The FLorida Engineering Society is proud to welcome Carlos Penin, President of CAP Government Inc., to Engineering Florida. We learn Mr. Penin holds a spot in the official Congressional Record from Februry 27, 2020 and why that is significant.
Engineering Florida host Sam Yates also discovers plans are underway for engineers to create a special park on Florida's west coast in the wake of deadly Hurricane Ian and why that is a cause that many groups and organizations can support.
You will also find an interesting side bar on how Mr. Penin was motivated to start his own company and why he has never looked back since its formation.
All this in this episode of Engineering Florida by the Florida Engineering Society.
The Florida Engineering Society, Engineering Florida podcast, is produced by Yates & Associates, Public Relations & Marketing. Contact Sam Yates, Sam@Yatespro.com.
The FLorida Engineering Society is proud to welcome Carlos Penin, President of CAP Government Inc., to Engineering Florida. We learn Mr. Penin holds a spot in the official Congressional Record from Februry 27, 2020 and why that is significant.
Engineering Florida host Sam Yates also discovers plans are underway for engineers to create a special park on Florida's west coast in the wake of deadly Hurricane Ian and why that is a cause that many groups and organizations can support.
You will also find an interesting side bar on how Mr. Penin was motivated to start his own company and why he has never looked back since its formation.
All this in this episode of Engineering Florida by the Florida Engineering Society.
The Florida Engineering Society, Engineering Florida podcast, is produced by Yates & Associates, Public Relations & Marketing. Contact Sam Yates, Sam@Yatespro.com.
and Engineers are ingenious professional. Engineers invent, design, verify and qualify, engineers are the professionals who make our lives and businesses prosperous and safe. The Florida Engineering Society is proud to put our engineering professionals in the spotlight so that they may educate, share information and introduce you to the world of engineering that is thriving in Florida. Here's your host of the Engineering Florida podcast. Sam Yates, with today's guest
Sam Yates:Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Florida Engineering Society Engineering Florida podcast. This is a podcast that we feature engineers who are members of the Florida Engineering Society. And it is my pleasure and honor to introduce someone today that I'm going to tell you, he is on the road traveling. And when he heard that we were going to be recording today. He was like no, Sam, I am going to get in on the program from wherever I am. So he is on the road. Ladies and gentlemen. Carlos Penin. Carlos, welcome to the program.
Carlos Penin:Thank you very much, Sam, it's truly a pleasure to be on your show and be able to share some of life's experiences with you and your listeners. So thank you very much. You know, I have to say that you are also the a past president of the Florida Engineering Society. And that's quite an honor. Yes, I've been a member of the Florida engineering society since I was an engineering school, and moved into the main chapter, the regular chapter, the Miami chapter, my particular case, in 1979 or so almost 1980. So that's quite a long time. And proud member of the Florida Engineering Society, and also the American Council of Engineering Companies report. So I've been a proud member of both organizations for a very long time.
Sam Yates:And I have to say, Carlos, that wherever I go in the state, if I were to mention your name, someone is going to know who you are. That is how immersed Carlos is into the engineering communities throughout Florida. And as a matter of fact, it's just not Florida. I have in front of me a copy of the Congressional Record from February 27 2020. And I'm going to read from it because I think this is significant. A couple of reasons. It's significant one, I now have the honor of interviewing someone who has been entered into the Congressional Record and of the second part of why it's significant, I think you will see it's quite evident. And this is from the honorable Mario Diaz Balart. And he is entering into the House of Representatives the following Madam Speaker, in recognition of the long standing contributions to the engineering profession, and his dedication to benefiting South Florida, I rise today to honor my good friend, Mr. Carlos APD. Born in Holquin, Cuba, Carlos, who has a very distinguished background, and more importantly, a history coming from Cuba. Tell us a little bit about that.
