Champions Golf Club
13722 Champions Drive
Houston, Texas 77069

The HESS Club

SMPS & AGC Houston present a hard hat tour of The Treehouse, Memorial City's newest development, a LEED Platinum building for MetroNational's Construction and Development offices.

Crisp

This course is designed specifically for superintendents, project managers, excavators or anyone responsible for storm water job-site compliance. Deadline to register is Friday, April 18, 2014.

Contract Law 101 explores what it takes to form a contract; the common issues associated with contract information, change and enforcement that are applicable to project executives, contract administrators and C-level executives. Deadline to register is Friday, April 18, 2014.

This course is designed specifically for superintendents, project managers, property managers, property owners or anyone responsible for storm water job-site compliance. Registration deadline is Friday, April 18, 2014.

Course objectives include: The different tax responsibilities for lump sum and separated contracts; the different tax responsibilities for real property repair, remodeling and maintenance; how to calculate and pay the appropriate local taxes; the effects of successor liability; and audit tips. Registration deadline is Friday, April 18, 2014.

This course provides an overview of OSHA's General Industry standards regarding hazardous materials as well as other proprietary and consensus standards related to hazardous materials. Subjects covered include proper storage and handling procedures; precautions for hazardous waste operations; and processes for handling flammable and combustible liquids, compressed gases and cryogenic liquids.

This is a one-day presentation that will give participants insight on how to reduce exposure to biological and airborne hazards in healthcare per the requirements of OSHA and JCAHO standards.

Register your Spanish-speaking employees today! Designed for entry-level construction workers, this two-day course covers the safety requirements as contained in 29 CFR 1926. Specific OSHA requirements will be covered as well as easy tips on keeping the job site safe. Participants who complete the full 10-hour course will obtain a certificate of completion. AGC Houston members receive a discount!

This course will provide an overview of the risk management and insurance profession from the health and safety program perspective. Some of the topics covered include identifying and analyzing loss exposures; risk management alternatives; and implementation and monitoring the effectiveness of selected risk management techniques.

This course covers the process to identify, select and properly safeguard machinery to protect employees and others in the work area and deliver appropriate training in safe work practices. Upon completion, students will have the ability to explain hazardous actions and motions of various types of machinery, identify methods of safeguarding and match identified safeguards with the applicable OSHA Machinery and Machine Guarding Standards to reduce and eliminate the potential for accidents and injuries.

This course covers safety and health hazards associated with confined space entry, and the evaluation, prevention and abatement of these hazards. This course is designed for small employers or for a designated representative such as a line supervisor or manager who is responsible for developing a permit-required confined space program.

AGC Houston 401(k) plan members headed to Minutemaid Park on April 2, 2014 to watch the Astros take on the Yankees and celebrate the joining of the AGC Houston and Louisiana AGC 401(k) plans as the new Southwest AGC Chapters 401(k) Plan.

Jerry Nevlud and Ken Naquin, AGC Houston and Louisiana AGC Chapter Presidents, celebrated the landmark event with plan participants including representatives from AGC Houston and the Louisiana Associated General Contractors. Thanks to event sponsors R.W.Baird and Co. and Transamerica, the celebration included AGC of America Chief Executive Officer Steve Sandherr who flew in from Washington, D.C. for the event and watched the Astros win the first series of the year, 3-1.

AGC Houston merged its 401(k) Multiple Employer Plan with the Louisiana AGC's Multiple Employer Plan 401(k) - forming the AGC Southwest Chapters 401(k) Plan - which was officially signed Friday, February 28, 2014. The AGC Southwest Chapters 401(k) Plan is now one of the largest super-regional association retirement plans, representing 60 companies and approximately 4,500 employees participating between Texas and Louisiana.

The AGC Houston Employment Practices Committee constantly strives to improve the value of these programs to members. Thanks to EPC member Tony Stergio, Shareholder, Andrews Myers, PC, the Employment Law Summary has been recently updated and contains valuable information that defines your obligations under the various employment-related laws. All AGC Houston members can access this document, located in the Members Only Section of the AGC Houston website, in the Labor & HR Publications submenu.

The 23rd Annual Fair and Barbecue Cook-Off drew more than 8,000 attendees to the Sam Houston Race Park on March 28-29, 2014, making it the most well-attended barbecue cook-off in AGC Houston history.

To all of our cooking teams, sponsors and volunteers, thank you for your hard work and dedication. Congratulations to the teams who placed and took home an award and a special thanks to the 2014 Barbecue Cook-Off Committee.

Pictured left are some of the Linbeck Group, LLP cook team, which took home the Grand Champion award. To see pictures of the winners, cook teams, entries and judging click on the link below go the the AGC Houston website, www.agchouston.org, and view all three galleries in the 2014 Photo Gallery section.

AGC Houston young professionals gathered on an outdoor patio at the Karbach Brewery to network on April 11, 2014. The Construction Leadership Council was established by the Associated General Contractors of America to cultivate the next generation of leaders in the construction industry at the local and national levels. Under the leadership of Chair Craig Kutac, Brookstone, LP and Co-Chair Kyle Holland, Gilbane Building Co., the group is planning its annual poker tournament in May. Interested in joining the group? Contact Charlene Anthony for details.

Reed Construction Data will hold its sixth annual spring economic webcast: Breakthrough Year for Construction on Thursday, April 17, 2014, 2-3:30 p.m. EDT. The complimentary webcast features chief economists Kermit Baker of the AIA, Ken Simonson of the AGC and Bernie Markstein of Reed. Hear from industry-leading chief economists as they join forces for an insight into the outlook for 2014 construction.

Construction employers added 19,000 workers to payrolls in March, bringing industry employment to the highest level since June 2009, while the industry's unemployment rate dropped to the lowest March level in seven years, according to an analysis of new government data by AGC of America. Association officials warned that the pool of available workers is declining rapidly, raising the prospects for significant labor shortages if demand continues to expand. "The rate of construction hiring continues to outrun job growth in the overall economy for the past year," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "Furthermore, the pickup has been well balanced, as both nonresidential and residential construction segments added workers last month and over the past 12 months."

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has increased its focus on identifying and resolving instances of employer retaliation against workers in the Southwestern U.S. In fiscal year 2012, the division concluded seven cases where employers were accused of retaliating against workers.

Total construction spending in February edged up from January despite adverse weather in much of the nation, as private residential and nonresidential components posted solid growth compared with early 2013, according to an analysis of new Census Bureau data by AGC of America (AGC). Association officials noted that the construction spending figures would have been stronger if not for declines in public sector construction and infrastructure investments. "Overall construction spending in the first two months of 2014 is nearly 9 percent higher than in the same period of 2013 even though public spending has continued to slip," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "Several private nonresidential categories have rebounded impressively, while both home and apartment construction remain far ahead of year-ago levels."