Ozarks Profile - Mike Lawson

What is your job?

Mike Lawson is general manager of the Springfield office of Inrecon, an insurance restoration firm, managing a staff of 30 who in turn work with 51 Inrecon offices in the United States and nine in Canada.

Please tell us about your company.

"In a combined effort, Inrecon recently mobilized over 500 technicians to hurricane-ravaged Houston, Texas," Lawson said. "We have dehumidification and drying equipment and can dry any structure, regardless of size. We clean and restore after fires. We do document restoration and mold remediation. We do repairs as small as boarding up roofs and doors to drying one flooded room. If something is damaged and can be restored, we have the technology and the expertise to solve the problem."

What prepared you for work in your business?

"Experience," Lawson said, "starting at the field level in 1986." He also is certified with the National Institute of Disaster Restoration, the Water Loss Institute and the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration.

What are the recent effects of the economy in your field?

"The majority of our business is generated by nature or some sort of disaster," Lawson said. "Inrecon mobilizes when there are hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We respond to fires, vandalism, and automobile accidents. These events occur regardless of the changes in the economy. The economy does affect the management companies, insurance companies, and the institutions that we work for, but they still need our services."

What trends do you see developing in your field?

"We are driven by technology," Lawson said. "Many of our customers require us to use computerized estimating and billing programs. Our field personnel use laptop computers and PDAs. Many of our assignments come directly from online services. We are on a direct computer network with our corporate office. We can pull records, costs, budgets, estimates, etc., with the push of a button. Our field personnel use an Alpha Paging system and cell phones. One trend I anticipate is wireless handheld computers being used at different employee levels. Employees will receive assignments and even turn in timecards from remote locations."

What's the best part of your job?

"Working with great people on both a local and a national level," Lawson said.

Can you tell us something about your personal life and family?

"My wife Teresa works at Cox South in same day surgery," Lawson said. "We have two daughters, Vanessa and Angel, who both live in Springfield. Our oldest son, Chad, works at Inrecon. Our youngest son, Alan, is a self-proclaimed computer genius who is in 4th grade."

How do you spend your leisure time?

"I enjoy the wondrous outdoors that God has given us. I regularly go fishing and canoeing. My wife and I walk regularly at the walking trails in and around Springfield Alan usually tags along with his bike. We live in Ozark, but we attend church at Noble Hill in Brighton. It's worth the 40-plus-mile drive."

by Frank Shipe