Word searches have a fun history. Norman E. Gibat, an American puzzle creator, is credited with developing the word search, which he called a “word cross,” in 1968. He first published his word crosses in the Selenby Digest, and they grew a devoted following as they were published in books, newspapers and dedicated puzzle sections.
We puzzled out the state of the electrical construction industry in the 2026 Profile of the Electrical Contractor, starting on page 22. Thanks to all of you who filled out the survey earlier this year; we had a lot of data to fit into the story. And thanks to writer Chuck Ross and researchers Susan Metzger and Paul Gurwitz for turning all of those responses into a coherent story. How do you and your company measure up to your peers? Part 2 of the Profile will be in next month’s issue. And if you really want to dig into the nitty gritty, be on the lookout in August for the full data set on ECmag.com.
After the Profile, we have the midyear construction outlook on page 42. Jeff Gavin updates us on where the economy is now. Hear from experts in “An Unbalanced Portfolio.” For more on economic uncertainty, read Current Outlook, page 34.
People may think technology adoption is directly tied to company size: if you’re a big company, you’re applying a lot of technology well, and if you’re a small company, you’re not doing much. On page 54, Jared Christman says this isn’t always the case. No matter your company size, if you’re looking to properly scale your technology, Jared offers some tips to do so in “Tech at Any Company Size.”
Susan Bloom takes us to Sacramento, Calif., for T&R Communications’ work on the 17.3-acre, 1.25 million square-foot Richards Boulevard Office Complex. Check out “A Triumph in Telecoms,” page 78.
In very exciting news, we have two new writers starting this month. First, on page 66, NEC expert Mike Holt gives a general overview of the code. He’ll write Code Review each month. He returns to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR after decades away, and we’re thrilled to have his expertise in these pages once again.
In the integrated systems section, Larry Rietz takes over the Life Safety Systems column in odd months and the quiz in even months. Find his first column on page 88.
For all you word search aficionados, you can seek out additional words in the word search on the cover and on page 22, or click here to try out a digital version of the word search. Here’s the full list (with an obvious theme): age, bidding, collaboration, commercial, company size, economy, industrial, institutional, low voltage, maintenance, residential, revenue, specify, tariffs and training. Best of luck!
