AGC Houston Honored at Salute to Minorities in Construction

AGC Houston President/CEO Jerry Nevlud and the AGC Diversity Committee were recently recognized at the Houston Community College’s fifth annual Minority Business Development Agency ’s Salute to Minority Contractors Luncheon. Held at the Junior League of Houston July 18, 2019, the annual event honors minority-owned construction firms, and the advocates and organizations that support them.

“The annual salute was developed to highlight local firms, individuals and organizations who embody the spirit of exclusiveness and diversity,” stated Mark Praigg, interim director of MBDA. Funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce since 2013, MBDA’s mission is to foster the growth and global competitiveness of minority-owned businesses.

According to Praigg, the “honorees demonstrate an esteemed leadership in business and outstanding service to support minority construction firms and professionals. We recognize AGC Houston’s ongoing support of the luncheon and we commend Jerry Nevlud and AGC members for helping to foster an environment of backgrounds and perspectives that come together for the continuous improvement and success of the local construction industry.”

“When Mark first asked me if I would accept this honor, my first inclination was to decline,” stated Nevlud. “I am very fortunate to be in a role that allows me to engage in some really worthwhile efforts, such as working to help small and diverse owners grow their business. However, what we at AGC Houston are working to do does not rest on any great work done by me alone. It can be attributed to the members of the AGC Houston Diversity Committee.”

The mission of the AGC Houston Diversity Committee is “to advance the diversity of businesses in our industry; to help small and minority companies grow; and to increase the capacity of many of the diverse firms in the region.”

To that end, AGC Houston has been partnering with the Kingdom Builders’ Center Construction Contractors’ College, a six-month program that helps small and minority-owned businesses bid on construction work for local general and specialty contractors. AGC Houston’s Director of Safety, Kim Mason, provides in-kind OSHA 30-hour training certification — a service she has undertaken for the past two years. Additionally, AGC Houston Diversity Committee members Dr. Lana Coble, Tellepsen and Ike Allen, Linbeck Group, LLC, have been volunteering to teach classes to small diversity-owned business leaders on topics like scheduling and estimating. They, along with leaders and students of the Construction Contractors’ College  were all on hand at the celebration.

“Houston has always been a “can do” city,” stated Allen, “and I applaud the Construction Contractors’ College Executive Director Tandelyn Weaver and AGC for reaching out and supporting initiatives that help to grow minority-owned businesses. From a GC point of view, we need to help nurture these programs and help grow our minority capacity.”

AGC Houston was honored to be recognized at the event along with other notable recipients: Houston MBDA Construction Client of the Year, Robert Gonzales and Bobby Gonzales, Gonzales Commercial Electric, Inc.; Corporate Advocate of the Year, Capital One Bank; Community Partner of the Year, Richard Gianni, LiftFund; and Houston MBDA Construction Trailblazer Client of the Year, Ed Melton, 7th Echelon, LLC.