Awards, Grant Presented at 2016 SEAA Convention
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ALL Things Metal received a grant to establish a craft training and apprenticeship program from the SEAA Education Committee. |
May 12, 2016 – At its 44th annual convention and tradeshow in Charlotte-Concord, N.C., the Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) named Eddie Williams, CEO and chairman of Buckner Cos., as Person of the Year, and awarded Pete Walker, retired president of Phoenix Steel Erectors a Lifetime Membership. Also, the association’s Education Committee issued a grant to All Things Metal LLC to help establish an Ironworker Craft Training and Apprenticeship program.
In the 1950s Williams began his career as a rod-buster for C.P. Buckner Steel Erection; he eventually worked his way up to CEO. A founding member of the regional steel-erector organization that was the precursor to SEAA, Williams has since served on SEAA’s board of directors for decades. Ten years ago he received the association’s William Davis service award, the association’s highest honor.
Williams has worked to improve safety with OSHA’s Steel Erection Negotiated Rulemaking advisory committee and the Cranes and Derricks in Construction advisory committee. He has pushed for fair competition and wages, quality control, and productivity issues through active participation in the American Institute of Steel Construction, Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, and many contractor groups such as the ABC, AGC, ASA, and SC&RA.
In 2014, Walker retired from Phoenix Steel Erectors, the Haymarket, Va.-based company he founded with partner Jim Larson in 2003. He currently serves on the company’s board of directors. Walker’s contribution to SEAA began even before the association was formed. According to an article in a 2011 Connector, soon after the formation of the Steel Erectors Association of the Carolinas in the early 1970s, Walker and Larson became catalysts for the group’s expansion into Virginia as representatives from L.R. Willson & Sons and Williams Steel Erection Co. Inc. This ultimately resulted in the formation of the Steel Erectors Association of Virginia and the Carolinas, which grew to the national SEAA organization of today.
Additionally, Walker was instrumental in founding SEAA-MAC, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of SEAA. Later, he served on SEAA’s board of directors for at least 20 years beginning in the late 1980s; he was president from 1991-1992; and he received the Person of the Year award in 2008.
Also at the convention, SEAA’s Education Committee issued a $4,500 grant to All Things Metal LLC, Phoenix, Ariz., to help cover startup costs for establishing an Ironworker Craft Training and Apprenticeship at its company. The first time the committee has awarded this grant, it was presented to the metal fabrication and installation company during the April annual meeting.
In 2014, SEAA began implementing the SEAA/NCCER Ironworker Craft Training as a network of programs around the country. Additionally, in October 2014, SEAA’s Ironworker Apprenticeship program was approved by the U.S. Department of Labor as meeting the National Guidelines for Apprenticeship Standards.