Carlos Penin:Thank you very much. My parents are fleeing, obviously, the Castro regime. And in 1962, my mom and three sisters and I arrived here to the land of freedom. And one of the reasons that I love the United States so much is because of the opportunities that it has given throughout the years, decades, centuries, to refugees like myself, to be able to come here,get an education, work hard, and then go back and contribute and give back to that to that nation. And in our particular case, the community, the state of Florida, that has given so much to us. So those are deeply embedded embedded in my, in my veins if you would, because it's it's truly what we are all about here in this great country of ours.
Sam Yates:And that fits quite well with what additionally was read into the record. That after graduation, Carlos remained in South Florida and worked for several architectural and engineering firms. He played a key role in designing and managing a major infrastructure projects, including the Joe Robbie stadium now known as the Hard Rock stadium. Despite his success, Carlos always knew he wanted to start his own company and give back to the community that has given so much to him. In 1989, he took a chance and began C AP government Inc. CAP and 2019. CAP celebrated its 30th anniversary under his leadership CAP has has provided unparalleled expertise for governmental clients who need assistance with building department services. Presently, they serve over at 60 municipalities and six educational institutions across Florida. Mr. Penin, that's quite a heritage.
Carlos Penin:Yes, it is. And one that we're all very proud of, because we have an opportunity through building departments to make sure that buildings are designed. According to the Florida building code, and eventually, obviously built according to Florida building code, they that helps us, at least from a minimalistic point of view, make these buildings safer, the schools safer, the places that we work, live and play safer, because of the engineers that designed them. Architects, well, obviously, and the contractors that build them.
Sam Yates:In addition to that, I know because I've done a bit of homework about you. And it's impressive. You not only are an engineer, but you take great pride in getting others involved in engineering. As a matter of fact, in 2020, the Villa Nueva award, you receive that, and the award recognizes the commitment and dedication to advancing the civil engineering profession that was read into the Congressional Record. And that has to just make you absolutely proud to.
Carlos Penin:Yes, it does. And it's something that that we don't take very lightly, obviously, you know, when you give back to the community that has given so much to us, and through the profession, that that I love so much. It's kind of a, you know, you get both great satisfaction on both sides of that. And the association of Cuban civil engineers bestowed that incredible honor to me a couple of years ago, and it's one I'm very proud of
Sam Yates:, you know, two things that I want to touch upon and, and it's one of the greatest difficulties I had. And I have to explain this to our audience. One of the greatest difficulties I had in determining what to talk about with Mr. puttied is the sheer number of things that you're involved in. I mean, there are just literally a large number of things, and it's difficult to get your arms around all of them. But to jump out, Champlain tower and hurricane season. Let's talk a little bit about Champlain tower, you're instrumental in helping to get some changes in how the building industries in Florida take a look at buildings like Champlain tower, correct?
Carlos Penin:Yes, sir. Sam, thank you. Both of these things, obviously catastrophic. And it gives us a chance as engineers to make a difference. The first one Champney towers, I was just coming into my role as president of the Florida Engineering Society, we had just had a session on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where we talked about going forward how we had to include other organizations into what we do, because there are more things that unite us as organizations that then separate us. So I said, in part of our planning session, let's get together with other groups to make sure that we can make a bigger difference in the state of Florida and into the life that we need to hear. So lo and behold, the Champlaine tower collapses on June 24. And that was the first opportunity we had a few weeks later, we organized under a number of organizations, the first obviously, the Florida Engineering Society, we had three members. We had three members from the American Council of Engineering Companies, which is a sister organization. And then we started to add another five organizations, the International International Code Council, the building official association of Florida, the American Institute of Architects, we brought in a group that does concrete restoration. We brought in another group that that handles all of the structural engineers in Florida that are represented by them. And with this group, there was a total of 24 of us. We met sometimes as often as two times a week in order not to analyze specifically what happened with the tower, but to add to analyze what can be changed going forward, so that we don't ever have to deal with something so catastrophic again. And it took weeks and months until we were able to finally come up with a white paper that we eventually presented with to a senator that was willing to listen to us, and she was willing to carry the water for us. And that was Senator Rafi. And Mr. Brown, the senator proudly brought this forward through committees, all the way to sort of a doorsteps of getting disapproved during the regular session. The bill, unfortunately, in spite of the hard work, in spite of how much sense it made, for this to be changed, in the way that we perform inspections, and so forth, if it failed, it just did not make it through. And we had to wait until a special session, where once again, we had to persevere and continue the work. And in that particular special session, it passed the House unanimously, passed the Senate unanimously, and on day three was signed by Governor DeSantis. I think the lesson is, number one is we use our technical skills to the best of our knowledge and abilities. We work in a group session because we together we can accomplish more. And finally, I would say, the most important part of this thing is never ever give up. Persevere, believe in what you believe, to be right and continue to work harder until you achieve it. And I think that that message is is true. Whether you're you're a student, and engineering student, hopefully because we need a lot more, or whether you are a young professional or a seasoned professional as yours truly. And that is one of life's lessons.
