Years ago, Webcor's Parcel J team connected with Oakland Unified School District's Career Technical Education (CTE) Building & Construction Trades program about getting involved with the district's biannual Skilled Trades Fair at Cypress Mandela Training Center, a world-class training center that runs a building trades-approved pre-apprenticeship construction program in Oakland. The day-long trades fair introduces OUSD's CTE students to the skilled labor world through hands-on activities, e.g. pouring concrete, laying bricks, bending metal, and sweating pipe, and informal networking with a wide range of trade professionals.

"Exposure is everything for a student who might not have had an opportunity to see or feel the built environment before," says Outreach and Partnerships Manager Sharla Sullivan, who attended Skilled Trades Day on behalf of Webcor and the ACE Mentor program. "Exposing these students to real-world work in the trades greatly increases their chances of joining our industry, whether through a four-year college, two-year technical college, or building trades apprenticeship programs. We need these students on our projects as our future workforce and future leaders!"

Since then, Webcor Craft's partnership with the Skilled Trades Fair has remained consistently active. Year after year, Webcor Craft has hosted a station featuring a hands-on activity, such as door hardware installation, for the students to perform under the Webcor Craft representative's guidance. After a rewarding first experience supporting last fall's Skilled Trades Fair, Webcor Carpentry Superintendent Bobby Brown returned to the Cypress Mandela Training Center for another memorable day of meeting and educating OUSD's CTE students at this year's spring fair. With sample hardware in hand, Bobby explained where and how the hardware was applied before passing it around to the students for them to hold, disassemble, and reassemble.

"Now as the students walk through their campus, they'll see the door closers and exit devices in a whole new light," Bobby says. "They'll understand how they came about and why they're used."

As students stopped by Webcor's station in small groups throughout the day, they asked Bobby several thoughtful construction career-related questions that prompted new insights and experiences for him to share, often resulting in several follow-up questions. Energized by their genuine curiosity and interest, Bobby shared story after story about his professional background, training, experience, and life at Webcor over the last 20 years.

"OUSD's Skilled Trades Fair is a fantastic way to introduce construction as a possible career path for these young students soon entering the workforce," Bobby says. "It's up to them to make the best of such a valuable learning opportunity! A variety of students visited Webcor's station-some who were super engaged and upfront, some who were unsure of what to expect, and some who were interested in something other than what Webcor had to offer. And that's OK! I had a great time engaging with all of them throughout the day. I've trained countless carpenters throughout my decades-long career-several of whom are still at Webcor-and continue to look forward to seeing and possibly training the next generation of carpenters in the coming years."

Webcor has long partnered with Cypress Mandela Training Center's pre-apprenticeship construction program as part of our local hiring efforts. In addition to being the right thing to do, these efforts have become increasingly critical in recent years as public and even some private clients continue to intensify their local hiring requirements, Sharla says. Webcor's consistent, active involvement with such programs is a crucial step in the process of fulfilling and exceeding those requirements, which exist to ensure our work uplifts and empowers the communities in which we build.

"At the end of the day, these students ARE the community we build for," she says. "We are bettering their communities and lives directly through our work, whether by building a residential structure in which they may live one day, hiring them for a job at one of our projects, building the businesses that will be frequented by these very students in Oakland, or simply building structures that will endure the test of time for them to enjoy within their local communities."

In addition to Sharla and Bobby, Webcor Concrete Superintendent Barret Neumayr and Webcor Concrete Sr. Project Manager Mitch Yoffe stopped by the Skilled Trades Fair to show their support and witness some of the action in preparation for their future participation in a Cypress Mandela or OUSD outreach event. Webcor Drywall will attend OUSD's next Skilled Trades Fair this fall.

LA's homelessness crisis-a harrowing consequence of unresolved societal issues ranging from systemic racism to insufficient access to effective mental health services to the economic aftermath of COVID-19-has been well-documented and widely discussed for decades. Last year, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) determined that 69,133 people were experiencing homelessness countywide, about 70 percent of which were unsheltered.

