021 has been a year when flexibility became a daily exercise. Supply shortages? No problem. Testing requirements and vaccination mandates? We’re on it. Too few employees? We have a plan for that, too.

So when COVID-19 case numbers climbed in the fall and Associated General Contractors of Alaska staff and AGC Annual Conference Committee members discussed what to do about the conference, knowing members were eager to meet in person—safely—but also needed valuable information about state and federal project plans for 2022, the annual conference was split into two: A virtual two-day session where upcoming projects were discussed and a second, in-person event where members will be able to kick up their heels at the dinner/dance, honor the Hard Hat and Volunteer of the Year awardees, and celebrate in person the Excellence in Construction and Excellence in Safety awards.

The November virtual two-day conference had more than 100 registrants, AGC Events and Communications Coordinator Kimberley Gray says.

“We felt the agency meetings were important,” Gray says. “We didn’t want to put that off until January.”

Some members use the information presented by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, or DOT&PF, US Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District, and other agencies to map out what they plan to bid on in the coming year, she explains.

Members heard via Zoom presentations what the Port of Alaska has planned over the next few years through its modernization program and asked questions of US Senator Dan Sullivan, who spoke less than a week after the US House had at last passed the $500 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill. They listened to DOT&PF Commissioner Ryan Anderson discuss how the bill will accelerate state road, bridge, and airport projects. Deantha Skibinski of the Alaska Miners Association provided an update on the mining industry in Alaska, and Kara Moriarty, president and CEO of the Alaska Oil & Gas Association, updated listeners on the oil and gas industry. From a primer on vaccine mandates to how to better protect businesses against online threats and information about how to hire great workers, onboard them efficiently, and communicate with them effectively, the conference was full of information to help members in the coming year and beyond.

In a few weeks, the other half of the hybrid conference will be held at Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, with breakfast meetings, award presentations, a management symposium with guest speaker Jeff Kortes, and, of course, the annual Dinner Dance, planned for Saturday, January 29. We hope to see you there!