Congrats to Trident Construction, BYC “Ambassador Company of the Quarter” for Q1, 2020!

Image

Congrats to Trident Construction, BYC "Ambassador Company of the Quarter" for Q1, 2020!

Build Your Career is pleased to announce our Ambassador Company of the Quarter for Q1, 2020.  A hearty congratulations goes out to Trident Construction of Charleston, South Carolina—longstanding Carolinas AGC member since 1982.  Over the last two years, Trident has been a huge supporter of the BYC workforce development initiative and an extremely active company Ambassador, involved with numerous BYC outreach programs.  From partnering with BYC on the inaugural launch of the Contractors in the Classroom program to guest speaking at several BYC events, and most recently contributing to the new BYC 50/50 program during our 2020 Convention, Trident Construction continues to serve as an exemplary BYC program Ambassador.

Robbie Fairey, Chairman and CEO, Trident Construction

Trident Construction, LLC, located in North Charleston, South Carolina, was founded by Robbie Fairey in 1981 and is the area’s largest locally owned General Contracting firm.  Trident is an unlimited licensed contractor known for providing exceptional construction services to team-oriented clients throughout the Southeast.  Their projects range from small interior up-fits to complex design-build facilities for the industrial manufacturing sector.

Since it was founded, Trident Construction has been heavily involved in countless community-based outreach initiatives geared toward promoting construction career awareness to local students.  Trident consistently works with several local Charleston area high schools to lead numerous BYC Contractors in the Classroom presentations for hundreds of students, participates in local career fairs and the company also offers several seasonal internship positions to area high school students interested in obtaining industry work experience to supplement their education.

At the 2020 Carolinas AGC Annual Convention in Aruba, Trident Construction was also one of the first member companies to pledge a substantial contribution to the BYC 50/50 program—a campaign designed to utilize 50% of funds donated through the program to support construction education at local schools of the donor’s choice with the remaining 50% being used to support the expansion of an existing BYC program of their choice.  Through their participation in this employer-driven program, they plan to build stronger relationships with their local Charleston K-12 schools by supporting the expansion of construction education and awareness programs while engaging with students—inevitably plumping up their own talent pipeline as a result.

The Trident team leading a BYC Contractors in the Classroom visit

Trident Construction also worked in tandem with BYC on the pilot launch of the Contractors in the Classroom program at R.B. Stall High School in early 2018.  Since that first initial visit, their team has made several additional visits to the school to lead classroom presentations for participating students.  During each class demonstration, they also engage in unique and interactive project-based learning activities with the students, show time-lapsed and BIM videos of their building projects and share blueprints of those projects in an effort to accurately paint the full-scale picture for the students of what the entire building process consists of from start to finish.

Ryan Tomberlin, Superintendent at Trident Construction

When asked to comment on his experience leading a BYC Contractors in the Classroom event, Ryan Tomberlin, Superintendent at Trident Construction, had rave reviews.  “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to share my experiences with the construction industry and Trident Construction to the students of R.B. Stall High School, my alma mater. I enjoyed watching their imaginations grow while I answered their intriguing questions.  I hope they took as much valuable information away from the presentation as much as I enjoyed giving it and interacting with the students.” 

From their early beginnings, Trident Construction recognized the long-term value in educating future generations of workers entering the construction industry workforce.  They also realized the key to the success of their company was a direct result of their commitment to properly recruiting and training more qualified workers.  Being deeply-rooted in this fundamental company philosophy, Trident has also recently worked with Build Your Career to use part of their generous donation to the 50/50 program to map out the groundwork for a new paid student internship program to launch with North Charleston’s R.B. Stall High School students once K-12 schools resume normal class schedules in the fall of this year.

John Edward Griffith, Superintendent at Trident Construction

John Edward Griffith, Project Manager at Trident, spoke on behalf of the entire Trident team to share their thoughts on being named the first CAGC member company representatives to receive the BYC “Ambassador of the Quarter” award.  Griffith stated,We are honored to be the first BYC Ambassador Company of the Quarter.  Trident Construction has truly seen the value of participating in the BYC initiative through hiring individuals that are passionate about the construction industry and are eager to learn.  By supporting our local schools and initiatives, we have hired some new teammates who have been a great addition to the company. We feel that it is our duty to invest in our communities’ local construction programs to help fill the growing construction trades shortage.  We highly encourage all CAGC member companies to participate in the BYC program.” 

