Summer is quickly approaching and along with summer come fun and the AGC Summer Convention, presented by Anchor Insurance & Surety, Inc. If you have not had a chance to register for the convention, now is the perfect time as the early bird deadline has been extended through Friday, May 17.

So don’t delay, register today!

Flat Tiki

If you’ve attend the AGC Summer Convention before, you know how much fun everyone has. Join us in a little fun before the convention even begins.

Where in the world is Flat Tiki?

If you’ve heard of Flat Stanley, you’ll know what to do… if not, here are three easy steps:

1. Cut out Flat Tiki around the dotted lines. Flat Tiki for print
2. Take a picture of you with Flat Tiki doing something fun, crazy, or just hanging out.
3. Send your photo to AGC. Christina Devlin

We’ll post it on the Summer Convention website, our AGC Facebook page, and other social media sites.

Everyone who joins in the crazy fun will be entered into a drawing for a free night stay at Salishan.

Drawing will be held at the Saturday Night Closing Banquet.

So get creative, promote AGC and the Summer Convention, and send us your best shot!

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Here are five good reasons to attend:

1. Great education – With more educational sessions added to the schedule, there are now over 20 hours of continuing education credits available. Bring your key employees and earn all your continuing education requirements for your CCB license in one weekend!
2. Good for the entire family – Bring the entire family with you and make it a fun weekend for all. Register your spouse for the convention, as she will want to attend the Spouses Brunch and Special Program on the morning of Friday, August 9. The brunch is a fun and informative way for her to meet other spouses in the chapter.
3. Got kids? Bring them along for the Mad Science program. During this very popular two-day program, kids become junior engineers and learn about super structures and the shapes all around us.
4. Growing and staying informed – Keep up on the important issues impacting us here in Oregon, Southwest Washington, and in Washington, D.C. Our keynote speakers will talk about why we should all be involved, informed, and strong leaders for our companies and the industry.
5. Great fun – Along with working hard, comes playing hard! The evenings at the Summer Convention are filled with great events for networking and building business relationships and friendships.
   • Thursday Welcome Reception, presented by Chinook Winds Casino Resort
   • Friday night is our Famous Friday Reception, and we are having a luau – Hawaiian shirts are encouraged!
   • At the Closing Night Banquet on Saturday night we will slip away to paradise and enjoy the tropical breezes in Margaritaville as we listen to the tunes from The Cheeseburgers.

Join us August 8-10 at Salishan Spa and Golf Resort.

Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.’s Building Girls program helps fill a critical gap for young women by offering ways to explore the variety of exciting, high-paying careers available in the trades. Through supervised hands-on construction experience, positive skills coaching, and working directly with female role models, Building Girls fulfills an unmet community need.

During the high school camp, girls will learn how to build a shed, use power tools, weld, tile, go on field trips and much more. Middle school girls will install trim on the shed, paint the shed, go on field trips, weld, tile, and a variety of other fun activities.

Camps cost only $25 per session and there are a limited number of scholarships are available for each camp session. Apply for a scholarship.

Southern Oregon Camp at Rogue Community College

Combined Middle and High School Girls Camp

June 24–28
9 am–3:30 pm

North Portland Camp at the University of Portland

Breakfast and lunch provided at the North Portland Camp

High School Girls

July 15–19
9:30 am–4:pm

Middle School Girls

THIS CAMP IS FULL. New registrations will be placed on a waiting list.
July 23–26
8:30 am–3 pm

Building Girls Camps are only $25 per session. To apply, visit the website or contact Ashley Kaye, 503-335-8200 x 27.

Visit the website for more information.

“It is heartening to see that both nonresidential and residential segments of the construction industry added significant numbers of workers in the last 12 months, even though gains from March to April were limited to the residential side,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Other indicators, such as the continuing growth in architectural and engineering employment, suggest that demand for construction will expand further.”

Seasonally adjusted construction employment of 5.79 million in April was 6,000 less than in March, but 154,000, or 2.7 percent, higher than in April 2012, Simonson noted. Residential building and specialty trade contractors added 13,300 workers in the month and 83,700 (4.1 percent) over 12 months. Nonresidential building and specialty trade contractors, along with heavy and civil engineering construction firms, lost 19,700 employees in April, but added 70,100 (2.0 percent) over 12 months. Architectural and engineering services employment climbed by 2,700 in the month and 23,400 (1.8 percent) from a year earlier.

