AGC of America’s popular Build Up! educational resource for elementary-age children has expanded beyond the classroom to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, to library career centers, and, lately, to Boys & Girls Clubs.Through a partnership between AGC and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, clubs around the nation are learning about the kits and requesting AGC sponsors provide them with kits. Boys & Girls Clubs, which serve nearly five million youths from more than 4,000 mostly inner-city clubhouses, provide after-school programs and services to promote and enhance the development of boys and girls.By donating a Build Up! kit to a club in your area, you are both helping the next generation learn about the built environment and their role in it, and providing, fun, hands-on, team-building projects and lessons to children ages 9-12.We still need sponsors for more than 350 kits for Boys & Girls Clubs around the nation. Please visit our interactive map to see if there’s a club in your area looking for kits. This map is updated weekly with new requests being added and fulfilled requests being deleted. So far AGC members and chapters have donated more than 50 toolkits to clubs nationwide.Each kit costs $199 plus shipping and provides enough materials for 30 children. If you would like more information or have questions, contact Liz Elvin at elvinl@agc.org.

The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) has announced that Ivan Crossland, of Crossland Construction, Columbus, Kansas, will serve a three-year term as the AGC representative on its Board of Trustees.Rick Graves, senior vice president of operations of Fluor Enterprises Inc., Dallas, Texas, will serve as chairman of NCCER’s Board of Trustees in 2009. Carole Bionda, vice president of legal and personnel, NOVA Group, Napa, California, will serve as the 2009 NCCER vice chairman.AGC member Chip Reid, of Current Builders; Pompano Beach, Florida, also was elected to serve on the board for the first time; while AGC members Alan Burton of Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, and Keith Byrom of Zachry Construction Corp., San Antonio, Texas, were re-elected to their positions on the board.NCCER’s Board of Trustees consists of representatives from contributing contractors, owners, and NCCER partnering associations. All trustees are recognized for their expertise in construction or construction-related issues and serve a one- to three-year term.

BIM 101: An Introduction to Building Information Modeling to be released on April 6, 2009.

Today’s challenging climate offers many opportunities for sharp and confident project managers to succeed. Experienced project managers who attend AGC’s Construction Project Manager Course learn from industry experts while learning best practices from their peers gathered from across the country.Date                           LocationOctober 4-9, 2009        Indianapolis, INDecember 6-11, 2009   Dallas, TXParticipants are eligible to receive the following continuing education credits:• 4.2 ANSI/IACET CEUs• 42 AIA LUs• Continuing Professional Development (CDPs) Units from the American Institute of Constructors (AIC)Ideal candidates for AGC’s Construction Project Manager Course are project managers with six years of experience or two years of experience and a Bachelor’s degree.Contact education@agc.org with questions or for more information.

June 4-5 in Omaha, Neb.This two-day workshop will prepare participants to conduct STP courses, get the most out of STP instructor materials and effectively teach adult learners. Whether you are interested in starting an STP program in your area or looking to provide an improved STP experience, this interactive workshop will provide the information, tools and techniques you need to successfully facilitate your programs. Learn more at www.agc.org/STPITW.

In conjunction with the National Championship and AGC's 90th Annual Convention, AGC of America held its first AGC Campus, a new forum for students and early-career professionals to learn more about careers in construction. Sponsored by Flat Iron Construction Corp., NCCER, Skanska, Stacy-Whitbeck and Suffolk Construction, and Turner Construction, over 200 high school and college students convened at the Campus over two days. One the first day, John Tocci, Jr., Gilbane Building Company, kicked off the event with an informative and interactive BIM demonstration. Participants also took advantage of educational sessions on interviewing, internships and a memorable presentation on the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel Project by Dave Holland from Turner Construction.On the second day, AGC's Annual Student Chapter Meeting was held at the Campus. Students got an opportunity to meet with peers, recruiters and other construction professionals. Barry Paceley, Chair of Construction Education Committee and a former student chapter president, kicked off the meeting with an energetic roll call that included over 20 AGC Student Chapters from coast to coast. Arizona State University, winner of the 2008 Outstanding Student Chapter Contest, gave a briefing on their two award winning projects.AGC thanks all the sponsors, high school students and teachers along with the participating AGC Student Chapters for making this a successful event.For more information, contact Carrie Harper at (703) 837-5316 or harperc@agc.org.

The Open Shop, Union Contractors, and Workforce Development Committees jointly presented a forum on Best Practices in Craft Training at AGC's Annual Convention on March 4. The program featured presentations by Glenn Hillegas, executive vice president of the San Diego Chapter AGC's open-shop Apprenticeship and Training Trust (AGCSDATT), and William K. Irwin, Jr., executive director of the union Carpenters International Training Fund (CITF).Irwin informed the audience about the CITF training program and award-winning International Training Center. The center opened in Las Vegas in 2001, the train-the-trainer facility has been expanded in recent years and is planned for continued expansion to reach over 1 million square feet. Hillegas talked about AGCSDATT's three centers offering apprentice training in seven different crafts based on needs assessment and curriculum developed with help from the chapter's Education Committee. The chapter also offers journeymen leadership, instructor professional development, and safety training courses.For more information about the Carpenters training program, contact Irwin at (702) 938-1111 or visit www.carpenters.org.  For more information about the San Diego Chapter program, contact Hillegas at (858) 558-7444 or visit www.agcsdatt.org.

For the first time at AGC's Annual Convention, it offered 32 educational tracks on 6 different subjects - construction law, executive management, green construction, marketing, financial management and risk management - while also offering continuing education credits for each session. In line with current events, the hottest topics were green construction and executive management where many of the classes were filled to standing room only. Not surprisingly, many of the more popular financial management sessions were geared to the more technical financial subjects. On an average, the classes held between 50-75 students each. In total, 650 participants applied for credits, with particular interest in ABA CLEs and NASBA CPEs.AGC is proud to have offered credits from the following credentialing bodies at its 90th Annual Convention:International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET)Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS)American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Systems (AIA CES)National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, (NASBA CPE)American Bar Association, (ABA CLE)Please look for AGC's 2010 Call for Presentations in the coming weeks.

Eli Lustgarten, senior vice president of Longbow Securities, teamed up with AGC's chief economist, Ken Simonson, to present a depressing outlook for the economy and nonresidential construction at the economic issues forum and luncheon sponsored by Allied North America. Lustgarten even subtitled his talk, "There's a Lot More Pain Before Any Gain." Despite the negative news, more than 600 people attended.

AGC is happy to announce that registration is now open for the next Supervisory Training Program (STP) Instructor Training Workshop; to be held June 4-5, 2009 in Omaha, Nebraska.Designed to enhance training results for those who host STP courses, the STP Instructor Training Workshop is a two-day event that provides the skills essential to effectively instruct STP courses—specifically how to teach adult learners, encourage interaction among STP participants and use the STP manuals to prepare for and deliver courses.Also, participants will learn how to incorporate visual aids into the curriculum and get the most out of the instructor materials. Each workshop participant will have an opportunity to give a presentation and test newly learned skills and receive constructive feedback.Don’t miss this unique opportunity to improve your STP results! Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis—only 25 seats available! Registration deadline is May 8, 2009. Learn more and register today.If you have questions about the STP or the Instructor Training Workshop, contact Stephanie Mullins at mullinss@agc.org or (703) 837-5387, or visit www.agc.org/STP.