Contractors Association Gearing Up for its 90th Anniversary Celebration
The members of the Contractors Association of Will & Grundy Counties are preparing to commemorate the respectable legacy of the organization during their 90th anniversary celebration at the Bolingbrook Golf Club on March 24.
The Joliet-based CAWGC has the unique opportunity to celebrate a milestone that many associations never reach – 90 years serving its membership. The staff and board of directors for this highly respected commercial and industrial construction trade association are taking the time to acknowledge both the efforts of the founders who helped build the organization, and those who will take it forward in the future.
As Executive Director Les Cheney reflects on the last nine decades, he states, “We can learn from our history, but we shouldn’t live on past laurels. Our future relies on us continuing to adapt and adjust.”
The CAWGC story began in 1933 when a group of Joliet businessmen and contractors had the vision to create an association to be the voice of the commercial construction industry.
Over the next three decades, the area experienced tremendous growth, and the name was changed in 1961 to reflect the larger geographic region it represented – the Will County Contractors Association. Eventually, the organization began negotiating trade union contracts and hosting membership events and seminars.
Then, in 1974 the name changed to the Contractors Association of Will and Grundy Counties when it was merged with the Grundy County Contractors Association.
Over time, the membership continued to grow, which led the organization to focus its efforts on the needs of contractors with the addition of services such as computers, high-speed internet, bid assistance, a plan room with an engineering copier, a state-of-the-art conference room and meeting space.
In recent years, members are now represented on many trade union apprentice, welfare, and pension boards, and the CAWGC continues to play an active role in management and labor relations for nine different local unions.
When asked what the future looks like for the Association, Chairman Jason Cox said, “I envision our group continuing to grow in the future by being more politically active and adding more qualified contractors to our membership.”
The CAWGC is proud to celebrate 90 years of providing construction industry representation to our members, partners and the communities of Will and Grundy Counties.
Submitted by the Contractors Association of Will & Grundy Counties