A fair share
PBA breaks new ground with WMOB initiative

By Mardy Fones

The business of doing drug screens at FedExForum was a new niche for Memphis-based Work Site Consultants, but it's one the company's founder and director, Denise Higdon, has embraced.

Her firm is one of the minority and women-owned businesses benefiting from the Memphis Arena Public Building Authority's initiative to ensure WMOBs are well represented among the contractors at the FedExForum.

"Working on the Forum has given us the opportunity to talk with (a new pool) of business owners," said Higdon, whose firm has been doing on-site drug testing since the onset of Forum construction. "As a result, we've picked up testing for other contractors because our relationship with them has been good. I can honestly say it has paid off and we'll continue to work this sector."

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It's the kind of outcome the PBA and Forum general contractor W. W. Mortenson had in mind when began at the Forum in 2002. It just makes sense, said State Rep. Larry Miller of Memphis, chairman of the PBA's Minority Hiring Committee.

"Everyone deserves a seat at the table (on public projects)," he added.

David Bennett, PBA executive director, said 26 percent of contractors on the project are WMOBs and 64 percent of Forum contracts went to Memphis-area firms.

Small businesses and some contractors face barriers to working on projects such as the Forum, including insufficient revenue to qualify for bonds, a lack of technology or a shortage of resources such as heavy equipment.

Robin Hughes, Mortenson's community participation coordinator, said there's also a lack of information.

"Our No. 1 challenge was getting information to the WMOBs," Hughes said. To bridge that gap, she talks with professional groups such as Women in Construction and the Memphis Area Minority Contractor's Association and passes out requests for proposals (RFPs) schedules.

The Mid-South Minority Business Council's Uniform Job Certification Agency certifies WMOBs and Memphis-based Monguinn Enterprises, the minority consultant for the PBA, oversees participation of WMOBs.

To enhance communication, Mortenson and the PBA have hosted open houses, where more than 300 WMOB owners learned about upcoming RFPs.

Hughes said the message is often met with skepticism.

"With Memphis, a lot of contractors have to actually see something being done before they believe you," Hughes added. "Just hearing about it isn't enough." She uses what she calls "outside the box" thinking to link small WMOBs with work.

"One of the big contractors might be bringing in a large load of materials from Ohio, so I'd break (that process) down," she said. "Who's going to go and pick up those materials? Who's going to store them until they're needed? Each of these is an opportunity for a WMOB."

She said that ability to do the work, not WMOB status, is always the deciding factor in linking WMOBs with work.

Attorney Rodney Strong of the Atlanta-based law firm of Griffin & Strong said Memphis already has a WMOB edge. When his law firm conducted assessments as a part of the WMOB initiative, he found the city well equipped with WMOBs at varying levels of maturity and with diverse competencies.

"The city is a lot further along than I thought it would be with strong electrical, mechanical and general contractors as well as companies in the professional services sectors," he said. Certified WMOB firms such as Tri-State Plumbing, Heating and Air-Conditioning Contractors are typical.

"We have 30 years of experience," said Tri-State owner Nickey Shah whose company's resume includes work at NextStage Performing Arts Center in Dallas and Memphis' Wolfchase Galleria and AutoZone Park. His company has been WMOB-certified since 1997.

"When you do work on a project of this magnitude, it adds credibility to your portfolio," Shah added.

Mortenson has found an equally important pool of workers through the Community Workforce program, which allowed it to top into programs such as Second Chance, which provides employment for ex-felons; Yo! Memphis, a youth organization helping young people access entry-level positions in construction; the Job Corp Centers and the YWCA.

Through existing trade apprenticeship programs and other resources the contractor found people interested in construction as a profession. Thirty-six of these, more than half women, worked on the Forum workforce in entry-level or near-entry-level jobs where they've been able to gain skills or a work record to beef up their resumes.

"The PBA is looking at using the (MWOB) program from the Forum as a model for continuing this initiative with upcoming public projects in Shelby County,"Hughes said. "It would be a shame to have started this successful program and not continue it."

And Miller, the state representative, added: "The (Forum's WMOB) numbers are good, but they can be better. We have to stay focused and continue to look for opportunities."