Greetings fellow ASA members and friends of ASA –

I hope that everyone has survived the coldest part of the year and all are looking forward to Spring. We can definitely put the darkest, coldest, and gloomiest part of the year behind us as we look forward in anticipation of warmer weather and more daylight. I definitely like the longer daylight hours. Not that it has improved my golf game any, but I can at least have a few more hours to work on it.

We now have in place a new (former) President of the United States in office and with that, his cabinet secretaries and staffers as well. And true to his word he is definitely making a big splash right out of the gate. Border Security/Immigration and Tariffs seem to be the hot button that in many ways could have an impact on our industry. Many of our companies rely on a workforce that has migrated to our country, and there is nervousness and fear of losing that workforce and not being able to provide the manpower needed to complete the projects we have. It will be interesting to see how all of that will play out. Tariffs might also have a direct impact on the goods we purchase for our construction projects. How do we shoulder the potential added costs for those materials, and can those potential costs ultimately be passed on our customers? Again, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. For insight to what is going on in DC and how all of this may impact us, I encourage you to keep appraised through the work Mike Oscar (our Government Advocacy guru) and his team are doing on behalf of ASA.  It is one of the most important offerings that ASA delivers to our members.

For a couple days at the beginning of February, ASA National descended upon our ASA San Antonio chapter for a series of meetings. We had a Finance Committee meeting, our Think Tank open discussion forum, and a National Board meeting. We were welcomed with open arms by the San Antonio chapter and met with their Board and many of their chapter members.  It was a good and productive visit, and we were overjoyed by their chapter’s enthusiasm and great leadership. Thank you San Antonio!

This issue of Contractor’s Compass is focused on Small Business. You will be able to read many great articles geared towards small businesses – whether it’s about leadership (always thoughtful content from Gregg Schoppman), payroll, insurance supplemental applications, or free resources that you may have forgotten about – or overlooked.

In the not too distant future we have a few educational opportunities that might be of interest to you, and hopefully you can take advantage of them. On March 12th there is a webinar on Contractor’s Rights to Stop Work for Non-Payment. We all have encountered that problem. This should help you navigate through that slippery slope. On March 26th on LinkedIn, a webinar on Personal and Business Success, using the LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

On March 19th we will have our Annual Business Meeting. Normally this takes place during SUBExcel, which in the past has been in March, but this year SUBExcel is moving to September. Please join in for the Annual Business Meeting at which time you will receive the President’s Report (or State of the Association), the Government Advocacy Report (delivered by Mike Oscar), the Financial Update and more as well. Please mark your calendars for this important meeting.

Speaking of marking things down on your calendar, I would like you all to grab a Sharpie (or another permanent marker) and mark down SUBExcel which will be September 16th thru the 18th, in Oklahoma City.  The OK ASA Chapter, along with ASA National staffers and members from other chapters, have done a great job planning this amazing event. There are going to be phenomenal speakers, informative educational opportunities, an abundance of networking, peer to peer interaction, fun and social events, and our annual awards event. If you have never attended SUBExel, now is your opportunity! For those that have attended SUBExcel in the past, we welcome repeat offenders, as each event is unique. I attended my first SUBExcel in 2016 and have never missed once since. It’s an event you should not miss.  I look forward to seeing you all in OK City in September. Registration should be opening up soon. Stay tuned.

Another event to mark down is our Annual DC Hill Visit in June. This is our yearly visit to our Nation’s Capitol, meeting with lawmakers about issues that are important to our industry. Mike Oscar does an outstanding job with this. Registration is open, and you can reserve your spot.

I hope this letter finds all of you doing well and your businesses thriving. Keep your noses to the grindstone and I wish all of you the best.  And remember, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, suggestions, concerns, etc. Blessings to you all. Thank you.

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