I have known Norman Newell, President of Hammer Construction Corp., for more than five years; during this time I have had the pleasure of doing work for his Company as a Professional Engineer and Engineer of Record on some of Hammer's jobs. Because of this I know first-hand his approach, knowledge and practice to construction of a project. Mr. Newell and therefore his company do not cut corners; they do each and every phase of each and every job in the manner that it should be done with strict adherence to the engineering principles and requirements, as well as austere compliance with all conditions of the Florida Building Code. His actions reveal a man with character, high ethical standards and utmost professionalism. I can also attest to Mr. Newell's payment practice, which is the best I have experienced, always paying upon submittal; this also speaks of his honesty and integrity. It is for all of these reasons that I am pleased to recommend Norman i. Newell and his company, Hammer Construction Corp., for any venture or enterprise you may want to entrust to him.

Recently, your company completed work for my mother, Sara Musiker, in her condo in Deerfield Beach. This was, in fact, the second "restoration" project your company completed in the past two years. Both of these projects were results of water damage caused by broken water heaters in my mother's building. The first time, Hammer Construction was recommended to be the contractor by my mother's insurance company. The second time, I was 100% sure that your company was the only I would call to make necessary repairs. This is all because of the positive experience both my mother and I had with Ray Vandenburg as well as Amanda and your capable crews who completed the work. Please let me back up a bit. My mother is 94 and, by choice, lives by herself in Deerfield Beach, I live in Los Angeles. She has a vision and mobility issues. So most of the decisions to be made fell on me. Ray was constantly in contact with me throughout the entire process both times. When he promised something was going to happen -- whether it was your crew showing up, emailing me photos of samples, checking in with my mother, or Amanda emailing copies of permits and plans -- it happened. Additionally, in daily conversations with my mother, she was always complimentary of everyone from Hammer who worked on her condo. I would like you to know how thankful both my mother and I are for all Ray has done helping my mother over the past two years. I am sure you know how valuable Ray is to your company and just want to acknowledge all he has done. You are lucky to have Ray as an employee and we are even luckier to have worked with him both times.

Please accept this letter as my enthusiastic of Norman Newell, president of Hammer Construction Corp. I first became associated with Mr. Newell and his company following the devastating landfalls of hurricanes Jeanne and Frances. Upon being introduced and recommended to me by Ross Fury of Public Risk Management, the insurance provider for Okeechobee County, I was impressed with his professionalism and apparent competence with disaster restoration. Shortly thereafter, Hammer Construction was authorized to commence repair and restoration of most of the county's damaged facilities covered by PRM. Being a fiscally constrained rural county, the willingness of Hammer Construction to interface with our insurance provider as well as adjusters and underwriters to immediately commence critical repairs while at the same time ensuring the county's financial participation was limited to contractual deductibles, was a significant factor in the county's selection of this company. Throughout the entire restoration process, I, along with other county officials, observed Mr. Newell's company competently implement and successfully complete a logistically complex large-scale insurance claim. Further, Hammer Construction was both willing and capable of financing this extensive work pending receipt of insurance reimbursement - which we all know is an increasingly time consuming and burdensome process. Mr. Newell and his entire staff continuously worked closely with representatives from all parties involved in the recovery. Whether it was our county's officials, insurance adjusters or tenants of our properties, Hammer always maintained direct lines of communication that allowed for efficient and satisfactory issue resolution. Naturally, the most valuable advantage to our county's relationship with Mr. Newell was his understanding of the insurance-restoration practice. Mr. Newell was adept at obtaining PRM's approval for coverage issues and proper upgrades on behalf of Okeechobee County. In summary, Mr. Newell and Hammer Construction Corp. competently undertook and completed a significant disaster restoration for Okeechobee County and would certainly be considered should services of this nature again be required. As such, without hesitation, I would recommend this contractor to others requiring similar services.

I am writing this letter as a reference for Hammer Construction, Inc. This company assisted the City of Punta Gorda with its efforts to clean up and restore City facilities after Hurricane Charley struck on August 13, 2004. Hammer Construction's response after the disaster was timely. It quickly places restoration crews on the ground at the hardest hit sites. I found Hammer's personnel to be knowledgeable, capable and cooperative, and they generally went about their work while creating a minimum of interruption to City services. The City of Punta Gorda is quite satisfied with the work that Hammer completed. One of the sites at which they spent a great deal of time was the historic City Hall. The finished product was well worth the wait in terms of quality and restoration to historic standards. I would recommend Hammer Construction for restoration work in the event of a disaster similar to that which the City of Punta Gorda endured as a result of Hurricane Charley. Please do not hesitate to give me a call if you wish additional details with respect to the work that was carried out on behalf of the City of Punta Gorda by this firm.

I wish to thank Hammer Construction Quality Restoration and Ronnie Mack for his work at Stella Maris House. Mr. Mack always checks the jobs and makes sure that all is going well. He comes into my office to keep me informed of the latest details. He isn't just friendly, but caring as well. He and his group work excellently together. Stella Maris House is happy with the job he is doing. Once again, thank you for Mr. McLeroy.

I'm so grateful for the beautiful new custom handicap accessible kitchen! Thank you for making a difference in my life and helping me. You have a big heart and I really appreciate your kindness and generosity.