FCA CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
By Richard Thomas
 

This year marks the fifth anniversary of survival for what once was a small, semi-organized construction trade associationâs battle for survival. Not unlike the other 30-plus trade-specific or one-issue construction associations currently calling southern Nevada home, the Framing Contractors Association was gasping for air.
Although our groupâs issues and concerns united its members, the required rigorous member volunteerism and the constraint of consistent money shortages precluded feasible day-to-day goal setting.
It was clear that the four-year-old association was buckling at the knees and action was required or extinction was inevitable. Simply put if it continued to do what it had always done, then it would continue to get what it always got.
There was an ebb and flow of morale. Members expressed many mindsets, until at last an alternative to going it alone surfaced.
As Winston Churchill said, ãA pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.ä When collaborating with a strong, stable and significantly larger association became a possibility, hope was again on the horizon.
The FCA membership base is composed of framing contractors and associate companies. Among the framing contractors, a few are commercial framers, but most are residential. Because only five or so southern Nevada trade associations can boast an admirable record of accomplishment and sustained success, selecting a partner from our associationâs perspective proved easier than expected.
The simple fact that the Associated General Contractors of America was formed at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson and had 81 years of experience in the business satisfied any doubts about partnering with its Las Vegas Chapter.
Unanimously, the members of the FCA had established a mission and approached AGC.
The first challenge was to determine how FCA could convince the leadership of a booming and triumphant association like AGC to see value in bringing aboard a small, homogeneous group like the FCA.
Fortunately for the FCA it wasnât much of a fight at all, thanks to the cutting-edge foresight of AGCâs Executive Vice President Steve Holloway.
Apparently, FCA had been so focused on its own needs that the organization failed to credit to its attractiveness and value to the AGC. However, Holloway embraced the partnership concept immediately.
FCA came to AGC with a list of reasonable expectations and left with considerably more. Initially, the agreement began with FCA sharing AGC office space and facilities. Just before the finalization of the AGC affiliate association contract signing, the FCA had retained a new part-time executive director and this would provide our new beginnings. Additionally, FCA members would pay only $100 more in annual dues and would receive dual membership in AGC.
Although after only six months the new executive director failed to work out with FCAâs redevelopment plans, AGC again stepped up to the plate and offered part-time services of one of their full-time employees, Mandi Harding.
To recap, AGC received office space, or as I like to think of it, a place to call home. For only a fraction additional dues, we received AGC member status and full rights and privileges. We had a staff member dedicated to handling FCA concerns and the ability to reshape our future during business hours. We had a voice as a partner on framing and residential issues at AGC meetings and at the AGC committee level. We had representation from the most respected voice on construction matters in Nevada. Most importantly, we rentained our formal group and nonprofit status to convene on trade specific concerns, we had our autonomy, and itâs just that now we had more bite than bark.
AGC sacrificed a little to realize Hollowayâs vision of long-term benefits. He can take credit for single-handedly bringing more buying power to his organization by bringing into the AGC fold ö a small, but loyal group.
The FCA stands proud with the AGC. During the 2003 legislative session it was Holloway who committed on behalf of both AGC and FCA to help found the Coalition for Fairness in Construction to tackle the mounting construction defect litigation movement. In fact, Holloway drafted Senate Bill 241 personally, for review by the CFCâs associations. It has hardly gone unnoticed that the bill passed and has eased the headache of all residential contractors in Nevada.
The accomplishment is even more impressive when we remember that several attempts to pass construction defect reform in the previous four legislative sessions failed.
In the spring of 2003, news of this collaboration had spread the National Association of Minority Contractors, Nevada Chapter and the National Association of Women in Construction, Chapter #74 and followed FCAâs path in becoming AGC affiliate associations.
The FCA has reached new heights. We recently held our annual golf tournament and were able to donate $10,000 of proceeds to AGCâs political action committee, to bolster the associationsâ support of business-friendly and construction-oriented candidates..
I venture to say that the unique relationship the FCA, AGC, NAWIC and NAMC share is going to grow ever more important in the upcoming years. The ãstop growthä movement has seized the initiative. Together we will lead the fight to ensure that neither the Clark County Commission nor the Nevada State Legislature imposes artificial growth restrictions. All of the Nevadaâs construction industry is currently in harmâs way. So stay tuned.
In closing, on behalf of FCAâs membership, Happy Anniversary, AGC weâre looking forward to the next five years.