Underground Construction - February 2021 - 30

PCCA
CONVENTION PREVIEW

Mike Ancell | Contributing Editor

Maintains Essential Work During 2020

In the strange year that was 2020, PCCA and its members
continued their essential work of delivering broadband and power
to American homes and businesses throughout the country.
The association held a very successful annual convention
in the Bahamas prior to the pandemic and a safe, socially
distanced Mid-Year Meeting in Nashville, in September.
PCCA's government relations efforts were at full throttle all
year, as COVID underscored the need for high-speed broadband
service to keep Americans connected, and created a variety of
new and important challenges for businesses in our industry.
The association's ongoing workforce development efforts
received a big boost in 2020 from a Department of Labor grant
to provide funding to design curricula and deliver training
to develop qualified applicants for jobs nationwide.
At the 2020 PCCA Convention, some 370 association
members and families celebrated 75 years of serving the
power and communications construction industry, worked on
government relations and workforce issues, and raised more
than $180,000 for Bahamian communities ravaged by
Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and $30,000 for the family of a
member employee's family who was struck and killed by a

Outgoing PCCA Chairman David Aubrey, Irby Construction Co., dba
Okay Construction, passes the gavel to incoming Chairman John Fluharty,
Mears Group.

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FEBRUARY 2021 | UCONonline.com

motorist in a work zone last year.
They also attended the PCCA Leadership Development
Program and other topical educational sessions,
welcomed Ron Tagliapietra into the PCCA Hall of Fame,
honored the 2020 PCCA scholarship recipients, welcomed
incoming Chairman John Fluharty, Mears Group, and
honored outgoing Chairman David Aubrey, Okay Construction,
with the PCCA Distinguished Service Award.
In a strong show of support for American businesses during
these difficult times, 120 PCCA members traveled to Nashville,
Tenn., in late September for the association's 2020 Mid-Year
Meeting. Members conducted important association business,
heard from informative speakers, participated in PCCA's
Construction Industry Roundtable, and enjoyed the great
city of Nashville. They also joyfully visited with friends and
colleagues and appreciated the satisfaction of working side-byside toward common goals. And the whole time they supported
businesses that have been hit especially hard by the pandemic.
On the decision to hold the Mid-Year, PCCA President &
CEO Tim Wagner said, " Good people that I've worked with
throughout my 30-year career in the meeting industry are just
gone. These were folks that I counted on and leaned on to help
produce top-notch PCCA Conventions and Mid-Year Meetings.
That's why holding this meeting live was so important to me -
to show support not only for our association, but for the fine
people in the hospitality industry in Nashville who desperately
need our business and our support. "

PCCA Chairman John Fluharty, Mears Group, welcomes members
to the Mid-Year Meeting in Nashville.
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Underground Construction - February 2021

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