The Western Canada Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association is excited to announce it is returning to holding conferences, with the first to be held February 5-9, 2023 in Waikiki.
“The level of excitement and enthusiasm we’ve received from our initial engagement with the industry and sponsors on a 2023 conference shows that everyone is ready to get back together,” WCR&HCA President Chris Lorenc said. “And from what we’ve seen so far on the agenda, this conference in Hawai’i is truly going to make the get-together better than ever.”
Lorenc said initial contact with sponsors showed there’s pent-up demand for a conference, and the conference agenda has been structured to provide a wide variety of interests and activities at Waikiki’s Hilton Village.
Industry members and potential sponsors can see the conference details, including registration and sponsorship opportunities, here.
Industry members have expressed a strong desire for speakers and business sessions that focus on some high priority issues for the heavy construction industry.
That demand flows from the national and regional issues – the need for significant recapitalization of a national trade corridors fund; the industry’s role in building climate-resilient infrastructure – and those in the international arena, such as the global response to the stress on infrastructure, illustrated vividly by the pandemic’s impact on the supply chain. The Biden administration’s infrastructure bill, as an example, is intended to build a transportation network for the seamless, efficient movement of goods and services.
“These are big issues and a conference is the venue where industry members across Canada can hear what’s happening and being proposed in each of our jurisdictions,” Lorenc said. “It incubates strong ideas and plans to feed our advocacy priorities, get our issues and solutions heard on a national level.”
The conference is not all business. Planners have heard members want good networking and social-activity time. Partners and children will see plenty of activities through the week. The schedule sees a Wakiki welcome reception on Day 1, the opening dinner on February 6 and a sunset celebration on the Wednesday, among the structured activities.
“It’s been a long time for Canadians to be able to come together en masse for this kind of high-value networking, and it’s been too long since the WCR&HCA was able to meet in person, to work together on pressing advocacy items,” noted Lorenc.
“The WCR&HCA Waikiki Conference 2023 is a big launch at a spectacular venue for our long-awaited return to the premier industry meeting.”