Building and Construction

Confidence Growing Among Builders

On a chilly late January morning, twenty local civic and business leaders gathered at the beautiful Burns & McDonnell corporate headquarters on Ward Parkway for the 4th annual Ingram's building trades Industry Outlook.

Sponsoring the event were Straub Construction represented by Ernie Straub and NECA represented by Jim Lacey. Hosting the assembly was Burns & McDonnell's new CEO, Greg Graves.

This assembly was part of Ingram's ongoing effort to highlight issues of interest to the business community in the greater Kansas City's metropolitan area. The presence of KCMO's city manager Wayne Cauthen facilitated that process.

The change from last year's assembly to this year's could not have been more dramatic. Although the economic recovery has yet to affect all sectors of the industry, economic optimism surely has. Everyone in attendance was looking forward to the future. This, however, is not to say that all agreed what that future should look like. The varied opinions of those assembled made for a lively and sometimes feisty session.

Participants Include:

(front row, left to right)
Ernie Straub
Straub Construction
Tom Cole
Al J. Mueller Construction Co.
Susan McGreevy
Husch & Eppenburger

(second row, left to right)
John Petersen
Polsinelli, Shalton & Welte
Wayne Cauthen
City of Kansas City, Missouri
Khensa Karim
Sheet Metal Contractors Association
Rosana Privitera Biondo
Mark One Electric
Mike Helmuth
RED Development

(second row, left to right)
Michelle Sweeney
Ingram’s Magazine
Greg Graves
Burns & McDonnell
Bo Harris
Harris Construction
Jim Lacy
Electrical Corporation of America
Marty Hoffey
The Weitz Company
Pat McCown
McCown Gordon Construction
Dan Morgan
The Builders’ Association
Kevin Nunnink
Integra Realty Resources
Bill Quatman
Shughart Thomson & Kilroy
Jim Calcara
CDFM2 Architecture
Jim Pateidl
Lockton Companies