Todd Bulwinkle, Vice President at Trident Construction

When expressing what benefits their company has seen thus far from developing partnerships with local high schools, community service programs and organizations like CAGC and Build Your Career, Todd Bulwinkle, Vice President at Trident Construction, said, It has been our pleasure to support the Carolinas AGC Build Your Career workforce initiative since its inception.  By engaging with schools in our community we are able to attract new talent into our industry and develop the next generation of construction professionals for our company.  We are very appreciative of the work BYC has done to assist Trident and would encourage all CAGC member companies to do what they can to engage with their local students to ensure a strong and sustainable workforce for our industry.” 

Trident Construction with Eckerd Connects, 2019 "Build a Shed" First Place Winners

Aside from their involvement with the CAGC Foundation’s Build Your Career program, Trident Construction is also deeply ingrained in local community service outreach projects and workforce development efforts in the Charleston area.  As part of their ongoing company commitment to encouraging students to pursue careers in construction, Trident is also an active participant in the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Annual “Build-a-Shed” competition—their leadership even helped them win first place with their team of Eckerd Connects students in the 2019 contest!  Trident is also an annual sponsor of the Water Mission International “Walk for Water” event, an organization raising awareness of the global water crisis and dedicated to providing clean water to impoverished areas across the globe.

Trident Sponsors a Teal Diva event

Trident Construction provides sponsorship support to Teal Diva, a nonprofit organization focused on celebrating victories, honoring memories, empowering women and funding research in the fight against ovarian and other gynecologic cancer.  Further demonstrating their commitment to supporting their local Charleston communities, Trident also annually sponsors the Health Care Heroes awards to honor the men, women, and service and therapy animals who serve as professionals and volunteers for health care, first responder, research and other areas in the healthcare field.

Most recently in response to the COVID-19 health crisis, the Trident Construction team also participated in the AGC of America “National Safety Stand Down” earlier this month in an effort to showcase their own safety protocols and to ensure the public and government officials that their construction projects can continue to operate safely without increasing the spread of the coronavirus.  Trident was also one of many CAGC member firms in SC that donated N95 masks and PPE gear to local hospitals who were experiencing a critical shortage of these much-needed supplies.  The company is also working with Roper Hospital in Charleston, SC to convert over 50 patient rooms to “negative air” rooms—a process that involves removing windows and installing industrial ventilation fans to remove contaminants and sanitize the air once a COVID patient has been treated and moved from the facility.

Trident Construction Safely Works During COVID-19

In addition to their efforts to assist area hospitals and medical facilities better accommodate and safely treat their patients during the COVID-19 outbreak, Trident is also committed to providing a safe work environment for their own employees, which has resulted in one of the best safety records in the industry. This ongoing commitment to quality and safety has produced numerous recognitions and awards, including being named General Contractor of the Year nine times by the Charleston Chapter of the American Subcontractors Association, as well as being named a finalist for GC of the Year an additional thirteen times by the Association.

Dave Simpson, President and CEO of Carolinas AGC

Carolinas AGC President and CEO, Dave Simpson, recognized Trident Construction for being such active CAGC members and avid BYC supporters by stating:  A big congratulations to Trident Construction as our BYC Ambassador “Company of the Quarter” – well-deserved leaders who are keeping the bar high on getting promising young people and others into rewarding construction careers.

On behalf of Carolinas AGC and its Foundation, Build Your Career is proud to name Trident Construction as our “BYC Ambassador Company of the Quarter” for Q1 of 2020.  The CAGC Foundation sincerely appreciates the entire Trident Team and their contributions to its Build Your Career Program.  We honor their accomplishments and steadfast efforts in promoting construction careers and workforce development on behalf of the construction industry.  Trident Construction truly exemplifies the word "Ambassador" as they strive to foster construction career awareness while giving back to the community they’ve helped build for almost 40 years, illustrating how our Carolinas AGC member firms continue to set the gold standard in our industry for what it takes to sustain it for many years to come.

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 or contact Program Director, Tammy Ford, via email at tford@carolinasagc.org or by phone at (704) 995-3901. To make a charitable contribution to Build Your Career, please visit our secure online donation portal. To learn more about Trident Construction employment opportunities, please visit their website or contact the Corporate office at (843) 572-7600.