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. 

Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States, defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in a race called in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Nov. 9. In addition, Republicans maintained control of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and will now control the executive and legislative branches of government for the first time since 2006.

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 announced three finalists for its annual Young Professional of the Year Award on Oct. 26. Finalists were chosen based on their career achievement, leadership and vision for the future of the commercial and industrial construction industry from a field of more than 30 nominations representing 20 ABC chapters across the country.

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.