More than 800 attendees participated in Merit Week Feb. 11-12 in Maui, Hawaii, where they took advantage of learning and networking at ABC’s BizCon and Merit Canada’s International Open Shop Conference, and celebrated the achievements of the winners during the Excellence in Construction Awards.

During BizCon, more than 350 of the most influential North American thought leaders in the construction industry came together to share insights. The conference featured keynote speakers Commander Kirk Lippold and Jason Jennings, an economic outlook, and panel discussions on workforce development, the fast-growing energy market, and the challenges and opportunities faced by construction owners and users. Key takeaways from these sessions can be found on bizcon.abc.org.

In addition, Merit Week celebrated the Excellence in Construction Award winners for their exceptional projects, the National Safety Award winners for their commitment to achieving world-class safety and the National Diversity Excellence Award winners for their diversity leadership.

ABC and Merit Canada also signed a joint resolution Feb. 13 outlining their partnership agreement and commitment to free enterprise and the merit shop philosophy, under which construction contracts are awarded to construction companies based on merit.

The next BizCon will be taking place in the fall of 2015. The exact date and location is still being determined but check back at bizcon.abc.org for updates.