In the last week of February, the Las Vegas Strip was brimming with nearly 2,000 construction professionals who flocked in to celebrate ABC Convention 2025. The event kicked off on Monday with the swearing in of this year’s national chair, David Pugh, followed by the annual board of directors meeting, Association Excellence Awards luncheon, National Craft Championships orientation and more, all before the ribbon to the exhibit hall was even cut.
With special ABC 75th anniversary additions and new and exclusive offerings, ABC Convention 2025 was one week-long highlight reel. Relive the magic and most memorable moments below:
75TH ANNIVERSARY DOCUMENTARY
In honor of its platinum anniversary, ABC delved into its archives and produced a documentary detailing the association’s history, which debuted at the convention and played on a loop in a dedicated screening room. View the film here [link to come].
TOP PERFORMER AND VIP LOUNGE
In another dedicated space, ABC honored its Top Performers with an exclusive Top Performers VIP Lounge, featuring specialty offerings only known to Top Performers. (There were rumors of a bloody mary bar, but you’ll have to earn Top Performer status to find out for sure!) Learn more about the ABC Top Performer program here [link to come].
OPENING GENERAL SESSION
The opening general session kicked off with three female past ABC national chairs—Carole Bionda, Pamela Volm and Stephanie Schmidt-Lehmann—taking the stage—because, as Schmidt-Lehmann said: “Everyone knows it’s the wives who remember the anniversaries.”
Surprise guest Lee Greenwood emerged from the crowd to regale everyone with his classic, “Proud to Be an American.”
Another surprise guest gave a warm welcome to 2025 National Chair David Pugh with a touching video: U.S. senator and Pugh’s personal friend, Katie Britt (R, AL).
The 2025 Construction Workforce Award winners also to the stage, including:
Craft Professional of the Year, Chris Weaver, site superintendent and electrical foreperson for Feyen Zylstra, Grand Rapids, MichiganCraft Instructor of the Year, Derek Robbins, HVAC director and sheet metal instructor, ABC Keystone chapter, Manheim, PennsylvaniaYoung Professional of the Year, Ray Wallace, Nashville operations manager for Gaylor Electric, Indianapolis
Keynote speaker Erik Wahl closed the session out with a message familiar to the construction workforce: Winning shouldn’t be comfortable. As he delivered his motivational speech, he simultaneously crafted an original piece of artwork of Michael Jordan—an iconic reminder of his key message—which he gifted to one lucky winner in the crowd.
BEACH PARTY
The opening general session was followed by the opening night celebration on the Mandalay Bay Beach, which featured a performance by the crowd-favorite Milwaukee Toolshed Band.
EXHIBIT HALL AND COMPETITION FLOOR
On Tuesday, Pugh officially cut the ribbon to the exhibit hall and National Craft Championships competition floor, where early 200 tradespeople across 15 crafts competed for top honors in their field.
EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION AWARDS
Wednesday evening welcomed all ABC National Excellence in Construction® award winners to a black-tie gala where ABC 2025 Contractor of the Year winner, Gaylor Electric, was announced. The event also celebrated the year’s top projects as well as national health and safety leaders and top-ranking companies for inclusion, diversity and merit.
WINNERS
This year’s winners were announced:
Construction Workforce Award winnersContractor of the YearNational Health and Safety LeadersLeadership in Inclusion, Diversity and Merit
INDUSTRY INSIGHT SESSIONS
The week featured insightful education sessions on topics ranging from new applications of AI to innovative approaches to tackling mental health and workforce development best practices.
Don’t Fear the Assessment: Building Competent, Confident Construction Teams, Hosted by Burns & McDonnell“At the end of the day, the assessment for us is really this means to understand the professional to a point where we feel confident that they can perform the work and be able to do this matching between skills and the needs for our jobsites.[…] It’s really important we get to know the people before we put them out there. Slow is safe and safe is faster.”Surviving the Life or Death Gap, presented by Blue-U Defense”The only way to lose is by giving up.”Closing Industry Insight Session With Anirban Basu: Monetary Masala”I did not think the us economy would have performed so brilliantly when the borrowing costs have advanced so much.” See full article here.
KEYNOTE BREAKFAST
Former MMA fighter and now nonprofit founder Justin Wren spoke on his journey through life—a story of inspiration, dedication and perspiration which mirrors many of those heard throughout the construction industry. His message for the industry was this:
When viewing a heavy weight fight, one of the fighters forfeited due to illness, so Wren volunteered to take his place—and that fight put him on the MMA map. “When the opportunity presents itself,” he says, “raise your hand. Show up. If no one else is going to do it, it is ripe for the taking for you.”
That message was echoed in his efforts in the Congo building water wells for the pygmy tribes: “When other people said no or we can’t they [the pygmy people] would raise their hands and say challenge accepted.”
CAREERS IN CONSTRUCTION
The final session of the week, ABC’s Careers in Construction awards, honored 2025’s National Craft Championships and Construction Management Competition winners. See a full list of honorees here [link].
CLOSING NIGHT CELEBRATION
The week-long festivities went out with a touchdown—the closing night celebration was held on the field at Allegiant Stadium, with party-goers stepping out of their suits, safety helmets and work boots and into their favorite jerseys.
SEE ALSO: PEOPLE POWERED: GAYLOR ELECTRIC IS ABC 2025 CONTRACTOR OF THE YEAR
