A Word From AGCVA Chairman, Anthony Smith

The AGCVA world is buzzing with activity. Our annual convention was only a month ago but AGCVA leaders and staff are charging forward with the pillars of our strategic plan and are already making big strides.

AGCVA is advocating – and should be the “first call” for members, legislators, regulators, and other stakeholders on issues related to construction. In support of this, AGCVA staff is working hard to develop a comprehensive PR strategy meant to complement our overall advocacy efforts. As you know, it’s the peak of the state legislative season. AGCVA is present, working alongside Virginia’s state lawmakers, advocating for you, our members. With the direction and guidance of the Legislative Committee, our lobbying team is formidable. It is led by our CEO Brandon Robinson, and includes Policy Manager Kyler Hedrick, and Preston Bryant and Chris Nolen, both with McGuire Woods Consulting. 

This team has already accomplished a great deal by killing bills on bid listing and cooperative procurement, while supporting and moving bills providing additional protections against wage theft and adding guardrails to PLAs.  

Most importantly, we have accepted the challenge to work to find a solution on the issue of pay-if-paid. There is a bill introduced to ban its use in contracts, and while AGCVA understands these clauses are one-sided against our subcontractor members, we also understand our general contractor members require upstream protections to avoid catastrophe. Quite simply, it is an issue that can be divisive for our membership. That is also why AGCVA is perfectly suited and completely committed to find the solution. We have the skill, the integrity, and will not shy from the responsibility to take this on for the benefit of our members and the industry.   

AGCVA is growing – and I find it very fitting that during Black History Month we can announce the formation of our DEI Taskforce headed up by AGCVA state board member Bill Cooper of Atlantic Constructors, Inc. This taskforce is not a “check the box” effort based on assumptions, programmatic approaches, or exclusively behavioral changes. Bill and his group are committed to finding  solutions. They will start by collecting information to identify and understand our issues of concern, build inclusive leadership, shape our behavior, and finally develop structural inclusion. AGCVA aspires to be a model of inclusivity and I can’t think of anyone better than Bill to lead this effort.  

Further, our 2022 training schedule is in full swing with the first round of Supervisory Training Program (STP) wrapping up and Building Information Modeling (BIM) just beginning in a virtual format. Perhaps most exciting in this area is that we hope to be able to make a big announcement in the coming weeks of an AGC multi-chapter partnership providing an opportunity to our members to take part in a leadership program targeted for construction professionals – more to come on this, so please be on the lookout! 

Virginia BEST, AGCVA’s exclusive partnership with VOSH, continues to grow and many longtime program members continue to climb through the program tiers and are on track for overall safety success.

AGCVA is connecting our members. Our new efforts to streamline processes while increasing our staff support throughout the state are in full swing. All districts are finalizing their 2022 event schedules so be sure to regularly check the AGCVA events calendar to find out what is happening in your backyard. Additionally, please make sure that you’ve updated your member profile with your communications preferences, so that the AGCVA team can send you the information you’d most like to receive.  

As was the theme of our convention, we are building with you. There continue to be many challenges on the road ahead, but we are committed to walking with you and your team. In every challenge, an opportunity exists and we will help you to find those opportunities and make the most of them. As we are hopefully nearing the end of the limitations caused by the pandemic, connecting with your member colleagues is a great (and enjoyable) way to begin our path forward.