Dear ASA Members and Friends of ASA,

Springtime is finally here and hopefully you are all able to get your spring planting done, the camping trailers cleaned, the boats ready for the lake, and the baseball tickets bought. Unfortunately we continue to get hammered with severe weather and have to deal with tornadoes, flooding, winds and fire season. We have to keep on helping each other out, as that is the way that good people do things. And I know that our ASA family is always there to lend a helping hand to those in need. As subcontractors and vendors, when called upon to help with donating time, treasure and talent to those in need, please consider helping out.

Our country’s political landscape has seen its share of challenges to say the least.  Faced with many uncertainties, it is sometimes hard to balance our business practices. Labor issues/shortages due to challenges with the migrant population have affected some of our businesses. Price escalations, in part due to the uncertainty of how the tariff wars are affecting the materials we install, have made for uncomfortable challenges. Material shortages and long manufacturing delays are, in part, still with us. Cut backs in spending in both public and private sectors are affecting our work loads as well. The roller coaster of construction continues to bring us the highs and the lows. The good news is, that as an amazing association, ASA is ALWAYS there to provide the best support and information possible to help navigate through challenging times. And we can always reach out and rely on each other to share ideas on what works best in our different markets and disciplines. So please remember that as ASA members you are encouraged to tune into our webinars and the many educational resources we have to offer to make you as successful as possible in your businesses. Please take advantage of all that ASA has to offer.

One way in which we can get a good dialogue going among our chapter leadership is on May 5th at 6:00 PM EDT. I will be hosting the second Chapter President’s Forum. The first one I hosted late last year was highly successful and there was a good sharing of information and ideas. It was a good start and we can expand our sharing of knowledge during the next one. It’s Cinco de Mayo and close to the end of the day, so feel free to have a margarita or a cerveza in hand during the call.

Coming up on June 9th and 10th is our Annual ASA Legislative Fly in on Capitol Hill. It is an amazing two days in which we get to walk the Halls of Congress and meet with our Nation’s law makers to discuss the issues that affect us the most. I encourage you to register and attend. Mike Oscar and his staff do an amazing job setting it all up.

And of course I will remind you all again, that registration for SUBExcel is NOW OPEN!!!  This is our annual convention packed full of educational opportunities, advocacy, networking, the awards banquet and of course some “fun” activities as well. This is coming up on September 16th through the 18th in Oklahoma City at the Okana Resort & Waterpark. The OK City ASA Chapter, along with the SUBExcel Working Group has put in a lot of hard work, so that it will be a huge success and beneficial to us all. We will see you all there in September.

This month’s issue of the Contractor’s Compass focuses on productivity hacks, and to that end, there’s something in this issue for everyone; from Payroll Productivity, Tariff Preparations and Safeguards, to Third Party Inspections, to name just a few.

As I’m now in the last quarter of my presidency, I reflect back on how quickly this year has gone by. I have enjoyed meeting many of you, either in person or virtually. Last month I visited the Mississippi Chapter and enjoyed meeting with their leadership and members.

I would like for all of us to continue to pray and offer support to Mike Oscar and his family, as he lost his lovely wife, and a member of the ASA family, to cancer. Likewise we need to continue to offer our support and prayers to the family of Lloyd Spivey who we also lost last month. Lloyd was the Executive Director of the Mississippi chapter for many years.Their absences have definitely been felt.

As always, please reach out to me with any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. I’m always here to listen and serve you in the best way possible. God bless you and your loved ones.

Ray Moya

President
ASA – 2024-25
asapresident@asa-hq.com