NAWIC Region 14—Maine Chapter #276

2007-2008 Officers & Directors Left to right: Trish Gardner, Joyce Newman, Anna Demers, Lacey Barcelou, Trisha Mosher, Lori Howlett, Barb McPheters, and Crystal Berry

Members at May meeting

Maine Chapter Officers

President:

Lori Howlett, Maine Department of Transportation

Vice President:

Joyce Newman, Maine Better Transportation Association

Secretary:

Lacey Barcelou, American Concrete Industries

Treasurer:

Crystal Berry, Concentra Medical Center

Directors:

Trish Gardner, Cross Insurance
Barbara Skelton, No Yarmouth Codes Office
Trisha Mosher, Women Unlimited
Jo-Ellen Staples 
 

Immediate Past President:

Anna Demers

Parliamentarian

Marion Thomas

Congratulations to the newly elected 2008-2009 Board:

President Joyce Newman, Vice President Anna Demers, Secretary Trisha Mosher, Treasurer Crystal Berry, and Directors Lacey Barcelou, Crystal Manzer, Heidi Rodzen, and Marion Thomas.

Welcome new members for 2007-2008 Jennifer Sanborn of Sanborn Environmental and Soils, Crystal Manzer of Bruce A Manzer, Inc., Tia Rodzen of Skillings Shaw and Associates, Mary Ann Conroy of Town of Old Orchard, Sonya Charest of MaineHousing and Kimberly Lauze of Nortrax..

Welcome members transferring from the Southern Maine Chapter, Patricia Mahoney, AD&W, Patricia Adriance, East Coast Constr Mgmnt Co, Angela LeVasseur, CPM Constructors, Catherine MacDonald, CIT, Pizzagalli, Sharon Martel, Ohio Casualty Bond and Heidi Rodzen, Skillings Shaw & Associates.

Welcome also to new members for the 2006-2007 NAWIC year are Amy LaGasse, Milestone Communications, LLC and Trish Gardner, Cross Insurance, Trisha Mosher,  Women Unlimited, Cindy York, Bridgecorp, Valerie Barker, Pike Industries, Mindi Markham, PortlandWater District, Peaches Bass, Maine Dept. of Labor,   Kristina Greenleaf, C & G Construction, LLC, Darcy Perkins-Phinney, Maine Trailer, Inc., Jennifer Moore, Pike Industries, Jody Watson, Pike Industries, Katrina Morgan, Sargent Corporation, Crystal Berry, Concentra Medical Services, Maureen Murray, Trade Works, Jo-Ellen Staples, Ganneston Construction. 

Several chapter members conducted the Block Kid program at the Dozer Day at Oxford County Fairgrounds on Saturday June 29, sponsored by The Boxberry School in Oxford and AGC Maine.  About 500 children and parents attended, and the kids could climb into the cabs of heavy equipment, dump trucks, emergency vehicles,  and cranes, and actually operate them.  There were also several equipment demonstrations, including directional boring ETTI of Lewiston..  AGC Maine member companies, MDOT, Maine Turnpike Authority and local emergency units generously brought their equipment to the fairgrounds and provided personnel.  The NAWIC Maine Chapter conducted two Block Kids contests.  The winners of these two competitions will be considered for the overall chapter winner to be submitted in March 2009 for the Regional competition.  All of this equipment was pretty hard to compete with for attracting kids to come inside and participate, but almost 20 boys and girls took part, a few either too young or too old to actually compete.  Kids going into grades 1 through 6 were eleigible to compete, and the others were encouraged to test their skills bulding something construction related with the little building blocks. 

Clayton Willis, above left, built a "crane, with walkway and a protector" which someone will use to "move stuff".  His crane included a rock hung from a piece of string, and got him the 1st place trophy in the morning competition..  Clayton said he loves construction, but when asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, he opted for the Army or being a policeman.

Peter Miller , above right, won the afternoon competition with his "full construction site".  Participants are limited to using 100 interlocking building blocks, and Peter managed to build a crane, dump truck, loader, bulldozer, street sweeper, a foundation under construction and a completed skyscraper, with the 100 alloted pieces.  When asked if he did this again, would he do anything different, to which he responded that "he'd rather have wheels on the truck".  Only basic blocks are allowed in the competition.  He "would like to do welding", but when asked what he'd like to do when he grows up, he said he's "still thinking on that". 

