PRIDE of St. Louis Honors Construction Labor-Management Leadership Words: Margaret FosterThree St. Louis construction leaders and one company will be honored for advancing St. Louis as the best place to build. On Sept 2, 2010, PRIDE of St. Louis, Inc., the region’s venerable construction labor-management organization, will host its third annual awards luncheon. It will spotlight achievements cultivating construction best practices and teamwork. The event will be held at the The Cedars at St. Raymond’s in Downtown St. Louis. For the first time, the PRIDE Industry Impact Award will honor a business: SSM Health Care — St. Louis. One of the region’s largest health care providers, SSM most recently completed the first new full-service hospital in St. Louis County in 30 years — the $236 million SSM St. Clare Health Center in Fenton, Mo. The award-winning project has been heralded for deploying sophisticated construction techniques and tools in its completion, including 3-D modeling and prefabrication of building systems and components. During the past decade, SSM has invested more than $400 million in projects, accounting for more than 3.5 million work hours for the union construction industry. “Beyond the construction employment numbers, owners like SSM Health Care are valued partners in the union construction industry because they cultivate fresh ideas to help craft workers maximize cost efficiency,” said Jim LaMantia, executive director of PRIDE. “The entire industry benefits when it can innovate to optimize the productivity of our highly skilled workforce.” The second largest health care provider and sixth largest employer in the St. Louis region, SSM has more than 12,000 employees and 2,500 staff physicians. It operates seven hospitals, a SSM managed care organization, and a physicians’ organization with more than 150 physicians. Other honorees are: Jerry Eyink, retired group director project management and planning, engineering group for brewing operations and technology division, Anheuser-Busch, Inc.(now Anheuser-Busch InBev), receiving the Joe Rinke Owner Award; George R. Edinger, president and chief executive officer, C&R Mechanical Co., receiving the Al Fleischer Management Award; and John J. Flynn, retired president, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, receiving the Dick Mantia Labor Award. “Each of these men has advanced PRIDE’s mission of cooperation and collaboration to improve the regional construction industry,” said LaMantia. “Their dedication has benefited all stakeholders including the buyers of construction services, construction management and labor, but most importantly — the hometown we serve.”