Change is the only constant. Therefore, AGC's Board of Trustees and staff continually identify key industry issues, discuss them and gain consensus on priorities. The ultimate goal is to increase the value of being a member of AGC.

The AGC Board held our annual retreat in June. We "retreated" to the second floor conference room in the AGC building with AGC's department heads and district managers. Our objective was to focus on priorities for 2009, and to set a path for a new longer-term strategic plan.

We had lively, energetic and fun discussions about our recent history. This included lessons learned, accomplishments, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. With that data as the backdrop, we then identified three priority goals for 2009. We believe that accomplishing these goals will result in increased value for our members.

We developed specific objectives for each priority goal. Two "Champions" were appointed for each goal (one Board member and one AGC staff person) and they are refining the objectives and making sure they are important, measurable and have a target date for completion. The expanded objectives will be presented to the Board in September for review and refinement and, ultimately, we will prepare 2009 budgets and action plans to achieve them.

The three major goals are listed below, along with the Champions for each. Examples of a few objectives for each goal are presented to give you a better sense of what will be addressed in the final plan.

• Goal I - Increase the influence of AGC in Legislative and Regulatory Processes. (Tom Zamzow, Rick Slunaker) - Objectives include increasing member visits with legislators, financially supporting winning candidates, raising more money for BUILD PAC, and increasing member participation in legislative actions.
  

• Goal II - AGC Education Foundation should be a leader in construction education and be a great member asset. (Lee Kilcup, Diane Kocer) - Objectives include providing on-line and teleconferenced classes, partnering with AGC Future Leaders Forum to serve as mentors to high schools students, and increasing attendance at AGC classes.
  

• Goal III - Increase Membership with a specific recruitment strategy while maintaining a high level of retention. (Steve Barger, Liz Evans) - Objectives include conducting personal visits with members, creating a membership marketing plan, and developing a targeted prospect list with specific plans for attracting significant non-members.

Thanks to the Board and staff for the high level of energy and commitment they show each day to improve the value of AGC membership. These people know that AGC members are premier companies, and deserve the best results from their AGC involvement.

On another note, you all likely know that David D'Hondt is our new Executive Vice President. Last week was his first full week in AGC offices, and we'll hear more from him in the next AGC Works.

This list will be updated as additional endorsements are made by the BUILD PAC Senior Council. The asterisk before a candidate's name indicates that they are an incumbent. If you have any questions on a candidate or would like to know how to contact a candidate, please contact the AGC Legislative office at 800.690.2630 or mwillms@agcwa.com.

Statewide

Governor: Dino Rossi (R)

Attorney General: *Rob McKenna (R)

Secretary of State: *Sam Reed (R)

Legislative

Legislative District 1
House Position 2: *Mark Ericks (D)

Legislative District 2
House Position 1: *Jim McCune (R)

Legislative District 4
Senate: *Bob McCaslin (R)

Legislative District 5
Senate: *Cheryl Pflug (R)
House Position 1: *Jay Rodne (R)

Legislative District 6
House Position 1: Kevin Parker (R)

Legislative District 8
House Position 2: *Larry Haler (R)

Legislative District 10
Senate: *Mary Margret Haugen (D)
House Position 2: *Barbara Bailey (R)

Legislative District 11
Senate: *Margarita Prentice (D)

Legislative District 12
Senate: *Linda Evans Parlette (R)
House Position 1: *Cary Condotta (R)
House Position 2: *Mike Armstrong (R)

Legislative District 14
Senate: *Curtis King (R)

Legislative District 15
House Position 1: *Bruce Chandler (R)
House Position 2: *Dan Newhouse (R)

Legislative District 16
Senate: *Mike Hewitt (R)
House Position 2: *Bill Grant (D)

Legislative District 18
Senate: *Joseph Zarelli (R)

Legislative District 19
Senate: *Brian Hatfield (D)

Legislative District 20
Senate: *Dan Swecker (R)
House Position 1: *Richard DeBolt (R)
House Position 2: *Gary Alexander (R)

Legislative District 22
Senate: *Karen Fraser (D)
House Position 1: *Brendan Williams (D)

Legislative District 23
Senate: *Phil Rockefeller (D)

Legislative District 24
Senate: *Jim Hargrove (D)
House Position 2: *Lynn Kessler (D)

Legislative District 25
Senate: *Jim Kastama (D)

Legislative District 26
House Position 1: Jan Angel (R)

Legislative District 28
Senate: *Mike Carrell (R)

Legislative District 30
House Position 2: *Skip Priest (R)

Legislative District 31
House Position 1: *Dan Roach (R)

Legislative District 35
House Position 1: *Kathy Haigh (D)

Legislative District 39
House Position 1: *Dan Kristiansen (R)
House Position 2: *Kirk Pearson (R)

Legislative District 40
Senate: Steve Van Luven (R)

Legislative District 41
Senate: Fred Jarrett (D)
House Position 2: *Judy Clibborn (D)

Legislative District 42
House Position 1: *Doug Ericksen (R)
House Position 2: *Kelli Linville (D)

Legislative District 48
House Position 1: *Ross Hunter (D)
House Position 2: *Deborah Eddy (D)

Federal
These congressional candidates from Washington State have received
contributions from the AGC of America's political action committee.

