EVENTS

NECA Convention & Trade Show

September 12 - 15, 2025

The NECA Convention & Trade Show will soon be in Chicago! -- September 12 - 15, 2025

Early-Bird pricing ends on July 25th!

This means that early registration and housing for the NECA Convention will close on Friday, July 25th - two weeks earlier than previous years. Once that deadline passes, room availability and pricing cannot be guaranteed.

Among the many other NECA Convention events, education, general sessions, a special NECA activity is highlighted below:

Jerry McGlynn, McWilliams Electric Company, Inc. is to be acknowledged as an Academy of Electrical Contracting Inductee during the September 13 General Session.

Chicago Chapter Events                  

For those Chapter members that attend the NECA Convention, the Chicago and Cook County Chapter functions are listed below. For each event, transportation is on own.

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Open Night – 7:00 pm

However, the Chapter has a number of reservations available for dinner at a number of area restaurants.  

Sunday, September 14, 2025 (Joint Chapter Reception / Dinner with Northeastern IL NECA)

7:00 pm: Reception

8:00 pm: Dinner

The Planetarium

1300 S DuSable Lake Shore Drive - Chicago, IL 60605

Monday, September 15, 2025 (Pre-Closing Event Reception)

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm  

Reception (cocktails and heavy hors d'oeuvres) Navy Pier (TBD) - 1000 E. Grand Avenue - Chicago, IL

CLICK HERE FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION.

2025 ECA Summer Social

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

First Lady Tours -- 112 E. Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, August 6, 2025, as we have a wonderful evening planned aboard the Classic Lady!

6:00 pm: Arrive Dockside

6:15 pm: Boarding Begins/ Open Bar Service 

6:30 pm: Cruise Commences/ Appetizers and Dinner Buffet

9:30 pm: Disembarkation

Program highlights include:

• Skyline Commentary Architecture Tour aboard the Classic Lady
• Food, Beverages, & Networking
• Fireworks
• Tremendous Views of the City Skyline

All ECA Members, their spouses, and guests are welcome to attend this end-of-summer event!

*For parking information please click here!

**Recommended dress attire is business casual / summer attire. 

Registration has closed. However, you can contact the ECA office for availability.

LEARN MORE

EDUCATION

ECA Educational and Conference Stipends for 2025

The Electrical Contractors' Association of City of Chicago (ECA) Executive Committee has approved a number of educational stipends for many special programs / conferences throughout 2025. All stipends / reimbursements are made after each conference with registration confirmation(s) and applicable receipts forwarded to ECA.  

CLICK HERE FOR LISTING

NECA SAFETY PROFESSIONALS INSTITUTE

Oct. 28 - 30, 2025

Washington, DC

Designed for new safety professionals in the industry, this program provides participants with the “must know” topics for those responsible for keeping our workers safe.

LEARN MORE!

New Publications in the NECA Store

NECA has collected, analyzed and interpreted hundreds of data points, so our members can use these crucial reports to develop strategies, optimize processes, and improve decision-making, leading to better outcomes and a competitive advantage in the market. 



CLICK HERE for the latest additions to thestore.

NECA Business Development Information

NECA is updating its Business Development contact list for 2025! This list will be notified about Business Development resources, events and exclusive sessions. Please complete this short form and let NECA know the Business Development contact person(s) for your company. 

Complete Business Development Contact List Form >>

Document Crunch

Contractors who sign up for the service will have exclusive access to an ELECTRI-specific solution through Document Crunch’s innovative platform.

Watch Demo Video



If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Nancy Sheehy at nsheehy@documentcrunch.com.

Sign Up for Access

Unlock the Power of Document Crunch:

We will be hosting your next office hours session on Thursday, August 7^th, 2025, at 12:00 PM CT. Kindly encourage your members to attend—especially those who have not yet begun utilizing Document Crunch.

👉 Register for the August 7^th Office Hours

ELECTRI Updates

ELECTRI is getting ready to launch our new KPI system on our website — and we want you to be part of the rollout.

