This week the DCA team had another great opportunity to meet with a long-established Delaware contractor who is interested in becoming a DCA member. Jamie Chambers, Director of Member Success, used a word in our discussion that I hadn’t heard used when engaging with our membership. She described her role, but I think it applies to each of DCA’s staff, as a member’s concierge. The person to bring your questions to and the person who will hunt down the answers as well as help you through the process. This approach applies to Mary Sheldon, Director of Operations, and me as well. Everything we do for our membership is driven by the goal of helping your company be as successful as possible.

During our discussion with the company considering joining DCA, Jamie shared one of her key “concierge” roles as our point person for workforce development. When it comes to connecting our members with workforce talent from our vocational and traditional schools, Del Tech, or our other higher education institutions, she uses her personal knowledge of our membership to create win-win outcomes. She has had great success in working as the conduit connecting Delawareans seeking to enter the field of construction with our members. She often individually learns about the workers’ interests and skills before seeking to connect them with the right DCA members.

Although Mary is new to working at DCA, she is continuing the approach of identifying and providing training that is responsive to members’ need. This means we offer the year in and year out core courses but most importantly we respond to members unique training needs based on job opportunities they have or changes they see in the industry. The potential new member meeting was the result of Mary’s personal efforts to reach out to companies she thinks might be a good fit for DCA and it is allowing DCA to share our mission with more and more members of the region’s construction industry.

As Executive Director, I have the responsibilities we all know go along with that, but I also handle Labor Relations for our Allied members and Government Relations. Whether its acting on our members behalf to sort out prevailing wage issues or helping Allied members work through challenges with CBA disagreements, my approach is very hands-on. When it comes to Government Relations, I work to ensure our public policy makers not only know you as a part of the construction industry but know you as real people who are working to build Delaware while providing good paying jobs for its citizens.

I do a lot of work with Department of Labor, Office of Management and Budget, and DelDOT cabinet members and agency directors. When a member contacts me about an issue or question regarding things like a project delay or a Contractor Registry notice, I work with the member to ensure I understand the situation so I can personally try to help the member navigate the issue.

I could go on and on with examples of how DCA seeks to be more than just another trade association but rather to serve our members’ needs in personal ways. It is the connection to our membership and the drive to see you succeed that makes our jobs rewarding! We may not always win but know that Jamie, Mary, and I will always fight for you and do whatever we can to help your company prosper.