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EVENT RECAP: CAM-BIA MID-YEAR ECONOMIC FORECAST
early 250 construction Brad Comm Haege ent, Kojo D professionals attended apo & Glenn om, Patrick C es m Ja D o n O’Connell & Baker, the CAM-BIA Mid-Year John Hartw ell Economic Forecast, held on Wednesday, June 29 at the Best Western Sterling Inn in Sterling Heights. This was the first joint partnership event between the Construction Association of Michigan (CAM) and the Building Industry Association (BIA). Two VIP speakers were featured: Mr. Paul Traub, business economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and Mr. John Rakolta, Jr., chairman and CEO of Walbridge, Detroit. Both presented their views and statistics on the current state of Michigan’s business climate, especially pertaining to the construction industry. Their comments were well received, insightful and interesting. "This was by far one of the most informative economic forecasts and industry meetings that I have ever attended. The presentation of Paul Traub of the Federal Reserve-Bank of Chicago was fast paced and easily understood. The second speaker, John Rakolta, Jr. of Walbridge, was refreshingly honest and candid about our industry. John did not pull any punches; olta, Jr. ohn Rak J & he let each and every one attending the meeting know what r le eh Kevin Ko needs to happen to get Michigan's economy rolling once again," said Bruce M. Pregler, partner, Facca, Richter & Pregler, P.C. According to James Capo, VP of Design/Build at DeMattia Group and CAM’s 2011 Chairman of the Board, “The event was insightful and filled with useful data. I’m extremely pleased with the attendance we received, and the two guest speakers couldn’t have been better.” Added CAM member Chris Hippler, “Your team did a great job putting this morning's breakfast together. The speakers were a nice combination of numbers, graphs and no-nonsense straight talk, both sobering and insightful in their own right.” “As treasurer of CAM’s 2011 Board of Directors, and also as a construction business owner, the graphs and projections for the future provided by Paul Traub were extremely useful to me,” said Frank Nehr, Jr., of David Iron Works, Inc. “I really appreciated John Rakolta’s straight-forward approach when talking about the economic outlook in Michigan.” 30 Tabeto p Displays The meeting included a large cross section of the Were at th e Event commercial and residential construction industry, including the Boards of Directors of both CAM and the BIA. More joint ventures are planned for the future.
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CAM MAGAZINE
AUGUST 2011
11