As part of our mission to Build Solutions and Better Lives, LA Webcorians came together to assemble and donate hygiene packs to the Weingart Center, a nonprofit dedicated to "delivering innovative solutions to break the cycle of homelessness." The Weingart Center would later distribute the kits to those living on LA's Skid Row (also known as Central City East), where the homeless population is estimated to fall between 8,000-11,000.

"As a Los Angelena, I get to live and work in one of the most vibrant cities in America, which also has one of the largest homeless populations in the country," says Project Director Cicely Rice. "It's hard not to be affected by the juxtaposition of our gleaming luxury high-rise buildings with homeless encampments mere blocks away."

As a born-and-bred LA resident, Project Manager Cody Curran says he's also all too familiar with the city's "highs and lows" and was eager to give back to his beloved hometown by joining the hygiene pack assembly effort.

"It's hard to find the answer to the homelessness crisis, but helping cover basic human necessities for someone in need is important regardless of how they fell into their circumstances," he says. "We take so many things for granted, whether it's a pair of socks or a toothbrush, that can significantly change the life of someone less fortunate."

This year's event marked Webcor's fourth time partnering with the Weingart Center to distribute the hygiene packs, the cost of which Webcor's Community Engagement Committee enthusiastically approved as a 1:1:1 corporate donation. With upbeat music playing in the background and laughter filling the room, the group of nearly 25 Webcorians poured their energy into folding shirts and socks, organizing supplies, and carefully packaging all the components together until they'd assembled all 550 kits. Each kit included a shirt, socks, deodorant, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, and soap.

"It was amazing that we were able to make such a substantial impact in the short period of time we had together," Cicely says. "The shelters really appreciate these packs of bare essentials, which most of us take for granted. I wish we'd had more supplies."

"Other companies may claim "community' as a core value, but seeing Webcorians from executive vice presidents to project engineers participate and practice this shared value proved we put our money where our mouth is," Cody adds. "It was pretty incredible to witness. Although it obviously wasn't a permanent solution to the issue of homelessness, what we accomplished together will truly make a difference and help the community around us, so big kudos to the team and to everyone involved in putting this together."

Participating Webcorians included: Executive Assistant Agueda Zarate, who spearheaded the event and pitched it to the Community Engagement Committee for cost approval; Cicely; Cody; Sr. Project Manager Goitia; Project Director Aaron Case; Sr. Estimator Thomas Murray; Project Director, Design Franco Marinaro; Assistant Project Manager Josel Lagadia; Proposal Manager Nicole Grounds; Field Administration Manager Judy Gomez; Assistant Project Manager Gaurav Hegde; VDC Director Liem Tran; Sr. Manager, L&D Ken Flamer; Sr. Safety Manager Brian Winger; Project Coordinator Diana Serrano; Dept. Manager, Estimating/Outreach Rosa Arevalo; Assistant Project Manager Aditya Shah; Sr. Support Engineer Cynthia Sanchez; Assistant VDC Manager Annie Eismeier; Sr. Project Manager Graciela Santillan; Chief Estimator Sam Khatibi; EVP, Builders Jit Pahilajani; and Sr. VP, Project Planning Allison McCue.

"I'd like to thank the SoCal Volunteer group (Agueda) for organizing a fun way for us to get together and give back to the community," Sr. Manager, L&D Ken Flamer says. "Community events are such a great way to spend time with other Webcorians. Homelessness is a real problem, and it's great to know our efforts went toward helping those who need it most."

It was an absolute pleasure to tune into The Construction Hall of Fame podcast featuring guest Cecilia Kucharski, vice president and Operations leader for the San Diego market.

Cecilia's career-spanning dialogue with Podcast host Matt Gorgolinski (of Big League Talent Co.) touched on several things that have meaningfully contributed to Cecilia's growth and success in the construction industry. She talks about the value of internships, strategic mentorship, mission-based teams, upskilling, continuous improvement, and much more.

If you're seeking the perspective of a seasoned construction leader who has worked in nearly every aspect of the business, this is a gem of an episode! Give it a listen here or stream wherever you get your podcasts.