New Members & Member Anniversaries
Welcome to our Newest Members and Congratulations to our members celebrating milestone anniversaries!
Welcome to our Newest Members and Congratulations to our members celebrating milestone anniversaries!
As I sit to write this article the election results are still not definitively known. What we do know is that PA will have Josh Shapiro as our next Governor. The State Senate will remain Republican. However, there is a good possibility the Statehouse will flip to the Democrats. On the National front, the Democrats will retain the Senate while the house, through leaning Republican, is still undecided.
Many of you heard the news that I departed ABC Pennsylvania in November. The decision was not an easy one. I have a long history with ABC. My career began in Washington, D.C., where I served on legislative staff for the late Congressmen George W. Gekas (R-PA-17) and former Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA-18). During my time in our nation’s capital, which lasted nearly a decade, I monitored and staffed issues important to ABC. It was there that I learned about the association’s mission and drive for free enterprise. When I moved back to Pennsylvania, I served as advocacy director for a local chamber, where I continued the partnership with ABC – and eventually met and married my wife, Julina (Peterson), who was the Communication Director for ABC Keystone. Julina started her career with ABC as an intern in 2004 and served on the Keystone team until 2017. I have fond memories of attending so many inaugurals with Julina as her date and later as her husband!
Having been a member since 1989, ABC Keystone has time and again demonstrated that our dues are not just an overhead charge, but an investment in the construction industry. Over the years, I have spent hours at ABC Keystone education events, monthly meetings and political events. ABC has always looked to educating its members not only on construction topics, but also other skills such as management and HR training and has kept us abreast of political activities that impact our businesses.
Fall is always a busy time at ABC Keystone with the start of Apprenticeship classes in September, the annual Local Craft Competition, Careers in Construction Month in October and National Apprenticeship Week in November.
As you know, ABC Pennsylvania is comprised of four regional chapters with nearly 1,400 member companies who collectively employ over 65,000 Pennsylvanians. Our advocacy efforts do not come without the commitment and participation of our members – and we have a lot to be proud of in 2022.
Many industries use non-competition agreements, also known as non-compete agreements, as a means to protect company information from a departing employee. In fact, some of you reading this may be subject to one. A non-compete agreement is a contractual restriction on an employee’s ability to compete with a former employer. The benefits of a properly drafted non-compete agreement are obvious: to protect the company from a key employee taking sensitive company information to a competitor or using that information to start his or her own competing company. However, under Pennsylvania law, overly broad non-competes are often considered unenforceable, so they need to be narrowly tailored to protect the legitimate business interests of an employer.
October is Nationally designated as “Careers in Construction Month.” Keystone traditionally highlights what we do for the industry and our members through all our marketing efforts. Therefore, I want to recap some of the exciting things that happened as well as the number of members that took advantage of the things we offer.
Meet Joe Beahm,
Account Manager,
Graphtech – As an Account Manager for Graphtech, I am responsible for guiding our clients so they can spread their messages to their audiences both creatively and effectively. Introducing new products and ideas to customers to help them achieve their goals and streamline their communications also plays an important role in my day-to-day. Educating new and existing customers on how our services can benefit them both professionally and financially is something I incorporate into my everyday routine.
Trident Development Corporation, a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), is a full-service human capital development firm that serves as your partner in the development and care of a qualified and stable workforce.
Welcome to our Newest Members and Congratulations to our members celebrating milestone anniversaries!
Did you vote or are you prepared to vote? The campaigns are entering the final stretch and the finish line is two short weeks away. Mail-in voting is currently underway, and as expected, is already knee-deep in political and legal battles. A few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling saying that undated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania should not be counted by county board of elections. Despite the federal ruling, the Pennsylvania Secretary of State issued a statement advising counties to continue to follow the agency’s guidance, which instructs counties to count undated ballots. Of course, the statement has initiated lawsuit filings and several counties have announced that they will separate dated and undated ballots barring a court decision.
Welcome to our Newest Members and Congratulations to our members celebrating milestone anniversaries!
ABC Keystone was proud to welcome over 150 new apprentices and company reps to the New Student Orientation on September 7. I shared with the students the value of ABC and the importance of students and companies working together to ensure that all registered apprenticeship requirements are achieved. The two main components of registered apprenticeship are Related Technical Instruction (RTI) – requirement of 144 hours per year/level and submission of On-the-Job-Training Hours (OJT) of 2,000 hours per year. It is exciting to welcome new apprentices and several new companies to apprenticeship for the 2022-2023 school year.
Leonard S. Fiore Inc. (LSF) is a third-generation, family-owned builder with offices in Altoona and State College, PA. LSF has completed more than 2,000 projects in Pennsylvania and more than $1 billion in construction projects across eight Mid-Atlantic states. Single project sizes range from less than $1 million to over $60 million and include a blend of public and private work from all vertical markets.