September is upon us and the summer is coming to an end. The AGCVA community is working on what will be a very busy fall. I use the word community because it rings true as to who we are as an association; a community of companies committed to the success of the Virginia construction industry. Our all-encompassing membership spans from the beaches of the Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay in the Peninsula and Tidewater, through urban areas and suburban sprawl of Richmond and Northern Virginia, into the foothills of the Piedmont, the beauty of the Valley, and finally (my openly biased favorite) the comforting peaks of the southwest Virginia mountains in Central and Roanoke. We are diverse in region and profession. We are a community of contractors, bankers, bonding and insurance agents, developers, material and equipment suppliers, staffing groups, consultants, educators, engineers, and architects. There is simply no other construction-focused association within Virginia that can claim as strong a statewide presence and to be truly representative of so many professions. Our community is our strength and as a member you can tap into that community to work to your benefit as we continue to Advocate, Grow, and Connect together.

For the sixth year in a row, Brown Edwards has been recognized as a top accounting firm on the INSIDE Public Accounting (IPA) Top 100 List, moving up another five spots on the list this year to number 73.

WDBJ in Roanoke tells the story of the power of Registered Apprenticeships, sharing how high school students are receiving on-the-job training. One such student was Phoenix Angell, the first in the state to finish the surveying technician program. He now works for Balzer & Associates.

This year, 258 Virginia companies made the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s 5,000 fastest-growing privately held companies. Inc. magazine recently released the annual compendium. Two AGCVA members, Old Dominion Mechanical (Richmond) and The Breeden Company (Virginia Beach) were included.

AGCVA member Ed Stelter of Faulconer Construction hosts Foundations Podcast about the histories and stories behind the construction companies that built the buildings and put into place the infrastructure we use everyday. On this episode, Ed is joined by Carl Harman of Harman Construction for a discussion of Harman's fascinating history, and how they got where they are today. 

Click the button below to hear about Harman's involvement with AGCVA and why he believes their membership has been so important to their success. You can also listen to the full episide here.

Company to expand corporate headquarters in the City of Virginia Beach and establish a testing, training, and R&D center in Dinwiddie County.

Phillip Ross, leader of the construction industry group at New York City-based accounting advisory firm Anchin, detailed how contractors can earn up to a $5-per-square-foot tax deduction (increased from $1.88 currently) for certain projects under the new law starting in 2023.

Leadership skills can be developed and refined over time, opening the door to career advancement and higher wages.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently revised the agency’s Whistleblower Investigations Manual. The updated manual supersedes the January 2016 version and is the first complete overhaul since 2011.

An accelerated wave of baby-boomer retirements has aggravated the industry’s chronic labor shortages and is opening the door for women.  

Five ways to ensure construction job recruitment communications, interview and hiring techniques, and onboarding processes are fully articulated and as inclusive as possible.

The Virginia News Network (VNN) sat down with Ron Lauster, President of W.M. Jordan Company, and with Courtney Baker, Director of Workforce & Training at AGCVA. In the conversation linked below, you will hear about the importance of the Virginia BEST Program to the industry as a whole; why W.M. Jordan participates in the Virginia BEST Program and how that affects every aspect of their work; and, the critical role AGCVA plays in the Virginia BEST Program, and how that has impacted worker safety in the commonwealth.

PLEASE NOTE: The interview is broadcast through the iHeart app. You can access via your desktop. The page may take a moment to load, and you will see a red error message on the page. Disregard the message and look for the round Play button at the bottom center of the page.

The suicide rate for construction is one of the highest among major industries. That statistic is from a 2018 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it’s one major reason why the concern about mental health in the construction industry has grown.