Southeastern 2023 VOICE The Inside: Avoiding Construction Labor Risk Economy Uncertainty After Action Reviews And more! with Duke Energy Powering Commitment The official publication of the Southeastern Construction Owners and Associates Roundtable SOUTHEASTERN CONSTRUCTION OWNERS & ASSOCIATES ROUNDTABLE C E L E B R A T I N G YEARS2023 // www.scoar.org 5 SOUTHEASTERN CONSTRUCTION OWNERS & ASSOCIATES ROUNDTABLE C E L E B R A T I N G YEARS Published For: THE SOUTHEAST CONSTRUCTION OWNERS & ASSOCIATES ROUNDTABLE 4701 Bluebonnet Boulevard, Suite A Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (225) 436-0528 Email: staff@scoar.org Web: www.scoar.org Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 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SCOAR LEADERS 7 A Message from the President 9 A Message from the Executive Director FEATURES 10 Avoiding Construction Labor Risk Through Technology 12 Southeast Retains Momentum Despite Economic Uncertainties LET’S TALK SAFETY 16 How to Build Trust and Expertise with After Action Reviews MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS 18 Powering Commitment with Duke Energy 20 East and Westbrook Construction’s Role in Workforce Development NEWS & RECOGNITIONS 22 SCOAR Awards 23 SCOAR Scholarships and Training Grants 24 What Have Our Committees Been Up To? 25 Why Join SCOAR? 26 Join SCOAR to Start Networking With All Our Members! 24 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Southeastern 2023 VOICE The TABLE OF CONTENTS THE SOUTHEASTERN CONSTRUCTION OWNERS & ASSOCIATES ROUNDTABLE (SCOAR)2023 // www.scoar.org 7 H ello SCOAR members! The last year has been a busy year for SCOAR, and me as well. In addition to celebrating our 50th anni- versary, we said goodbye to Steve (and Diane) Greene, and we welcomed Tim Johnson as our new Executive Direc- tor. Tim and his team, Audrey Kennedy and Olivia Gulino, have done a tremen- dous job transferring files, finances, bank accounts, and other administrative func- tions to the TJC Group. We have put a lot of effort into making the transfer of the Executive Director appear seamless to our membership. I hope you expe- rienced that and believe the Longboat Key meeting was very similar to past meetings there. For me, I retired from LG&E and KU Energy after nearly 40 years. While retire- ment brings a lot of changes, it doesn’t change my role as President of SCOAR. I look forward to serving out my term for the next two years. We continue to improve what SCOAR offers to our members. Part of the improvement is what the TJC Group has done to improve our social media pres- ence on Facebook and LinkedIn. We are developing social media sites that will enable our members to showcase your company’s abilities, projects, and suc- cesses. If you haven’t already, visit our Facebook and LinkedIn pages. While both pages are public, we encourage you to follow us and let us know when you have news to share. We changed our logo to commem- orate 50 years as an organization. We tweaked our meeting agendas to provide our members more networking opportuni- ties and added additional presentations by owners to update the membership on their construction plans. We have put added focus on presentations that provide examples on how others have improved their safety performance, project effi- ciencies, or overall customer satisfaction. Hopefully, you have recognized these changes, and they have increased the value proposition on why being a member of SCOAR is good for your company. As we look toward the future, we hope that you provided feedback by responding to our recent member sur- vey. The results of that survey will help guide our planning as we review our cur- rent services and explore additional ini- tiatives and/or services to continue to improve and add value to your member- ship. We are also planning to redesign the website to improve its functionality, automate existing processes, and to pro- vide additional resources. Speaking of the future, our Member- ship Recruitment Drive is in full swing. As part of this effort, Tim and the Board are focusing on growing the number of owner company and large-scale contractor mem- bers. Increasing the membership of these two groups will benefit everyone! Owners and large-scale contractors are the main consumers of the goods and services that our members provide to the construction industry. If you know of owners or large- scale contractors that you believe would make SCOAR stronger and would benefit from membership, ask them to attend one of our meetings or tell them about the value proposition of SCOAR and provide me or Tim a contact so we can reach out to them. I encourage you to share your mem- bership story with others. The true value of this effort is found in