As the #WICWEEK2021 Chair for the Greater Phoenix Chapter I wanted to say Whew! A virtual women in construction week is easier (and harder) than it looks. While it lends itself to social media activities, it’s still the people engagement that resonates. We managed a few in-person albeit small group activities. The engagement soared with our new NAWIC Coloring book. Thank you to all participants. Here’s my recap of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Greater Phoenix Chapter #98 Women In Construction Week looked like:

NAWIC Coloring Contest

Kicking off WICweek the inaugural NAWIC Coloring contest invite. We emailed it to schools throughout Arizona. The plan: to raise awareness that many women work in construction. The kids could see women (and men) role models in the coloring pages. Grades kindergarten thru 5th grade participated. A huge thank you to all who contributed pictures to the coloring book, mostly showcasing women working in the construction industry. A special thanks to Centuri and their marketing team for getting this assembled for virtual distribution.

In all we had 8 schools and 21 classes participate reaching hundreds of students! Our coloring contest overlapped with spring break, so all of March we collected artwork. We’re in the throws of judging now. Next step, deliver Lego sets to the winners. Here are a few student submissions (below). It’s tough to choose the best one. The construction industry is the real winner with more construction career minded students! You may view more photos on the NAWIC Phoenix Facebook Page and in April we announce the winners.

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Women in Construction Speak

Second on our week’s events was a virtual talk by Katie Haydon, Executive VP at Haydon Building Corp keynote “Leading Through a Crisis”. We piggybacked on the ENR BuildTech virtual conference. Her gems on how to turn a crisis into an opportunity by revisiting your company culture were invaluable and appreciated. You may access the presentation through February 2022 on the ENR BuildTech page (you’ll need to provide your email address to access) or read the recap of the entire event here.

Virtual Networking

Thirdly, on our women in construction week agenda we hosted a virtual joint mixer and Trivia Night. Glad to see members of the Arizona Builders Alliance and the American Subcontractors Association Arizona Chapter join us. Kudos to Edel Stein for helping and our Trivia host, Josh Umar for the sur-prize(s). Instead of Zoom, KumoSpace made for a more interactive experience. Being able to navigate to different rooms, use the seating arrangements or wade in the pool while chatting made it fun. Here are a few screenshots:

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Women in Construction Tee Off

On Thursday a few ladies teed off at the Golf Clinic plus 4 holes hosted thru Women On Course. The golf clinic focused on our short game, pitching. More women need to take advantage of playing golf while nurturing client business relationships. Don’t let the guys own the links. Women on Course is helping women hone their skills around the nation. It also makes business development a fun outdoor activity!

Heart Walk

To close out the week a walk around Tempe Town Lake benefitted the American Heart Association. The group managed to raise $800 dollars. I couldn’t pass up taking a few construction shots mixed in with some fun while walking and taking a break for our 5 mile trek.

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NAWIC National also had shared other opportunities to get involved in Women in Construction Week.What a pleasure to speak to the Alaska Chapter about Bluebeam, virtually tour Boston’s Plumbing Museum and attend the International Women’s Day Panel hosted by the Palmetto, SC Chapter. With over 100 chapters around the United States, there’s a local chapter near you. Our members connect with their career peers in NAWIC’s Industry Councils (a NAWIC member only benefit) including: Admin/Finance, Business Dev/Sales/Mktg, HR/Legal, Management/Operations, Project Management/Safety, Technology, Tradeswoman, Women Business Owner & Women of Color. There’s something for all women in construction!

For the Women in Construction reading this article and not yet NAWIC members, why not join? They’re running a new member special 6-month non-voting membership thru March 31, 2021. It’s just $129. Take advantage of this today with this online membership link. If you weren’t referred by anyone else, please put Carol Hagen in the referred by field. Welcome to the National Association of Women in Construction!