Idaho AGC Student Chapter Earns Construction Management Skills Award…AGAIN

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GARRETT LOVELL.

By Hailey Reyes, Idaho AGC

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) announced that the AGC Student Chapter at Boise State University — that’s Idaho AGC’s Student Chapter for those keeping score at home — has earned the Construction Management Skills

Award in the 2021 AGC Outstanding Student Chapter Contest.

The project the student chapter submitted was the restructuring of the woodshed at the now-historic Schick-Ostolasa Farmstead. As with any project, the group experienced classic setbacks and challenges, which rumbled their timeline such as unanticipated levels of groundwater on site and the universally felt challenge of material shortages. It also faced less traditional challenges such as the project calling for the original part of the shed to be unchanged, meaning the group had to dismantle the shed but

carefully tag all pieces so as to put it back together again as it was originally. Like any good contractors, they strategized how to overcome those challenges to deliver the project to satisfied clients.

In their competition application, the chapter writes that throughout the project, they “sought guidance from local Idaho AGC chapter members on how to use industry standard survey equipment to put the dismantled ‘woodshed’ back together in the same place,” and noted specifically the support of Idaho AGC member Guho Corp in providing guidance and even lending the chapter equipment.

In an email to Student Chapter President Kevin Todt, the AGC Education & Research Foundation Program Director Paige Packard stated, “Our judges were impressed with the skills demonstrated and detailed in your application – congratulations on another successful year!” She says “another” because, as we’ve shared in previous Building Idaho issues, the Idaho AGC Student Chapter is no stranger to scooping up AGC of America Student Chapter awards. In fact, the chapter took home the same award in 2020.

As part of the award, the chapter received a $2,000 cash prize, four complementary student registrations to attend AGC’s Annual Convention which took place in Grapevine, Texas in March, 2022, along with a $1,000 travel stipend to help the students get there.

At the meeting, the chapter was invited to deliver a presentation on their winning service project during the Annual Student Chapter meeting, and was presented with the actual award during the Convention’s closing ceremony. l

Like any good contractors, they strategized how to overcome those challenges to deliver the project to satisfied clients.