As a member of the ELECTRI Council or as a contractor attendee at our latest meeting, you’re invited to join one of two upcoming webinars to get an inside look at how the system works and how your company can get started.

Tuesday, July 22 at 12 PM ET - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83937897231

Thursday, July 24 at 3 PM ET - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82709046400

Josh will walk you through the platform step-by-step, and we’ll be available to answer your questions.

We are excited to announce that the ELECTRI Industry Benchmarking Tool is now live and ready for use. This tool was developed to help electrical contractors benchmark key performance metrics across the industry, and we’re asking for your support in getting it off the ground.

To build the live charts and dashboards, we need at least 100 participants. We hope you’ll take a few moments in the coming days to create your account and complete the surveys.

How to Create Your Account

1.Visit the Benchmarking Tool Landing Page [https://www.electri.org/research-overview/electris-industry-benchmarking-tool/]

2.Click “Get Started”

3.At the Login Page Select “Don’t have an account?”

4.Create a MyELECTRI Account In the Company/Organization field, please enter “Other” exactly as shown in the image below.



5. Once Registered

• An ELECTRI representative will call to confirm the appropriate ownership (admin privileges) of the account and ensure data integrity within 2 business days.
• You’ll receive an email confirming your access.
• After receiving the email, you can visit [https://www.electri.org/kpi-dashboard/] and access your:
• Dashboard
• Survey reports
• FAQ section

6.Begin the Surveys

You should now see the list of surveys and your progress displayed as shown below.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to:

1. Josh Bone – josh.bone@electri.org
2. Laura Holmes – Laura.Holmes@electri.org
3. Jessica Cardenas – Jessica.Cardenas@electri.org

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Toronto for the ELECTRI Summer Council Meeting—and to those who couldn’t attend, we’re glad to keep you in the loop. Whether you were in the room or not, there are several ways for you to stay involved and support ELECTRI’s ongoing work. Click HERE for the full meeting recap, including links to the presentation slides for each day. Or you can download the recap from the event page on our website.

Want to relive the experience or see what you missed? Check out the photos here.

New Research Approved by the Council

At the meeting, the Council voted to fund three new research initiatives:

1. The Road Ahead
2. A Financial Maturity Toolbox to Measure the Health of ECs and Their Projects
3. Small Modular Reactors: A Roadmap for ECs

Get Involved: Join a Task Force

We invite you to help shape the direction of these projects. Volunteer to serve on a research task force: Sign up here!

Lend Your Expertise: Participate in Surveys

ELECTRI needs contractor input to ensure our research is grounded in meaningful, real-world data. Take the surveys

Share Your Tools

PCA Researcher Deniz Besiktepe is developing resources to support onboarding and project planning. If you have sample onboarding guides or project checklists, please send them to denizb@purdue.edu.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

ELECTRI International and American Apprenticeships Work have partnered to offer a national Project Management Apprenticeship program! The NECA/ELECTRI Project Management Apprenticeship provides aspiring electrical project managers with the technical expertise, leadership abilities, and business acumen needed to work on large-scale electrical projects successfully. Click Here for more information.

ELECTRI appreciates your assistance with this research. If you have any questions about the research, please contact Amanda Harbison, ELECTRI’s Director of Research, at Amanda@electri.org.

ELECTRI International Quick Links

ELECTRI Meetings         ELECTRI Research        Business Coaching       

Council Room Sessions        Research Engagement Hub       PM Apprenticeship Program  

ConTech & Coffee/IT & Coffee       Think Like A Leader     AI Toolkit

Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention

It is an unfortunate fact that construction has the highest rate of suicide of any industry in America. We lose about 53 out of every 100,000 members of our industry EVERY YEAR to suicide. We are four times the average of other industries. We have a crisis in construction and we need to do something about it. You can visit the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention website and learn more. We urge all to take the pledge to STAND UP for suicide prevention and address it as a health and safety priority.

CLICK HERE FOR A "Stand Up for Suicide Prevention" Information Sheet.