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ON THE MOVE ROSS GRIMES TO
LEAD
FEHR
relationships across Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. Jason Stoll, PE, who has led the Rochelle office as branch manager since 2017, will oversee the Rockford and Rochelle locations. Grimes succeeds Joel Zirkle, who will retire December 20. “Ross has led some of our most significant environmental projects with insight and dedication,” Zirkle said. “His ability to tackle complex problems and mentor our staff has prepared him well for this leadership position. Ross is technically skilled and has a natural talent for understanding client needs and driving business growth.” “Ross models our Core Values,” Fehr Graham President Mick Gronewold said. “His dedication to serving our clients and
for finding solutions to their problems is matched only by his commitment to growing and supporting our team. We are excited to see how Ross will continue to lead in his new role.” A Rockford native, Grimes earned his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Geoscience from Northern Illinois University. He lives in Rockton with his wife, Alyssa, and their three children. Fehr Graham is a premier provider of engineering, environmental and funding solutions for commercial, industrial, institutional and government clients with Midwest office locations in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Fehr Graham is an Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firm, Midwest Top Design Firm and Zweig Group Hot Firm.
GRAHAM’S AND REMEDIATION SERVICES Fehr Graham, a leading Midwest engineering and environmental firm, has announced that Ross Grimes, PG, will serve as assessment and remediation service lead. Grimes, who has been with the firm since 2015, steps into this technical leadership role with a strong background in project management and business development. ASSESSMENT Grimes became a project manager in 2017 and has served as branch manager of the firm’s Rockford office since 2020. He earned his Professional Geologist license in 2021. In his new role, Grimes will lead the firm’s assessment and remediation work, focusing on business development and enhancing client
the profits in a more expensive home. And be ready to do this every two years. It’s a great wealth builder. The last three houses we have bought, fixed up, and moved into, each of which we lived in for two years, have made a significant mostly tax-free profit. Sure, it is a hassle to move that much, but it forces you to purge unnecessary stuff and you get to replace your cat clawed/dog bed sofas – a nice extra benefit! 10. Pay your credit card bills in full every month. You don’t want to carry over your Chili’s dinners and Applebee’s lunches and unneeded Home Depot purchases from one month to the next. And then paying 18-22 percent interest on that is really crazy. Get the credit cards for emergency needs and use only one of them, and then pay it off every month. “I got a lot of this advice – some from my father and some from my mentors – and much of it I didn’t listen to. Truth be told, I’m pretty happy with my life. I don’t know if I would change a thing if I had a chance to do so.” 11. Exercise every day. Always a good idea to get into this habit! Then when you are older, you will not only be slimmer, but healthier overall. And it won’t be hard to do if you start young and make it part of your routine! I got a lot of this advice – some from my father and some from my mentors – and much of it I didn’t listen to. Truth be told, I’m pretty happy with my life. I don’t know if I would change a thing if I had a chance to do so. It all led up to a very fulfilling life in the end! Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.
MARK ZWEIG, from page 5
6. Put 10 percent of what you make into the stock market and don’t touch it. The compounding of your investments over time is something to behold! See my comments on point No. 5 above! 7. Don’t finance any vehicle and don’t buy new vehicles, either. I wasted so much money on this one that I could have used for income-producing assets versus depreciating assets. That “new car smell” can be really costly and it doesn’t last long. That said, ordering the first of new vehicles you know will be popular can pay off if you sell them quickly. Case in point – the new Bronco when it was announced, the new Beetle when it was announced, the new T-bird when it was announced, the new Tesla Cybertruck when it was announced, etc. Right now, we have a deposit on the new Scout. You can make money on vehicles like that if you sell them when they first come out and you first get them. But most new cars you will lose money on. I have had others that dropped like a stone. And don’t finance. Who needs a car payment? Buy what you can afford and pay cash for it. 8. Buy apartments in growing college towns and don’t ever sell them. If you can afford investment properties, multi- family in college towns is as solid as you can get. They grow, your apartments stay leased up, and rents go up over time. The more doors you have, the more your risk is spread out. And apartments are almost always better than raw land. They generate rental income from day one and appreciate every time you raise the rent. Plus, they depreciate for tax purposes. Raw land generates no income and doesn’t depreciate. Three years of owning rented apartments that are generating income and appreciating versus land that is not generating income is hard to beat! 9. Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood you can afford. Fix it up and sell it after two years, and then reinvest
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THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 12, 2025, ISSUE 1585
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