Congressional District 2: *Rick Larsen (D)

Congressional District 4: *Richard "Doc" Hastings (R)

Congressional District 5: *Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R)

Congressional District 8: *Dave Reichert (R)

Nora Huey, former manager of King County Public Works Procurement and now Chief Procure Officer for the Port of Seattle says, "We don't want the minimum qualification to be too limiting. We want contractors bidding on our projects. If contractors see problems with the criteria they should let us know about it prior to bid time. Contractors should contact the Contract Specialist (not the Project Manager) assigned to the project (name appears in bid advertisement) to make their case. However, once the project is bid no changes can be made."

Huey also said the County is more interested in people experience than company project experience. However, lack of company experience was the primary reason used to reject an AGC member's bid on a parking garage.

As public agencies continue to embrace the new legislation, AGC members are asked to let staff know if they encounter difficulties. With that information AGC can assess what remedy if any it should pursue. Contact any of the AGC District Managers or the AGC Legislative Affairs office at 360-352-5000.

You can have that sort of help and more from a Personal Health Advocate, a new feature available through the AGC Health Plan.

The Personal Health Advocate is a trained professional, typically a Registered Nurse, who understands the intricacies of the healthcare system and how to navigate through it. Personal Health Advocates demonstrate a commitment to service excellence, have strong problem-solving skills and support members as they seek healthcare services and interact with providers and insurers. Personal Health Advocates work in tandem with Medical Directors and a team of administrative experts who handle claims, benefits, grievances and paperwork issues.

The Personal Health Advocate helps members coordinate care among physicians and medical institutions in various ways. Just a few examples are:
• Helping members understand tests, treatments and medications recommended or prescribed by their physician.
• Assisting members through a complex medical condition.
• Arranging for home-care equipment following discharge from the hospital.
• Facilitating a review of test results with another physician for confirmation of a diagnosis.

In addition, Personal Health Advocates help sort out and solve claims and related paperwork problems. We work on coverage issues and help members understand the coding and payment rules that apply to their circumstances. Some examples:
• Researching a member's outstanding out-of-pocket responsibilities and resolving errors with providers and/or member's health plan.
• Correcting balance-billing problems.
• Resolving eligibility problems and benefit and claim denials.
• Correcting charges incorrectly applied to the member's deductible.
• Resolving questions about whether services are condition-specific or related to preventive care.

Personal Health Advocates enhance your total health care experience by proactively serving as your personal guide through the health care system - They know where to go and the questions to ask. They save you time and money by eliminating the hassle of never-ending phone calls and information searches - They do it for you.

The advocates are provided by Health Advocates, an independent company that contracts with the AGC Health Plan.

The AGC Health Plan for Washington State offers a unique selection of plan and coverage choices at competitive prices to meet the varying needs of AGC members. For more information about the Personal Health Advocate feature or about the AGC Health Plan in general, contact Margaret Huling, one of the exclusive agents for the AGC Health Plan via email at margaret@thincusa.com or by phone at 888.374.6224.

The Committee was established by the Legislature in 1997 to provide a forum for discussion of Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH, formerly WISHA Services Division) programs and policies and for the development of creative new initiatives in the area of occupational safety and health. It is comprised of four employer representatives and four labor representatives.

Maus brings 15 years of experience at Ferguson to his role on the committee. Maus takes over for Gottberg on the Advisory Committee, much like he succeeded Gottberg as Ferguson's safety manager eight years ago.

"Tim was my mentor when I was just an office guy and ‘gopher' at Ferguson," Maus said. "He was our safety director for several years and helped start the WISHA Advisory Committee; he's been there since day one. After Tim left Ferguson for GLY, I became safety director and I continue to call on Tim for advice."

Maus is very active in the AGC. He chairs the Seattle District Safety Committee and in past years has been on AGC committees regarding substance abuse issues. He manages Ferguson's environmental and claims management programs.

AGC continues to warn policymakers that major engine overhauls are extremely expensive, and some companies are better positioned than others to make such an investment. Responding to AGC's concerns, EPA's new brochure, called Low-Cost Ways to Cleaner Construction, offers all contractors, and particularly the small businesses that dominate the industry, bottom-line information on affordable ways to bring about positive environmental results.

AGC members can order up to 100 copies of the EPA brochure free of charge by contacting the National Service Center for Environmental Publications at 800-490-9198 or online by clicking here and ordering publication number 420F08008.

That brochure draws from a more detailed report that AGC of America helped EPA prepare last year, entitled Clean Diesels: Low Cost Ways to Reduce Emissions from Construction Equipment. This detailed report is available in pdf format by clicking here.