News Updates

Mobile Section, AGC Installs 2011-2012 Officers and Directors

The Mobile Section of AlabamaAGC  installed the 2011-2012 Officers and directors at their Annual meeting held January 6^th at the Country Club of Mobile. 
Mobile Mayor Sam Jones was among the 100 plus contractors, suppliers, and guests who were in attendance as guest speaker Sam Covert, Jr. - Mobile Area Division Manager for Alabama Power Company discussed Mobile’s need for workforce development and gave a brief recap of the 2010  “Worlds of Oppportunity Career Expo”. 
To view a list of the officers and directors   Click Here

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2011 Worlds of Opportunities Career Expo Held September 27-28, 2011

September 28^th & 29^th 2011 the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Commission Region 9, in cooperation with local industries, Municipalities, and Public and Private Schools hosted over 11,000  8th grade students, teachers, counselors and volunteers from 8 southwest Alabama counties during  the Worlds of Opportunity Career Expo at the Greater Gulf State Fair Grounds.

All comments from students, teachers and event organizers were very positive.  There was a tremendous amount of effort put forth by everyone involved.  Appreciation is extended to all who participated in the event by providing equipment and hands-on exhibits.

Plans for the 2012 Worlds of Opportunity Expo are in the works.  If you are interested in exhibiting or helping with the World of Construction - please contact
Charlotte Kopf :   251-344-8220       mobagc@bellsouth.net

Click here to view  2011 "World of Construction" photos, exhibit partners, and sponsors.

 

Obama Signs into Law 3% Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act

 Nov. 21, President Obama signed into law the 3 Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act.  The law permanently repeals the requirement that federal, state and large local governments begin withholding 3 percent of each payment of $10,000 or more to a contractor after Jan. 1, 2013.  The bill signing is the culmination of a five-year effort by AGC, chapters, members and industry stakeholders to repeal the 2006 provision.
Read More

Recap of November Lunch & Learn - "Are You Prepared"

 During the November Lunch & Learn Greg Parker with Turner Insurance & Bonding shared his personal journey as an “only child” that unexpectedly
became a care-giver, care-manager and ultimately executor over his parents’ estate due to the affects of dementia, stroke and heart attack.  His message brought the question of "What if you or a family member were seriously injured or developed some type of disabling disease"….would you be ready?   We all have learned that we can’t “predict” what will happen tomorrow but we can “prepare”.  
Attendees received a free copy of the “Life Walk Planner”,  
a document created by Greg designed to help with the planning and
documentation of an individual’s estate.    
 
(Note:  This was not a sales session….only information designed to save  time, money, effort and additional stress when the time comes.)
For a free copy of the handout, please contact Greg Parker:  gparker@turnerfirst.com

Recap of October 26th Lunch & Learn Update of Alabama's New Immigration Legislation

 Mobile lawyers Bill Daniels, and Anna Scully with the firm of Burr Forman updated us on how the Immigration Act will affect general contractors, as well as specific revisions to subcontracts that are necessary to protect company's from committing violations of the Act.  They also addressed  steps that need to be taken to comply with the specific requirements for all new contracts with state entities in Alabama.

To view an informative summary of the Lunch & Learn please click here.

or visit  Burr Forman's website:   www.burr.com

Recap of October 11th Lunch & Learn

On Tuesday, October 11^th, AGC associate members, Hodges Harty and Brent Martina of Merrill Lynch, conducted a lunch and learn workshop at the AGC office.  The group shed insight on the current economy, the European debt crisis, and the outlook for future economic growth and interest rates.   Hodges and Brent also offered possible strategies to find opportunities in high yield, high quality, and high growth sectors given our current environment of low interest rates and high market volatility. 
If you missed this very informative event, feel free to contact Hodges or Brent with any questions you might have about the economy or your personal and business investment strategies.  They are located at the Merrill Lynch office at 3674 Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36608, and they can be reached at 251-345-0200.   

EPA  Lead Paint Update - April 2010

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided against expanding its Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule to include lead-dust sampling and clearance testing requirements, the Agency announced on July 15.  AGC played a key role in communicating the construction industry’s concerns with the proposed “clearance testing” requirements.  AGC working alongside a coalition of real estate and development groups to present a collective industry voice that has led EPA to refrain from straddling contractors with costly and unnecessary dust wipe sampling and laboratory analysis requirements.

After reviewing AGC’s and other public comments and available science, EPA has abandoned its plan to require contractors to test dust to prove the absence of lead following construction projects covered by the federal LRRP rule. AGC praises EPA for rightly recognizing that the existing lead-safe work practices and clean up requirements under the LRRP rule — which just became fully implemented in April 2010 — will protect people from any lead dust created during renovation jobs, without the need for additional costly clearance requirements.  Read More

 Norman J. Walton, Sr. Inducted into Alabama AGC Construction Hall of Fame during the 2011 Build Alabama Awards Banquet in Birmingham

The late Norman J. Walton, Sr. – J. S. Walton & Co., Inc.  was inducted into the Alabama Construction Hall of Fame  during the 13^th Annual AGC Build Alabama Awards Banquet, held Jan. 14 at The Club in Birmingham. Mobile Section is honored to have another of our founding members included in this special group. 

