For many of you, today is your last day in the office until the New Year. Maybe you are under the gun right now, and you barely had time to open this edition of E-NEWSLINE, much less read it. 

     But for the rest of you, I was hoping to steal just a minute of your time to catch you up on all that your association and its leadership has done this past year on your behalf. 

     The only reason any association should exist, is to provide value to their members. It’s a simple equation: You got value, you got members. 

     But it goes deeper than that. Associations should also strive to make a difference in industries they represent. And those businesses that reap the rewards, should, in turn, support that association.

Teddy Roosevelt said it best:

“Every man owes part of his time and money to the business of industry in which he is engaged. No man has a mortal right to withhold his support from an organization that is striving to improve conditions within his sphere."

     ABC seeks to be that organization.  We want to provide benefits that make a positive impact to your bottom line.  And we want to be a force for positive change in the industry.  So for those of you who have made it this far, I ask that you hang in there just a bit longer so you can read for yourself all that we endeavored to do in 2007 for your company and for your industry.

In 2007, ABC worked to make your company.....

SAFER, providing safety training to more than 1600 of your employees and jobsite supervisors;

MORE PRODUCTIVE, by proving supervisory training to hundreds of your foremen, crew leaders, superintendents, estimators and project managers;

BETTER PREPARED TO FACE ITS FUTURE, through our outreach efforts in the middle and senior high schools to present students the many career opportunities available to them through the construction industry;

MORE COST EFFICIENT, so we helped you save money on your workers comp premium through IWIF; we also provided a cost alternative to high priced health care insurance through Coventry of Delaware;

LESS BURDENED BY GOVERNMENT REGULATION, so we lead the fight to defeat legislation that would have unfairly debarred contractors for unknowingly hiring illegal immigrants or ex-offenders;

MORE SKILLED, by providing state-approved apprenticeship training programs to build the next generation of craftsmen and women.

BETTER CONNECTED, by providing dozens of networking opportunities to bring together general contractors and their clients; GC's and their subcontractors; subs and their suppliers;

MORE INCLUSIVE, through our JumpStart program in East Baltimore, ABC is screening and training ex-offenders and placing them with our members, thus providing them with a second chance in life to succeed;

BETTER RECOGINIZED FOR ITS COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE, through our annual Excellence in Construction Awards program and our S.T.E.P. safety awards program;

MORE SAVVY, through our monthly Lunch-n-Learn series we provided much needed “back-room” business training on everything from ‘The Art of Being Paid’ to ‘Managing Your Bi-lingual Workforce.’

BETTER AWARE OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK, through our ABC Cares committee, hundreds of our members donated time and money to terrific organizations like Kid’s Chance; Boys/Girls Hope; Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and more!

     I could go on and on, but as my kids often tell me, “I would only be talking to myself.” I will close with this thought: the only true measure of ABC’s success is whether we have made a positive impact on the businesses and the lives of our members and their employees.  

     ABC has enjoyed a measure of success over the years, but we are never satisfied because we know that in your business, you are never satisfied. You might have just scored a project that you will keep you and your people engaged over the next several months, and provide cash flow, but every project, sooner or later, comes to an end. You always have to ask yourself: “Where is that next project coming from?” 

     We had a record 92 percent of you renew your membership this year. That is the highest in the country. But on January 1, we start from scratch and we have to prove ourselves and our value to you each and every day. All we ask is the chance to prove ourselves.

Thank you for all your support over this past year. We couldn’t do it without you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.


Mike Henderson, ABC Baltimore