Page 16
% Minority & Small Business Week
September 21, 2011
Minority Business Owner Leads by Example
Maurice Rahming is advocate
for creating opportunities
A fter 13 years in business, tracting Forum and the Oregon De
M aurice Rahming, president of partment of Transportation Indus
O ’ Neill Electric, Inc., and immediate try Leadership Committee. He is on
past President of the Oregon chap the Board of Directors for the Clean
ter of the National Association of Energy Works; Portland and Clean
Minority Contractors, continues to Energy Works; and is chair of the
lead the charge for creating oppor CEWP Stakeholder Evaluation and
tunities for minority contractors.
Implementation Committee.
O ’Neill Electric is a proud mem
He helped draft the Portland De
ber of the National Electrical Con velopm ent Com m ission N orth/
tractors Association, International Northeast Redevelopment Commu
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, nity Workforce Agreement. He also
the District Council of Laborers, and recently worked with Multnomah
the Pacific Northwest Regional County to set up a county-wide
Council of Carpenters.
legal summit on DBE utilization.
The firm, started by Maurice and
His leadership in this area has
his wife Ali O ’Neill, has seen sub been recognized with his recent
stantial growth since its inception, appointment by Gov. John Kitzhaber
with sales in 2009 of over $9 million. as a Team Leader for Kitzhaber’s
In 2004 and 2007, O ’Neill Electric, Energy Efficiency Team. In 2010, he
Inc. was recognized by the Minority was recognized with the Daily Jour
Business Opportunity Committee nal of Commerce “Newsmakers”
as the Minority Construction Con award and was inducted to the Na
tractor Award.
tional Association of Minority Con
Rahming has also been an out tractors Hall of Fame.
spoken leader in advocating for
“I would be quite a hypocrite if I
greater utilization of MBE and DBE- did not back up these efforts with
certified firms.
minority utilization in my own com
He sits on various committees pany,” says Rahming. O' Neill Elec
prom oting m inority utilization tric, Inc. reports that, since 2007,34
throughout our city and our state, percent of its subcontracted work M aurice R ahm ing leads the charge fo r c re a tin g o p p o rtu n itie s fo r
including the Mayor’s Fair Con- has gone to MBEs and DBEs. “Our m ino rity contractors.
efforts to obtain MBE/DBE sub
contractors and suppliers on every
project are very aggressive. Be
cause of our relationships through
associations and mentoring, this
happens naturally,” says Rahming.
N A M C -O regon is proud of
O ’Neill Electric’s efforts to ensure
utilization of MBE and DBE certified
firms and Maurice Rahming’s con
tinued advocacy on those issues.
"Maximizing the utilization of
certi fied firms should be a goal for all
owners and firms who contract, in
cluding certified firms,” says Faye
Burch, NAMC-Oregon vice-presi
dent. “We must each do our part.”
NAMC-Oregon is a nonprofit
trade association that advocates for
building the capacity of local minor
ity construction and contracting
businesses. Based in Portland, the
organization works toward remov
ing barriers for minority businesses,
and finding solutions to the low
percentage of Minority and Disad
vantaged businesses participating
in public projects.
While membership is open to
people of all races and ethnic back
grounds, the organization's man
date, “Building Bridges - Crossing
Barriers,” focuses on construction
industry concerns common to Afri
can Americans, Asian Americans,
Hispanic Americans, and Native
Americans.
Community Builders
Partnership Formed
rsurtb
O’Neill Electric expands link
with Walsh Construction
O'Neill Electric, Inc. and Walsh
Construction Co. have announced
the formation of O ’Neill/Walsh
Community Builders, LLC. The for
mal partnership is the extension of
an existing 10-year business rela
tionship, which will build on both
companies’ strengths and will pro
vide opportunities to offer expanded
services to new and existing clients.
Maurice Rahming, President of
O' Neill Electric, Inc., and Bob Walsh,
President of Walsh Construction
Co., will co-manage O'Neill/Walsh
Community Builders, LLC.
"O 'N eill/W alsh C om m unity
Builders will be a leader in ensuring
that the diversity in the construc
tion industry will grow to reflect the
diversity of the communities in
which we build,” said Rahming. “We
share a desire to continuously in
cre ase d iv e rsity w ith in our
workforces and our subcontractor
pool, and to increase the capacity of
diverse businesses.”
O ’Neill and Walsh have joined
forces on over 20 projects with a
total construction value of $100
million. In the last seven years,
O Neill,anMBE/DBEcertiiiedfirm
in Oregon and Washington, has
expanded its operations from an elec
trical contractor to include general
contracting work.
W alsh's years of general con
tracting experience will help O'Neill
learn the skills to compete for and
build larger general construction
projects. At the same time, O ’Neill's
strong ties in the minority contract-
ing c o m m u n ity w ill in crease
W alsh’s outreach capabilities and
their access to diverse subcontrac
tors, and will provide opportunities
to improve their mentoring efforts.
“The timing for a formal partner
ship is perfect,” said Walsh. “This
is the direct reflection of our own
values and of what w e’ve heard
from our clients; community involve
ment on projects is important to
owners. Building on the capacity of
historically disadvantaged firms
over the long term has become an
integral part of building buildings. “
continued
on page 27
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