The NAWIC Maine Chapter celebrated its 25th Anniversary three years ago.  As we look back over the years since our charter in 1979, we remember a lot of good, hard work, and a great deal of fun along the way. Another celebration will take place April 11& 12, 2007, when the Maine Chapter celebrates the sponsorship of the 27th Annual Construction Expo of Maine. .

Meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month, in the Augusta and Lewiston area. Programs include jobsite tours, such as the one pictured on the left, the Freeport YMCA under construction. Other programs include tradeswomen and member panels, hands-on and community service projects, industry professional, and association speakers.

Over the years, the Maine Chapter has constructed and entered several floats in the Great Kennebec River Whatever Race, and taken some top prizes. The patriot missile pictured here won Best Theme Float the summer following the Gulf War. The lobster trap pictured on the opening page won Best Non-Commercial Float the year Maine was the theme. The Chapter has also participated in the Maine State Parade and other events. All entries have been totally built by members, utilizing the skills of our welder, fabricator and do-it-yourself members.                 .

NAWIC provides opportunities for members to attend a variety of meetings throughout the year. There are two regional meetings, Annual Planning Conference in the fall, and Spring Forum. Each are hosted by a chapter in Region 14 which consists of chapters in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York . The NAWIC Annual Convention is held in September in a large city somewhere in the 50 US states.   Members of the Toronto Chapter have formed the Canadian Association of Women in Construction (CAWIC).  More cities are expected to form chapters and join CAWIC in the near future.  All current members of the Toronto Chapter were made Honorary Region 14 members at the

Spring Forum in Saratoga Springs in April, in an effort to continue a long standing relationship.                                                                      

Pictured above right, President Lori Howelett and Vice President Joyce Newman present plaque to the Region 14 Block Kids winner, Hannah Herman.  

NAWIC members nationwide participate in Habitat for Humanity and similar programs. The Maine Chapter will be doing the landscaping of the Women's Build home in Bowdoinham this year. Many chapters sponsor Blueprint Reading seminars and other training programs. The pride of NAWIC is the NAWIC Education Foundation, which provides construction education programs for students K–12. The Block Kids Program is designed for grades 1–6 and involves the construction of various structures with interlocking blocks. Building Design, the scale-model building program is for students at the junior-high/middle-school level. This team building project will be offered during the school year and will involve constructing a structure from architectural drawings. The CAD/Design Drafting Scholarship Competition is a contest designed for senior high students. The contest provides recognition to students for creative design, successful problem solving, and craftsmanship in preparing architectural drawings. Adult programs consist of Certified Construction Associate (CCA), Introduction to Construction, Construction Document Specialist, Construction Industires Technician and Legal Protection for Construction Subcontractors and Suppiers. For more information about these programs, go to www.nawiceducation.org.

Any woman who is employed in the construction industry is eligible for membership in NAWIC. Owners, managers and support staff of construction companies, subcontractors, engineering and architectural firms, tradeswomen, construction equipment dealers, construction bonding and insurance companies and agencies, construction material suppliers, construction trade association personnel or any other construction related entity all qualify. NAWIC is probably one of the best kept secrets in the construction industry, but we want to tell you more about our wonderful networking association. Email us using the link at the top of this page, write to NAWIC Maine Chapter 276, P O Box                                                                                                           366 Hallowell, ME 04347, or call 207-623-4683.

   Nancy Baily Farrar, NAWIC Tradeswoman of the Year

Maine Chapter member Nancy Bailey Farrar was selected as the 2004 NAWIC Tradeswoman of the year at the annual meeting and convention held in New York City. Nancy is shown here with her award.

The Maine Chapter's 2006 nominee Dale McCormick was honored as the recipient of the 2006 Crystal Vision Award at the Crystal Vision Awards Banquet in Kansas City, MO in September at the 51st NAWIC Annual Meeting and Convention.  Several members of the Maine, Eastern Maine and Southern Maine Chapters were present to help honor Dale when she receives this award.

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