Last month, NorCal Webcorians spent a beautiful Saturday morning challenging themselves to 20-mile, 40-mile, and 62-mile bike rides along the winding trails of Nicasio, a small community nestled in the Bay Area's famously picturesque Marin County. However, it was more than just the breathtaking views, fresh air, and exercise that compelled the nearly dozen Webcorians to devote their weekend morning to the group bike ride; it was the collective desire to support the mission of one of Webcor's most beloved community partners.

Known as the Best Buddies "DIY" ride, the annual bike ride is an internal Webcor event benefiting Best Buddies, the world's largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical, and economic isolation often faced by those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In 2010, former Webcor Executive VP John Bowles�an avid cyclist with a close family member living with IDD�was inspired to launch Webcor's involvement with the official Best Buddies Challenge after discovering that several of his fellow Webcorians also had family members and friends with IDD.

"For me, riding in the Best Buddies Challenge is all about supporting a cause that promotes friendship, inclusion, and empowerment of individuals with IDD," says Project Manager Crissy Tsai, who's been on Webcor Cycling's Steering Committee for the last six years. "It's a cause that has a positive and lasting impact on individuals and communities."

When the official Challenge raised its individual donation requirement to $5,000 in 2020, Webcor Cycling was inspired to launch the regional DIY rides as a way for all interested Webcorians to engage in the fundraising event and support Best Buddies. Participants worked with their project teams to request trade partner support for their regional DIY rides, which weren't tied to a donation minimum, instead of feeling pressured to meet the official Challenge's substantial individual donation requirement.

Thanks to the generous support of key trade partners, Webcorians have raised nearly $30,000 for Best Buddies through this year's fundraiser, which participating project teams approached as a friendly competition. Special thanks to the leaders of our top fundraising teams: Alec Bangs at CCC ADR, Ryan Neil at 1951 Shattuck, and Danny Cueva at Mission Rock Parcel F! Top donors include California Drywall; Critchfield; Clark Pacific; VPI; Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP; SF Interiors, Malcolm, and Contra Costa Electric.

"The fundraising and physical commitments that my colleagues and I make every year to bike in support of individuals with IDD is truly inspirational," says Vice President Nihan Tiryaki, who's participated in the Best Buddies rides since 2018. "Best Buddies' mission, which is centered on friendship and inclusion, and call to advocate for social change in our communities resonate with me. I love investing my time and energy in Best Buddies."

After finishing their bike routes, Webcor riders gathered for lunch with one of Best Buddies' ambassadors living with IDD. She shared a powerful speech illuminating the ways the organization has transformed her life and equipped her with the support needed to engage in experiences many of us take for granted � experiences ranging from the seemingly simple, such as going to the movies, to the ambitious, such as pursuing a college degree.

"Her speech really highlighted the ways Best Buddies opens doors and raises confidence," says Project Manager David Grattan, who's on the Webcor Cycling Steering Committee and participated in all three DIY rides and two official Challenge rides. "The effort that goes into planning the DIY rides is small when we consider its potential to help the organization."

Coordinating the DIY rides and Webcor's participation in the official Challenge has long been an annual highlight for Crissy, who fondly recalls connecting with her fellow NorCal and SoCal Webcorians at Hearst Castle to take on the official Challenge's scenic route along Highway 1's famous coastline from 2017�2019.

"Nothing beats waking up early and riding past the hills along Big Sur across the Bixby Bridge while looking ahead to the Pacific Ocean," she says. "This event is an excellent opportunity to meaningfully contribute to an important cause while enjoying the physical and emotional rewards of the overall experience. I don't normally ride 40�60 miles and always make a conscious effort to train ahead of time so I can fully enjoy the event."

That said, Webcorians who would like to support the DIY rides but aren't quite as interested in biking 20+ miles are highly encouraged to come out to the event and help coordinate day-of logistics�an option that Crissy decided to pursue in lieu of participating in the bike ride this year.

