St. Louis witnessed a remarkable event as the Associated General Contractors of Missouri (AGCMO) unveiled the winners of the 2024 Keystone construction industry awards. This gala at the River City Casino Hotel showcased the exceptional work of Missouri's construction industry.

Unveiling Excellence in Missouri's Construction Realm

Stephen Leamon: A Pinnacle of Craftsmanship

Stephen Leamon, the superintendent of Pace Construction Company, was honored with the Show Me Excellence in Craftsmanship Award. His remarkable achievements in scheduling and budgeting stand out. He consistently minimized downtime and maximized productivity, delivering high-quality asphalt paving. His dedication to training new crew members and seamlessly integrating the workforce into challenging time schedules was also highly commended. His work serves as an inspiration, demonstrating the hard work and dedication of Missouri's construction workforce.

Leonard Toenjes, CAE, AGCMO's president, emphasized, "Stephen is just one example of the over 150,000 construction workers who make up Missouri's construction workforce. They build and maintain our essential infrastructure and create our various spaces."

Last night was a time to recognize contractors and their teams for their outstanding performance, often going the extra mile to overcome special challenges.

Keystone Awards: A Showcase of Diverse Projects

Eleven First Place Keystone Awards were presented to contractors on a wide range of projects. Ben Hur Construction won for creating a product manufacturing space for Procter & Gamble, and McCarthy Building Companies was celebrated for completing the new Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building at Washington University School of Medicine.PARIC Corporation captured a Keystone for the Kings Hill Redevelopment, renovating the former Magic Chef oven manufacturing and warehouse space. Russell took home a Keystone for the 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis, a complete renovation and re-imagination of a former YMCA.Other notable projects included the massive I-270 North Design-Build project by Millstone Weber, LLC, an emergency sewer replacement by Elastizell of St. Louis, Inc. for Missouri American Water, and PayneCrest Electric, Inc.'s work on the O’Loughlin Family Champions Center at Saint Louis University's Chaifetz Center. KAI Build, LLC constructed the link bridge to the Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building. Two First Place Keystone Awards also went to Guarantee Electrical Company and Haberberger, Inc. for their specialty contractor performance on MEMC's 300mm SOI Expansion project.

National Class: A Florida Rail Feat

The Brightline Florida Higher-Speed Rail project, a joint venture of Herzog Contracting Corp., StacyWitbeck Inc. and RailWorks Corp., was honored with a Keystone Award in the National Class. At over 165 miles long, it represents the largest U.S. passenger rail undertaking in over a century.The Herzog-led HSR joint venture team built a record 129 miles of second mainline track in the existing railroad corridor between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, enabling train speeds up to 110 mph. They also constructed 35 miles of new track to Class 7 standards in a sealed corridor between Cocoa and Orlando International Airports, allowing speeds up to 125 mph.

Specialty Contractor of the Year Awards

The AGC of Missouri recognized 12 specialty contractors with Specialty Contractor of the Year (SCOTY) Awards. The specialty contractors were voted "First Place" in their discipline by AGCMO's general contractor members. They considered factors such as timeliness, budget adherence, and overall experience.The 12 First Place Specialty Contractor of the Year (SCOTY) award winners were ROSCH Company (ancillary services), Elastizell of St. Louis (concrete/paving), Bommarito Construction (earthwork/utilities), Guarantee Electrical Company (electrical), Spirtas Wrecking Company (environmental remediation/demolition), TJ Wies Contracting, Inc. (interior and exterior finishes, openings and fixtures), Haberberger, Inc. (HVAC/piping), Grant Masonry Contracting Co., Inc. (masonry), Boyer Fire Protection (plumbing and fire protection), BAM Contracting, LLC (structural and finish carpentry), Collins & Hermann, Inc. (structural and finish metals), and IWR North America (thermal and moisture protection).

IBEW/NECA Contractors: Acknowledged for Excellence

IBEW/NECA Electrical Connection contractors Guarantee Electrical and PayneCrest Electric took top honors for project excellence in the AGCMO Keystone Awards. Guarantee was also named the Specialty Contractor of the Year in the electrical category.Guarantee Electrical earned an AGC Keystone Award for its work on the MEMC Silicon Wafer Manufacturing Facility in St. Charles, leveraging its decades of knowledge and engineering prowess to deliver a complex clean room expansion while saving $2 million on the budget. It was also a finalist for an award for its work on the Mercy Center for Performance Medicine and Specialty Care in Creve Coeur. Since 1999, it has been honored 51 times and earned 15 awards.PayneCrest NECA contractor earned an AGC Keystone Award for its work on the O’Loughlin Family Champions Center at Saint Louis University. The project involved design-build of new electrical systems for a two-story building with basement spaces. Since 2002, it has been honored 30 times and earned 13 awards.Since 1997, when the AGC Keystone Awards competition started, 110 Electrical Connection member contractor projects have been honored. These prestigious awards salute projects for safety, overcoming challenges, and quality delivery while maintaining budget and schedule. Electrical Connection contractors like Kaiser Electric, Sachs Electric, Aschinger Electric, Bell Electrical, and TD4 Electric have also earned honors.The Electrical Connection is a partnership of IBEW Local 1 and NECA, providing safe and reliable electrical services across Missouri and the world. It is a valuable resource for business and civic leadership.