On March 20, nearly 20 AAPI employees and allies joined Sharon in celebrating Holi on Hotel Via’s rooftop, just across the street from Webcor’s King Street office in San Francisco.
In March 2022, HR Business Partner Sharon Chandra organized a lively Holi celebration at the Bay Meadows project with Project Director Ted Williams’ enthusiastic support. Known as the Festival of Colors, Holi celebrates the beginning of spring after a long winter, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. Each year, millions of people throughout South Asia and beyond celebrate with brightly colored powder, traditional foods, music, and dancing.
Sharon’s goal was to share the joy of Holi with her fellow Webcorians while deepening their appreciation and understanding of a culture different from their own.
“Holi is about joy, unity, and inclusivity—values that resonate across all backgrounds,” she says.
Three years later, Sharon saw the perfect opportunity to revive the tradition during a Webcor APAC (Webcor’s Asian-American/Pacific Islander ERG, open to all Webcorians) Steering Committee meeting. When the committee began discussing possibilities for their first 2025 event, Sharon seized the chance to share the meaning of Holi with her fellow APAC members.
On March 20, nearly 20 AAPI employees and allies joined Sharon in celebrating Holi on Hotel Via’s rooftop, just across the street from Webcor’s King Street office in San Francisco. Attendees enjoyed traditional Indian street foods such as pani puri, modernized samosas, tandoori chicken wings, and vada pao before Sharon and Sr. Vice President Greg Chauhan kicked off their presentations.
Sharon dove into Holi’s background, including its history and meaning, and Greg shared his personal connection to Holi and its significance to him and his family.
“Sharing our cultures and backgrounds gives a little insight into each of us,” Greg says. “When people work really well together because they got to know one another, especially across projects, it solidifies who we are as Webcor.
“ERG events and interest groups such as internal softball and soccer teams are essential to coming together and getting to know one another. At APAC’s Holi event, I really enjoyed spending time with everyone and talking about something aside from the daily grind of our day-to-day world.”
Project Manager Ruhi Thakur and Project Engineer Riya Joy then performed a Bollywood/bhangra dance. Ruhi had shared her passion for dance during the January APAC meeting, inspiring Sharon to ask her about performing at Holi. Knowing Riya also loved dancing, Ruhi asked her to join as well.
“I was excited to share my cultural heritage and deep love for dance with the larger Webcor team,” Ruhi says. “Celebrating Holi is a wonderful opportunity to relive cherished childhood memories and welcome the new season.”
APAC members wrapped up the evening with traditional color-throwing, a Holi practice symbolizing joy, new beginnings, and the triumph of good over evil.
“The color throw was hands-down the best part of the night!” Riya says. “The energy, the smiles, and everyone embracing the moment were just incredible. I loved how excited everyone was to dive in.”
ERG events offer all Webcorians a rare opportunity to learn about one another’s backgrounds and engage in new cultural experiences such as Holi. It’s a powerful way to connect with colleagues, broaden perspectives, ignite eye-opening discussions, and strengthen unity across Webcor.
“These events are also a fun opportunity to collaborate with coworkers outside of our regular interactions,” Ruhi says. “I really enjoyed planning the dance performance with Riya and hearing her insights throughout the process!”
As someone who grew up celebrating Holi with her family, Ruhi greatly appreciated the authenticity of APAC’s event. From the color-throwing to the traditional menu, it was clear that Sharon had invested significant time and energy in ensuring the experience was a true Holi celebration.
“The inclusion of traditional Indian street food was a delightful surprise, as these delicacies are not typically featured at Webcor events,” Ruhi says.
“These detailed touches truly elevated the celebration and allowed us to immerse ourselves in the rich traditions of Holi. “Kudos to Sharon and the entire team for orchestrating such a successful celebration! The vibrant colors, heartfelt introductions, and personal stories shared by Greg added depth and meaning to the occasion.”
In "The Edge of Risk: Navigating the Evolution of a Captive Insurance Program in Construction," Webcor's own senior director of Insurance & Risk Management, Andy Stoelting, shares the history of Paramount’s development as a Hawaii-domiciled captive i
Paramount Insurance is at it again, this time as the featured content in the monthly podcast sponsored by the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI), a primary source for insurance information in the U.S. and other off-shore captive domiciles.
In "The Edge of Risk: Navigating the Evolution of a Captive Insurance Program in Construction," Webcor's own senior director of Insurance & Risk Management, Andy Stoelting, shares the history of Paramount’s development as a Hawaii-domiciled captive insurance company and its transformation from a single-parent captive to a sponsored captive with a protected cell.
“The podcast was a real ‘rip and read’ with off-the-cuff answers to a handful of planted questions,” says Andy.