"My husband and I managed the support van together this year, including packing it with all the snacks and water," she says. "After leaving the 20-mile-route group, we drove to the rest stop for the 60-mile-route group and set up everything for them in the nick of time. Less than 10 minutes after setting up the Webcor tent, we saw some familiar faces pedaling down the road who were ready to rest, hydrate, and enjoy the healthy snacks we'd just laid out.

"While I was distracted chatting with the 60-mile group, my puppy Ginger also found a nice mud puddle and decided it would be fun to jump right into it. We had to tie her up to prevent her from getting muddier!"

Next, Sr. Vice President Tom Taylor will represent Webcor at Best Buddies' reception for corporate sponsors on Oct. 13, the day preceding the official Best Buddies Challenge at Summit Skywalker Ranch. The five participating Webcorians will tackle the 38-mile or 72-mile route through Marin County with the support of on-course domestiques, two fully stocked rest stops, on-site bike technicians, and professional cyclists' assistance with pacing.

Thank you to all the Webcorians who joined us in supporting Best Buddies this year: David, Nihan, Crissy, Sr. Project Manager Nathaniel Crawford, Sr. Preconstruction Director Ryan Hoff, Sr. Design Manager Michael Bardin, Carpenter Lead Foreman Jorge Barragan, Sr. VP/General Counsel Patrick Kirby, Project Engineer Lucas Decasper, Sr. Project Engineer Evan To, and Sr. Project Manager Brad Shambaugh!

For the last six years, Dept.Manager, Estimating/Outreach Rosa Arevalo has tirelessly championed Webcor's Southern California-area supplier diversity efforts, forging mutually beneficial relationships and spearheading SoCal outreach initiatives for project pursuits with strict small/local/diverse business inclusion requirements�particularly in the higher education and aviation sectors. This spring, Rosa organized Webcor's first supplier diversity outreach open house event in our recently built, beautifully designed downtown LA office.

With enthusiastic support from VicePresident Charles Chiparo, Outreach and Partnerships Manager SharlaSullivan, Design Manager April Chang, and Project Director, Design Franco Marinaro, Rosa hosted an extremely successful event attended by Webcor executives, directors, managers, and 45 trade partner companies throughoutLA that resulted in dozens of fruitful new connections�as well as a few reconnections, Sharla says.

"We networked with local, small, and diverse businesses with which we haven't worked (yet!) as well as some we have. Some of those businesses knew each other, which was wonderful to see," Sharla says. "The whole goal of the LA open house was to focus on building those vital relationships with our small/local/diverse business community by welcoming them into our home office in an intimate setting to build trust � one of Webcor's Core Values. All projects are driven by a community need, and our design and trade partners, large and small, play a vital role in fulfilling the needs of our clients."

Throughout the morning, Webcorians and attending businesses networked and discussed various potential opportunities for future partnerships�the type of partnerships vital to Webcor's continued empowerment of our local communities. Speakers included Sharla; Rosa; Project Engineer,Project Controls Lucia Mendez, who discussed Webcor's prequalification process; Chief Estimator Sam Khatibi, who gave an overview of Webcor's estimating procedures, pursuit selection process, and where to locate Webcor's public bid board for upcoming bidding opportunities, and Charles, who shared his own experiences working on the small business side prior to joining Webcor and the important role general contractors play in driving economic participation by including small/local/diverse businesses in all projects, regardless of project requirement existence, in a meaningful way.

"Charles' story set the stage perfectly," Sharla says. "He said, 'Hey, I used to work for a small business and wore many hats�I was the lead engineer, estimator, etc, so I understand what working for a small business means. Your presence here today meant taking off a hat you'd normally wear, so I want to make sure the impact of this event is meaningful and goes beyond a one-time conversation.' It was great to hear that someone on Webcor's executive side had such a keen understanding of what it truly means to work fora small business and the hustle that goes into it."

