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Never in my wildest dreams did I ever envision that I would become Chair of the National Academy of Construction. I am both honored and humbled to lead this prestigious organization. I consider this honor to be one of my highest professional accomplishments, and I appreciate the confidence you have in me. I am extremely honored to follow in the footsteps of former Chair Riverso. Milo’s first-rate leadership has truly helped move this wonderful association to greater heights. He is a change agent who has set the bar incredibly high in everything he did and inspires others to want to follow. Milo’s volunteerism is remarkable, and all of NAC’s standing committees have made tremendous progress under his leadership!

What a wonderful 25th Silver Jubilee event and Annual meeting we had in San Antonio, and it was so fitting that we were able to celebrate in the city where NAC originated! We have come a long way since our 24 original Charter Members gathered together to create an organization to honor extraordinary leaders and share their wealth of experience and collective knowledge with the nation. I’m incredibly proud of the diverse growth NAC has experienced over the past 25 years, and we are so grateful to our founding leaders who set us on a path for success.

At our recent NAC Annual Meeting, we celebrated 43 new member inductions, conducted our annual meeting and auction, awarded 8 scholarships to deserving students, honored Michael Loose with the Ted C. Kennedy Award, Lillian Borrone with the Richard L. Tucker Outstanding Service Award, and the U.S. Corps of Engineers Isabella Dam Safety Modification Project received the Special Achievement Award.

Our standing committee initiatives are producing wonderful results, but there is still a great deal of work for us to do. I have three goals I would like us to accomplish over the next two years, they are: working to engage NAC more with our next generation of leaders; keeping on track with membership growing to 1000 in a sustainable manner, and expanding upon NAC’s knowledge sharing.

The first goal includes developing an Ad Hoc committee to pursue initiatives supporting our next generation of young industry leaders. This Next Gen initiative aligns with our strategic plan in engaging young professionals’ involvement in NAC. We could possibly start with our past scholarship recipients to get ideas and help, since they have been vetted by our scholarship committee. We could then work on establishing a Next Gen Ask Me Anything Webinar, collaborating with NAC partners to work on Next Gen initiatives, developing a Next Gen/NAC mentor protégé program, and creating a Frontiers in Construction program. I am very excited to see how we can help these young professionals embark on their careers and transform the industry.

The second goal is to keep on track with NAC’s strategic plan for membership to grow to 1000, while maintaining our high standards. NAC has members in every state except for six, and I would like to work with members to identify leaders in New Hampshire, Vermont, North & South Dakota, Wyoming, and Alaska. Having NAC membership in all 50 states is a powerful message. Also, diversifying our membership and recruiting members from commercial/residential construction would fill a membership void. Of course, we need to ensure that NAC has the resources to double our membership. Membership is such a fundamental aspect of our mission, and we encourage all members to submit qualified applicants.

The third goal is to expand upon another one of NAC’s strategic initiatives which is our knowledge sharing with other related organizations. We have many great collaborative partners, but we can identify others who are worth pursuing. Since our mission includes sharing our collective experience to help the nation by improving industry, collaboration with other organizations to accomplish this effort is a worthy goal, as well as strengthening our existing partners.

I look forward to working with all of you over the next two years to help further develop and expand our current committees. I encourage all members to raise their hand and become actively involved in committees, it is both rewarding and makes such a positive impact on industry. Many thanks to Sandy, Christina, Jordan, and Edd for all that they do to give NAC a great name! I am very impressed how far NAC has come in the past twenty-five years, and I’m excited to continue to help shape our future. I look forward to a fun and rewarding year ahead for us all!

Christine Keville
NAC Chair, 2024-2026