A Word From AGCVA Chair, Don Sproul

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves during this holiday season, and as we wind down the year, I’ve been doing a bit of reflecting about some of the Advocating, Growing, and Connecting that AGCVA has done and continues to do on your behalf. 

This election season brought with it many significant changes to our state legislature. Between the redistricting process, the primary elections and a wave of retirements from longtime legislators, the General Assembly faced a loss of over 635 years of legislative experience as well as a turnover of at least 40 percent of the legislature even before the first ballot was cast. While there are many implications of the changes to Virginia’s legislative body, I urge you to engage and be part of our advocacy efforts. Your experience as a construction professional and the fact that you are a constituent means that you can have a tremendous impact in helping legislators understand the needs of the construction industry. Please join us for Construction Day on the Hill, taking place January 23 in Richmond. With so much turnover this year, these direct conversations between AGCVA members and legislators will be key to our success. Please register to attend — the AGCVA team will take care of scheduling appointments with legislators and will provide you with talking points to make it as easy as possible to help you connect effectively with lawmakers. I encourage you to join us on January 23, and I also urge you to consider donating to AGCVA’s PAC.

Our advocacy efforts are underway even when the General Assembly is not in session. You may remember our support via a workgroup and the passage of a “paid-if-paid” clean-up bill. We also have been working all year on SB954 to find compromise between all parties around procurement. That work will continue during the coming session as well. Additionally, AGCVA supported the governor’s initiative to consolidate workforce programs, resulting in the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement (DWDA). This agency is the culmination of more than 30 years of effort to streamline endeavors to grow the workforce and is a big win going forward as we work to strengthen the talent pipeline for the industry. AGCVA has a seat at the table with a number of other stakeholders as this goes forward.  

In October, the AGCVA Board of Directors approved a new 401k member benefit program, which is being rolled out now. We will have a representative at the AGCVA Convention in February who will lead a breakout session and be available to discuss this program with members. This program offers significant benefit to us as AGCVA members, and it is unlike any other 401K program in the market. If you are interested in this (and I encourage you to consider it!) either as a new program or as a change to your current program, don’t miss your chance to learn more.

Speaking of convention, don’t forget that this event will take place February 22-25. (This date change was made to position AGCVA to respond quickly and to represent you, our members, in-person while the General Assembly is in session.) As you have likely heard, the theme this year is Building Resilience. While we face many challenges, we are stronger and more resilient together than any of us are alone. The power of our member community cannot be understated, and I hope you won’t miss this incredible event. If you have not registered, I encourage you to do so and take advantage of our early-bird rates, which expire December 28. Don’t miss our keynote speaker, Gene Marks, who has some wonderful insight to share during his headline presentation, Building Value in Your Workplace, where he’ll show us tactics and strategies to navigate and grow our businesses in 2024 and beyond. We also have made some other slight changes to the convention that we think you will enjoy, including “the Friday Night Party” at the conclusion of the banquet. There are so many great things during this convention. The networking with other colleagues from across the state and the sharing of ideas and innovation is always something I enjoy most, and there will be plenty of opportunity for both. I encourage you and your team to attend and take advantage of the chance to learn, grow and experience AGCVA’s signature event with our community of members.

As we move into 2024, AGCVA will celebrate 100 years as an association community. While our official birthday is June 1, 2024, we will be celebrating all year long. A committee of members is hard at work planning for some great events to acknowledge this incredible milestone. More details will follow — we are excited for you to help us honor AGCVA in such a special way.

Every day, I look at the chair’s statue with the inscription of "Skill, Integrity, and Responsibility." That is what we stand for, and we live these values out on a regular basis. I am proud to be a part of this exceptional community and am honored to serve you.

I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!