The St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers (SLCCC) held its annual Diversity Advocacy Awards Thursday, Dec. 16 to recognize those St. Louis businesses that have succeeded in having high rates of participation from minority- and women-owned businesses in regional construction projects.
The SLCCC represents major buyers of construction in the St. Louis region, with Terry Simpson of Northstar Management serving as chair. Sandra Marks, chair of the diversity sub-committee, was instrumental in making diversity a priority for the SLCCC.
“Sandra does an excellent job in leading this committee, as she is very dedicated to her role in the minority community,” Simpson said.
Ameren Corporation won the Organization of the Year award among privately owned businesses, and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) won the Organization of the Year award for a publicly owned business.
MODOT exceeded both its goal for use of disadvantaged business enterprises and the federal goal for minority participation in the workforce in the I-64 reconstruction project.
Shirlyn Myles of MODOT was one of two individual recipients for the Diversity Champion award. Myles is the community liaison officer for MODOT and works directly to ensure that minority-owned business enterprises and women-owned business enterprises are used by MODOT and that the community’s interest are represented by the company’s actions.
“The fact is that highway projects are primarily funded federally, which comes from tax dollars, which comes from a diverse community,” Myles said. “The community needs to be involved. They need to be able to be the benefactors of these projects.”
Currently Myles is working with the New Mississippi River Bridge project facilitating the diversity and outreach initiatives. She worked to get the best minority business participation on the supply side by holding an expo to find the businesses that were serious about minority and female participation.
“As an African-American female I have a vested interest in the success of our community,” Myles said, “I look forward to the day when our community is a thriving community.”
Ray Barber, a project manager with Washington University, was the other recipient of the Diversity Champion award. Barber has spent 30 years in the construction industry and has been with Washington University for 18 years.
Since his work at Emerson Electric with contracts for the Department of Defense, Barber created a system to ensure high rates of minority and female participation in construction projects. Now Barber uses the same system at Washington University, and 27 percent of the university’s construction dollars go toward minority construction.
“Diversity is important to Washington University,” Barber said. “They are very sensitive to the needs of the minority community.”
Washington University’s Brauer Hall and the BJC Institute of Health at the Washington University School of Medicine won Best Practice in Construction Awards, along with the ExpressScripts Technology & Innovation Center.
MBE of Year
BRK Electric Contractors won the award for minority-owned business enterprise of the year. The company is about to enter its eighth year of business and has done work with Washington University, Ameren, Metro Transit, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and more.
“They provide a great example of a minority-owned business that has withstood the test of time, providing quality services to the construction industry,” Simpson said.
“Hopefully other minority companies will follow suit with the accomplishments that BRK has made thus far.”
“We started out on our own with just $70,000 of capital,” Marion Hayes, president of BRK Electric, said. “We’ve done things the right way. We have been fair and reasonable with everyone we worked with.”
“In the St. Louis area, the population is very diverse so it is important the construction community reflect that diversity in its work force,” Simpson said.
“It has been and continues to be an important goal of the St. Louis area to improve the diversity of the workforce and provide opportunities for minority-owned businesses, tradesmen, and the management engaged in the construction industry.”
