Earlier this month, Carolinas AGC Vice President of Operations and Workforce Training, Bill Stricker, had the opportunity to work onsite for the day for one of our long-standing CAGC member firms, Hall Contracting. This fun-packed day was the result of a winning bid made by Mike Hall, President and Owner of Hall Contracting, at our 2019 CAGC Annual Convention where BYC hosted a silent auction fundraiser of CAGC Staff members working for the day at the winning bidder’s company or jobsite.

Bill’s day began bright and early as he arrived at the Hall Contracting highway and utility project in Rock Hill, SC, decked out with all his proper PPE gear and complete with a big smile! Mike and the Hall Contracting Team welcomed him with open arms and did a great job of showing the “greenhorn” the ropes. From mixing concrete to digging part of an underground trench for utility pipe installation and even operating the big excavator for about a minute (just long enough for a photo opp), Bill Stricker was able to get a jam-packed, condensed version of a day in the life of a Hall Contracting employee.

During an interview with Mike Hall, when asked if a CAGC Staffer had ever spent any time working on one of their building projects he stated: “This is definitely a first for Hall Contracting and it’s been a lot of fun! This was a really original idea for a fundraiser and we were happy to support the BYC cause. With Bill’s help and expertise, we were able to pick up the pace on our project.” While there’s no guarantee that Bill’s “day of manual labor” actually expedited any production on the site that day (we seem to have a lot of pictures of him watching other people actually work), it was definitely a huge compliment from the guys at Hall!

Mike Hall went on to say, “All CAGC members should get involved and support BYC. It is an investment in the future of our industry, not an expense.” Hall Contracting has been one of our biggest supporters and an advocate of the CAGC Build Your Career workforce development initiative since its inception.

BYC was designed and created for our valued CAGC members and we know that we cannot do this without the support and participation of loyal member firms, like Hall Contracting. However, we desperately need growing support and participation from more of our members and fellow industry professionals. So, this is how the BYC workforce development movement evolves and gains momentum, by our member firms getting on board to participate in our outreach efforts and inspiring others in our industry to follow suit! Just think, next year it could be YOUR lucky firm that gets to boss Bill Stricker around and host him “working” on your jobsite for the day…how awesome would that be?

For more information on the CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career workforce development initiative or to volunteer to be a BYC Ambassador, please visit our website at www.buildyourcareer.us/ or contact Program Director, Tammy Ford, via email at tford@carolinasagc.org or by phone at (704) 995-3901. To make a contribution to BYC, please visit our secure online donation portal, https://carolinasagc.givingfuel.com/byc-ambassador-fund.