2021 Company Meeting

 On Thursday, December 30th, 2021 we invited our entire team to spend the last half of their last shift of 2021 at the office for an annual company meeting. Several years ago Don and Vince decided that these company-wide meetings would be a good tool for team bonding as well as to update their team on how the company performed in the last year, and they seem to have been right. 

This year's meeting started with everyone making their introductions to Jerome, our new estimator. Once Jerome had a chance to hear from everyone, it was time for a few slideshow presentations from Rey Aragon with a focus on working safely during the winter months. 

Because we will be working on so many residential solar panel installations in the coming months, Rey gave a presentation on roof safety and the dangers and signs of cold weather exposure. He also gave a refresher on driving in inclement weather, the Importance and the correct procedure for using a Lockout/Tagout, and demonstrated a more thorough method of hazard analysis than what we had in place.

After answering questions, Rey handed things off to Caitlyn Blake who introduced the team to a new company vehicle policy as well as a better method for tracking maintenance and repairs on company vehicles. After we heard from Caitlyn, she invited Vince up to speak about what work we could expect to be coming down the pipeline in the near future.

Vince’s piece was probably the highlight of the day for our field crew who had the pleasant surprise of finding out that they would all be seeing wage increases - beyond what they anticipated - in 2022.

The raises are a VA’s reaction to the labor crisis that has swept over the construction industry after the fallout from COVID-19. The owners agreed that not only did they need to raise pay rates for new hires in order to attract more quality applicants, but that their current employees were top notch and deserved any benefit being extended to new hires.

After explaining the new pay raises and how they will fit into the existing pay structure, it was time for the last item of the day; Employee recognition!

Second year apprentices Ani Burkett and Derek Hurtado were each recognized for the professional growth that they have displayed over the last year and for their ability to adapt to a whole new kind of work than what they have spent their time with VA learning to do.

Will Cayaditto, who has been with VA close to 15 years in total, was recognized for his unparalleled work ethic.

Journeyman Electrician Kenney Hall was recognized for being willing to step into a new professional role as estimator while VA searched for a more permanent estimator. The contracts that allow for our crews higher wages were all bid by Kenney.

After the meeting, every employee went home with a holiday ham to cook for their families!