407-667-3417|customerservice@nef-edu.org
1 08, 2019

NEF Learning Zone – August 2019

By |August 1st, 2019|News|

NEF President's Message

NEF’s year is rapidly coming to a close, and we have worked diligently to enhance the manner in which we serve you, our customers. Hopefully, you have already seen a difference, but if you haven’t, we urge you to visit our website today and check out what’s new.

As you may be aware, the offering of our publications in a truly digital format has long been discussed and is finally a reality. No more waiting for your hardcover textbook to come by snail mail – enjoy the ease of instantaneous downloads! We hope that you have already taken advantage of the new digital platform we rolled out on July 15th, but in case you haven’t, please visit our website for a complete listing of available titles.

Implementation of our new online testing protocol will also be introduced during Annual Conference in Atlanta. Those taking the Construction Document Technician (CDT) exam will be doing so utilizing our new in-house testing system. Not only is this system user friendly, but it will also provide immediate participant results. Imagine knowing that you have passed the exam and being able to print your own certificate of completion right away. Once Beta testing is complete, we will roll out our full line of testing using NEF’s new system.

Finally, be sure to start saving up your money! NEF’s Arm’s Length Extravaganza will be back in Atlanta! We have already received some great raffle prizes like another television, Kindles, Echo Dots, and of course, gift cards galore, but it is never too late to donate to the cause. If you know of or already have something you want to donate to NEF, please let Patti know as soon as possible. We are finalizing signage and want to make sure we get our generous donors and sponsors listed. There is no need to send it into the NEF Office – just let us know you are bringing it with you to Annual Conference, and we will make sure your Region gets credit for it.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of our Board Members or our Administrator, Patti Susko, for assistance.

Sincerely,

Tammy

Tamara S. Crooks, CIT
NEF President 2018 – 2019

NEF Spotlight

NEF Endorses Workshops at NAWIC’s Annual Conference

Again this year, NEF will endorse certain workshops at NAWIC’s Annual Conference held August 20-24, 2019 in Atlanta, GA.  Each participant who signs up with an NEF representative prior to entering each workshop will receive a Certificate of Participation with a notation it represents 1.5 Contact Hour.

The list of workshops chosen by NEF include:

  • Tactical Confrontation for a Safer Workplace
  • Shaping Safety Culture
  • How We Build
  • Diversity Matters
  • Value of Safety and Health Certification in Construction
  • Cyber Liability

NAWIC is offering a high level of education sessions this year.  You are encouraged to participate in as many as your schedule allows including those listed above which offer an added benefit of a NEF Certificate and 1.5 Contact Hour for your continuing education goals.

NEF News

Will you please help our efforts?!? NEF is in need of donated items for this year’s “Arm’s Length Extravaganza” at Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.

  • Donations can be dropped off with a NEF rep at NEF’s Info Desk and Store at NAWIC’s Annual Conference
  • Donations must be clearly marked for “Arm’s Length Extravaganza”
  • Monetary value must be verifiable by NEF
  • Donor must state their Region in order for Region to receive credit

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15 07, 2019

NEF Press Release

By |July 15th, 2019|News|

NEF's New Digital Bookstore

NEF has gone digital!!!  NEF’s Construction Industry Courses are now available in “epub” format.  You can still order a hardcover textbook if you choose to but the demand for digital has been strong and we listened.

A new digital bookstore has been established with a very user-friendly checkout system.  Click on “Store” on NEF’s home page then a drop-down menu item “Buy Books” appears.

Don’t delay, check it out and join NEF’s venture into the digital world of e-books!

NEF Digital Bookstore Press Release

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10 07, 2019

NEF Press Release

By |July 10th, 2019|News|

NEF to Endorse Education Workshops at NAWIC's Annual Conference

A list of this year’s NAWIC Annual Conference Education Sessions endorsed by NEF are included within this Press Release.  Participants will receive a Certification of Participation along with 1.5 Contact Hour for your continuing education goals!

Please click on the link below, review the press release and make plans to join us at NAWIC’s Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.

NEF Press Release: Workshops at Annual Conference

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1 07, 2019

NEF Learning Zone – July 2019

By |July 1st, 2019|News|

NEF President's Message

NEF extends its heartfelt gratitude to all the NAWIC Regions for their outstanding fundraising efforts during Forum season. Due to the hard work of your Regional Fundraisers and Liaisons, almost $13,000.00 was raised! These funds assist NEF in bringing our library of courses to a digital platform as well as enhancing our online testing protocol, and the funds that our NAWIC Regions have raised this year are certainly paving the way for many more changes on the horizon. Again, we thank you!!

Our year will culminate with two (2) exciting events: Construction Document Technician review course and testing scheduled for Tuesday, August 20th and our Arms-Length Raffle Extravaganza. Be sure to get your raffle prize donations into the NEF Office as soon as possible to ensure that they will be counted toward your Region’s fundraising totals. We’re pretty sure that there are a couple of Regions out there trying to unseat the current leader, Pacific Southwest Region.

