A proclamation honoring Helga Grunerud for outstanding leadership and advocacy for small/minority/woman-owned construction companies in Colorado.
The accompanying attachment contains a more detailed description of the financing, as required by Section 29, repair and B of the Dear Emcee. Sincerely, Brendan G. Hanlon, Manager of Finance. Thank you, Madam Secretary. All right. We're going to move on to our proclamations. We do have one proclamation this evening. Evening, Councilman Nu, will you please read Proclamation 33? Thank you, Mr. President. This is proclamation number 18 003 that's been introduced by Councilwoman or to Councilman Cashman, myself honoring Helga Gregory from Outstanding Leadership and advocacy for small , minority and women owned construction companies in Colorado. Whereas Helga utilized her voice in education and MBA in operations management in her career and volunteer time to pursue her passion for diversity, fairness and cooperation for all in education and business. And. Whereas, Helga Grinspoon has taught students in high school college levels and through an online financial class for Regis University Master's in nonprofit management program, thereby influencing future business leaders with the need for inclusion of talent from many sources and with the necessity and profitability of good operations practices. And. Whereas, Helga Grandin has demonstrated her organizational leadership by serving on a myriad of committees for such entities as the Denver Public Schools, RTD, CDOT, Denver Water and the State of Colorado as part of the Colorado Minority Business Advisory Council and the Building Jobs for Colorado Coalition. And. WHEREAS, since Helga Greenwald started with the Hispanic contractors of Colorado's diversity leader in 2000, the membership has more than tripled and includes some of the largest contractors in the United States, plus some of the smallest contractors in Colorado. And. Whereas, in her capacity in these organizations, Helga Gertrud has fought tirelessly to develop programs geared toward increasing opportunities for diverse companies and for diverse workforce development, recognizing especially the benefits of public projects that provide small minority women owned companies, particularly in the construction industry. And. Whereas, drawing upon Helga's teaching experience, HCC secured grants for the T-Rex project, which launched the HCC Contractor Academy Education Program, offering a monthly series of workshops, a certificate program and scholarships for small businesses. Whereas Helga Greiner and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Minority Enterprise Development 2006 Advocate of the War of the Year , the Associated Builders and Contractors. Rocky Mount, Chapter 28 Excellence in Construction Award. The Independent Electrical Contractors Rocky Mount. Chapter 29 Construction Industry Service Award, the Denver Metro Chamber 2010. David Bailey, Small Business Advocate Award and the Deputy's Task Colorado Chapter 2015 Diversity Leadership Award and the RTD 2017 Champion of of Growth Award and. WHEREAS. As you know, Greenwood has been a driving force and major contributor and determined champion of the effort to pass the Denver City Council pavement ordinance legislation for small, minority and women owned businesses initiated by Councilman Wayne, new councilwoman Debbie Italian Councilman Paul Cashman, an ordinance which revised and improved the laws and means of enforcement for the protection of diverse construction companies. And. WHEREAS, she retired recently from the from the position of executive director of the Hispanic Contractors of Colorado in December 2017, but has vowed to stay involved with many small business issues, launching her own business consulting firm and helping scout develop their mentor apprenticeship program, providing that she still committee proving that she is still committed to her passion to assist all contractors, regardless of side size, ethnicity and gender, to position themselves to become successful now, therefore be a proclaimed by the Council, the City of County of Denver, Section one, that the county applauds Helga Green Reed for her passion and commitment to the small minority and women owned businesses and their workers. Section two that the clerk in the city county of Denver show affix your chest and face the seal of the city of Denver to this proclamation and a copy be transmitted to Helga Green Room. Thank you, Councilman. Knew your motion to adopt. I move that I move that proclamation 30 3ba document. It has been moved and seconded comments by members of council. Councilman. Thank you, Mr. President. It's just been a real pleasure to work with Helga over the past year. I can. I can think back. So about a year ago, when you and and Bennett had first brought this issue of, ah, the need for a prompt payment ordinance to, to our attention and, and we walked and we talked and talked and, and worked on this. And as a brief, we briefed all our council members about what the ordinance was about and, and the need to involve other organizations. I can remember so vividly talking to Councilwoman Gilmore and she said, the first person you need to talk to, this Helga girl, she is so dynamic and she needs has been a voice for the small business and the minority and the women owned businesses. And she she's going to be a great help to you. So we help with that call. And she really joined our team and really helpful so she heard it was just amazing the her experience and knowledge and in the passion that she had for these small business owners and trying to improve the prop pay and the improvements in for their their operational practices to make them more successful. So she was just so dedicated for the growth and development of small business. She had a great insight into payment difficulties and sort of helped us get down to the nuts and bolts of the ordinance that helped put our procedures and our mechanisms in place to improve those practices. So we're just so pleased with the practical, the common sense and recommendations that she helped us with our ordinance. And it really brought that. The 2014 ordinance to life with what we did. And so we're mean. We're so glad that council passed it unanimously. The mayor never signed it. So we're so pleased with what we did. So I just want to thank Helga for all her leadership and her dedication and support that she's given to us in the development of the ordinance and and especially just her support for all the small business in the growth and development over those years. So she's really been a model of excellence for the small business in the construction industry. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilman. Councilwoman Ortega. Thank you, Mr. President. Pro tem. First, I want to thank Councilman Noon for bringing this forward. Anybody who knows Helga knows that there was not a meeting in the city dealing with publicly funded projects, that Helga was not in the room at, making sure that there was advocacy on behalf of small and minority businesses who are trying to access any of this work with the city. And unfortunately, the challenges still exist today. We wouldn't need our BWB ordinance if we didn't have ongoing challenges, but Helga knows and understands those challenges better than anybody on what these small businesses, minority businesses, have to go through just trying to get their foot in the door to do business with the city and as Councilman knew, indicated, she was a tireless voice in this process that we just went through and also connected us to many of the businesses who are willing to talk to us, but were afraid to come to our public hearing because they didn't want to be labeled as someone that a prime business would not want to work with. And so having that connection in those voices really helped shape the details that ended up in the ordinance that ensures that we will have prompt pay and transparency in the building process to ensure that people who do construction work on a job that have to purchase the materials and pay their suppliers and pay their workers, are going to get paid for the work that they did that has been completed and accepted. And Helga, your your voice and your advocacy in this overall effort was invaluable as well as. And who's sitting right behind you to to ensure that we understood what those challenges were and helped, again, make sure that those details ended up in the ordinance. So I appreciate you and the work you've done over the years. Thank you for your service to our community and to the many small minority businesses that we have throughout the city of Denver. And I wish you the best of luck in your new. Ventures with your new business. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilman Cashman. Thank you, Mr. President. Pro tem. Helga, congratulations on your retirement. I have a hard time having gotten to know you the little bit that I have picturing you just going fishing for the rest of your days. I have a hunch you're going to stay a lot more active and involved than that. It is not lost on me that in the current political climate that this this team that was assembled to to help pass the the prompt pay ordinance was a team of strong women representing a variety of corners of the construction trades. And Helga was was among the the strongest and most consistent voices in that entire process. And I thank you for that very much. I learned a lot from you along the way. You know, when Councilman Nu first brought the topic up and made a great deal of sense to me, but neither the councilman or myself or Councilwoman Ortega are experts in that field. And Helga, you were the first person after and who actually brought the topic up originally that brought this new level of expertize to the discussion and really helped me understand the importance of what we were doing to help the small businesses and the maybe we be minority and women owned business contractors . So I just want to add my thanks to you for the many years you've devoted to to the work you've done in the community. It is very, very important and you've changed a lot of lives. And thank you for that. And again, congratulations. Thank you, counsel. Councilman. Councilwoman Gilmore, your next stop. Thank you, Mr. President. Pro tem. I just want to share. Congratulations. There's not many people in Denver that you can say one name, and it might just be that your last name is a German name and difficult to pronounce. But you say, Helga, and right away, especially around construction or leadership in Denver, people immediately know. Who you are and know your. Passion. And so I'm so honored that, you know, way back a year ago when Councilman New called me and I talked with him about this project and I said, there is one person, one woman that you have to get in touch with that she knows construction in and out. And she really understands the barriers and the challenges, especially that minorities and women undergo to to get into this field. And so just want to want to convey my thanks and I'm sure we will be seeing you around. I'm glad to know that you're going to have a consulting firm because we've got a lot of construction projects all across the state. And we're going to need to continue to have your help to make sure that. Our. Minority and women owned businesses can compete on on that playing field. And so congratulations again, Helga. Thank you. Princeton President Pro Tem. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilwoman Kennedy. Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be brief. I actually worked more with Helga, I think, before I was elected than I have since. Ironically, it was some tables at our TDI that brought us together around construction training, which I'm just going to say it was not as cool of a topic back then. The economy was slow and everyone thought you didn't need to train people and you know, folks that were with contractors. We're all very aware of the aging workforce and the fact that the economy would come back someday. And but it was kind of like crying into the wind back in those days, right? Because it was hard to keep anybody working, much less getting new folks trained. And so. Well, we know how that turned out, right. It's it's it's been a really challenging moment, but it just shows the breadth of the career you've had through different cycles to see the way the industry has changed. And so I enjoyed working with you then, and I want to congratulate you and wish you the best in your retirement. All right. Seeing no other comments, Madam Secretary, roll call. New Ortega I Assessment I Black. Eye. Espinosa, i Gilmore. I Herndon. I Cashman. Hi. Can eat. Lopez All right, Mr. President, I. I'm sorry. Could you please close the voting and announce the results? 11 Eyes. 11 Eyes Proclamation 33 has been adopted. Councilman New. Is there someone you would like to invite up to the podium to receive the proclamation? Yes, Mr. Fraga. To help his colleagues like to speak. And versus his is Jacob Break. Thank you, counsel. Thank excuse the call. I may. Mumble. Thanks for the opportunity to join with all of you to congratulate. Helga and I. I want to do two things, and then I'll sit down so we can get to the Alabama game. Before you really understand how much Al Gore accomplished, you got to understand where she started. 