Mr. Walton was the second generation to lead J.S. Walton & Co., Inc., one of the state’s oldest heavy, highway, and industrial contractors.  The company was founded in Kentucky in 1919 and moved to Mobile in the 1920s.  Mr. Walton was a civil engineering graduate of Georgia Tech. He was active in community affairs and served as chairman of the South Alabama Planning Commission for several years. Mr. Walton also served as a past
president and founding member of the Mobile Chapter, AGC in the early 1960s and was active until his death in 1983. A memorial scholarship to Georgia Tech was established for Mr. Walton by his sons through the AGC Education and Research Foundation.

Congratulations are extended to the Walton family on their father receiving this prestigious honor.

To view the video which was used to highlight the life of Norman J. Walton, Sr., please click below:

Norman J. Walton Sr. Induction Into AlabamaAGC
Construction Hall of Fame

Alabama AGC established the Alabama Construction Hall of Fame to honor and recognize
outstanding individuals in the construction industry. These individuals are held in esteem by their peers and have demonstrated their professionalism through active support of the industry and through their civic and community involvement. In short, only those who have literally changed the landscape of our state and nation are enshrined in the Alabama Construction Hall of Fame.

Previous Hall of Fame inductees are:
2010 – James Floyd Pate, Sr., Major L. Holland, Richard Saliba and Glenn Bishop
2009 – D. Riley Stuart, Joseph P. Giattina Jr. and Henry T. Hagood Jr.
2008 – The late Benjamin Hogan Craig, Jr., William W. Herrin, the late J.V. Rives, Jr., Charles H. Sain and Norman Walton, Jr.
2007 – Bill Harbert, W.K. Upchurch, Jr., and Bill Caton, Sr.
2006 -- Houston Brice, Sr., Hugh Daniel and John Harbert
2005 – John Caddell, founder and chairman of the board of Caddell Construction Co.
2004 – M. Miller Gorrie, founder and CEO of Brasfield & Gorrie
2003 – Winton “Red” Blount, founder of Blount International
2002 – George Edwards, former owner of Richardson Construction
2001 -- the late D.W. “Bill” Ellard, Ellard Contracting Co., Inc.; Paul B. Krebs, Paul B. Krebs & Associates; Nicholas H. Holmes Jr., Holmes & Holmes Architects.

Ben M. Radcliff Contractor, Inc. of Mobile was recognized with an award in the division of Building Construction Renovation for their project “Mobile County Annex Additions” which was completed during 2010. 

White-Spunner Construction of Mobile was one of three contractors chapter-wide recognized for their efforts to make the construction industry safer.  Each received the AGC Build Alabama Excellence in Safety Award. The other contractors were Rast Construction
Co. of Birmingham; Saliba Construction of Dothan.  The Statewide Associate Board started the safety award in 1999 as a way to recognize “contractors who place their employee health and safety programs at the center of each project.”

Congratulations are extended to these firms for a Job Well Done!

2010 Worlds of Opportunity Career Expo

The “Worlds of Opportunity” Career Expo  held
September 29-20, 2010  in Mobile,  hosted over
9000  8^th grade students, teachers, and counselors from 8 Southwest Alabama counties.   This was the first hands-on expo of this size ever held in Alabama.  The “World of Construction”  was one of eleven industries included and was by far the largest “world” with hands on demonstrations held inside and outside of the Fairgrounds. 

Appreciation is extended to all who participated in this successful event. 

Click here to view article and  photos from the
World of Construction . 

  Click here to View the Booklet  which was given to each student.   

view the website:  www.worldsofopportunity.org
to view short video.

Appreciation is extended to all  Event Sponsors for 2010
(please click here to view listing)

New Federal Rules for Stormwater Runoff
from Construction Sites
EPA recently finalized new stormwater requirements that will impact nearly
every construction and development project in the United States.
These “Construction and Development Effluent Limitations Guidelines” (C&D ELG) impose an enforceable numeric limit on stormwater discharges from sites disturbing 10 acres or more at any one time, require monitoring to ensure compliance with the numeric limit, and require
nearly all construction sites to implement a range of prescriptive erosion and sediment controls and pollution prevention measures. The new ELG requirements will directly apply to individual construction sites via incorporation in individual and general National Pollutant Discharges Elimination System (NPDES) construction stormwater permits.
EPA will include the ELG requirements in its federal Construction General Permit when it is reauthorized by July 2011. States are required by EPA to include the new ELG requirements into their permits the next time they are renewed  (or earlier if the states so choose).

Penalties for violating these new federal C&D ELG requirements may reach $37,500 per day per violation.     Are you prepared?

