Greetings AWCI Family! I am certainly looking forward to this upcoming year, serving the needs of our industry and promoting this fine group of people. AWCI works tirelessly to provide value to its members through a variety of services, but I am probably “preaching to the choir” as they say.
I have been in the industry for more than 25 years and have worked in several regions and cities. Through our association, I have developed a large network of support and partnerships with friends across the country. We share many of the same experiences. Common challenges such as manpower, talent development, material price escalations and supply shortages, as well as constructability issues all come to mind. By pooling our intellectual resources, we can make a more lasting positive impact.
There is a lot to do, and I am ready to help lead. AWCI did an outstanding job delivering content virtually this past year, but we are excited to be back in person this October for AWCI’s Convention & INTEX Expo. Despite the fall timeline, this will be a full program that will offer the most up-to-date education, information, products and news. I hope you are planning to join us.
One of our newest opportunities is to engage our young and talented people in the Emerging Leaders Program that AWCI will launch in October. This will be a fully designed program that offers technical and soft-skills development to our next-generation leaders. We encourage you to learn more and begin thinking about who on your team should participate in these sessions. The application can be found at www.awci.org/emergingleadersapplication.
In the meantime, AWCI leaders will meet this month in strategic planning sessions to look toward the future and ensure that we are focused on the right issues that will have the greatest positive impact on our industry and association. The AWCI staff remains committed to listen, learn and meet the needs of our members. Many of you may have not had the benefit of meeting Mike Stark, our CEO, due to COVID-19 interrupting his onboarding, but I can tell you he is committed to the betterment of this organization and is excited to venture out to meet everyone. Personally, I am anxious to see him “get on the road” and get in front of our members and chapters.
As for me, I am honored to represent such a great group. I will do my best to serve your needs and promote the best of what we have to offer during my term as your president.
Shawn Burnum is the 2021–2022 president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry and vice president of operations at Performance Contracting, Inc. in Lenexa, Kan.
