By Mark Rea

The 20th annual Associated General Contractors of Texas Trade and Equipment Show will be held Oct. 7 and 8 at the Austin Convention Center. The industry event for highway, heavy, utility, industrial and general contractors is scheduled to feature over 120 exhibitors and more than 1,000 products and services.

Presented by the AGC of Texas' Highway, Heavy, Utilities and Industrial Branch, admission to the event is free to the general public. More than 3,000 attended last year's show in the expanded convention center, and AGC officials are anticipating an even better attendance this year.

"We always hope to have our best-ever turnout and this year is no exception," said AGC of Texas President John R. Wiseman of San Marcos-based Hunter Industries Ltd. "It's always a good time to see people that you haven't seen since the last trade show, make new friends and mix socially during those two or three days."

The theme of this year's show is "Building Texas - Skill, Integrity & Responsibility." A sampling of the products and services scheduled to be displayed include asphalt and concrete products, auctioneers, bonding and insurance, computer products and services, hand tools, heavy and portable equipment, safety products, tires and traffic control items.

Safety conferences and special seminars and workshops will also be part of the event.

New this year, the Trade & Equipment Show will kick off with a grand opening luncheon at noon Oct. 7. All attendees and exhibitors will be invited to attend.

The show will get under way after the luncheon with a 2 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Texas Transportation Commissioner Robert Nichols and Texas Department of Transportation executive director Michael Behrens will officially open the show, after which attendees can browse the various exhibits, booths and displays throughout nearly 170,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

The traditional opening reception will begin at 5 p.m. with complimentary beverages and light appetizers available throughout the exhibit halls. Displays will remain open until 7:30 p.m.

Doors open for the second day of the event at 11 a.m. with the annual Contractors Luncheon set for noon. The luncheon is open to all exhibitors and show attendees.

October letting for Texas Department of Transportation projects will begin at 1 p.m. with results to be displayed on huge television screens in the convention center ballroom as the projects are read from TxDOT. Whitely & Siddons will be in charge of displaying the results in Hall 5 of the convention center.

After the letting, and beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Hall 5, one of the show's most popular events - a special fish fry - will begin with fried catfish dinners available free to all attendees. AGC of Texas associate member H. Richards Oil Co. will once again cook more than 1,200 lbs. of catfish and complimentary beverages will be available.

Throughout the two-day event, bidding will be held for silent auction items at the AGC booth on the trade show floor. Silent auction bids will begin at 2 p.m. Oct. 7 with winners announced between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. the next day.

The bidding culminates in the AGC of Texas Scholarship live auction, which begins after the fish fry at approximately 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8.

All items up for bids are donated by AGC of Texas members and include a variety of items from local companies and individuals as well as fishing and hunting trips.
Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers International traditionally donates a Canadian fishing trip that is always popular with bidders.

Proceeds from the silent and live auctions help to promote vocational education in Texas public schools and maintain the chapter's college scholarship program for employees or dependents of employees of AGC of Texas. Currently, there are more than 25 students receiving scholarships from the chapter in the amount of $3,000 per academic year. Since 1998, the chapter has also awarded scholarships for vocational education.

Last year's Trade and Equipment Show auctions raised $126,000 and, two years ago, the chapter's scholarship fund swelled with a record $150,000. That money was donated to the "Terrorist Victims Fund" set up by the National AGC's Education and Research Foundation.

The fund helped offset educational expenses incurred by the loss of income from family members killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More than 40 percent of the total amount raised nationally by the AGC for that fund came from the AGC of Texas.

"To me, the auctions are the highlights of the show," Wiseman said. "Last year and the year before, we raised more money than ever for our scholarship fund. It's very gratifying to see the way our membership steps up to support the auctions with donations and bids."

Along with the popular traditional events, a new item this year will be the Construction History Display. Attendees and exhibitors will be able to take a trip through time while browsing through an interesting collection of artifacts, equipment and photos from the early days of Texas construction.

At the end of the display, a cyber cafe will allow attendees and exhibitors to browse the Internet or check their email without leaving the exhibit halls.

"We truly believe this will be our best show ever and that's due to the hard work of our trade show committee," Wiseman said. "It's really refreshing to see the enthusiasm they have when the show gets ready to happen. It's a tough two or three days for them to get everything ready, but they really come together, work hard, have fun and do a great job year after year. The result is that the members and associate members get to enjoy themselves, but the ultimate beneficiary is the scholarship fund. I think that's what make it just that much more enjoyable for everyone."

Although admission to the Equipment and Trade Show is free, parking at the Austin Convention Center garage, located at East Cesar Chavez and Brazos streets, is encouraged. There is a $7 parking free for the garage, but that includes three in-and-out passes.

AGC will provide complimentary shuttle service to and from the Austin Convention Center during the hours of the show. The shuttle route will include hotels in proximity to the event as well as the AGC of Texas office on Barton Springs Road.

For more information about the event, visit the AGC of Texas Web site at www.agctx.org or call the organization's office in Austin at (512) 478-4691.