AGCVA eBulletin

W. M. Jordan Company announced that Farrah Massenburg has joined the firm as Supplier Diversity Manager. Massenburg will operate from the firm’s Richmond office, a central location for their business operations.

Massenburg works to promote diversity and inclusion of small, minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses into the supply chain of commercial construction projects. W. M. Jordan Company’s goal is to stimulate contractor interest and assist SWaM and HUB firms to become significant value-added service providers to the industry. She educates individuals how to become SWaM-certified and how to develop business opportunities.

Governor Northam today signed Executive Order Thirty-Five, which establishes goals and programs aimed at expanding opportunities for Virginia’s small-, women-, minority- (SWaM) and service disabled veteran-owned businesses. Governor Northam has directed the executive branch agencies and institutions that have statutory authority over procurement to achieve a target of procuring 42 percent of discretionary spending from certified small businesses. The Executive Order also maintains a set-aside for certified micro businesses, which have fewer than 25 employees and no more than $3 million in average annual revenue over a three-year period.
The Executive Order directs the development of an updated study to determine whether there is disparity in the marketplace regarding contracting with women- and minority-owned businesses. The Commonwealth previously produced disparity studies in 2004 and 2011 finding that 1.27 percent (2004) and 2.82 percent (2011) of total state contracts were awarded to women- and minority-owned businesses. Conducting an updated disparity study is the first step toward determining whether these businesses still face disparate treatment and tailoring new programming to address the findings of the report.

The AGCVA Board of Directors is looking to fill two vacant At-large seats starting in late January.  If you are interested and want to know more about the responsibilities, please contact Gordon Dixon at gordon@agcva.org or Trip Smith at Tsmith@mebgc.com.  AGCVA is striving to find diverse and talented leadership to help guide your association into a successful future.

In a rebound from recent years, Virginia edged out Texas as the nation’s top state for business in CNBC’s annual rankings released Wednesday.

CNBC’s 2019 America’s Top States for Business study cited Virginia’s landing of Amazon’s $5 billion HQ2 project in Arlington and Alexandria as a leading factor in the decision. The largest economic development project in Virginia history, Amazon’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters will employ 25,000 workers within the next decade.

Sadie Elyse ... Anyone who knows me knows I work in construction, and that involves a hard hat and boots on a daily basis.

Today while closing up my project’s jobsite in uptown... Charlotte, a mom with her young daughter walked past me while I locked the gates, and the mother thought it was a good lesson to tell her daughter she needed to work hard and be smart so she didn’t end up like me.

To that mom, you should hope your daughter grows up to be like me because that means she will have worked hard and earned her engineering degree from a top university that also was named in the top 50 in the country for highest salaries.

That means she will have chosen one of the only industries where the wage gap between her and her male coworkers does not exist.

If she grows up to be like me that means she will be fiercely independent and confident enough to sit in a room as the only female, be 10 years younger than anyone else, and have her opinion heard and respected.

To the mom on the corner of Church and Trade today, I hope your daughter grows up to be smart, confident, independent, and maybe if you’re lucky she’ll wear a hard hat to work.

 

Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace safety and health programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America's workers safe.

Why Participate?  Successful safety and health programs can proactively identify and manage workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line. Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help get your program started, energize an existing one, or provide a chance to recognize your safety successes.

You're Invited to Attend this FREE Business Event

presented by:  Thryv with Google & AGCVA.

AGCVA Headquarters    TIME: 8:30 am to 4:30 am (each day)

Cost Per Unit: $350 (Member)  $550 (Non member)

 

AGCVA Headquarters    TIME: 8 am to 5 pm (each day)

Cost Per Unit: $350 (Member)  $550 (Non member)