CCDI COMMUNITY BUILDER
ISSUE 8: JULY 2021
The CONSTRUCTION CAREER DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (CCDI) brings diversity to the Design and Construction industry by mentoring and exposing minority/underrepresented and under employed men and women to career development in construction.
OUR STORY CCDI was founded by Clayco in 2015 in response to the aftermath in Ferguson, Missouri to provide a program for selected young adults in North County to help them overcome barriers to success, pair them in long-term one-on-one mentorship, offer financial support, and create opportunities for job placement. Clayco’s vision and ultimate goal with CCDI was to support workforce diversity and bridge the gap in workforce development. Clayco realized this task could not be completed alone and over the past 6 years CCDI has grown beyond the walls of Clayco to include many partnerships in the St. Louis community with school districts, local leaders, general contractors and subcontractors. #BuildingTheFoundationForChange
GUIDING PRINCIPLE #1
GUIDING PRINCIPLE #2
Real World Experience
Building Awareness
We go beyond the classroom. We get jobseekers into real-world work environments for the most valuable career training.
Jobs in construction span a diverse range of disciplines and applications. We work to raise awareness of the various trade apprentice programs.
GUIDING PRINCIPLE #3
GUIDING PRINCIPLE #4
Job Placement
Academic Scholarship
With CCDI, training and mentorship are just the beginning. We provide the support and directino jobseekers need to successfully find work.
Our mentorship emphasizes academic goals. We encourage jobseekers to pursue two- or four-year degrees, focusing on tuition assistance.
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OUR IMPACT CCDI works closely with St. Louis area high schools in underserved communities as well as employment training programs to support workforce diversity and bridge the gap in workforce development. One of our many goals within CCDI is to help change the stigma of skilled trade careers by cultivating renewed interest in apprenticeship programs and vocational schools. Our vision is that through these educational partnerships, young adults who participate in the CCDI program will learn about design and construction careers, create career paths for themselves post-graduation, receive mentoring by an industry professional, assistance with career placement as well as opportunities for college scholarships all leading to promising futures. CCDI has helped place over 120 young adults into full-time positions in the construction industry since 2015 as well as awarded 34 college scholarships.
CURRENT PROGRAM METRICS
120
34
CCDI GRADUATES INTO FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT
BUILD OUR FUTURE SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED
2021 SIGNING DAY
Our Annual CCDI Signing Day took place on June 17 to celebrate and recognize CCDI graduates who chose to enter full-time employment in the construction industry directly from high school or after completing a career technical education program. It is also a day to celebrate the contractor who is giving the young adults the opportunity for a skilled, hands-on career! CCDI works with each graduate on a one-to-one basis to ensure they have all the tools they need to start their career off successfully. From tool scholarships to vehicle assistance, our goal is to help eliminate the barriers towards success and increase retention in the construction industry. Congratulations to our 18 newest graduates who were hired into employment this year. We know each of you have a very bright future ahead.
CCDI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Tom Sieckhaus
Sandra Marks
Dan Lester
Larry Zelenovich
Morris Hervey
Patrick Hanneken
Scott Rahn
Debbie Thomas
Sean Kenny
Steve Faust
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT DELMAR DIVINE The construction of the Delmar Divine project in St. Louis City is in full swing building the capacity of its selfperforming minority and women owned contractors while also employing a diverse workforce across several trades. Minority and woman owned (M/WBE) specialty trade contractors already awarded on the project include the following with several others coming onboard over the remainder of the project’s construction.
