“Honored to be recognized for building these lasting community relationships,” is how Senior Project Manager Cindy Olsen described the recognition of Ryan Companies US, Inc. as General Contractor Mentor of the Year by the Associated Minority Contractors of Arizona (AMCA) at its 17th Annual Awards Banquet on November 8.

Ryan Companies continues its long history of outreach to and inclusion of M/WBE contractors by setting corporate-wide M/WBE spending goals on all construction projects and exceeding these goals year after year. In 2013, Ryan exceeded its spend goal by approximately 20% and is already on track to exceed its 2014 spend goal by over 207%, including the creation of more than $18.5MM in growth revenue to M/WBE companies.

Ryan Companies President, SouthWest Region, Rick Collins expressed appreciation for the AMCA. “We thank the AMCA for its commitment to developing strong alliances between general contractors and quality minority and women-owned businesses throughout Arizona.”

The AMCA annually presents the General Contractor Mentor of the Year Award to firms that have demonstrated generous support of minority businesses through financial and in-kind contributions, outreach, education development, and providing business opportunities for minority-owned and women-owned businesses as well as the disadvantaged business enterprise community.

The 2014 AMCA award recognizes Ryan’s mentoring achievements, including its Emerging Business Inclusion Program, which features relationship-building opportunities for M/WBE firms with Ryan project managers, cash-flow assistance, and project management and field coordination training.

“As a minority contractor, we are grateful for the opportunities and guidance that has been extended to us by Ryan Companies over the years,” said Dan Puente, President, D.P. Electric, Inc. “Their trust in D.P. Electric has enabled us to not only sustain, but grow as an organization through a tough economy.”