Ray Shannon takes helm as OCA chair; association reports healthy balance sheet despite pandemic

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Ray Shannon has been elected as the Ottawa Construction Association (OCA)’s chair for 2021.

He took office at the OCA’s annual general meeting on March 11, held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (The association’s last AGM, on March 12, 2020, occurred just as the pandemic was starting – and in fact was the last in-person event before social gatherings were declared to be unsafe last year.)

The OCA’s annual report indicates that the association has fared well despite the pandemic and the need to cancel other social events and in-person activities. Financial statements report a $338,288 budget surplus, in part because it was eligible for Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) benefits of $214,677 from March 15 to Nov. 30, 2020.

Membership declined slightly during the year by 32 from 1,154 at the end of 2019 to 1,122 at the end of 2020.

“The good news is that despite the drop-off in membership in 2020, OCA remains the go-to-voice for the region’s non-residential construction industry,” OCA said in its annual report.  “We are proud to represent a diverse base of construction companies – from across all sectors, sizes and disciplines – and we support them to our fullest ability.”

In his statement on assuming the OCA’s chair, Shannon said: “My goal is to work hard to set the stage for continued success for the OCA for the future.”

Shannon is an insurance broker with BrokerLink Inc. He originally joined the OCA board in 2015.

“We are coming out of an extremely challenging year as the industry was very internally focussed on managing its way through the pandemic,” Shannon said. “Working hand-in-hand with the OCA team, executive and board, we will be updating and continuously executing our long-term strategic plan to focus on driving ‘member value and increasing member enthusiasm’ by staying focused on delivering high quality educational programming, hosting high-quality networking and social events and delivering the message to project owners that our industry continues to provide quality construction projects delivered by industry professionals –even in these challenging times.”

Other 2021 OCA directors include: Danny Dillon, Dilfo Mechanical, past-chair; Hubie Splinter, Graebeck Construction, general contractors section chairman; Kevin Skinner, PCL Constructors, section director-at-large; Bruce Thomas, Ron Eastern Construction Ltd., section director-at-large; Paul Mayer, Sapacon Drywall, trade contractors section chair; Jason Adams, Duron Services, section director-at-large, Vincent Lamont, Jacques Lamont Ltée., section director; Jeff Tremblay, T & M Electric, section director-at-large; Cathy Godin, SK Sheetmetal, section director-at-large; Daniel Leduc, Norton Rose Fulbright, manufacturer/supplier section director-at-large; Tim Vizena, Tomlinson, road builders and heavy construction section chairman; Greg Clarke, Valley Utilities Ltd., section director-at-large, and Humberto Ferrer, Marathon Underground Constructors Section Director-at-large