M/WBE COMPANIES
D’VON JOHNSON: PM LEACH PAINTER
JUAN BROWN:
POWER UP ELECTRICIAN
Ahrens Contracting (WBE) Alliance Certified Restoration (MBE) Aschinger Electric (WBE) Blueboat International (WBE) Blues City Glass (MBE) Ahrens Contracting (WBE) Alliance Certified Restoration (MBE) Aschinger Electric (WBE) Blueboat International (WBE) Blues City Glass (MBE)
Fire Solutions (MBE) KB Install (WBE) NGG Ltd (MBE) Power Up Electrical (MBE) Square Up (MBE) Sultan General Construction (MBE) TW Constructors (MBE) Tramar Contracting (WBE) Waterhout Construction (WBE)
ALUMNI UPDATES
MALIK JOHNSON:
ARLANDO BILAL:
DE’MARCO POOLE:
CCDI’s first graduate in 2015, Malik Johnson, was selected to participate in Local 562’s Champions Diversity Initiative program. Malik wanted to further his knowledge and skills after working as a journeymen laborer for Clayco for 5 years. Upon graduating with 13 other classmates in 562’s training program, Malik was hired on at icon Mechanical to begin his apprenticeship.
Congratulations to 2017 graduate, Arlando Bilal, on journeying out of his apprenticeship with Local 513 Operating Engineers. Arlando has been a part of the Kuesel team for the past 4 years and says he couldn’t have picked a better career and company to work for. Thank you Kuesel for sponsoring Arlando and supporting him along his journey.
Congratulations to De’Marco Poole, Class of 2019, on the purchase of his first home. DeMarco is an IBEW union apprentice electrician and has worked at PayneCrest Electric for the past 2 years. De’Marco is being mentored by Mr. David Payne who is also a graduate of McCluer High School, where they both attended.
ICON MECHANICAL
ccdi.org
KUESEL EXCAVATING
PAYNECREST ELECTRIC
FULL-TIME HIRES
TYLER DOSS:
DOMINICK GATLIN:
BRANDON RAYFORD:
Tyler Doss, Class of 2020, was hired at R&S Tower Services. CCDI awarded Tyler a tool scholarship to set him up for success as he starts his new career next week. With the addition of Patrick Hanneken, CCDI had the opportunity to meet Tyler at The Home Depot to help pick out his first set of tools.
Dominick Gatlin, Class of 2021 and Ritenour graduate, was hired on as a pre-apprentice union carpenter with our friends at Wies Drywall. He has been an active participant in our program since his sophomore year. CCDI awarded Dominick with a tool scholarship to make sure he starts off his new career prepared and ready to go.
Brandin Rayford, Class of 2021, was hired at Kuesel Excavating. CCDI awarded Brandin a tool scholarship to help him stock up on work clothes and other items to get started. Brandin has been active in our program since his sophomore year. He is excited to begin his apprenticeship at Local 513.
R&S TOWER SERVICES
WIES DRYWALL
KUESEL EXCAVATING
SUMMER INTERNS
VILLA LIGHTING:
MILLSTONE WEBER:
Thank you to our friends at Villa Lighting who have hired CCDI summer intern students for the past five summers. Elijah and JaMon who are both incoming seniors at North Tech High School and enrolled in the construction program, were hired on as summer interns. They both are gaining experience in the warehouse and in the office at Villa.
Jasean and Jaydin are 2021 CCDI graduates who were selected to join the Millstone Weber team as interns. They are learning about pavement removal, excavation, drainage, concrete and much more. At the end of their internship, Jasean and Jaydin could be hired as full-time employees. Pictured with Jesean is Vivian Martain, the civil rights compliance manager for Millstone Weber and she helped to start the CCDI program in 2015.
ELIJAH CHILLERS & JAMON JOHNSON
JASEAN JOHNSON & JAYDIN THOMAS
ST. LOUIS JOB CORPS PARTNERSHIP CCDI expanded our reach this year by joining forces and creating a new partnership with St. Louis Job Corps. Our new partnership with St. Louis Job Corps will create another strong and diverse pipeline of talent to help fill the need in the industry. St. Louis Job Corps has 15 Career Technical Training Programs and six are in the Construction Trades. We also are thrilled that our longtime partner at North Technical High School in Special School District, Dr. Dave Baker, recently took on a new position at Job Corps: “As the new Business and Community Liaison for the St. Louis Job Corps, I hope to develop new business/industry partnerships while strengthening those that already exist. CCDI has become integral in the northern portion of the St. Louis region in regard to ensuring a diverse and competent workforce for the construction industry. CCDI has taken on the task of connecting young men and women interested in the field of construction to the companies who will mentor and eventually hire them. Young people need validation of their hard work and good decisions; CCDI and its partners are providing that validation.” For more on our CCDI and St. Louis Job Corp partnership, click here.
