alarm system, we highly encourage you consider installing one.

Light ‘em up

The alarm system will chase unwanted visitors away, but may leave you with a broken window or other damaged property. Consider keeping some of your lights on, or installing motion sensor lights to deter them from sneaking around your property. Burglars and vandals sometimes target businesses on Halloween, since customers are typically elsewhere or pre-occupied with their little trick-or-treaters, turning these business blocks into dark ghost towns – a perfect mark for vandals. So, light ‘em up!

Check it before you wreck it

Since streets are filled with candles and jack-o-lanterns, the number of fires increases greatly on Halloween. It’s wise to test your smoke alarms around your place of business to avoid serious property damage. Also, consider replacing your own candle decorations with battery-operated lights to reduce your risks. Even if a vandal causes the accident, your business may be liable.

Oct 21, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

This week DKI is restoring more than just properties!

As you have seen or read about last week, we were more than prepared for Hurricane Matthew, with our contractors from around the country set up at specific locations, with the required equipment and resources supplied by our vendors/sponsors. Since the hurricane hit, the DKI Team has been busy meeting with clients and assessing and repairing damaged properties. As our contractors have seen the effects of Hurricane Matthew, both physical and mental, they started brainstorming ideas to restore, not just their clients’ properties, but also their lives and hope.

Bryn Lopes, our National Project Consultant, met with the city of Lumberton in North Carolina to discuss a possible community luncheon for the residents of the area who were impacted by the hurricane. Together they decided on holding a cookout with barbequed burgers and hot dogs, and plenty of snacks. Several DKI member companies participated, offering to barbeque and hand out lunches.

And… word quickly spread through social media!

What began as a small, one-day cookout at the grounds of one of the local churches quickly developed into a partnership with the National Guard, American Red Cross, North Carolina Agricultural Department, making it an opportunity for THOUSANDS within the community to enjoy food, clothing, supplies and more.

PLUS, the cookout was such a success that the city asked us all to return the following day to throw another community cookout.

Read more about it from the Robesonian and on our News’ Page.

We decided to continue the positivity throughout Robeson County by hosting Revival – a Baptist service, followed by another cookout. The event is expected to draw in thousands from the 39 local churches, which have not been able to have services in weeks due to the hurricane. DKI has been working on First Baptist Church in Lumberton, where Revival will be held, and will be cleaning up the parking lot and setting out DKI trucks so Pastor Murray can preach on one of our 35-foot flatbeds. Spread the word!

Oct 13, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

Our team has been extremely busy these last couple of weeks, gearing up for, tracking and responding to Hurricane Matthew – and this has been our most organized event yet!

Since hurricane season typically runs June through November, our team developed a new forward-looking approach. Because communication is key in times of need, we included our corporate team, member companies, clients and even our affiliates in our new Hurricane Emergency Preparation Plan to ensure everyone was on the same page in the event of a major hurricane. After all, our biggest advantage as DKI is our solid nationwide network – Strength in Numbers.

Closely tracking Hurricane Matthew while it developed in the Caribbean, we were all more than prepared when the hurricane eventually made landfall Saturday morning on South Carolina’s coast.

Before the hurricane was originally expected to land, we were already aware of all contractors planning to or having already mobilized, along with their current whereabouts. And, each of them were familiar with their assignments and specific instructions/procedures.

Our DKI ProSupply sponsors have also been serving as tremendous support to our teams!

• 1-800-PACK-RAT shipped thousands of portable storage containers to the impacted areas.
• Sunbelt Rentals delivered an abundance of power supplies.
• Aramsco-Interlink worked with DKI Corporate directly at our headquarters to get any consumables to our contractors.
• Lowe’s and Home Depot offered temporary labor, storage for fleets and equipment, and other necessary resources.
• com provided accommodations in the affected areas of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia for our mobilized contractors.

Our teams and sponsors from all over the country have been working tirelessly to complete and support numerous losses, which we expect to continue as more flooded areas become accessible. We are so proud of and thankful to our entire team for their commitment and patience through the challenges. It has been incredible to watch this plan unfold so successfully, and we owe it all to our amazing DKI Network!

We have already received amazing support from some of our members –

“Your team is doing a phenomenal job! We are extremely pleased to be working this storm with your amazing team!” – Doug Burton, President, Skyline DKI

“I’m proud to be affiliated with such a compassionate company.” – Lindsay Biren, ASR Construction DKI

If you or your business has been impacted by the hurricane (flooding, fallen trees, downed power lines, etc.), please call us at 866-277-2977. Our crews are more than ready to help get you back to business!

Oct 13, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

Thank you – Those two words that most parents try to instill in their children from an early age. When Uncle George bought you that toy that was “so last year,” you begrudgingly smiled and choked up a “Thank you, Uncle.” And, as you get older, those two simple words become second nature, and often more sincere. When a stranger holds the door for you, or someone allows you to “go ahead” as you clutch onto that gallon of milk in a grocery line of ten people long, it’s almost reflexive to voice your gratitude.

However, how many times do you hear these words in your office, other than the standard closing of an email? Do you thank your co-workers for their help with a project? Probably. Do you thank your boss for giving up his or her time to discuss something? Do you thank him for the opportunity to work for the company? Are you too rushed in between meetings to even acknowledge that he held the door open for you as you struggle to hold onto those piles of presentations?

Gratitude is one of those things that most people don’t expect, but can entirely change one’s mentality and build positivity. People like to feel appreciated for their hard work or courtesy. At work, it’s often too easy to get caught up and frustrated or stressed. And, who feels more so than the boss, managing and trying to keep the entire company afloat? Make them feel appreciated. When people are aware their presence or performances have meaning, the desire to stay and accomplish their tasks is greater.

Friday is National Bosses Day, and if you are grateful for your boss’ commitment to the company, appreciative for the day off yesterday or your boss simply stopped to ask how your weekend was, take a moment to thank him or her. We all like to feel appreciated now and then.