"Our primary goal is to start building a strong foundation with our small, diverse trade partners and diversify our subcontractor base," Rosa says. "We don't just want to invite them to bid on our jobs; we want to ensure we have an established, trusting relationship with them. That foundation will lead to future partnerships, leads on upcoming projects, better pricing, and much more."

As a general contractor, Webcor depends on resilient design and trade partners to successfully perform work so we can continue to build innovative and captivating projects for our clients � all of which are directed by underlying community needs, Sharla says.

"Being inclusive of our smallest subcontractors and suppliers provides the economic stimulation needed to create strong communities and propel the demand for growth in our industry," she continues. "We work with small/local/diverse businesses not just because it's the right thing to do, there is also a clear economic business case for doing so.

"Without the community, we have no projects. Outreach is key to discovering and cultivating relationships with small and underutilized businesses for more inclusion on our projects. It is not enough to utilize the same partners repeatedly; the goal is to increase partnerships, mentor, and help these businesses grow."

by Robert Lim, Sr. Project Engineer, Concrete

Another year in the San Francisco architects, engineers and contractors league has concluded with tremendous success for Webcor's 2023 softball team, The Ponies. Webcor quickly established their position in the league, going undefeated throughout the season until a close defeat with the number 1 team in the league. However, that defeat was countered with style in the August playoffs against the same team, setting up The Ponies for the 2023 championship game!

After the Webcor Ponies triumphantly defeated the #1 overall seed, The Ringers, in the semifinals, they took to the field on August 24 with one goal in mind: to bring home another trophy! The Ponies were looking to claim their first championship since 2019, and the pressure was on! The stage was set at Rossi Park. With a home field advantage in hand, The Ponies took on Dome Construction.

The sure-handed infield crew consisted of Superintendent Tim Scapin (1B); Project Engineer Christian Pedersen (2B); Superintendent, Concrete Kelly Martz (SS); and Superintendent, Concrete Gabe Zagorski (3B). The platoon of outfielders included Assistant Project Manager Colin Ryan; Sr. Project Engineer, Concrete Rob Lim; Assistant Project Engineer, Drywall Mauricio "Big Mo" Fernandez; Project Manager Eunice Sale; Project Engineer, Concrete Adam Stenberg; Superintendent, Concrete Matt Miller; and Superintendent, Drywall Pat Shock. Sr. Superintendent Karl Jeppesen and Sr. Project Manager Crissy Tsai were the respective Pitcher/Catcher battery.

Dome got off to a quick start, putting up two runs in the top of the first inning. However, The Ponies quickly followed up with three runs of their own to take a lead they would never relinquish. The Pony defense dialed it in during the second inning and made quick work of Dome, not allowing a single run. Dome was only able to tack on one more run in the top of the third inning before The Ponies followed up by scoring seven runs, the maximum allowed in an inning, at the bottom of the third.

The defense held strong with huge plays by Webcor, including a throw out at home by Kelly, and some clean work in the infield by Gabe in the hot corner! With a drastic 10-3 lead heading into the fourth inning, The Ponies were able to hold off Dome, only allowing three more runs for the remainder of the game. And of course, they scored two additional insurance runs to secure the victory!

The Ponies definitively defeated Dome and took home the championship with a final score of 12-6!

This championship game performance embodied the consistent execution that The Ponies had provided all season long. Coming into the playoffs, The Ponies were the fifth seed with a 9-2 record. One of those regular season losses was vindicated when The Ponies bested The Ringers in the semifinals, having originally lost to them in the final game of the regular season. The Ponies refuse to recognize the other regular season loss, which was a technicality (a forfeit driven by a clerical scheduling error on the SFAEC website). At the end of the day, The Pony mantra of "ball don't lie" rang true, as that forfeit has been quickly forgotten while the Webcor Ponies bask in the greatness of winning their third championship!

The 2023 roster praises those who came before us � the 2016 and 2019 teams paved the way to greatness when they brought the first two championships home to Webcor.

Special thank you to Crissy Tsai for being an awesome team manager!