SHUTAUN WILLIAMS:
RASHAAD SMITH:
JUAN BROWN:
Shutaun is one of the first STL JC graduates to participate in CCDI. After completing the Facilities Maintenance Pre-Apprenticeship program this past March, Shutaun was hired by Concrete Strategies as a first term apprentice carpenter. CCDI awarded Shutaun with a vehicle assistance scholarship to help him secure reliable transportation to get to and from work.
After completing the electrical training program at STL JC, CCDI helped to connect Rashaad with opportunities at Guarantee Electrical. He was hired on full-time by the GECO team, who will be sponsoring him as he begins his apprenticeship with IBEW. Rashaad is excited to give back to the CCDI program by volunteering to speak to the younger students.
Juan graduated as president of his STL JC class in 2016. Since graduating, Juan has been interested in furthering his skills in the electrical pathway. CCDI wanted to help make that happen and helped to get Juan hired as an apprentice electrician at Power Up. CCDI also awarded Juan a tool scholarship and took him on a trip to Lowe’s to pick out new tools to get him started.
CONCRETE STRATEGIES
GUARANTEE ELECTRIC
CCDI GIVES BACK HABITAT FOR HUMANITY CCDI partnered with Habitat for Humanity St. Louis to coordinate a volunteer build day to pour the foundations on two homes in the Gate District this past April. With the help of volunteers and materials provided by Concrete Strategies, Clayco, Geotechnology and Kienstra, CCDI students and St. Louis Job Corps instructors took to the field and spent the week giving back to our community. “All of us involved are thrilled by the opportunity to serve our St. Louis neighbors,” said Tom Sieckhaus, President of CCDI and Executive Vice President of Clayco’s Corporate Business Unit. “This build signifies our shared commitment to placing underserved young people into full-time employment and expanding our joint reach to ensure as many people as possible have access to career development in the construction field is critically important.” For the full story, click here. ccdi.org
POWER UP
2021 BUILD OUR FUTURE SCHOLARSHIPS CCDI is excited to announce the recipients of our 2021 Build Our Future Scholarship. CCDI’s annual Build Our Future Scholarship is awarded to topqualifying high school seniors who exhibit a desire to pursue employment in the construction industry through the fields of engineering, architecture or construction/project management. CCDI has awarded this scholarship since our infancy in 2015. We have assisted over 34 students with scholarships to pursue higher education. Our program has partnerships with UMSL/Wash U Joint Engineering Program, Missouri Science and Technology, Missouri Western and Ranken, to name a few. In addition to financial assistance, CCDI offers guidance, tutoring and mentorship throughout our students’ collegiate journey from job shadowing to internships to career placement. The Build Our Future Scholarship is not just for 4-year bound college students. We have several apprentice scholars who work full-time in the field and attend college classes in the evenings. These students aspire to work their way up the industry pipeline while obtaining valuable on the job training. CCDI is proud to support all the different career pathways.
