Technology, new manager features of group's future

On Oct. 1, I became the new manager of the Southern Division of The Builders' Association. I was born and raised in south central Missouri near Vienna, and received a bachelor's degree in business and marketing from Lincoln University in Jefferson City and a master's degree in management from Fontbonne University in St. Louis.

My previous experience in state government, working for a major airline, as well as consulting work for a commercial contractor and owner of an interior decorating business will enable me to lead the Southern Division of The Builders' Association into the new millennium.

The mission of The Builders' Association is to work for the advancement of the construction industry and to provide services of value to the members, as well as represent their interests in construction-related areas.

In 1887, a group of businessmen organized The Builders' Association and applied the strength-in-numbers concept. Since that time, the association has been a unified voice of the construction industry in our area, promoting the cause of construction by helping the contractors individually and collectively.

The association has also played an important role in the area economy as an integral part of the building and construction industry, serving as a driving force and catalyst in bringing the many different interests in the industry, management, government and labor to a common meeting ground.

Membership in The Builders' Association includes general contractors, subcontractors, material dealers, suppliers and associates.

The Southern Division of The Builders' Association was established in October 1987. It has grown to almost 300 members. We offer our members a plan room which accommodates more than 100 sets of plans and specifications, a weekly Plan Room Brief mailing which lists all projects currently bidding, full-size architectural plan copier availability, evening and weekend checkout of plans, daily notification of addenda on jobs and free access to our plan rooms in Kansas City, Jefferson City and Columbia.

In addition to the plan room, we also provide construction-related educational programs, safety program development, health insurance, workers' compensation, 401(k) retirement plan, governmental affairs staff and various association publications.

The Builders' Association board of directors and staff are continually working to develop new and valuable cost-saving services for members. To help meet these needs, we are incorporating into our service The Electronic Plan Room, and the first seminar for the Southern Division was held Oct. 20.

This state-of-the art technology will give us the ability to scan to file all drawings, specifications and bidders lists. The bid documents will then be placed on our Web site

www.builders assoc.com.

We will also convert this information to a CD, which will be available to all subscribed members. This service will provide the members the capability of automatically viewing and bidding documents in all regions 24 hours a day, seven days a week from their own home or office through the Internet.

We feel this information is the future for the construction industry and gives contractor members the competitive edge of instant availability of bid documents.

As the new manager in the Southern Division of The Builders' Association, I hope to make a positive impact on the construction industry in southwest Missouri by offering the latest technical services available, as well as promoting our services through growth in membership to The Builders' Association.

As a new resident of Springfield and on behalf of The Builders' Association, I would like to invite everyone to stop by our local office at 2048 S. Stewart to meet our professional, qualified staff and let us answer any questions you might have about our services.

The Builders' Association staff would also like to extend a very special salute and thank you to all those in the Springfield community who support our efforts and help our industry celebrate this event.

(Michelle Vankeirsbilck is the manager of the Southern Division of The Builders' Association.)