Living in the Philadelphia area, I am happily surrounded by my favorite subject: history. This past Christmas Day I went to see the reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware and was stirred by the outrageous gamble they took that day and the sacrifices that were made in an effort that turned the tide on the Revolution. They read from Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.” “These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine wrote. “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”
Gains in the tower industry never come cheaply. Every zoning hearing is a battle in itself requiring patience, compromise, strategy, execution. And, if successful, is followed by the buildout fraught with safety concerns and a myriad of things that can go wrong in the construction process. Inside Towers covers those little battles, not as a matter of a perfunctory obligation or filling space but as a testimony to the tenacity of the men and women who do this for a living. We try to find the unique differences in each circumstance and bring out why a proposed site succeeded or failed.
Having been the Managing Editor for 6 months now at Inside Towers, I have had the pleasure of working with a great team of people as dedicated and tenacious as those in the tower trenches. We have strived to bring a mix of tower-related news that spans the market and the globe and present the macro forces shaping the industry’s development, as well as the micro, the zoning hearing battles, the human face of individuals who are impacted by as well as impact our business. We hope to bring out the color, excitement and dynamics to what outsiders might see as the drab process of tower construction and development. One reason we deliver it daily is because of the richness and depth of this industry…and because you rightly demand it.
We have greatly strengthened our coverage of events in Washington while a new administration prepares to take over as we welcome the expertise and input of Leslie Stimson our new Washington Bureau Chief. Unlike Vegas, what happens in Washington doesn’t stay there; it affects us all and we are lucky to have Leslie on point keeping us informed as this new and uncharted landscape unfolds. In addition, we are pleased to add an independent voice to the financial analysis section as Bill Grove lends his savvy and irreverent expertise in evaluating towerco stocks.
I will spare you predictions as to what will happen this coming year as I imagine we will find those things out together. About all I’m sure of right now is that my beloved Eagles will not be in the Super Bowl. And having only been at the helm for six months, I don’t feel qualified to give you a full year’s retrospective.
Let me close by saying, my door is always open to comments, ideas, questions and input of every kind. We want to know about your victories, your events, your anecdotes and observations.
Best of luck to you all in 2017 as we cross this icy river of a business together. May we have the courage and vision as Washington did on that Christmas Day in 1776, to plan, to execute and prevail even under daunting conditions.
Jim Fryer
Managing Editor
610.931.7076
[email protected]
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