During March 14th-16th, many COMTO members attended the Missouri Department of Transportation’s 2018 Contractor Compliance/DBE Training Symposium. This conference provides vital information in a variety of areas, such as business and workforce development, contract compliance, recruitment, and retention. Additionally, the symposium aims to strengthen Equal Employment Opportunity for both MoDOT and Missouri businesses by encouraging the development of a diverse workforce.
The symposium consisted of all sorts of breakout sessions, seminars, presentations, and networking opportunities. Various presenters from various backgrounds shared on the great work being done across the state to prepare DBEs for success, create a more diverse workforce, prevent fraud, and investigate new types of transportation innovation. To view the agenda for the event click here.
COMTO KC participated as an exhibitor during the symposium. It was our pleasure to network and engage with various DBEs, HUBs, Primes, and Transportation Agencies across the great state of Missouri. During the awards ceremony, COMTO KC was one of many people/organizations recognized by MoDOT as being an asset to MoDOT and the community at-large. A breakdown of all of the awardees is below:

2018 DBE Symposium Award Categories:
MoDOT Inclusion Advocate of the Year:
Marie Elliott
Elizabeth Reed
MoDOT Outstanding Consultant of the Year
EFK Moen
CDI
Access Engineering
Bellewether Global
Burns and McDonnell
MoDOT Outstanding Transportation Partner
Delta Companies
Construction Forum STL
MoDOT Outstanding Community Champion of the Year
COMTO Kansas City
Gabriella Ramirez
Steve Lewis
MoDOT Outstanding Contractor of the Year
Pace Construction
Emery Sapp
MoDOT Successful Disadvantaged Business Enterprise:
Schrimpf Landscaping
Centrex
Site Systems
Petro Logistics
Photos from the symposium are available below: