By Dennis Maguire: Associated Builders & Contractors Mass. Chapter is a tool to help you prosper

The New Year is always a time for optimism, and this is the first in several years that it is dawning with at least some signs that the economy is improving, albeit slowly. But these are still trying times for the construction industry, and my focus for the coming year will be on ensuring that ABC is a useful tool to help you prosper despite the challenges we all face. Achieving that goal depends on our ability to engage the membership, and we have a number of ideas for how to do that. First, we will create a professional development series for principals and managers of member firms. The long economic downturn has brought a new set of challenges, and this series will be focused on giving our companies the tools to survive and even thrive in tough times. We will also work to provide more networking events. "Members working with members" has long been a central ABC message, and networking provides important opportunities for member firms to support one another in a mutually beneficial way. Another goal will be to harness the creativity and talents of the ABC board. That means creating opportunities for board members to be more involved in ways that serve the organization and its members. ABC offers underutilized training and apprenticeship opportunities. Our training affiliate, the Gould Construction Institute is fully accredited by the Mass. Department of Education and is ready to serve all your training needs. In November, ABC scored a major victory with approval of the Merit Apprentice Program. MAP will finally allow open shop companies to compete on a level playing field for public work in Massachusetts. You will hear a lot more about the many opportunities MAP opens up for member firms in the coming weeks and months. MAP is just one of the successes that my predecessor, Mark Roberts, enjoyed during his productive and successful year as chairman. I hope you'll join me in thanking him for a job well done. Happy New Year, and here's to a healthy and prosperous 2012! Dennis Maguire is the chairman of the Associated Builders & Contractors-Mass. Chapter, Burlington, Mass.