We would also like to congratulate Mr. Michael Barkett, President of the Mississippi Construction Education Foundation, on being named this year’s Carol A. Kueker Construction Education Visionary Award winner. For more information on Mr. Barkett and the Kueker Award, please visit our website at http://nef-edu.org/news/.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of our Board Members or our Administrator, Patti Susko, for assistance.

Sincerely,

Tammy

Tamara S. Crooks, CIT
NEF President 2018 – 2019

NEF Spotlight

Wendy Jarred, CBT, CCA, CDS, CIT, EIT, LEED AP BD+C
NEF President Elect 2018-2019

I began my NAWIC journey in February 2005. I was searching for a group of women that shared my passion for the construction industry and was also intrigued by the course offerings through NEF. I was a quiet person, hardly said anything – that person in the corner of the room. I jumped right in and received my CIT, then CDS certifications. NAWIC member and incoming Region 5 Director, Frankie Rivers, approached me at the airport on my way home from an event and said that I should look into becoming a trustee for NEF. She thought I would be a great addition to the board because I had such a passion for education and learning. I investigated and dove right in. The first year I applied I was not accepted, but the desire to be on the board was alive in me, so I applied again the following year and was elected to serve as a trustee. While on the board, I continued to take the certification classes offered. I hold all certifications except for the CIS. I have served on the board every year since then, except for one year that I took off to regroup my life.

I have worked with my chapter for our Block Kids events over the years and even helped to have our first Design Drafting competition when I was chapter president. There is still work to be done to get our local school districts involved with this competition. I was also the National Block Kids chair this year. It was interesting to see the talent and imagination that the younger generation has.

NEF continues to strive to improve its educational programs and K-12 offerings. Since that first year as a Trustee through today, I have seen our programs develop from paper testing to online testing and there are many exciting things coming with our programs in the very near future. Each year the board works hard to bring improvements to our programs and industry. I am proud to serve with the dedicated women and men on this board and look forward to serving in the future.

I never imagined that this journey would lead me to be NAWIC chapter president, much less become the 2019-2020 NEF President. I have made many lifelong friends from being involved; some that I thought I would never get a sentence in with. If you are passionate about something, get involved. You may not succeed the first time, but don’t give up.

NEF News

Will you please help our efforts?!? NEF is in need of donated items for this year’s “Arm’s Length Extravaganza” at Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.

  • Donations must be received in NEF’s office in Orlando, FL Friday, July 12, 2019
  • Donations must be clearly marked for “Arm’s Length Extravaganza”
  • Monetary value must be verifiable by NEF
  • Donor must state their Region in order for Region to receive credit.
Don’t forget to send in any donations to be included in NEF Region Fundraising Competition with a NEF Donation Breakdown Report.  You can find one on our website under “Forms” or click here.  This year’s winning Region will be announced during Annual Conference and will have bragging rights for an entire year!!!

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6 06, 2019

NEF’s Arm’s Length Extravaganza at NAWIC’s Annual Conference

By |June 6th, 2019|News|

NEF Arm's Length Extravaganza

Get ready for this year's event at NAWIC's Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA this August.

Donations are needed to make this event the best one yet.  We’d like to call on our NAWIC family to assist with this call for gift cards, electronics, purses and more.  Donations from chapters and regions will be added to your Region Fundraising Competition totals so let’s get this party started!

  • Donated items must be received in the NEF Office by Friday, July 12, 2019
  • Donated items must be clearly marked for the “Arm’s Length Extravaganza”
  • Monetary value must be verifiable by NEF
  • Donor must state their Region name in order for Region to receive credit

Any additional donated funds to be credited to a Region’s fundraising amount must be submitted on a NEF Donation Breakdown Report and received at the NEF Office by July 19, 2019.

This year’s winning region will be announced during NAWIC’s Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA and will have bragging rights for an entire year!!!

NEF DONATION BREAKDOWN REPORT.2018

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4 06, 2019

NEF offers CDT Online Testing At Annual Conference – Register Now!

By |June 4th, 2019|News|

NEF to offer ONLINE testing at Annual Conference!

Hurry!  Don’t delay!

For the very first time, NEF will offer online testing for Construction Document Technician (CDT) only during its all-day CDT course review and exam session on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at NAWIC’s 64th Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.

Time is running out.  Contact NEF by June 15th at nawicedu@gmail.com or by phone at 866-277-2883 for more information.

CDT testing flyer – Deadline

Reserve your seat today! Deadline is June 15th!

ALL Candidates must be pre-registered with a confirmed CDT course book and exam purchase.  Contact NEF for details. Candidates must also provide a laptop to participate; scores will be available upon completion.

 

Testing is available for all other NEF courses with a paper/pencil option. These other courses, CBT, CIS, CIT, ESP, will not be reviewed prior to testing; there will be no online testing option at Annual Conference for NEF courses other than CDT. Pre-registration with NEF is required.

