During its Nov. 15 meeting in Dallas, the ABC Board of Directors elected Chuck Goodrich, president of Gaylor Electric Inc., Noblesville, Ind., to serve as the association's 2017 national chair. George Nash of La Plata, Md., was elected to serve as ABC’s 2017 chair-elect.

Three months after the flooding in Louisiana, ABC Pelican Chapter President Alvin Bargas addressed the ABC National Board of Directors at its Nov. 14 meeting in Dallas to give an update on the state of affairs in Baton Rouge. After an emotional speech, fellow chapter presidents took to the floor to raise more than $240,000 to support the Pelican Chapter. In addition, the Trimmer Construction Education Foundation donated $100,000 to the relief efforts and the Executive Committee donated $15,000 from its Strategic Initiatives Fund.

ABC celebrated the achievements of one young professional and two university groups at its Nov. 16. Future Leaders Awards Luncheon during ABC’s Leadership Week in Dallas. Brooke Wenger, director of business development at Triad Engineering Inc., a member of the ABC Cumberland Valley Chapter, won ABC’s second annual Young Professional of the Year Award; Colorado State University won the 2016 Construction Management Competition; and Texas State University was named 2016 ABC Student Chapter of the Year. 

ABC member Page Mechanical Group Inc. (PMG) reached a major milestone in its employee education program in October by launching its own apprenticeship training program. The program is accredited through NCCER and offers PMG employees an in-house apprenticeship training program in pipefitting, welding, sheet metal fabrication and insulation trades. 

ABC has teamed up with Autodesk to create an exclusive learning experience for ABC members. This event is limited to 30 ABC member companies and will be held in Las Vegas on November 16, 2016. For more information, contact Jessica Serafin at (202) 905 -2087 or [email protected] 

IAN Corp. of Barrigada, Guam, a member of the ABC-affiliated Guam Contractors Association, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.  A company that meets the criteria set forth in the program, and has earned Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) Gold, Platinum or Diamond status, is formally designated an “Accredited Quality Contractor.”      

On May 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule changing the federal exemptions to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act for so-called "white collar" workers, which include administrative, executive, professional and computer professional employees, that have long been exempt from being paid time-and-one-half for working more than 40 hours per week. The rule will essentially double the current minimum annual salary level for exemption from $23,660 to $47,476 per year effective Dec. 1, 2016.

ABC General Counsel Maury Baskin and ABC National Director of Legislative & Political Affairs Liam Donovan will hold important webinars that will breakdown the post-election political and regulatory landscape Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 respectively.

On Oct. 24, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prevents the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council from implementing the final blacklisting rule, officially titled Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, which was scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 25. 

ABC has added Keystone Chapter member G. Allan Galbraith of Galbraith / Pre-Design, Inc. to the Beam Club Presidential Level. The Beam Club was established in 1966 to recognize ABC’s top membership recruiters for their commitment to growing the association. By recruiting five new members, ABC members are automatically enrolled in the Beam Club by their chapter.