Here we are in fall already—a good time for me to remind members that AWCI’s Industry Leaders Conference is Oct. 17–20 in Boston at the Boston Park Plaza, the largest independent hotel in the city. It will be a great get-together where attendees can share their experiences with colleagues across the country. But it will be much more than just a networking event.
The conference features a number of education sessions—a must for senior-level managers. There will be more than half a dozen speakers, some of whom you will know through AWCI. Our CEO Mike Stark is among the presenters, and talks will also be given by company safety directors, a risk manager and other experts in their fields. Among them is Kermit Baker, chief economist of the American Institute of Architects, who will provide an economic outlook; Ron Ciotti, partner at Hinckley Allen, will give insight on how to get paid for the work you do; and business coach Scott Beebe will tell attendees how to build a business that weathers volatile changes and more. Only twice a year do we all have a chance to gather for conferences, and this is one of them. I encourage all of you to attend if you can. Go to www.awci.org/ilc for details.
I also want to applaud AWCI for its three-day safety peer review. At the time of this writing, our company, The Raymond Group, was put under the microscope through this review in which members of the AWCI Safety Directors Committee, which includes volunteer health and safety professionals, looked at our safety culture and performance.
I am really excited about this initiative. We are the third company to go through the evaluation, which gives participating companies feedback, good and bad, on their safety programs and initiatives. It is an opportunity for us as member companies to see what we are doing well and where we might improve. The committee might have recommendations on new equipment, products or processes and technologies that can better our safety efforts. I think the next company evaluated under this review will see its benefits like we have at The Raymond Group.
This month’s editorial theme in the magazine is prefabrication. Has your company jumped on the bandwagon? Prefabrication is a big topic and an important one as I’m sure you all know. Look to this edition of AWCI’s Construction Dimensions for information on this emerging technology because it is gaining traction throughout the wall and ceiling industry.
In the meantime, I hope you all have a great month. Look forward to sharing my thoughts again in November.
In addition to being 2023–2024 president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry, Travis Winsor is president and CEO of The Raymond Group, which has offices in California and Nevada.