The unemployment rate for jobseekers who last worked in construction fell to 13.2 percent from 14.5 percent in April 2012, the lowest April level since 2008. Three years ago, in April 2010, the rate was 21.8 percent. The industry unemployment rate is not seasonally adjusted and, thus, can be compared to the same month in past years but not month to month.

“The ongoing decline in the construction unemployment rate is only partly a result of opportunities in the industry,” Simonson pointed out. “Unfortunately, many former workers have now left the industry, perhaps permanently, which will make further recovery in construction more difficult.”

Association officials said that if construction employment grows as expected during the coming months, it will become increasingly difficult for employers in particularly fast growing market regions and segments to find qualified workers. They added that a lack of domestic skill-based educational programs and arbitrary caps on the number of construction workers in proposed immigration legislation would make it harder for firms to keep up with growing demand.

“It will not take a lot of growth in demand before many construction firms are scrambling to fill positions with skilled workers,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “We need to provide significantly more opportunities for students to learn skills-based crafts like construction and avoid imposing artificial limits on the size of the construction workforce in immigration legislation.”

Ken Triplett

AGC Oregon-Columbia Chapter member Kenneth R. Triplett (May 31, 1952–April 22, 2013), principal at Triplett Wellman Contractors, died late Monday evening April 22, at his home following a brief illness

Born in Silverton, Oregon, the first child of Jake and Rosabelle Triplett, Ken grew up in Woodburn attending Woodburn High School. He attended Warner Pacific College in Portland for one year before transferring to and graduating from the University of Oregon in Eugene with a degree in Business and Finance.

Ken returned to Woodburn after college and married Tana Jean Beck at the Settlemier House on August 28, 1976. They made their home in Woodburn for a number of years before moving to Wilsonville and then on to Aurora.

In September of 1982, after apprenticing under his father, Jake, at Woodburn Construction, Ken struck out on his own with his friend and business partner Gene Wellman forming the company known as Triplett Wellman Inc. Over the last 30 years, Ken oversaw over 600 million dollars of construction projects.

Ken was also involved in several business ventures with Webstar Development. One in particular development project is the Wellspring Building, which is the main campus for Silverton Hospital Health Center. He served on several advisory boards including the Mid-Valley bank and the Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia Chapter’s Board of Directors. He also served as a mentor in the Port of Portland’s Mentor Protégé Program for Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.

Ken is survived by his wife, Tana, three children, Jadon Triplett of Portland, Allison Triplett of Virginia and Matthew Triplett of Corvallis. He is also survived by two sisters, Judie Vandersteen of Woodburn and Linda Aman of Star, Idaho.

A Memorial service will be held on Sunday May 19th at 2:00 P.M. at the Wellspring Center 1475 Mt. Hood Avenue in Woodburn. A Reception will follow. Arrangements by Cornwell Colonial Chapel, Woodburn.

Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to:

Providence Portland Medical Foundation
Melanoma research
4805 NE Glisan Street
Portland, Oregon 97213

It is important you take a few minutes to participate in the survey. The more responses, the more accurate the survey results. This information can be used to determine your shop’s salaries, and are offering salaries that are competitive throughout the state.

Question regarding the survey should be directed to Jeff Robinson, 734-429-1199.

“Safety is a serious topic but there are fun ways to go about it – whether it’s comedy, music, or both,” said Coburn, a senior. “The video gets the message out but music is what keeps it in your head.”

Coburn took second place honors in last year’s contest with his video “Safety Police.”

The other winners are as follows:

Second place ($400):

• You Don’t Know What You’re Doing and that Could Kill You
  Milce Delgado Lopez and Daisy Abundez, Springfield High School, Springfield
  

Third place ($300):

• Speak Up. Work Safe.
  Andre Yu, Zeth Hillman-Johnson,Timmy Nguyen, Bob Lawrence, Sage Krening, Levi Markham, Seth Frecke, Luis Garcia, Emalee Guild, Addalai Clark, Jaime Paredes-Torres, Brandon Beverage, Mario Zivanovic, Vanessa Jones, Connor Bachelder, Dustin Hobbs, Robert Curtin, R.J. Person, Leon Vuong, Ethan Macbrough, Ryan Shone, Vadim Stasyuk, Rachel Billick-Smith, Kristy Lu, Matt McKenna, and Christian Rouse, Parkrose High School, Portland
  

