Vermont Business Magazine It’s been a good 12 months for the Associated General Contractors of Vermont. A year ago, the Montpelier-based construction trade association was named the best AGC in the nation for its size. Last week they were named the fastest growing. They also specialize in Burgers and Brews.
Richard Wobby, executive vice president of AGC/VT, told VermontBiz, “Pre-COVID we took a dynamic shift in the relevancy of what we’re doing.” Wobby said this began in 2018 and 2019.
Photo: Richard Wobby, center, accepts the AGC award in September 2021. Courtesy photo.
They’ve seen a new generation of leaders and are more focused on impact of legislative needs for the construction industry, career development and financial needs, he said.
“The membership had to believe,” Wobby said.
The Associated General Contractors of America named AGC/VT as the winner of the Small Chapter of the Year. The award was presented at the 2021 National and Chapter Leadership Conference last September in Orlando.
On September 19, AGC/VT received the J Howard Mock Award for recruitment, retention and engagement. It’s the national award for membership. The Mock Award recognizes the AGC chapters with the best overall membership growth.
AGC/VT is the largest construction trade organization in Vermont representing about 200 general contractors, equipment and material suppliers, insurance companies, technology companies, bonding firms, legal firms, financial institutions, consultants, and other construction industry professionals throughout Vermont.
This is a boom time for construction in Vermont
“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by our national leadership,” said Pete Kelley, Vice President of Business Development at DEW Construction. He was AGC/VT president at the time of the 2021 award. “We take our mission to promote skill, integrity, and responsibility seriously, and our members have shown incredible leadership and innovation, especially throughout the pandemic.
“I am proud of our work in multiple areas including creating a member-led COVID-19 Response Task Force, developing the first comprehensive COVID-19 Return to Work Safety Plan, pivoting our award-winning safety training program to a virtual and then hybrid classroom, designing and offering a COVID-19 Certification Program that trained more than 3,000 COVID-19 Safety Officers working in construction, manufacturing, emergency response, and other critical industries, focusing on workforce development, and providing legislative advocacy,” said Kelley.
The AGC of America Chapter of the Year Award recognizes chapters that have developed outstanding programming and excelled at achieving tangible accomplishments during the calendar year.
The Associated General Contractors of Vermont was commended for initiating:
A major expansion of its Training and Education Career Program.
Government Affairs innovations in the legislative arena which positively impacted the Vermont business community and the construction industry.
Growth within the Next Generation Leaders group.
Organizing more than 90 events or engagement opportunities with record-breaking attendance.
Social Gap Targeting.
Double-digit growth in its print and electronic media readership and engagement.
Pandemic Recovery/Re-Start Programing and support.
Other areas cited included new member recruitment, member retention and improved engagement.
“Congratulations to our board of directors for their leadership, and all of our members who have selflessly volunteered their time, resources, and knowledge to help our organization, the construction industry, and our Vermont community weather these extraordinarily challenging times,” added Kelley.
Kelley continued: “I also applaud our incredible staff for guiding our organization and flawlessly executing our initiatives and programs and helping all our members and non-members keep their workforces safe during the pandemic. I also thank our national organization for their leadership and support throughout this trying year. As an organization, we are humbled and honored to accept this national award for Small Chapter of the Year.”
As an example of how they’ve expanded their outreach, AGC/VT’s Burgers and Brews last month exceeded all expectations, Wobby said, at which attendance numbers surpassed those from last year.
About 60 contractors, their staff, associates, and friends attended the event hosted at Casella Construction in Rutland, while they saw around 100 people turn out at ADA Traffic Control’s headquarters in Colchester.
“We thought these events would be a special offering for just last year as members emerged from the pandemic,” said Wobby, “but the response was so positive and overwhelming from members that we decided to bring Burgers and Brews back as a mid-year gather. Based on attendance and feedback, it looks like that was the right call.”
“Everybody loved it.”
They have one more Burgers and Brews outing this year, to be held on Thursday, September 22 from 4-7pm at AGC/VT headquarters in Montpelier.
The outreach is working for the award-winning organization.
Wobby said they have a 98.9% retention rate, have grown by 29 members and now have a total of 200, with 170 with them for at least five years.
He knows other regional AGCs have had a difficult time with retention and growth.
Wobby said AGC/VT is “racing toward relevancy,” which is what the younger generations are looking for, while using social media to push outside their “comfort zone.” They produce a short video and email it weekly on different subjects and departments within AGC/VT, like Project Roadsafe.
The open rate for the email is 45-50%.
