Thank you to everyone who joined us at BSCAI’s Contracting Success Conference this year, held from Nov. 20-22 in Las Vegas. The event was a rousing success – with attendance the highest it’s been in a decade. Nearly 700 people joined us at the Bellagio Hotel and the Las Vegas Convention Center for three days of education, networking and inspiration.

“I’ve created so many lasting relationships with people in this room,” BSCAI President Michael Diamond, CBSE, said at the opening ceremony. “I’ve spent many hours with our esteemed BSCAI officers and it’s really been a pleasure to be part of this organization. This association has meant a lot to me.”

Kicking things off right were BSCAI’s pre-conference seminars. From learning about bidding and estimating to helping streamline processes to bolster productivity, these sessions helped people better themselves regardless of their level of experience. The Bidding and Estimating Seminar in particular was a huge hit, drawing a standing-room-only audience.

Steve Shuchat, CBSE, one of the hosts of the seminar, said he was proud of the attendance this year. Correct bidding and estimating, he said, helps business owners understand the value of what they offer—and demonstrate that value to their customers.

“Through your bid, you can show how your company will provide efficient, high-quality processes that will result in high value rather than just low price,” he said.

Opening speaker Stephen M.R. Covey engaged audiences with his keynote “the SPEED of Trust” based off his best-selling novel. He told attendees in order to see business flourish, leaders needed to start building stronger trust between their teams.

“High trust companies increase revenue 2.5 times faster,” he said.

Covey gave attendees direct tools they can start using to build trust among their cohorts in both their personally and professional lives, including a set of Trust Action Cards that can help get conversations started and illuminate areas of improvement to build trust.

“Without trust, you’re just a group of individuals that are just working on a project,” he said. “We want those teams to be collaborative. Without trust you don’t collaborate – you coordinate. You want employees to be innovative, and innovation happens when people trust each other and they’re not afraid to take a smart risk.”

Several people were honored with awards at the conference. To name a few: Troy Hopkins, CBSE, of Office Pride was named the 2018 Walker L. Cook Award for Distinguished Service winner. Service by Medallion took home two awards: the BSCAI Cleaning for Health Award Presented by ProTeam and the New Member of the Year Award.

Two of the most touching awards were given to Tom Kruse, CBSE, of Marsden Holding, LLC and Marlene Lash of Supreme Maintenance Organization.

Lash received the Building Service Employee of the Year Award. She said Supreme Maintenance Organization is the best employer ever, and that she doesn’t view her coworkers as people she merely works with – they’re family.

“I’ve been there for 20 years and I wouldn’t take any of it back,” she said. “It’s just an honor.”

Kruse received the James E. Purcell Leadership Award. While he was addressing the audience, he got emotional recalling how big of a role BSCAI has played in his life.

“Many years ago, I made the decision to join this organization. And like everyone in this room, I did it to advance myself professionally and to learn more about the industry. Being a young guy, when I went to my first couple of events, I was overwhelmed. The first thing I remember, I was looking at everyone as my competition.”

“Then I got involved in the organization with volunteering and committees, and as it turned out, all the people in the room were still my competition—but they were people I respected,” he said, choking up. “And then a lot of you guys became my best friends.”

The ability to make those strong connections is why Todd Videon, CEO and President of ESC Federal, said he wanted to come to the Contracting Success Conference. He is a new BSCAI member and this was his first conference—and it did not disappoint.

“These are good people,” he said at the Sunbelt Reception on Thursday, Nov. 21. “They all have the same agenda—they want to help one another. A lot of people have already said hello and reached out to introduce themselves.”

He said he was impressed with all the of the educational peer-to-peer sessions at the conference. While he’s been in the industry for many years, he said it was great to hear how people tackle challenges and how they grow their businesses to give him a fresh outlook.

“It’s important to understand the challenges,” he said. “And this is a really unique opportunity to do that and network with other owners and understand their perspectives as well.”