President's message: We must embrace change

The past few years have seen drastic changes in the construction industry with tens of thousands of workers laid off, revenues down and profit margins at break-even points or below. But, we must embrace change and evolve ourselves and our companies to lead it, or we can let the changes roll over us and push us aside into irrelevancy. Here at ASM, we too must continue to adapt to this new world and help our members thrive. We are not resting on our laurels after seeing our Prompt Pay Act become law; we have already submitted new legislation to set a 5% limit on retainage and mandate reasonable measures to have it released timely. We have not been satisfied with having the industry's best group insurance program - which has returned close to $4 million in dividends to our members since its inception in 2003 - we are now actively pursuing the right to offer an all-new health insurance option for our members. We have not settled for just having a great website, informative e-newsletter and high quality magazine; we are now on Twitter and have started using other social medial sites such as Linkedin. We are committed to getting the word out in every way possible about the great things this organization has to offer. I have been on the board of directors of ASM for six years, and it is with great excitement that I now take the reins as president for the next two years and help lead this organization to the next level. As we embrace the changes that will continue to come over the next two years, we welcome your thoughts on how ASM should continue to evolve, to better serve the subcontractors of Mass. Please feel free to contact me at anytime with your ideas and suggestions, at president@associatedsubs.com Dave Cannistraro is the president of the Associated Subcontractors of Mass., Boston and is the president of J.C. Cannistraro LLC, Watertown, Mass.