Dear ASA Members.
As the summer draws to a close, my oldest son Creighton has been asking lots of wonderful questions as he explores the balance of his K-12. Last week, he informed me that he wanted to study Civil Engineering when he goes to college and we discussed that path. Given that Engineering was the path I followed into the Construction Industry, I couldn’t be prouder that my son was laying a foundation that might take him into the industry that I love so dearly.
In each of your companies, I hope you will reflect as we finish out summer on who are the next generation of leaders in your company. Are they your children? Trusted employees that you have trained from ground up? Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, or Marines who have returned home after the longest war in our nation’s history who now chose to build our nation? This is the time, as it should be every single day, to develop and invest in the leaders in your company and the leaders in our industry. These will ultimately be our community, state and national leaders.
ASA is a key cornerstone in building our next great industry leaders. As ASA members, I encourage each of you to take advantage of the endless benefits available to you locally and nationally.
- Attend local/national events (available both in-person and virtually);
- Read local and national ASA news to stay on top of the critical issue that affect our livelihoods; and
- Make sure you access the online area of the ASA National website (known as the Info Hub) to unlock the knowledge base and tools of the vast resource library and special membership benefits
Additionally, ASA members should take pride in the work going on to represent each of you behind the scenes on Capitol Hill. For example, ASA’s top priority this legislative cycle was to ensure performance and payment bonds were included in federal Public Private Partnership transportation projects and the Senate voted 97-0 in favor of ASA supported legislation with the Van Hollen (MD) Amendment to protect subcontractors. This legislation already passed the House and will become law upon presidential signature. Candidly, a 97-0 vote in the Senate is HUGE, and this is our second such vote in two years with the first being the ban on reverse auction in federal bidding practices for construction projects. Our voices as ASA members are being heard loudly and clearly in the halls of Congress!
Also, ASA’s Subcontractors Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) is active in a lien waiver case in Oklahoma (click here to learn more). So, ASA is full speed ahead representing subcontractors where laws are made and where laws are interpreted, both critical to how your businesses function.
Another part of engagement is communication. Let us know if you aren’t receiving our weekly e-newsletter ASAToday, or our bi-weekly updates via Hammer & Nails. We want to make sure you are getting everything you possibly can from your ASA Membership. Let us know how we are doing. We are here for you. Together, we build America!
Brian Carroll
President, ASA, 2021-22