Many contractors are receiving letters from U.S. EPA directing
them to complete a mandatory survey on construction storm
water management practices within 60 days – or face significant fines and penalties. 

Here’s what contractors need to know… EPA has initiated a national rulemaking to reduce stormwater discharges from new development and redevelopment and to strengthen its stormwater program (a.k.a., “post-construction” stormwater rule). To collect information from entities believed to be owners/developers of residential, non-residential, industrial and commercial sites, EPA mailed out letters last week to approximately 3,000 companies directing  them to complete a lengthy, mandatory questionnaire within 60 days. 

According to EPA, the Agency DID NOT direct its post-construction survey to general contractors; however,  it seems that many general contractors did – in fact – receive it.   It is important that any general contractor who received the survey complete the pertinent sections and submit
 it in advance of the 60-day deadline or they could be fined significantly (CWA authorizes penalties of up to $37,500 per day per violation)!

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SURVEY: Unless you have an ownership interest in the properties you build on, you should not have to complete more than the first page of the survey – stopping at A5… 
As a result of National AGC’s work with EPA last year and early this year, the Agency is not requiring general contractors (businesses that only build houses or other structures on a contractual basis and do not take ownership of the lots they build on) to complete the detailed
financial and technical portions of the survey.  Take a closer look at the definitions page and the first few questions on the survey.  It is online at       http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/rulemaking.cfm
(scroll down to owner/developer questionnaires)                 

   

Norman J. Walton, Jr. Installed as Treasurer of AGC of America - March 2010

 Alabama AGC congratulates Norman J. Walton of 
J. S. Walton & Co., Inc. who was  installed as the Treasurer of  our national association—AGC of America,  March 26th during AGC’s  91st Annual National Convention held in Orlando. 

Walton, a Lifetime National Director for AGC of America,  has been active on the AGC Board of Directors for over 38 years.  He is the first  Mobile Section, AlabamaAGC member to serve as a National Officer. 

 Walton’s service with AGC of America includes Chairmanship of the following Committees:  Highway Division; AGC-SASHTO Joint Committee; AGC-Membership Administrative Committee; and AGC-Highway Work Zone Safety Committee.  He has also  served on the National Executive Committee, Contractor Relations Committee; Sitework & Grading Committee; Strategic Plan Team; and AGC PAC Committee among others.

 Locally, Walton has served as President of the Mobile Section, AGC; President of Alabama AGC, and currently  serves on the board for Alabama AGC and on the Mobile Section Board.

 We congratulate Norman as he begins his journey in this prestigious position.  It is an honor to have him represent AlabamaAGC and  Mobile Section.

 

S. J. & L. General Contractor, Inc. Receives AGC of America "Construction Safety Excellence Award" at National Convention (March, 2010)

Alabama AGC congratulates  S. J. & L.. General Contractors, Inc.  of Mobile who received  2nd place in the Utility Division (under 100,000 hours) in AGC of America’s  nationwide Construction Safety Excellence Award program.

 “There’s no better measure of a company’s commitment to quality  than their safety program,” said Doug Pruitt, Immediate Past  President of AGC of America  who announced this year’s winners at the 91st Annual National Convention.  “White completing magnificent projects is important, protecting hard working employees is essential in this industry. “ 

S. J. & L. was selected by a panel of five independent safety professionals within the government, corporate, and insurance industries.  Final  judging for the program took place during the convention.

Mike Tew, a  long time Mobile Section, AGC member was instrumental in establishing the Mobile Section Safety Committee.   Tew  has previously served as Mobile Section President and currently serves as Treasurer of Alabama AGC.  - Congratulations!!!!

 

2010 Alabama AGC Construction Hall of Fame

John E. Pate, son of J. F. Pate, Sr. currently serves as President of the company his father began over eighty years ago.  John likes to refer to the story of his father and a friend who came to Mobile from Dyas, AL  riding a mule, with only one pair of shoes and 75 cents between them.  Mr. Pate began his 48-year construction career as a salesman for Vaughn Lumber Co. and started his construction company while working there.
J. F. Pate & Associates Contractors maintains one of the oldest  Alabama General Contractor License numbers, 652. 

In 1973, Mr. Pate was nominated for Mobilian of the Year by the AIA.
Being nominated for Mobilian of the year was an outstanding accomplishment, but to have a contractor nominated  for the honor by architects speaks volumes.  
Over the years Mr. Pate J. F. Pate & Associates Contractors, Inc. constructed a number of prominent local buildings. Among the many projects were:  the Administration Building and Library at the University of South Alabama; Fine Arts Building at Mobile College; the Coca-Cola Building in Theodore; and the Kerr McGee facility.

Mr. Pate was one of the founding members of the Mobile Section
of AGC in 1963.   His life epitomized the code of Skill, Responsibility and Integrity set forth  by the AGC over 90 years ago.

The Mobile Section is proud to have one of our founding members
placed in the Alabama Construction Hall of Fame.

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