The appearance resulted from a conversation with the podcast host, an IRMI executive, at an event Andy attended based on his IRMI volunteer activities.
Check out the half-hour podcast episode here.
(Note: The image was created with the generative AI graphics tool Midjourney.)
Webcor Concrete is taking bold steps to reduce the carbon footprint of its projects by experimenting with innovative, low-carbon concrete alternatives to traditional Portland Cement, a significant contributor to global carbon emissions.
Webcor Concrete is taking bold steps to reduce the carbon footprint of its projects by experimenting with innovative, low-carbon concrete alternatives to traditional Portland Cement, a significant contributor to global carbon emissions.
Traditional Portland Cement accounts for approximately 8 percent of global CO₂ emissions due to the chemical processes and high heat required in production. As part of Webcor's decarbonization initiative, Webcor Concrete has been actively testing novel materials that could dramatically reduce this environmental impact while maintaining structural integrity and workability.
The Webcor Concrete team recently reached a significant milestone at the UC Berkeley Student Housing #2, successfully pouring nine cubic yards of innovative C-Crete material through a 47-meter pump for a mud slab application.
C-Crete is a groundbreaking technology that uses zero Portland Cement. Instead, it employs a geopolymer process that works with different ores and blast furnace slag.
Christophe Allard-Moreau, project manager for Webcor Concrete, explains: "C-Crete is a sustainable concrete option that uses zero Portland Cement and even captures carbon dioxide during its curing process, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of construction."
According to Eric Peterson, Director of Webcor Concrete, "C-Crete was founded by Dr. Rouzbeh Savary based on his PhD work at MIT. What interests me about his company is that it won't depend on slag, which has a limited supply, once it can scale operations. He's already proven in lab settings the ability to use other calcium silicate ores."
While the initial pour experienced slower setting times than anticipated due to an abundance of caution with hydration stabilizers, the experiment provides valuable insights for future applications. The concrete achieves strengths over 5,000 psi, demonstrating its potential as a viable alternative for many applications.
David Bischoff, senior project manager for Webcor Concrete, oversaw another experimental concrete pour at UC Berkeley's Substation 8 project. This pour used Fortera, another cement substitute under development. The project team, including Superintendent Barret Neumayr and Project Engineer Nickolas Borov, spearheaded this effort. The team is planning another placement of the Fortera mix in the first two weeks of April.
Currently, Fortera functions primarily as a powdered limestone filler, and work is ongoing to develop more reactive properties. According to testing conducted by Vulcan Materials Company, optimized performance occurs at 12 percent Portland Cement replacement, resulting in higher early-age strength, lower shrinkage, and equivalent set times in standard low-carbon mixes.
Eric Peterson emphasizes the importance of field testing: "It's important to understand that Fortera is still in its early stages. Currently, it's functioning primarily as a powdered limestone filler with very little reactivity. While their testing shows promising results at 12-percent replacement levels, we're participating in these field tests because companies developing new materials must get real-world feedback. This collaboration helps advance the technology and gives Webcor firsthand knowledge of which sustainable materials are ready for specific applications and when they might be viable for general use."
In Southern California, the Webcor Concrete team has successfully trialed Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) at its Grandview project, where Webcor Concrete subcontracts for United Builders. LC3 was used for concrete pads and curbs.
Kyle Vasa Bertolucci, Webcor Concrete project director in Southern California, reports that this mix demonstrated a 19-percent lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) than an equivalent Portland mix.
"Feedback was pretty good. It placed fine, finished all right, with a slightly different beige-grey color that the place-and-finish team could identify."
While LC3 is not new globally—many parts of the world already use it—it represents a new entry into the California market. The trial was conducted in partnership with National Concrete, our ready-mix supplier.
"Ultimately, our real goal is to further testing and validation that it's a durable mix and convince suppliers like National to dedicate silo space to lower GWP cements," Bertolucci explains. "This was only a 4,000 psi mix—we're still working on seeing how it performs with higher-strength applications of 8,000-10,000 psi."
These trials represent Webcor's commitment to environmental responsibility and innovation in construction. By actively testing emerging low-carbon technologies, we position ourselves at the forefront of sustainable building practices while gathering critical data that will inform future projects and aid in developing these essential alternatives.
The Low Carbon Concrete Working Group established by Owen Brizgys is a critical part of this effort. This group is instrumental in providing insights for new and potential projects and ensures Webcor remains updated on emerging sustainable solutions.
As one of our decarbonization working group's primary goals, these experiments with novel materials help us determine what can be safely incorporated into projects with stretch goals for low carbon footprints. Through continued testing and partnership with suppliers and technology developers, Webcor continues to lead the industry toward a more sustainable future.