THE 2021 RECIPIENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: JAMILA LATIMORE
DE’AJA JACKSON
KANIYAH ILYAS
HANNAH DINWIDDIE
BLAKE SIMINO-SMITH
BEN CRAMER
> Jennings High School > Missouri S&T > Computer Engineering
> McCluer North High School > Missouri S&T > Mechanical Engineering
> McCluer North High School > Fontbonne > Civil Engineering
> Ritenour High School > Kansas State University > Construction Management
> Ritenour High School > St. Louis Community College > Pre-Engineering
> North Tech High School > American Trade School > HVAC
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT SPOTLIGHT MALIK SEDIQZAD:
RASHAD JOHNSON:
2020 Build Our Future recipient, was selected to participate in Lamar Johnson Collaborative’s competitive college summer internship program. Malik has been a participant in our program for the past four years. He is a Jennings Senior High School graduate and currently attending Harvard where he is pursuing a degree in Architecture Studies. We would like to applaud Malik for finishing his freshmen year with a 3.7 GPA!
2020 Build Our Future recipient, CCDI graduate, UMSL-Wash U Joint Engineering Program student, Rashad Johnson is working for Clayco this summer as a Project Engineer Intern on site at the Delmar Divine project. Rashad is currently studying to be a Civil Engineer in the UMSL/Wash U Joint Engineering program, while managing to work two jobs and actively participating in the CCDI program!
LAMAR JOHNSON COLLABORATIVE INTERN
CLAYCO INTERN
MENTOR-MENTEE CHECK IN
DOMINICK GATLIN & SCOTT RAHN
DARIUS WHERRY & RICK MOECKEL
“Being a mentor for CCDI is important to me because my Grandpa, Dad and father-in-law all worked in the trades. Their start in the trades came from someone they knew in the industry and invested in their success. CCDI and the mentor program allows today’s high school kids who don’t have that industry connection the chance they need to build a career in the construction industry. In my experience as a mentor it has been a support role to Dominick on his journey to be a carpenter. Dominick has worked hard in school, as a laborer and now starting a career to be a professional in his craft. I am so proud of his willingness to learn, and focus on detail of whatever he does.” – Scott Rahn
“Being a CCDI mentor has been an amazing experience. This program is full of amazing young men and women that are working hard to accomplish their goals make an impact. I have been a mentor to Darius Wherry for a few years now as he is working to complete his engineering degree at MWSU. During that time, I have enjoyed the relationship we have established and consider it a blessing to be a part of his story of success. He is working very hard and doing incredibly well and I have no doubt that he has an exciting future ahead. My entire family has enjoyed getting to know Darius and we consider him part of our family.” – Rick Moeckel
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION FOCUS ST. LOUIS: WHAT’S RIGHT WITH THE REGION Each year, FOCUS applauds the efforts of the individuals, organizations and initiatives making a positive difference in the St. Louis region. This award shines a bright light on those who are advancing the equity, prosperity, collaboration, and strength of our communities. CCDI was nominated and selected by members in the community for FOCUS’ 24th Annual “What’s Right with the Region” award. We earned a spot as an honoree in the “Improving Equity and Inclusion” category for showing a commitment to promoting diversity, access, inclusion and opportunity for all. We are honored to accept this award on behalf of all the companies, organizations, schools and volunteers who have partnered with our program and do “what is right” each and every day. Thank you to all those who took the time out to nominate us for this prestigious award! ccdi.org
6TH ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT For the past 6 years, CCDI has hosted our annual golf tournament fundraiser at Glen Echo Country Club. Glen Echo is located in Normandy, Missouri and was founded in 1901. This country club holds an important history in golf and in St. Louis as the location that the 1904 Golf Olympics were held. Glen Echo had been the first and only club to host Olympic golf games until 2016. The club has since hosted a number of amateur and professional tournaments over the past century. The CCDI team invites you to come out and celebrate our 6th year anniversary and help CCDI to continue to build the foundation for change in the construction industry!
