Message from the Chair: Women in Construction Month
If you attended this year’s ABC Keystone Economic Breakfast, keynote speaker Anirban Basu spoke of the shortage of available workforce across the US in general and its direct impact on the construction industry. Workforce shortages aren’t new to the industry, and I believe many of us recognize we will continue to face this barrier for the foreseeable future.
Message from the President-CEO
Last month I shared several affinity programs that would possibly improve your bottom line. I mentioned a new program on the horizon, a multi-employer 401K program. Well, it is here and available.
Message from the Chair: How Will an RCO Affect Your Ability to Procure New Work?
There is a growing trend throughout the Commonwealth where municipalities are enacting RCOs (Responsible Contractor Ordinances) for projects that are publicly funded in their jurisdiction. If your company competes in this arena, you will be faced with this in a community near you.
Message from the President-CEO
It’s that time of year when most of you have already renewed your membership. For that we thank you. As such it is our commitment to provide you a value for your investment in your association. Many things ABC can provide may be obvious such as education and training, networking and business development, and workforce development. But there are also the intangibles, the things you can’t touch, such as fighting for your rights at a State and Federal level and promoting free enterprise and the merit shop philosophy.
Message from the President-CEO
Yes, another year has passed and so we enter the 64th year of the Keystone Chapter’s existence. In the same way we look to our storied past for inspiration, we look to the future for opportunity and growth. 2023 will be no different than any other year. It will provide us and our members with many challenges, but with challenges come opportunities.
Message from the Chair:
ABC Keystone Members,
Welcome to a New Year, with new goals and a fresh perspective on the clean slate for 2023. As your Chairman for 2023, I want to take a moment to share some of the exciting initiatives that we as a Chapter will be working on throughout the year.
Message from the Chair: A Year in Review
What a year we have had. Not only did we get back to business as usual, but we set new milestones and welcomed new friends from the northern part of our State. We hit 92% retainage for the second year in a row, and we hit membership growth in July for the first time. One of the exciting parts of the year was the merger of Keystone and Central regions. We now cover 33 counties in PA. We were able to welcome new businesses into the Keystone family and show the benefits of membership. It was exciting to go to the Nittany Valley region and get to know many of the members, meet some great people and get to know their businesses. There are several new business partners for all of us to get to know and work with.
Message from the President-CEO
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.
Message from the Chair: An Investment in the Construction Industry
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.
Message from the President-CEO
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.
Careers in Construction Month
October may be Careers in Construction Month, but at ABC Keystone, every month is Careers in Construction Month! With the consolidation of the ABC Central PA Chapter into ABC Keystone Chapter, our outreach efforts extend to 33 counties, nearly 25 career and technical schools, and more than 210 school districts. We’ve started the process of introducing ABC Keystone and its programs to career and technical centers first, and those conversations have yielded one new articulation agreement with Mifflin County Academy of Science & Technology (The Academy) in Lewistown and two potential agreements with both the Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center and the Central Pennsylvania Institute in Bellefonte. Every articulation agreement gives you, the members, access to young talent as these individuals pursue their careers and apprenticeships.
Message from the Chair: Big Opportunities in Construction
I’ve been in the workforce long-enough to see different careers become hot and then cool off. When I was coming out of school, the big career was nursing. The employers were offering signing bonuses, and people coming out of school had their choice of places they wanted to work. Construction has had its employment issues for longer than any other profession I can remember. Guidance counselors pushed everyone to college, and no one was talking about careers in the trades, which is a shame because of the things you learn from working in construction. You learn to think on your feet, adapt to changing circumstances, and discover how to solve problems that seem insurmountable.
