TH E EX TR A MIL E
Welcome to the first issue of The Milestone BY MICHAEL WHITE KCA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Well, I must say I am thrilled today to be writing an article for the inaugural issue of The Kansas Milestone. A digital magazine has been a goal of mine since I started with the KCA. I hope you find this magazine – your magazine – to be relevant and informative. The Milestone will be used not only to highlight your company's accomplishments and our industry's successes, but also to provide you with timely and actionable industry information. Take mental health for instance. I did not realize mental health was such a critical issue facing the construction industry until I started working for the KCA. I have talked with many professionals and recently met Cal Beyer at an AGC of America chapter executive event. Cal’s presentation opened my eyes to the seriousness of the mental health issues our industry is facing. I hope you find the article by Cal and Joe Tiernan to be enlightening. They are a great resource for our industry as we work to shed some light on mental health and the resources readily available to our workforce. I hope to have Cal speak at a future KCA convention. Also highlighted in The Milestone is Speaker Ron Ryckman who was instrumental in passage of the IKE plan in 2020. This PAGE 16
KCA
KANSAS CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
monumental transportation plan was passed in the final hours of the 2020 session just before the COVID pandemic struck. Speaker Ryckman understands the value of transportation and remains steadfast in his support of infrastructure investments. Stay tuned for more exciting information to roll out this fall on our new website. We are preparing for our 100th anniversary as a state association in 2023. It is hard to imagine that KCA is about to celebrate a century of accomplishments. While I have only worked at the KCA for a small part of those 100 years, I can assure you, the KCA is well poised for the next 100. I would love your feedback on The Kansas Milestone and welcome guest articles. If there is something you would like to share as member news, please send it our way for the next issue. This is your association and your digital magazine. We are here to make it something you can be proud of, so please share your ideas and your accomplishments so we can commemorate and celebrate them together as an industry.