ANNOUNCING OUR 6TH ANNUAL CCDI GOLF TOURNAMENT ST. LOUIS CCDI PRESENTS
6th Annual
GOLF
tournament ay, October 12 th Tuesd
SPONSORSHIPS $20,000 Event Sponsor • • • •
One Foursome 12 extra cocktail hour tickets Four hole signs Featured spotlight on CCDI website & marketing materials
$10,000 Cocktail Hour Sponsor • • •
One Foursome 8 extra cocktail hour tickets Two hole signs
11:00 AM | ARRIVAL TIME $5,000 Gold Sponsor
11:30 AM | SHOTGUN START • • •
4-6 PM | COCKTAIL HOUR/DINNER
MAIN PRIZE: $10,000 Hole-In-One challenge
One Foursome 4 extra cocktail hour tickets Hole signage
$2,500 Major Sponsor • •
4 cocktail hour tickets Hole signage
• •
2 cocktail hour tickets Hole signage
$1,000 Hole Sponsor
Glen Echo Country Club 3401 LUCAS-HUNT ROAD ST. LOUIS , MO 63121
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SPONSORSHIP OR REGISTRATION PLEASE CONTACT:
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SPONSORSHIPS OR REGISTRATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
JULIE HAAS at (314) 592-2280 haasj@claycorp.com OR TOM SIECKHAUS at (314) 422-1032 sieckhaust@claycorp.com
JULIE HAAS at (314) 592-2280 | haasj@claycorp.com OR TOM SIECKHAUS at (314) 422-1032 | sieckhaust@claycorp.com
VIRTUAL LEARNING POP-IN-THE- CLASSROOM Every school year, CCDI helps to facilitate field trip opportunities and guest speaker visits with industry leaders at our partner high schools to meet with students interested in pathways in construction. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, CCDI had to pivot and go virtual to host weekly “Pop-In-The-Classroom” sessions every Friday. Students from the construction programs at North Technical High School had the opportunity to speak directly to industry professionals to find out more on what their companies do and what career opportunities they offer. Thank you to all those who volunteered their time to “pop-in” and speak to our students. Thank you to additional speakers not featured below: Levi Miller | Waterhout Construction, Major DeBerry | St. Louis Community Credit Union, and Zachary Diecker and Vivian Martain | Millstone Weber.
POWER UP: TERRON WHITE
WIES DRYWALL: DAN WIES
ICON MECHANICAL: PM LEACH: STEVE FAUST
DAVE MCNAMEE
THANK YOU TO OUR 2020 SPONSORS
ccdi.org
VISIT CCDI.ORG TO GET INVOLVED Our CCDI community is vibrant and collaborative. Through the support of our partners and the efforts of our participants, CCDI has grown and proved that bringing positive change through workforce development is possible. If you are interested in joining our CCDI community, explore out the great opportunities we offer.
PARTNERS This program would not be possible without our partnerships with local companies. If your company is interested in taking students for job shadowing, summer interns or full-time hires, contact CCDI.
MENTORS
COMMITTEES
DONATE
Our mentors provide their time, energy and resources to help our program and our participants. CCDI relies on industry leaders to mentor our students. CCDI is always recruiting those interested in becoming mentors.
Join one of the following CCDI Committees: Mentorship & Academy Committee | Education & Scholarship Committee | Trades & Retention Committee | Fundraising & Marketing Committee
Let’s empower communities — together. Your sponsorship makes a real, lasting impact in the lives of our future workforce. We thank you for your support. To make an online donation please click below.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF CCDI, PLEASE CONTACT RACHEL BOEMER AT RACHELBOEMER@CCDI.ORG.
For more information, contact: RACHEL BOEMER CCDI Program Director e rachelboemer@ccdi.org p 314 258 2460 TOM SIECKHAUS Executive Vice President & Shareholder Clayco e sieckhaust@claycorp.com p 314 422 1032 DAN LESTER Director of Field Diversity, Inclusion & Culture Clayco e lesterda@claycorp.com p 314 452 7795 ST. LOUIS ATTN: CCDI 2199 Innerbelt Business Center Dr. St. Louis, MO 63114 p 314 429 5100
ONLINE Stay connected with CCDI by visiting our website, ccdi.org, or follow us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ccdicommunity, or Twitter, @ccdicommunity
ccdi.org