The Association of  the Wall and Ceiling Industry announced its 2020–2021 Executive Committee, whose terms began July 1. Chip McAlpin takes the reins as 2020–2021 AWCI  president from 2019–2020 AWCI President Nancy Brinkerhoff.

McAlpin is division president of  the Jackson, Miss., and Louisiana offices of  F.L. Crane & Sons.  He also heads Crane College, a three-step program that provides in-class and on-the-job training  for every- one from new hires to jobsite foremen. Headquartered in Fulton, Miss., the AWCI Lifetime 
Member company has 12 branches and a workforce of  over 600 people. McAlpin graduated from the  University of  Southern Mississippi with a degree in construction engineering technology before  taking employment at F.L. Crane 25 years ago.

As president of  AWCI, McAlpin knows and accepts the challenges the industry is facing in the year  ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic. While travel will likely continue to be limited, McAlpin  says he is “interested in meeting members … and learning from them.” Despite the challenges, he  also sees opportunities for AWCI members in areas such as the prefabrication market. With social  distancing not likely going away anytime soon, prefabricated partition walls in health care,  education and other industries will require the expertise of  contractors, manufacturers and  suppliers throughout the wall and ceiling industry.

McAlpin also thinks physical distancing rules could improve productivity for many contractors: “We  (F.L. Crane and other contractors) have been trying to prove for some time that if  two people are  working together on one task, at some point one of  those workers may not be maximizing their pro- 
ductivity, he says.” Social distancing rules may push businesses and employees to evaluate areas  where productivity can be enhanced.

These are the 2020–2021 AWCI Executive Committee members:

• President Chip McAlpin, F.L. Crane & Sons, Inc., Florence, Mississippi
• Vice President Shawn Burnum, Performance Contracting, Inc., Lenexa, Kansas
• Treasurer Travis Vap, South Valley Drywall, Inc., Littleton, Colorado
• Secretary Travis Winsor, The Raymond Group, Orange, California
• Immediate Past President Nancy Brinkerhoff, Ironwood Commercial Builders, Inc., Concord, 
• California
• Continuing Study Committee Chairperson Mike Taylor, Liddle Brothers Contractors, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

The AWCI Executive Committee leads a board of  directors and works with committees, members, partners and staff to represent and advance the wall and ceiling industry.