Message from Chairman Fuentes

In lieu of our monthly industry related article, I’d like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to all those that have assisted the USHCA to become the industry’s leading trade organization dedicated to the Hispanic construction industry, our workforce, and their families.

During our more than 30 years, the ability of the USHCA to assist our membership in their growth, long term sustainability, provide the tools to empower our community’s families, business enterprises, and ensure access to fair and equitable opportunity has been the benchmark of our Association.

To meet the needs of our members, the USHCA has tirelessly worked for positive changes for Hispanics in the construction industry. The Association’s work on numerous national, local and state licensing requirements, building codes, safety standards and product agreements have brought meaningful industry changes that benefit our fellow Hispanic business owners and workers. The ability of the USHCA to work for positive change to regulations governing our industry, to assist our membership with accessing permitting and other requirements necessary to construction, to help our fellow members with the often difficult task with government bureaucracy and seeing them through project closeouts, has positively impacted thousands of fellow business owners. 

The support of our partners at the City of Austin has assisted with the resources which allowed the USHCA leadership to expand and support the growth in the City’s certified contracting pool. While we congratulate the many achievements of our founding membership, we are equally proud of our second and third generation companies of men and women, many of whom forged their trade expertise working with our founding member firms.

With such a substantial pool of qualified companies, our membership has the opportunity to fulfill and exceed the City of Austin’s Minority Participation Goals set for Hispanics. To maintain such a viable pool of contractors we must continue our work to address industry concerns, promote viable opportunities, support our membership and encourage the next generations of young business owners and tradesmen and women.

The USHCA is closing out 2024 with a recognition from the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs for Mexico, presented by the Mexican Consulate. The OHTLI award, although presented to individuals, is an achievement I am honored to accept on behalf of each of you. Your dedication and many contributions to the USHCA make recognizations like this possible.

With all of this year’s achievements, we have the opportunity to further enhance our membership’s capabilities and expand your growth with the many available opportunities presented in the City of Austin’s Capital Improvement Program for their 2024-2025 fiscal year. Take a moment to appreciate the blessings of this year while preparing for the next.

I wish each of you a joyous holiday season and look forward to a prosperous New Year for all.