Students’ choice award ($200):

• You Good?
  Michael Norris, Shawn Vielmetti, Keenan Reed, Colton Sundell, Josiah Beggio, Summer Fulcher, Dakota Cunningham, and David Bair, St. Helens High School, St. Helens
  

The creators of the top videos were presented their awards Saturday during a special screening at the Northern Lights Theatre in Salem. The contest is designed to increase awareness about safety for young workers, with the theme of Speak Up. Work Safe. Students were asked to create a video with a teen job safety and health message and were judged on creativity, production value, youth appeal, and the overall safety and health message. All of the winning videos, as well as the other finalists, are available for viewing.

The contest is organized by the Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition (O[yes]). Oregon OSHA, SAIF Corporation, local chapters of the American Society of Safety Engineers, the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET), Liberty Northwest, Hoffman Construction, Central Oregon Safety & Health Association, the Labor Education and Research Center, SHARP Alliance, Oregon Health Authority, and SafeBuild Alliance sponsor the contest.

Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state’s workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, go to www.orosha.org.

The Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition (O[yes]) is a registered nonprofit that strives to prevent young worker injuries and fatalities. O[yes] members include safety and health professionals, educators, employers, labor and trade associations, and regulators. For more information, go to: www.youngemployeesafety.org.

Josephine County Sportsman Association Gun Range,
Grants Pass
August 24, 2013
8:30 am–6:30 pm

AGC Fundraiser for the Rogue Community College Construction Technology Program

Handgun, rifle, trap, skeet, and archery—

try one or try them all!

Whether you are an experienced pro, a complete novice, or somewhere in between, join us! This event is a great opportunity to build team spirit within your company or bring clients along for some friendly competition against industry colleagues.

Event registration is only $35 until June 30. Regular rates ($45) begin July 1. Additional add-ons available.

Interested in acquiring your concealed handgun permit? Now is your chance! A great class is being offered from 9 am–5 pm on August 24 for only $50!

Register today! (And start saving your ammo!)
We’ll see you in August!

Thank you to our sponsors!
CAF–The Union Contractors of AGC
Gerding Builders, LLC
Northside Ford Truck Sales
Patriot Fire Protection
Republic Services
Wilson Equipment, Inc.

Sponsorships are still available. Contact Christina Devlin for more ways to support a great event and be recognized by your peers!

Don’t want to wait until August to practice? Another great shooting event to consider:
Top Shot presented by the Professional and Industry Associates Council – June 21 in Canby.
Registration is open.

Save the Date!

FHWA / ODOT DBE Program Training Opportunity for Contractors (Prime and Sub) and State and Local Agency Project Staff

June 19, 2013

The Oregon Department of Transportation Office of Civil Rights (ODOT OCR), in collaboration with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), has announced an upcoming opportunity to obtain civil rights training. Conducting this training will be Ms. Teresa Banks, Civil Rights Technical Service Team leader from the FHWA Atlanta Resource Center.

Specifically, the training will cover the following Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program topics:

• Program overview
• Goal setting
• Commercial Useful Function (CUF) requirements
• Counting/crediting DBE participation
• Completing ODOT forms

Detailed location and registration information coming soon! Additional information will posted on the Office of Civil Rights webpage.

Dozer Day is less than one month away and they need your help!

May 18 & 19

Watch a great video on how to become a volunteer at Dozer Day and how you can help thousands of local children have a great time this year.

This year’s event will be held over two days, Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19, from 11 am to 4 pm at the CEMEX Fisher Quarry off Highway 14 at the 192nd Street exit. Volunteers are needed to operate equipment (experienced, professional operators only), work with equipment operators to help children on and off the machinery, monitor lines, and assist with check in, ticket-taking, etc. Volunteers must be at least 14 years old.

In addition to the satisfaction of supporting this great event, all volunteers will receive free admission to the event, a snack pack, and water. More information about volunteering, including an online registration form, is available on the Dozer Day website or by contacting Mike Bomar of Southwest Washington Contractors Association. For more information about Dozer Day, please visit the website, www.dozerday.org.

To volunteer, click here!

Thank you for supporting Dozer Day!