the different perspectives, talents, and knowledge that new members bring to the table, rather than in the numbers. By growing our member base, we open the door to new ideas, innovative solutions, and untapped skills that will strengthen the fabric of our organization. In closing, please share SCOAR infor- mation within your organization. All past presentations are available on the web- site for you to share within your organiza- tion. If you want to bring others to the meetings, bring them. If you have ideas on how we can improve SCOAR for the benefit of your company simply reach out to me, Tim, or any board member and let us know your ideas. Always stay focused on safety, and I look forward to seeing you at the meetings. / SCOAR LEADERS // From the President Scott Straight President SCOAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Scott Straight Tetra Tech rrstr8@outlook.com VICE PRESIDENT Brian Brogen Southeastern Construction & Maintenance brianb@secm.com EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & ASSISTANT SECRETARY Tim Johnson SCOAR tim.johnson@scoar.org SECRETARY Will Munkres DEWALT william.munkres@sdbinc. com TREASURER John Donahue HazTek jdonahue@haztekinc.com DIRECTORS Andy Browning Duke Energy andy.browning@ duke-energy.com Ryan Cobb PTS Group rscobb@pts-group.com Brandon Greer Black & Veatch greerjb@bv.com Brian Gallagher Graycor Southern brian_gallager@graycor. com Boyd Worsham NCCER bworsham@nccer.org Jeff Heun LG&E and KU Energy jeff.heun@lge-ku.com2023 // www.scoar.org 9 A s SCOAR’s 50th year as the Southeast’s larg- est Local Construction User Council nears its end, we are grateful for our many members who help make this organization great. With a membership base comprised of owners, large contractors, spe- cialty contractors, suppliers, and educational institutions, our objec- tive is to build relationships among these groups while advancing the industry through the continuous improvement of safety, quality, and cost in construction projects. Despite strong construction indus- try growth in recent years, challenges and opportunities for improvement remain, including but not limited to supply chain issues, material price escalation, workforce development, skilled craft retention, productivity, and safety. Hosting three meetings each year, we provide members with best practice solutions to these and other challenges, lively keynotes, insights from industry leaders, infor- mative sessions from nationally recognized experts, and plenty of opportunities for collaboration and networking. Although our 2022 Fall Meet- ing was cut short by Hurricane Ian, attendees were able to take advan- tage of several networking activities, including our TOPS Safety Awards and Scholarship Fundraising Din- ner, before the weather forced us to cancel the general session. Hutchin- son Shores was the location of our Winter Meeting and featured an enriching meeting program, plen- ty of networking opportunities, and a successful casino night fundrais- er to support SCOAR’s scholarship fund. For our Spring meeting, we convened at the stunning locale of Longboat Key, F.L., where attend- ees heard from nationally recognized speaker, Dr. Jake Mazulewicz, whose presentation focused on building a culture of safety and reliability, and Rob Jones, a former marine and double-above knee amputee, whose inspirational story of determination and resilience was interwoven with a message on “Combat Leadership.” The meeting ended with SCOAR’s 19th Annual Golf and Fishing Tourna- ment, which raised funds for training programs and student scholarships. As we look toward the next 50 years, we are committed to further- ing the success of SCOAR. This sum- mer we surveyed our members to gar- ner feedback and ideas about how the organization can add even more value and to get their input as we plan for the future. We also launched the 2023 Power Up Your Connections Membership Drive to give our cur- rent members tools to help us expand our reach and share how prospective members can benefit from participa- tion in SCOAR. If you are interested in learning more about membership in SCOAR, email staff@scoar.org for more information. SCOAR’s long-term success depends in large part on the collec- tive power of the talented and ded- icated professionals who make up this organization. We are committed to delivering exceptional meeting experiences, fostering connections, and providing valuable resources for our members. We look forward to working together in the coming year to shape the future of our industry and to advance SCOAR’s mission of improving the business performance of the construction industry in the Southeast. / SCOAR LEADERS // From the Executive Director Tim Johnson Executive Director SCOAR Next >