John W. Danforth Company, an MCAA member, has been named Contractor magazine’s 2020 Contractor of the Year. Danforth’s response to COVID-19 and its Virtual Design and Construction expertise are recognized. The company’s engagement with youth and women in the trades and its community engagement initiatives were also highlighted. Congratulations to the entire Danforth team!

Michel Michno has been named the next CEO of Harris, an MCAA member company. He joined Harris in 2015 as chief operations officer, bringing with him over 35 years of experience in the construction industry, including international experience in Europe, Asia, Africa and Central and South America.

As we, the MCAA family, look back on 2020 we see a year that has forced us all to change, to adapt and to overcome some of the biggest challenges to face our industry in decades. MCAA with its volunteer leadership, led by President Brian Helm and the rest of the Executive Committee, the MCAA Board of Directors, our contractor members, our manufacturer/supplier members and partners, local affiliates, volunteers who sit on our committees and Foundation and the national staff have taken the COVID-19 challenge head on. Sharing vision, talent and expertise the MCAA family has come together during 2020 to help each other like never before.

MCAA President Brian Helm is among the industry leaders who shared what they see coming in 2021 with ACHR News. Among his predictions, “In 2021, I think contractors will use what we learned from working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic to simplify many aspects of project management.”

The $2.3 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133) provides badly needed COVID economic relief, construction market stimulus and a forward-looking prospect for market recovery in public sector infrastructure investments as the pandemic recedes. In a memo to the MCAA Government Affairs Committee, Chair Jim Gaffney provided a summary digest of the items most likely to impact MCAA members and the MCAA policy agenda. The President is seeking greater individual stimulus checks, so there may be an amendment or veto, but this summary will stand for most of what will be the final result. Correction: The latest COVID relief measure signed into law Sunday does not extend the requirement that employers offer paid sick and family leave as required under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act passed last March as erroneously reported in the MCAA summary published in the Weekly Update on December 28, 2020. The latest COVID bill extends only the availability of the refundable tax credit as under the FFCRA until the end of March 2021 for those employers voluntarily providing such paid leave after December 31, 2020. MCAA regrets the error.

Join experts from Withum’s SBA Financial Services and Tax Services Teams as they navigate through the myriad of provisions included in the more than 5,000 page legislative package finalized early this week. Withum’s webinar will be held on Wednesday, December 23rd from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST.