8/10/2012 New WCOE Members and Massive New Bid Opportunities

Welcome to our newest members

If you attended the Los Angeles conference a couple weeks ago, you likely met Jean Bjork who is the President of Bjork Construction Company in Fremont, CA. Jean is a WBENC certified, union signatory general contractor with 35 full time employees. Her client list looks like a listing from the Fortune 500 with companies like Rolls Royce, Lockheed Martin, PG&E and Grainger on her completed
project roster.

Perhaps her clients say it best with the accolades from repeat client Dollinger Properties: “...they have an expert team of foremen and craftsmen that have worked together for years. The workmanship on the projects they have completed for us has
been exceptional.”

You can welcome Jean to WCOE by emailing jbjork@bjorkconstruction.com or calling 510.656.4688.

Also joining WCOE this week is Brenda Radmacher who is a partner with the law firm of Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman in Glendale, CA. We met Brenda at the VIP Reception at the Los Angeles Conference and can report that she was very impressed with the quality (and quantity) of successful women construction company owners that she met. The membership application followed soon after.

Brenda is the lead counsel in the firm’s construction, real estate and environmental/toxic tort departments. She specializes in representing land owners, lenders, builders and developers. Brenda has successfully represented builders in construction defect and personal injury actions and is a noted expert on CA Proposition 65 regarding toxic substance warnings.

Please welcome Brenda by emailing bkr@wshblaw.com or by giving her a call 818.551.6004.

And while we’re welcoming WCOE women...

Please welcome WCOE’s new Northeast Regional Director Gloria Kemper, President of Recon Construction Company in Flushing NY. Gloria’s company is in the very non-traditional business of “Quality Reinforcing Steel Placing”. As a Regional Director, Gloria is a member of the Board of Directors which meets quarterly at various locations around the country. She is replacing Deborah Bradley who was profiled in last week’s Turning Point newsletter as the new WCOE Treasurer. You can connect with Gloria at gkemper@reconrebar.com.

New Florida group has
successful launch

Earlier this week, two WCOE members decided to get a group of executive construction women together for a “meet and greet” workshop and reception. The event was hosted by Lisa Colon Heron (Smith Currie & Hancock law firm) and Elisabeth Kozlow (Siegfried Rivera Lerner DeLaTorre & Sobel law firm) in Lisa’s fabulous new offices in downtown Ft. Lauderdale (FL). A group of energized women gathered together to hear Janet Harris-Lange (President of NWBOC) discuss the importance of third party credentialing for private as well as public projects.

A whole-lot-of-networking was going on during the reception and more than a few business cards were exchanged. Another event is scheduled for late September so stay tuned!

Become a part of US history

The Smithsonian Supplier Diversity Program is hosting a Doing Business with the Smithsonian outreach event on Tuesday, August 14th, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at the National Museum of American History, Warner Theater (14th St & Constitution Ave). The focus of the discussion will be on design, construction and facilities maintenance opportunities. Information will be available on the Smithsonian’s supplier diversity program, federal contracting requirements, and key contacts at the Smithsonian in design, construction and facilities maintenance. Small businesses are encouraged to attend, especially 8a, woman-owned small business, HUBZone, or veteran-owned small businesses.

For more information contact Rudy Watley, Smithsonian Supplier Diversity Program Manager, 202.633.6430 or sdphelp@si.edu.

California WCOE Chapter achieves victory

After 2 years of often frustrating roadblocks, a consortium of 10 organizations finally achieved victory on August 3rd. WCOE-California Chapter members and our WCOE President-Elect Lee Cunningham (from Eureka, CA) were relentless in pursuing a 10% goal for minority and women firms to participate in the massive California High Speed Rail Project – the largest project in the US. There was strong opposition from the powerful Pacific Legal Foundation but the consortium would not bend nor back down. Claiming that their manual was “The Art of War” by General Sun Tzu, this determined group garnered support from State Senator Curren Price, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Senator Barbara Boxer’s office.

The California High Speed Rail (CHSR) Business Council will meet on August 16th and WCOE’s representative to the Council, Lee Cunningham, will provide a full update to WCOE members following the meeting. Stay tuned!

More on CHSR – projects for WBEs galore

There is so much information coming out about the California rail project that WCOE is going to dedicate an entire section of our website to getting the information out to all of you. Stay tuned – it’s not quite ready yet but should be up and running right after Labor Day. There are significant opportunities available to WCOE members and we don’t want you to miss out!

But wait – there’s more!

WCOE has also been asked to join a consortium of professional women’s organizations to help JP Morgan Chase find women-owned businesses to “fulfill their current and future sourcing needs”. The first event is scheduled for September 20, 2012 at the Los Angeles Federal Reserve, 950 South Grand Avenue. This is a “Meet the Buyers of JP Morgan Chase” matchmaking event. This Fortune 500 company is looking for carpentry, concrete, demolition, electrical, glass/windows, landscaping, masonry, mechanical, painting, plumbing, roofing and structural contractors. In order to participate you must: have third party diversity certification (i.e., WBENC or NWBOC for example); have been in business for at least 3 years; have experience servicing major corporations; and be located in and able to provide services in California.

Registration for the event is being coordinated by our alliance partner, WBEC-West. Simply go to www.wbecwest247.com to register or check it out on our website.

YOU MUST PRE-RESERVE TO BE INCLUDED! Pre-registration deadline is August 31st at 5:00 pm PDT. If you have questions you may contact Summer Sepulveda at summer@wbec-west.org.

Plus something for the East Coast

Not to be left out, WCOE has opportunities for our East Coast members. On August 29th, the Clark/Smooth/Russell Joint Venture construction team for the new Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History is hosting a networking opportunity for small businesses to meet with potential bidders for the structural steel and above ground mechanical and electrical packages. Information about contracting opportunities for fire sprinkler, jack and boring and geothermal wells will also be available. Networking begins at 11:30 am on 8/29/12 at the CSR Conference Trailer located at Constitution Avenue and 15th Street, NW in Washington, DC.

The project team members will present a project overview, discuss the project schedule, describe bidding requirements and review the small business goals for the museum project. If you have questions or want additional information contact Smoot Construction Director and WCOE supporter Chrystal Stowe, cstowe@srsmoot.com or call her at 202.243.6688.

The “Fiscal Cliff” explained

If you are wondering what all the hoopla is about when the electioneering politicians and pundits talk about a “Fiscal Cliff”, our strategic alliance partner the US Chamber of Commerce has put together a terrific graphic about what taxes are involved and what their budget implications are projected to be. You can view the graphic on our website.

Women Construction Owners and Executives
www.wcoeusa.org | info@wcoeusa.org