Kansas City Night Remarks

Good evening, I would like to start with a few well deserved “Thank you’s”  First, to our National MCAA president, Mark Rogers, for being here to spend the evening with us.

I would also like to thank our Board members for their tireless efforts.

I believe we do not acknowledge the contributions of our staff nearly enough.  Thanks to Bob Looman, Steve Janasz and Cathy Paulsen for your hard work and commitment in 2011.  When you see Cathy tonight, please thank her for putting this evening together.

The bulk of the work of MCAKC is done by committee.  I would like to acknowledge and thank all of our committee chairs.  They are:

Education: Bill Alexander and Greg Stanger, Vice Chair

Service:  David Debiasse

Safety: Greg Sweeney

PF Conference Board: Tim Moormeier

Plbr Conference Board: Mike Kotubey

Associate Member: Greg Vielhauer

And our other Fund Trustees: Mike Gossman, Mike Palmer, Rob Marriott, Kollin Know, Mike Chick, Steve Hancock, Chris Rimel, and Mike Enright

(just step back and applaud – no statement necessary)

Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife Barbara for supporting me and listening to more MCA stories over the past year than anyone should have to endure.

With those well-deserved thank you’s taken care of, I’d like to highlight some of the past year’s successes – made possible in part by those individuals efforts.

As you may know, one of the objectives of MCAKC is to work with and promote union labor for the benefit of our members.  To that end, we finalized a new contract to addresses our mutual concerns and provide new tools to make union contractors more competitive with non-union shops.  I’m proud of the work done by everyone involved and the resulting agreement.

We continue to meet with Pipefitter Local 533 to refine a new national residential and light commercial agreement that we hope to offer to our members in the near future.  We will continue our efforts to take on the non-union contractors and provide the means to create more hours of work.

Nationally, we completed a residential and light commercial contract with Plumbers Local 8 available to any contractor who wishes to sign up.  Please contact the MCAKC office or a board member to learn more about this opportunity.

Another of our association objectives is to provide educational opportunities to our members to make us better managers and contractors. This year, the education committee presented 9 MCAA/MSCA education sessions.  They also convened contractor meetings to facilitate operations for Service Managers, Service Dispatchers and Safety Professionals.

The MCAKC stipend program (awarded for member participation) resulted in 26 $2500 awards to reimburse member costs associated with MCAA/MSCA education.

We are proud to have two Student Chapters, PSU and KSU.  These chapters represent the future of our industry.  At our last national convention, PSU made it to the “final four” of the student chapter competition.  They represented us very well.  Congratulations.

We were able to lower the cost to be an associate member, in order to attract more associate members and grow their participation.  Currently, our associate members do most of the heavy lifting to make the charitable golf outing a success. Thank you for your efforts and we will work to continue to find ways to involve you in our educational and social activities.

The MCA-KC will step up its efforts this year to communicate with our members. That includes a new website at mcakc.org and email newsletters with important information and tools that help your business.

All of our work at MCA-KC is toward one goal – to compete for every single mechanical contracting job in the Kansas City region – Every single one.  This goal will continue to drive our activities in 2012 and into the future.

I don’t need to tell you that in this economic environment, we can’t afford business as usual. The MCA-KC will continue to work aggressively with our union teammates to provide the competitive edge we need to win more projects, create more jobs and generate more union hours.

Finally, the MCAKC exists for you and because of you – we are essentially a volunteer organization.  So please continue to volunteer, and encourage others to volunteer so we can maintain the strength of this association and continue to serve our industry well.

Thank you.

Billy Adams – Lenexa, KS

LAKEMARY PRESENTATION

Prior to our presentation to Lakemary Center, I want to share some of the history between the KC contracting community and Lakemary Center.

Lakemary was founded by the Ursuline Sisters of Paola, caring parents, and community business leaders who recognized the need for a place where Kansas City area families with children with mental challenges could receive the support they needed to live lives of quality and accomplishment.

To accomplish this goal, the Ursuline Sisters donated 35 acres of land, $50,000 and agreed to staff Lakemary voluntarily. Federal funds were secured, Industrial Revenue Bonds (underwritten by the City of Paola) were issued, and a ground breaking was held on October 9, 1967 to begin work on the $1.3 million project.

The Ursuline Sisters had a strong connection to the Catholic community in Kansas City, and to prominent Kansas City area construction families, (including Bill & Helen Fagan and Bill and Jean Dunn) who were instrumental in providing support for the newly created Center and helping to build a strong foundation for future growth.

The early years at Lakemary were difficult ones financially – and the Fagans and the Dunns (among others) worked tirelessly to insure that the center would be funded without having to cut services to the children.  Both of these families were key leaders in the creation of The Lakemary Endowment Association in 1975 – and both served on its initial Board of Directors.  Bob Fagan serves on the endowment board today.

Today, Lakemary provides over 500 individuals and families each year with residential and day programs, case management and community outreach programs.  With a number of service locations throughout Johnson and Miami Counties, they remain close to the Kansas City area families who rely on them for the critical services they provide.   Lakemary, in turn, continues to rely on the kindness of Kansas City businesses and individuals to adequately provide for these important programs.

Much has changed over the last 43 years, but their mission remains the same… helping individuals reach beyond their disabilities.

I would ask the following representatives of Lakemary to come forward:

Mike Everett (President of LM Endowment and Board Member),

Mary Wheeler (Director of Marketing and Development)

Karen Kilbourn (Executive Administration Assistant)

and Pat Adams, our golf committee Chairman, to present the MCA contribution to Lakemary’s worthy efforts.

Thank you to the representatives from Lakemary Center for the important work you do.

Our next speaker is Mark Rogers.  Mark is COO of West Chester Mechanical, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a company he started in 1996.  Nationally, Mark serves on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the MCA.  He is chairman emeritus of the Education Committee, and represents that committee to the MCAA Manufacturer and Supplier Council Governing Board.  He is also a graduate of the MCAA’s Advanced Leadership Institute.  On the local level, he is past-president of the MCA of Eastern Pennsylvania, and currently serves as a fund trustee and is active on many committees.

On a personal note, Mark is married to the lovely Colleen (who – like Barb – has probably heard more MCA stories than she would care to admit) and he has three active sons.

It is my pleasure to present the leader of over 2500 member firms, the National President of the MCAA, Mr. Mark Rogers.