On the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) made a $25,000 campaign contribution to GREATGulf Rebuild: Education, Advancement and Training. The program aims to recruit and train up to 20,000 new construction workers in the Gulf Coast region by 2009, advancing the recovery efforts toward last year's storm. GREAT was launched by the Business Roundtable, as association of CEOs from leading U.S. companies, and assisted by ABC and more than 20 other organizations.

The campaign's participants enroll in a four-week training course that provides entry-level skills necessary to begin a career in construction. Training will be primarily conducted at local community and technical colleges. Instructors are certified by the National Center for Construction Education and Research, a not-for-profit foundation created to help address the construction industry's workforce shortage.

ABC chapters and members in the Gulf Coast region have partnered with local schools to help provide the GREAT courses. As students complete the program, ABC and other organizations will draw from the new pool of trained workers. For more information, visit www.abc.org. For campaign details, visit www.imgreat.org.