Five graduate from Future Construction Leaders program

Each year, the Associated General Contractors of New York State conducts a Future Construction Leaders program designed to give young to mid-career professionals a chance to learn what’s involved in managing a construction business. This year, LeChase was well-represented in the class, with five attendees from four different regions: Project Manager Anthony DeSousa from Schenectady, Operations Support Specialist Marshall Hargrave from Corning, Project Manager Adam DiZenzo from Binghamton, Project Engineer Courtney Lafferty from Rochester and Project Engineer Kassy Militello from Rochester.

“It’s a great opportunity for these students to learn from industry leaders, get a more well-rounded understanding of the business and to develop long-standing relationships with peers from other LeChase offices and outside our walls,” explained LeChase Vice President Fred Thompson. Fred ­and Project Executive Tim Hanke – who was also on hand to show support at the recent graduation ceremony – are both former graduates of the program.

Participants in the program attend several full-day sessions of the course of a year, learning in a structured environment what might otherwise take them years to learn by personal experience. The sessions cover, among other topics: subcontracting, insurance, contracts, marketing, legislative issues and human resources issues related specifically to construction. In the past 20 years, the program has graduated more than 400 students, including a number of current LeChase employees.

Shown in the photo, left-to-right, are: Anthony, Marshall, Tim, Adam, Courtney, Kassy and Fred.