Although documentation can be quite a hassle for subcontractors, the UMCA understands the importance of getting these documents right.  To help you stay current on the legalities of the documents, the UMCA is pleased to have John L. Young, of Young Hoffman Strassberg & Ensor, LLP, presenting his seminar “Construction Contracts and Legal Concerns.”  Mr. Young’s practice focuses on construction law, surety law, and civil litigation.  He represents specialty contractors and subcontractor clients in arbitration and mediation proceedings, and in litigation and administrative claims, regarding private and public projects, in State and Federal Courts and Agency Boards of Contract Appeals.  The UMCA as well as many UMCA members are among Mr. Young's clients.  His class will focus on the most recent developments and current issues facing Subcontractors in the documents used daily for construction projects.  He will also cover necessary project management methods and outline steps to be taken to help participants understand project management concerns.  The seminar will be held on March 25, 2010 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm at the Little America Hotel.  There are no registration fees to attend this seminar, and lunch is included.  To register, please download the registration form here and return it to the UMCA Office no later than Thursday, March 18, 2010.

The UMCA would like to remind all Contractor Members of the $1,000.00 Education Credit they have been given to be used toward any UMCA or MCAA educational event.  The UMCA hopes that the $1,000 credit will increase incentive to attend one of the many fabulous seminars left in our education series as well as encourage our members to stay current on their continuing education for license renewal.  To use your $1,000 credit, please fill out a regular registration form for the seminar you wish to use it for and simply indicate that you would like to use the credit as payment for the seminar.  If you have any questions at all regarding the credit, please don’t hesitate to contact the UMCA Office.

The legislative session is in the final stretch with less than two weeks to go and things are getting hectic. We have had some early victories with several legislative items of interest passing early and a few that we were opposed to being tabled... at least for now. Our priority legislation got out of the gate really late in the session and we have elected to have it assigned to a summer interim committee so that all “interested” parties can have a hand in developing a consensus bill that could be beneficial for the entire construction industry. Watch for the April eNews for a comprehensive review of all legislation affecting the construction industry.

February was a productive month for many UMCA members who attended two outstanding education programs. The first was “How to Survive a Recession in the Construction Industry and Prospering in Cyclical Markets” presented by Dr. Thomas C. Schleifer.  Dr. Schleifer’s theory is that, “a construction organization that has prospered during its growth already possesses the knowledge and blueprint for how to make money in a declining market; they either don’t recognize it or consider it ‘dismantling’ their organization.” Dr. Schleifer covered; Timing of Recovery, Timing of Margin Recovery, Impact of Stimulus, Measuring Staying Power, Recognizing Risks at Stages of a Construction Company’s Growth, Operational Performance Versus Financial Performance, and more. The second program in February was “Project Managers Impact on Financial Outcomes” by David Ashcraft. Mr. Ashcraft’s topics included; how project managers impact the company income statement and balance sheet, how the work in process (WIP) can affect year end profits and cash flow, over-billings and under-billings and the impact of each, the difference between gross profit % and mark up %, a WIP case study, and what percentage of completion accounting is and why it is used. Both programs were very well received by those who attended.  Please note the UMCA still has several great programs scheduled this spring that you won’t want to miss.