South Texas Construction News • Mar 2015
Page 15
Growing the next generation of leaders
A
ssociated General Contractors South Texas Chapter (AGC) director Debbie Schibi says her inspiration for forming a Young Contractors Council (YCC) was two-fold. “I kind of got excited about it at the AGC National Convention last year,” she says. “I sat next to three young men and I was watching them just soak it in. They were so excited to be part of everything. They told me they were part of their chapter’s Construction Leadership Council (CLC, another name for YCC).” The other part is the importance of grooming today’s young industry professionals into tomorrow’s leaders. “At a board meeting, I looked around the table and thought, “Who is going to be sitting here in the next 10 to 20 years – it’s not going to be us”,” she remembers. The ongoing issue of not enough skilled labor coming into the construction workforce trickles over into the professional realm as well, Schibi believes. “I got a look at this younger generation coming up and embracing new ideas,” she says. “The industry is changing so much.” The National AGC established the CLC to cultivate the next generation of leaders (age 39 and under) in the industry, as well as the association on both the local and national levels. Fired up, Schibi came back to Corpus Christi and ran the idea past the board, which supported starting a South Texas chapter. With the help of Shannon Reynolds, Beecroft Construction, and Derrick Seidenberg, Ferguson Enterprises, who sat on the advisory committee, the new AGC YCC chapter was launched last year. “Some of these guys may know AGC, but not at the level of a board member,” Schibi says. “The key is to provide this younger generation with more than just mixers.” Taking charge Stepping into the newly-formed chair of AGC-YCC was Mike Munoz, estimator and project manager at Beecroft Construction.
“My experience with AGC is that there is a lot of the older generation established,” he says. “You would see the younger people at the events kind of hanging back Mike Munoz in the shadows. What I appreciate about YCC is it gives us the opportunity to build strong relationships with our peers.” Munoz, who was born and raised in Corpus Christi, received his degree in construction science from Texas A&M in 2008. He got enthusiastic about a career in construction after helping his church build a satellite campus. He spent summers and holidays as an intern at Beecroft, coming on fulltime after graduation. This YCC chapter “is a way to start engaging the younger generation in AGC and what they do,” he says. So far, the chapter is on the ground level. “I want the members of the YCC to say that it is beneficial to be a member of this group,” Munoz says. “We are trying to focus on professional development. We will figure out as a group what will be most beneficial.” Munoz has reached out to other YCC chapters across the country to find out what they are doing and what’s working best. Co-chair is Taylor Hunt, FultonCoastcon Construction. So far, in 2015, the group plans to have three networking events, two professional and workforce development events and one community service project. Interested in checking out the newly-formed chapter? Email Munoz at mam@beecroftconstruction.com for more details. –cw
Construction News ON LOCATION
Slick group
Caleb Tichavsky, Eric Weaver, Ethan Garcia, Charles White and Chris Green take a quick break from work at PMI Oil Tools in Karnes City for a group photo. –cw
Construction News ON LOCATION
High quality
Cheryl Stone, an owner in the family-owned Falls City Milling Co. Inc., and employee Tanya Carstens, keep things moving in the office of the Falls City business that supplies feed, animal, vet and farm and ranch needs. –cw
Construction News ON LOCATION
Land stand
The YCC at a mixer last year included, back, L-R: Robert Morris, South Texas Building Partners; Taylor Hunt, vice chair, Fulton-Coastcon; Sean Walker, Fulton-Coastcon; Kristin Fletcher, Thyssen-Krupp Elevators; and Charlie Rutherford, CMC Construction; front, L-R: Vanessa Garcia, Skid-O-Kan; Debbie Schibi, AGC-South Texas executive director; and Mike Munoz, chair, Beecroft Construction.
Billi Rue, partner owner of Cut Antz Land Improvement LLC, holds down the fort while partners Brad Rue and Bart Homeyer are in the field with the crew. –cw
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The group toured the construction site at Veterans Memorial High School in Corpus Christi.
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