27 years ago, I got a call from a young man named Lester Trujillo when I was executive director of the Associated General Contractor. And he said to me, we're starting a new construction group in Denver. And we'd like to meet with the Associated General Contractors Board to get. Partnering. And get cooperation to help us get this thing off the ground. So a bunch of us met and some of you remember the old regimes. They used to have these little back rooms and get breakfast. And we met in that backroom with Lester Trujillo and several of the Hispanic contractors, one of whom was supposed to precede me . Phil Rubio Bill couldn't be here tonight, but we met the backroom with our board and this whole band of Hispanic contractors and they said, we've got a goal. We want to create businesses that can compete in your world. Big general contractors is who we were. And build businesses that we can leave to our children. That was their goal. To do that, they formed the Hispanic contractors of Colorado. I asked our board if they would just let me give space to the HCC to give off a space for as long as it took to get them going. We went through three executive directors in about 93 years and none of them had any experience in running a nonprofit, in managing an organization. They didn't have membership lists, for example. Helga stepped in as founder there, never got a tax return filed for the Hispanic contract with Colorado. They didn't have a membership list. They didn't know organization. So they finally said, we're going to go out, hire a pro. And they hired Helga. She and I were office. 50 feet down the hall from each other for many, many years. And. She was in that office. You talk about her being at every meeting, night and day, all by herself. No assistance, just alcohol. She pulled this organization kicking and screaming into the 20th century, then got them all current with federal tax laws and everything else. And then she began to build the organization from which she launched all of these accomplishments. The Hispanic contractors in Colorado. I've heard all of you comment about how helpful she's been to the small minority business communities in the state of Colorado, basically, but primarily Denver. I want to give you some perspective on who else she helped. You mentioned it. Our general contractors and the Associated General Contractors were the ones that were subject to compliance with the minority ordinance. And we couldn't have done it without Helga because we we don't know. We put someone out for bid and however many build better 20, 30, 40. And when the ordinance was finalized, it required affirmative action, which required the big general contractors, the non minority contractors to meet certain goals, meet certain outreach efforts. And because of Helga's organization, which had a membership list and everything, we had a ready made Kadri of. Hispanic contractors primarily. But Helga and I had several. African-American contractors as well, and many women contractors. So we had a Kadri in the general contracting community of firms we could go to to solicit is in order to comply with the then new ordinance and. To the extent that Helga organized this so well. Our members, the general contractors suddenly had a source. To reach out to them, which would never have been possible. I hope that helped the national contractors as well, because now their compliance with the ordinance was made a lot easier and a lot more possible, and we owe it pretty much all to help them. So with that perspective also that they'll come up. Bill Garcia. Hi. My name is Bo Garcia. I'm a small business owner. I'm the president. Of Alcan Metals. And when Councilman News Office called me and asked if I would speak on behalf of the ALGA, I said I'd be more than happy to. Oh, I have some notes. I'd better take them out anyways. However, was hired as the executive director of Hispanic Contractors in 2000, and I was a board of directors at the time that we hired her, and I think it was the best move that Hispanic contractors ever made. Actually, she she was recruited and brought in some of agency into the agency, some of the largest construction companies in the country. She has sat on countless committees on behalf of us being our advocate. In 2004, when the voters of Colorado decided they passed a ballot initiative to pass the fast tracks light rail projects. One of the first projects that built was the West Corridor, and when they were building the West Quarter, a lot of the contractors were bidding that were bidding on that project. Were going out and looking. For small women owned and minority owned businesses to be part of their teams wanted to meet their goals for that were set aside for those purposes. Helga introduced or introduced the. Project manager on the West Corridor to my company. And he came over to my office. We had a conversation and after the conversation and several days passed, we signed an agreement that my company would become part of the of the Denver Transit Construction Group, J.B., the builders of the West Corridor. What that meant to me is that we had at that time was a $10 million contract. What I was able to do with those money was I was able to increase our workforce tenfold. I gained valuable experience. That I took to the Eagle P3 project, and from that project I took it to 225 and from 325 we went to the North Metro Project and we have done some work on every one of those projects with the funds that I've generated, which are in excess of $25 million over those three projects, I was able to fund payroll, pay taxes and insurance, pay off our suppliers, increase my line of credit with my. Bank and. Build a 6000 square foot fabrication and still distribution distribution warehouse. I just want to tell Helga that my business would not be worthy of today without the advocacy and the assistance of Helga. And I just want to say, Helga, thank you for everything. Good luck and God bless. Thank you so much. Thank you, Bill. Now go. Would you like to come up to say a few words? Well, thank you. It's a humbling experience to be recognized by all of these people. But in truth, all I've done is just pay it forward. I am an immigrant. Whose. Family came to this country and my father started a business and sent three girls to college. And it it's been a labor of love working with companies that could do the same thing. Thank you.