Inside AGC — March/April 2006

Chapter Corner: AGC Supports Chapters' Training, Air Quality Initiatives

Two western chapters earn national recognition for their programs

AGC's relationships with influential associations and federal government agencies pay off time and time again. Two of AGC's western chapters were the recent recipients of well-deserved grants that will improve the quality of life for both their areas and the construction industry.

The Wyoming Contractors Association (WCA) recently received a $2.4-million President's High Growth High Impact Jobs Training Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

"Our chapter was awarded the grant because of our involvement in national work force issues, because Wyoming has a great need for heavy trade workers and because we already had a first-rate facility for hands-on training," said Charlie Ware, WCA executive vice president.

The two-year grant will provide tuition funding for construction and construction-related industry training at WCA's McMurray Regional Training Center. Classes will be offered in truck driving, equipment operation, mobile crane operation and drilling floor hand.

"Our goal is to recruit, train and place 750 entry-level workers in construction and energy jobs during each year and to have a high-profile, first-class regional training center for heavy construction trades," said Ware.
Since the training center began in February 2001, students have been recruited from 39 states and placed in jobs in seven states, including Wyoming.

WCA has added an additional 38 acres to the original facility and expanded to include lockers and showers, a 1.1-mile, off-road truck driving course, two drilling-rig pads and a 500-hp gas-drilling rig. The center has also hired a full-time recruiter and placement specialist to assist participants in their job search, resulting in 100% of graduates receiving jobs offers since last year.

In Oregon, as part of the National Clean Diesel Campaign, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a grant for $120,000 to the AGC Oregon-Columbia Chapter Foundation to implement diesel retrofits on heavy-duty diesel equipment used to repair Oregon's highway bridges.

"Diesel engines are the heart and soul of a contractor's ability to build the strong and durable bridges, highways and buildings that Oregonians expect and deserve," said Craig Honeyman, executive director of the Oregon-Columbia Chapter AGC. "We are excited to be able to participate in this proactive approach to improve the air quality in this state. We believe that we can show that diesels are not only efficient but environmentally protective as well."

The grant funds were awarded to the chapter foundation on November 7 and will be distributed to members over a two-year period. The foundation is one of only two nongovernmental recipients in the country, and the only organization affiliated with a trade association to receive funding under the program.

Through the assistance of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the value of the award to the foundation will likely be doubled with in-kind contributions from equipment manufacturers like Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins NW.

"We want our program to help get the word out that these technologies are available," said Honeyman. "We know that our members are concerned about managing the environmental impact of their operation, as they demonstrate in many ways on an ongoing basis. We felt that with this project our chapter would be able to provide the framework for leadership not only for our members, but also for the entire industry in the Pacific Northwest."