#303 Brian Turmail of the Associated General Contractors of America on Advocacy, Construction, and Podcasts

Through the Noise #303

Brian Turmail // Spokesperson // Associated General Contractors of America

Blake returns! He’s back from his travels creating podcasts for several different industries around the country, just in time to welcome Brian Turmail from the Associated General Contractors of America. The AGC represents the people who build pretty much every structure — and the facilities that support them — with the exception of homes. He is the Senior Executive Director of Public Affairs and helps tell the stories of general contractors, bridging the gap between what they really do and what people think they do. They are working to dispel the myth that every construction site is just a bunch of inconvenient orange cones and people standing around. Like most of our guests, he is a major advocate of taking the time to call your elected officials. They have had tremendous success with this approach by mobilizing people from the 26,000 firms they represent. Don’t miss this episode… and if you’ve gleaned anything useful from our shows, we’d definitely appreciate you taking 3 minutes to write us a review on iTunes.

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is the leading association for the construction industry, representing more than 26,000 firms, including over 6,500 of America’s leading general contractors, over 9,000 specialty-contracting firms, and more than 10,500 service providers, all through a nationwide network of chapters.

Brian Turmail joined the AGC of America in 2008 as Senior Director of Public Affairs. Turmail started his professional career teaching second grade in the District of Columbia as part of Teach for America from 1995 to 1997. He ran the education practice for Washington, DC-based Hager Sharp Public Relations as a Senior Account Director from 1997 to 2001. He then served as the Vice President of Public Affairs for the Fund for the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, before taking a position as the Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration in 2002. After two years with the new security agency, Turmail took a position handling public affairs for the U.S. Department of Transportation. He served as Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs until 2006 and Secretary Mary Peter’s Director of Public Affairs through 2008.