Illinois builder among those honored by St. Louis construction group
PHOTO: Steve Faust, left, representing Construction Forum STL, presents an award to Bruce Holland, of Holland Construction Services.
From Illinois Business Journal news services
ST. LOUIS – A grassroots St. Louis construction organization formed to address key issues in the industry is saluting five leaders for their service in advancing diversity, working relationships, regional unity and workforce development. Those four tenets are among the founding principles of Construction Forum STL, which was launched in 2013.
Honorees at the Construction Forum STL’s “Building Tomorrow Awards” held on Oct. 14 at the Four Season Hotel in downtown St. Louis include:
• Bruce Holland, CEO, Holland Construction Services, based in Swansea, considered a pioneer and regional leader in building labor/builder owner relations for more than 40 years;
• Ron Unterreiner, vice president, Rhodey Construction, for creatively orchestrating connections for minority contracting firms to major players in the construction industry;
• Abe Adewale, CEO, ABNA, for developing a firm with a reputation of being a “United Nations” of the engineering world. The firm’s staff is representative of nearly every continent, encompassing nearly 20 languages, and representing at least four major faith traditions;
• Chris Reichert, CEO, Stifel Bank and Trust, for successfully leading the effort to create and launch the new contractor’s loan fund for minority contractors in the St. Louis marketplace; and
• Jay Boleach, career and technology education instructor for the Ferguson/Florissant School District, for promoting workforce development and the trades at the high school level.
The event also raised funds for the organization’s Construction Forum Education Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to action-directed construction research to test ideas for positive change and supporting primary through college construction-oriented STEM education. For more information on the foundation, visit www.constructionstem.org.
Construction Forum STL is a nonprofit with a mission of fostering productive dialogue to address big issues facing the St. Louis construction industry. It brings all elements of the construction community together to network, discuss ideas, and share information to improve the local building industry. Engagement is expanded with a weekly e-newsletter that reaches 12,000 people, events that draw an average attendance of more than 400 people and its website, www.constructforstl.org.