Sam Yates:Carlos, let's switch gears, let's talk about hurricane season really, it's just around the corner.
Carlos Penin:So hurricane season begins in June and ends in November this year was catastrophic. In the state of Florida, we had a major hurricane hit the Gulf Coast, in a hit a number of municipalities where our company works in. But more importantly, I think that it taught us a number of things as well. Number one is you have to heed the warnings that are issued to it by by the government. In a number of cases, people were thinking that they could stay home and weather the storm so to speak. Well, there was something peculiar about hurricane Ian. And that was not only was the packing 140 550 mile an hour winds, but that it came in with a tidal surge on like we have seen in 100 years, perhaps even more. And the majority destruction was not brought on by the excessive winds, but was brought on by the surge, which picked up homes and move them and picked up buildings. And it brought down the bridge leading into Sanibel, not because of the winds, but because the tidal surge destroyed both sides of the bridge. And when that collapse, obviously the bridge was completely impassable. So what we have to do as engineers just take a look and modify no different than what we did in Champaign towers, and make sure that we've gotten the best code to protect us against this these types of disasters.
Sam Yates:Is there a feeling from the governmental agencies or the governments that you represent the municipalities that you work with directly, that this was a wake up call for them going forward for whatever hurricane season has to bear down?
Unknown:I think it is, and I think it will have an impact also on the insurance industry. Because there's a lot of homes that are not insured for flooding, they are for wind. And there's a lot of instances in this particular hurricane, that had to do with with flooding, perhaps more so than with winds. So if the hurricane impact Windows survive, we're gonna have a if the house is picked up by a surge and deposited 100 200 feet further away. So there's a number of components or a number of new items that need to be looked at going forward. I will say that I am part of the Florida Engineering Leadership Institute this year of which I'm very proud, and that our class is going to be dedicating a park for the victims of the hurricane. And we are in fact, doing a fundraiser throughout the state of Florida so we can get enough funds to do a number of things. But that number one is built as part in remembrance of those that lost their lives, but also do sort of the teaching part for the children so that they can see various aspects of what happened with the with the search and so forth. And then finally, in addition to that, we're going to identify each and every students from the Gulf Coast of Florida that we can give honor them with tuition and offer them a scholarship. So that's something that we're working on. And I'll keep you posted that's still in the process.
Sam Yates:Well, I want to say I will put on my public relations and marketing hat for Yates and Associates and pitch in with helping out on some of that visibility for you. And also, rumor has it that I'm on the board of directors for the Gold Coast Builders Association out of the Palm Beaches, and have a lot of connections with builders associations around the state. So if that rumor is correct, I can guarantee you that we'll be spreading the word throughout those associations as well. Thank you very much for that it's going to be it's going to be a fantastic opportunity for once again, all of us to work together. And I guarantee you that that will be something that we will all be proud of when we finish the project. Yes. Now, I do want to ask you right now, how do people get in touch with you? And it's going to be a question that I'm going to back up a little bit. There could be organizations, you disabilities and others that are listening right now. And they're saying, Wow, I'm impressed. How do I contact CAP? What's the best way to get in touch with your your order your business? I think that probably the best way is to is to email me that way i be able to answer as soon as I get an opportunity. And that email, I can share that with you now or if you post it to your podcast is better now. Yeah, let's give it now. And I'll also put it up on the show notes. Okay, C A P. C, A P fla.com. Very good. We'll certainly get that word out. Now, at the beginning of the show, and what I was talking about what was read into the Congressional Record, it said, how proud you were to start your company, but I'm going to pull the thread a little bit and say, there's probably a story behind that. And I know the story. It was about getting a review from someone that you are working with another company. And tell us about that. Tell us what happened. That was the impetus for starting your own company.
