I am honored to be serving as the incoming 2025–2026 chairman of the board! I’d like to thank the outgoing chair Dan Coffey for his leadership over the past two years — he did a great job. Even though I’m fairly new to the board, I have been directly involved with ABC Maine for over 15 years on the Government and Regulatory Affairs Committee and I am currently the committee chair — as the saying goes, “Get into Politics, or Get out of Business.” As I’m sure you know, the 132 Maine Legislature was extremely challenging with lots of bad legislation written, hundreds of ‘concept drafts’ and questionable rule following amongst our leaders. Hopefully this November we can get some pro-merit shop and business-minded legislators into office to thwart some of this bad legislation.

ABC Maine will be celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2025! There will be some special events to recognize all the people involved in the decades-long success of this chapter. I’d like to personally thank ALL the previous board members and board chairs, as well as current and previous presidents/CEOs and staff members for their leadership over the past 40 years. And equally as important, I’d like to thank every single member company for supporting this great organization — THANK YOU!

One of ABC’s mottos is “The Voice of the Merit Shop.” What does that mean to me? It’s the belief that construction projects should be awarded on merit to the most qualified and responsible low bidders — that’s it. It is the belief in open competition and free enterprise — not carve-outs and special provisions in law. Nationally and locally, ABC fights to protect these principles and beliefs. I’ve seen ABC Maine do it firsthand in Augusta and read about what ABC National does in Washington, D.C.

All these efforts are not only led by the ABC board of directors but through various committees and individual efforts. As mentioned earlier, there is a Government and Regulatory Affairs (GRA) Committee. There is also a Member Services, Recruitment and Retention Committee, which is chaired by Mitch DeBlois. And finally, there is an Environmental, Health, Safety and Workforce Development (EHS/WD) Committee chaired by Nate Boutin. If you would like to participate and further support this great association, please reach out to any board or team member — we’d love to have your input.

Through the board and these committees, we will support ABC’s mission. The GRA committee is responsible for evaluating proposed legislation and agency regulations to determine what impact they may have on members and the construction industry as a whole — they are your voice at the legislature. The Member Services Committee helps execute ABC Maine’s annual program to promote the Merit Shop Philosophy, build chapter visibility, provide business opportunities for members and attract new members to the association. The (EHS/WD) Committee supports our members as good stewards of the environment, promotes careers in construction while enhancing the image of the industry and delivers rigorous and relevant educational programs supporting our members in their effort to win and put work in place — safely, efficiently and under budget.

As we look ahead to 2025 and the 40th anniversary of ABC Maine, I look forward to continuing the legacy and efforts put forward by previous leaders of this great association. Thank you for being a member and supporting this worthwhile organization. I look forward to seeing all of you at an event sometime soon. I hope 2025 will be a safe, healthy and prosperous year for you and your companies.