More than 400 hundred ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓmembers are on Capitol Hill this week advocating for important merit shop issues with their members of Congress. For those members unable to make the trip, there is still an opportunity to participate virtually by contacting their elected officials from a computer or mobile device using ABC's Action App on yourÌýiPhone or Android, or downloading the update.

Each year, many ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓmember companies make the list of Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) Top 400 Contractors list. In 2014, 55 ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓmembers were placed in the top 100 contractors on the list.

ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓmembers and chapter staffÌýinterested in participating in ABC’s 2014 Legislative Conference June 11 in Washington, D.C., have until Friday, May 16 to take advantage of the early bird registration rates and the discounted hotel price. By registering for the conference, attendees will have access to the Legislative Update Breakfast and a day on Capitol Hill meeting with members of Congress.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)Ìýhas signed a strategic partnership agreement with Tradesmen International, the construction industry’s premier source for craft professionals and labor-related services which will help contractors maximize productivity per dollar of labor. The agreement became effective May 1 during ABC’s 28th annual National Craft Championships in Birmingham, Ala., which Tradesmen International sponsored.ÌýÌý

The 2014 Craft Professional of the Year award was presented to Robert Stuart, superintendent at Stronghold Engineering in Menifee, Calif., May 2 during ABC’s National Craft Championships and Workforce Development Conference in Birmingham, Ala. The award recognizes Stuart’s work in the industry including his commitment to safety, training and the merit shop philosophy.

ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓrecently joined more than 20 other groups involved in the design, construction, operations and management of the built environment to create the Alliance for a Resilient Tomorrow. The purpose of the alliance is to promote resilience, which is the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events.

Local media outlets welcomed this year’s National Craft Championships (NCC) by covering several individual competitors trips to NCC. Newspapers from Alabama, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Texas published stories on competitors in the Welding-Structural, Sheet Metal, HVAC, and Electrical: Commercial-Industrial competitions.

The ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓstudent chapter at Montgomery College, Rockville, Md., was named the 2014 Student Chapter of the Year, which recognized them for their outstanding and extensive programming, community service and involvement with ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓduring the past year. The student chapter will be honored at the Careers in Construction Awards ceremony May 2 in Birmingham, Ala.

ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓawarded Lloyd Evans, hiring and training administrator for Watson Electrical Construction Co. LLC, Wilson, N.C., as its 2014 Craft Instructor of the Year. Evans will be honored during ABC’s Workforce Development Conference May 2 in Birmingham, Ala.

ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓis seeking volunteers with recognized experience and expertise in a craft to judge the 2014 National Craft Championships on May 1 in Birmingham, Ala. ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓmembers who are interested in participating should submit a judge’s form, found on the NCC website, toÌý[email protected]Ìýindicating which craft competitions they would like to judge.