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!

Webcor's 2023 summer interns reunited in San Francisco and Los Angeles for Intern Service Day, a beloved Webcor tradition focused on engaging interns with their surrounding communities in a way that supports and empowers local residents. Originally pitched by a former Webcor intern who avidly supported our Community core value, Intern Service Day has been a core component of Webcor's intern program curriculum for the last several years.

This year, Webcor's intern team took the service day as an opportunity to reinvigorate our partnerships with two community-driven organizations committed to serving vulnerable residents: America SCORES Bay Area and LA Regional Food Bank.

NorCal Intern Service Day � America SCORES Bay Area

After a successful first year partnering with the America SCORES Bay Area chapter for Intern Service Day last summer, former Assistant Project Manager Hamza Shallwani suggested reaching back out to their SCORES contacts about organizing another volunteer day together. SCORES aims to inspire youth to lead healthy lives, engage in their education, and build the confidence and character to effect community-wide change through the power of soccer, poetry, and service-learning projects.

"We wanted to give the interns an opportunity to guide and support our local youth and learn about the important work America SCORES is doing," says Project Engineer Sandra Padilla, who organized NorCal's Intern Service Day just one year after experiencing the day as an intern herself with support from Superintendent Zach Pollard and Sr. Project Engineer, Concrete Robert Lim. "Our NorCal interns all came together to create a unique field day experience for the SCORES students at ER Taylor, an elementary school in San Francisco's Portola neighborhood that was hosting a SCORES youth summer camp that week."

NorCal interns and SCORES students spent the day immersing themselves in the creative and challenging worlds of sports and art, spending half the day playing soccer and basketball and the other half crafting a structure related to Mario World, the summer camp's theme, as a team. Although it took some time for the interns and students to grow comfortable with one another, genuine connections quickly emerged from the day's team-oriented, creativity-fueled activities as they embraced both challenges together.

"As someone who thoroughly enjoys playing sports, it was a delight to play games like soccer, four square, and basketball with such wonderful kids," says PE Intern Ninad Doke. "Witnessing their enthusiasm and joy as we played together brought an unparalleled sense of fulfillment.

"I also had the privilege of joining the students in craft-related activities, during which we embarked on an imaginative journey to design and build our very own Bowser's Castle using cardboard. Collaborating with these young minds and seeing their boundless creativity were truly remarkable experiences. Together, we brought the castle to life, and their excitement throughout the process was contagious."

As someone who spent her childhood summers learning from mentors at youth camps just like SCORES, PE Intern Giselle Martinez says the entire day felt like a full-circle experience. She knew firsthand just how valuable these mission-driven community programs were for participating students and understood their role in fueling their confidence while challenging their developing minds.

"I really appreciated the opportunity to help give the kids the same amazing summer camp experience I had when I was their age," Giselle says. "My favorite part was playing basketball with them�it's been my favorite sport since high school, so sharing that experience and teaching the kids how to play was really fulfilling. Basketball is such a great way to learn and practice teamwork."

Ninad was just as excited to join his fellow interns in giving back to the community and positively impacting the lives of local students, an opportunity that he felt reflected Webcor's exceptional company culture.

"It was heartening to see how much joy and happiness our involvement brought the students," he says. "Webcor's commitment to organizing events like this demonstrates a deep sense of social responsibility and genuine dedication to making a positive difference in our communities. Actively engaging in service-oriented activities fosters a culture of compassion, teamwork, and altruism among employees. It really proves that the company values not only its business endeavors, but its contributions to the greater good."

SoCal Intern Service Day � Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

A few hundred miles south in Los Angeles, SoCal interns dedicated their service day to packaging meals at LA Regional Food Bank, a nonprofit with which Webcor's partnered for the last five years. Since 1973, the food bank has served nearly 2 billion pounds of food to LA-area children, seniors, families, and other residents battling food insecurity.

Putting Webcor's community core value into action, SoCal interns worked tirelessly and efficiently to package nearly 1,160 food boxes for LA families in need after just a few hours.

"We really felt like we were contributing to the reduction of food insecurity in LA County," says Project Director Aaron Case, one of SoCal's intern team leaders. "It was also great to see the size of the new facility�we were told it was about four times larger than their last one. It's reassuring to know that food bank donations are funding the infrastructure improvements needed to support larger community outreach efforts."

The jam-packed service day successfully connected interns not only with the community in which their assigned projects were being built, but with one another, says PE Intern Natalie Rodriguez.

"Meeting and connecting with other LA interns while volunteering for such an important cause was the best part of the experience," she says. "The service day spoke volumes about Webcor's culture and proved that their mission truly spans beyond just building."