MAKING MAGIC IN ORLANDO

When you haven’t traveled – or socialized much – in 19+ months, touching down in Orlando for AGC’s 2021 Convention did indeed feel a bit magical. But it wasn’t a matter of sprinkling fairy dust over the convention space in Orlando. The magic took months of planning – in board rooms, in Zoom meetings and in phone calls — and probably involved many left turns (and maybe a few u-turns) with COVID throwing new obstacles along the way.

And while AGC gets the credit – deservedly so – for the impressive logistical roll out, from great content sessions to inspiring keynote speakers, the real magic comes from its members — for you build the structures, repair the bridges, create the solutions and make safety a top priority. And, the annual convention – each and every year – is to honor all that you do.
 
At its Opening General Session on Tuesday, September 21, AGC and Autodesk announced the 2021 Construction Innovation Award winners, recognizing those firms who pioneer the solu-tion to ever-present industry challenges. Pepper Construction won first place for its Virtual Reality Safety Training, Skiles Group took second place for its SmartSafety app and Patriot Construction received third place honors for its Patriot Spaces, rapidly deployable COVID-19 containerized treatment units.
 
On Wednesday, September 22, AGC bestowed 18 merit awards and 25 Construction Risk Partners Build America Awards to projects that have excelled in state-of-the-art achievement, excellence in project management, innovation, superior client service and more. Considered the construction industry’s ‘Oscars,’ these awards are given to projects selected by a panel of contractors that represent the best new and renovation construction projects in 14 different categories. Louisiana, Missouri’s Champ Clark Mississippi River Bridge Replacement was named the most significant construction project of 2020, earning the project’s contractor, Massman Construction Co., the grand award, as well as the award for the best design-build civil and a Marvin M. Black Partnering Excellence Merit award.
 
Later that day, the Diversity & Inclusion Awards, sponsored by Willis Towers Watson, honored six businesses and one chapter for their efforts in advancing diversity and fostering a culture of inclusion within their workforce, supply chain and in the communities they serve. Rolin Construction, a Native American-owned and operated general contractor licensed in Ala-bama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, was named the 2021 Diverse Business of the Year. AGC also awarded Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Awards to Austin Commercial (grand award), Gilbane (large contractor), KAI Enterprises (mid-sized contractor), Trinity Subsurface, LLC (small contractor), Hilti North America (service or supply firm) and the Nevada Contrac-tors Association (chapter).
 
On the third and last day of the convention, AGC held the Willis Towers Watson Construction Safety Excellence Awards, an annual ranking of construction safety programs. Linbeck Group of Houston, Texas, was named the nation’s safest company in 2020 and took home the grand award. Forty-three other companies were also selected as winners for the quality of their safety programs.
 
More information on award winners – including those not mentioned here – can be found at www.agc.org. In addition, future issues of Constructor magazine, as well as www.constructormagazine.com, will feature additional stories on these winners, covering the impressive — dare I say, magical — work AGC members produce each and every day.
 
Looking forward to seeing you all in Grapevine, Texas in March for AGC’s 2022 Annual Convention. Registration is now open.