As I write this column, I have just arrived at my hotel to complete final preparations for the start of The Buildings Show at the Toronto Convention Centre. It’s time to reflect back on the year and what lies ahead for 2024.
I look back at the new relationships created this year with Honour the Work and Women on Site. I am encouraged that my soon-to-be 3 year old daughter will have the construction sector as an option for her career. She is already in awe of her small John Deere ride-on toy tractor, our lawn tractor which her mom takes her for rides on once the grass is cut and her grandfather’s farm tractor.
She has started to learn how to operate the bucket and has gotten over her fear of loud noises and is comfortable with her pink noise cancelling head phones.
With her Cerebral Palsy and her weekly physio therapy and her braces the goal is to be independent with the use of her wheelchair and her walker as needed, so the sky is the limit for the opportunities in the field with heavy equipment, project management or in one of the supporting sectors.
As she continues to get older, I look forward to bringing her to industry events and exposing her to the opportunities the sector provides. Out of her four brothers one is working for a flooring company doing installations and equipment operation, another is training to be a commercial pilot, another brother is an education assistant at a local high school and her last brother is training to become a mechanic. So, if the construction sector does not interest her in the next 15 years, she has many other options to check out.
Are you children or other family members looking to join you in construction? If so, share their story of how they got into it and where they are working or training and we can run a news story in an upcoming issue. Send me an email to start the conversation to chase@ontarioconstructionreport.com.
Chase is the director of marketing and client relations for the Construction News and Report Group as well as the associate publisher for the Ontario Construction Report andOttawa Construction News, the daily digital newspaper Ontario Construction News andCanadian Design & Construction Report, as well as several US markets such as California, New York, Florida, North Carolina and Chicago. These publications and newsletters reach tens of thousands of readers across Canada and the United States.
You can reach him by email at chase@ontarioconstructionreport.com or by phone at (905) 341-8686.