Carlos Penin:Thank you very much, Sam. Yeah, no kidding. Yeah.The the impetus of of that was that I was trying to do too much. And that the review that I received was pretty much from my supervisor, to say, Carlos, you are, you're all over the place. You are working on one project that was city engineer for the City of West Miami at the time, I was in charge of a major reconstruction of the widening of Julia Tuttle Causeway, which is a, a causeway that links Miami to Miami Beach. And my supervisor at the time wanted me to start concentrating on one of them. He then proceeded to give me some pretty negative results in comments. And I said, you know, I am with enough work obviously, with with God's blessing, I can accomplish more than what I'm doing. And that sort of led me to, to creating my company from scratch. And again, you know, I mentioned earlier, the perseverance, the hard work and the dedication, in in this wonderful country that we live in, will always lead to success. And that a few years later, my company was recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the country. And some awards that we have continued to receive throughout the years. That simply is, is gifts. Youwill say certification or gives validity to that hard work, dedication. Don't ever forget where you came from, make sure that you always give back to your community, to your church, get back to engineering in my particular case, but always get back because we don't do this thing by ourselves. There's always people along the way that sometimes give us a word of word of encouragement. In my case, to begin the company, it wasn't so but it was it might have been the kick in the in the rear that I needed in order to be able to realize that I could do more by moving on from where I was at the time. And that's exactly how it played out.
Sam Yates:Well, I'd like to say from my perspective, looking at what you have accomplished, and you're not done yet, but looking at what you have accomplished. It was probably the spark that lit the fuse on the fireworks and that has been one hell of a fireworks display so far, and I don't think we've seen the finale yet. So I want to say congratulations on all that you have done.
Carlos Penin:Thank you very much. It's been a blessing and I hope to with but with good health and continue to provide more for future engineers and future entrepreneurs. In this great country of ours, I really truly appreciate the opportunity to spoken to you and to your audience a shout out to my daughter's and, and my son in laws, who are going to be listening, for sure. And to all of the employees and my colleagues, and my and the members of the Florida Engineering Society here in the state of Florida. So thank you very much, Sam, for this wonderful opportunity.
Sam Yates:Well, I have another question. Don't you're not gonna get off the hook yet? That question it is,
Carlos Penin:fire away, sir. Fire away?
Sam Yates:Wil you come back for a future program?
Carlos Penin:Absolutely. Absolutely. If you will have me it'd be a pleasure to come back and speak to you and to your audience.
Sam Yates:Sometimes I have to pause to explain to people because this is an audio program, they don't get to see the expressions or see the twinkle in the eye. And I know that you're smiling, and you've got that twinkle in your eye, and I'm grinning ear to ear. Because when you meet someone that is inspirational, it is contagious, and it makes me want to go out and do even more for this program. So what I'm going to do is, I'm going to say yes, we're going to have you back at some point of the future. And for everyone that is listening right now, if you would like to be on the program. It's an open door, please let us know. And we look forward to having you back again, Carlos. Again, thank you for being here.
Carlos Penin:Such a pleasure. Thank you very much for having me
Sam Yates:Thanks for listening to another informative episode of the Engineering Florida podcast. Our goal is to help educate and inform everyone who listens to our podcast about our members and topics of interest to the flora that Engineering Society. On behalf of the Florida Engineering Society, and the engineering Florida podcast, have a great day everybody