COMMUNICATIONS & MEMBERSHIP
COMMITTEE MEETING
New York Building Congress
June 23, 2003

Minutes

Attendance:
Michael S. Della Rocca, Jeffrey E. Levine; Co-Chairmen, Richard T. Anderson, Ronald Berger, Jeannnie Bouchette, John Burke, Harvey Cohen, Judy Cooper, John Deermount, William Fisher, Warren Friedman, James Graham, John Kovacs, Michael Macaluso, Anthony Mann, Rose Reichman, Frank J. Sciame, Marcy Stanley, Timothy Steinhilber, Jill Youngerman.

Guests: Bud Perrone, Suzi Halpin, Rubenstein Associates; Leila Zogby, consultant..

Staff: Cathy A. DelliCarpini-Kruse, Gini Shoykhet

Co-Chairman Jeffrey E. Levine and Michael S. Della Rocca opened the meeting by welcoming members and guests. Mr. Della Rocca asked for and received approval of the minutes of the Membership Committee meeting of February 18, 2003.

Membership Report
Building Congress Senior Vice President Cathy DelliCarpini-Kruse summarized the latest membership report noting that, to date, we have received $710,650 in dues revenue against our 2003 budget of $830,000 which represents good progress but is about $5,000 behind the same time last year. Another reminder notice and duplicate invoice will be mailed before the end of June. Furthermore, by the next Committee meeting in September, assignments will be made for telephone reminders to all remaining unpaid Building Congress members.

Ms. DelliCarpini-Kruse also informed the Committee that new Membership and Events Manager, Gini Shoykhet, continues to address membership recruitment and to help manage the Construction Industry Forums. Committee members are encouraged to continue referring recommendations for prospective members to staff. It was suggested that Building Congress displays at events run by other organizations, such as Professional Women in Construction and others, would help recruitment efforts. Staff will follow up on this suggestion.

Communications Campaign
Frank J. Sciame, Building Congress Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Communications Sub-Committtee, opened discussion of the ongoing communications campaign. He introduced Suzi Halpin and Bud Perrone of Rubenstein Associates who reviewed the latest progress report. Mr. Perrone discussed the progress made in the years he has been associated with the Building Congress and identified ways to build upon improvements already made to publications, events and the organization’s public profile. A discussion of the particular initiatives within the Communications Campaign ensued.

Public Policy Forums: Members agreed with plans to develop additional forums and to continue to solicit prominent public officials as speakers and to garner media attention. Suggestions for future forums included: the 2012 Olympics; the City’s energy supply gap; developments at the New York City School Construction Authority; the updated outlook for construction jobs and employment; and private sector constraints on public construction projects. Members emphasized that such forums allow the Building Congress to bring the industry and key public officials together in ways that other organizations or associations cannot. It also was suggested that a forum or another event be organized during the time of the 2004 Republican National Convention to take advantage of the presence of so many prominent officials and opinion leaders in the City during that time.

Research and Writing of Positive News Stories: Efforts to research and pitch positive feature stories on the industry are underway with the recent hiring of freelance writer Leila Zogby, also in attendance at the meeting. Responding to suggestions of the full committee and the Communications Sub-Committee, Leila’s first assignment is to create a piece on the advancement of women in the industry. The next topic to be pursued will be on the various educational initiatives throughout the industry (e.g. the ACE Mentor Program and Construction Skills 2000). …

Publications: Another suggestion of the Sub-Committee was to update the now five-year-old industry profile brochure that includes workforce demographics and statistical information on the economic value of the construction industry to the City of New York. The Committee agreed that updating this publication should be a priority. It was noted that recent publications such as the Annual Report and Update newsletters are focusing more on policy issues to continue to keep the Building Congress in the forefront of discussions on economic development and other City-shaping initiatives.

Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the New York City Subway
Timothy D. Steinhilber, Vice President of Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation, proposed that the Committee consider ways to participate in the celebration of the Subway’s 100th Anniversary in 2004, in conjunction with the New York City Transit Museum. He discussed an exhibit planned for Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal entitled “Subway City” that might provide such an opportunity. The Committee agreed that a joint activity should be undertaken, particularly since many members have been and continue to be involved in the design and construction of subway facilities. Suggestions included merging the celebration with the 2004 Leadership Awards Luncheon or Industry Recognition Dinner or with a Construction Industry Forum or Membership Reception. The idea will be pursued further.

Adjournment
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:

Cathy A. DelliCarpini-Kruse
Vice President, Membership & Communications
CDK:rc