June 15th is the deadline for registration for ALL testing events on August 20th.  Don’t delay, schedule today!!

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1 06, 2019

NEF Announces 2018-2019 Block Kids National Building Competition Winners

By |June 1st, 2019|News|

ORLANDO, FL, June 1, 2019: NEF – NAWIC Education Foundation recently named their 2018-2019
Block Kids Building Competition National winners. Many creative projects were submitted this year
at Block Kids events across the country making it very difficult for this year’s judges to choose a
top three.

Voted as this year’s 1st place winner from NAWIC’s Northeast Region and sponsored by
Wilmington, DE Chapter #96, Noah Weston, 4th grader from Middletown, DE built a “flying solar
powered aircraft” that processes dirty air into clean air. Weston also constructed a solar powered
storage shed for the aircraft “so that it is always charging” and stated his project is designed to
help with air pollution. He notes that it could be used at factories, refineries or any plants that
cause air pollution. Weston wants to be a Paleontologist when he grows up.

2019’s 2nd place winner from NAWIC’s South Atlantic Region and sponsored by Asheville, NC Chapter
154, Benjamin Kramer, is a 5th grader from Old Fort, NC. His project was a spiral magnetic
generator with a battery and a cable going to a house/charging station. Kramer wants to “maybe be a
designer like my Dad”.

From NAWIC’s South Central Region and sponsored by San Antonio, TX Chapter 11, Phoenix Chin, 5th
grader from San Antonio, TX, was chosen as this year’s 3rd place winner. Chin constructed an art
coliseum/gallery to house art projects by both adults and children. Chin wants to be an
archaeologist when she grows up and stated she enjoyed the competition as it allowed her to be
creative.

NEF’s Block Kids Building Competition is a National competition that is sponsored on the local
level by NAWIC Chapters and other organizations. The award-winning program is open to grades K-6
and introduces children to the construction industry in an effort to create awareness and promote
careers in the industry.

The NAWIC Education Foundation was founded in 1972 by volunteers from the National
Association of Women in Construction who saw a need for quality training programs in the
construction industry. Based in Orlando, FL, NEF is responsible for administering a variety of K-12
programs that help educate today’s youth to pursue construction careers. In addition, NEF offers a
full range of self- study courses for adults. NEF maintains partnering agreements with various
education-related organizations that allow it to expand its offerings of educational courses, many
of which are offered online. NEF is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c) 3 non-profit educational
foundation to which tax- deductible contributions can be made.

The core purpose of the NAWIC Education Foundation is to educate the construction industry today …
and tomorrow. Its goals are to provide quality education programs for the construction industry and
to promote the benefits of a career in the industry. For additional information about NEF,
including its educational courses, go to www.nef-edu.org, send an e-mail to nawicedu@gmail.com or
call (866) 277-2883.

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1 06, 2019

NEF Learning Zone – June 2019

By |June 1st, 2019|News|

NEF President's Message

With Forum Season wrapping up, we at NEF start looking toward Annual Conference and our activities during it.

As advertised, NEF will be conducting a full day of course preparation for the Construction Document Technician exam followed by an opportunity for those in attendance to immediately take the test. Further, this will be our beta testing of our new online testing protocol which we have been quietly working on for the last several months. What does this mean for our customers? That a test can be taken at any time and anywhere as well as get your results the moment you complete the exam.! Don’t delay – get your CDT course package today to take advantage of this opportunity!

Our Arms-Length Extravaganza will be back much to the delight of raffle ticket buyers everywhere. Help us make this the best one yet by donating to NEF. It doesn’t have to be anything over-the-top, and we certainly need everything from gift cards to Kindles to quilts, etc. We’ve said it before if every NAWIC Chapter was to donate a $25.00 gift card or more, the possibilities of what could be accomplished this year is almost unfathomable. Remember that your Arms-Length Extravaganza donations will count toward your Region’s donations totals for the year so get out there and send those donations to the NEF Office ASAP!

NEF will also have a Pop-Up on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. We hope that you will join us and learn a little more about NEF like what is it that a Trustee does. You never know what you could find out about us and maybe we can spark an interest in something you want to get involved in.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of our Board Members or our Administrator, Patti Susko, for assistance.

Sincerely,

Tammy

Tamara S. Crooks, CIT
NEF President 2018 – 2019

NEF Spotlight

Laura Herron
NEF Vice President 2018-2019

I started so long ago I can’t remember everything!

First, I was the Regional fund raiser for many of my Region’s wonderful Directors. Being the NEF Region Fundraiser, I got to know my Directors and regional members very well. Answering questions about NEF programs, why NEF needed to raise money for programs what benefit would they get from NEF’s programs – fielding these questions helped me learn the value of NEF. Donations allows NEF the ability to expand educational programs and pay for them to be recognized by ACCE.

Then Debbie “Gregoire” Lesar thought I would make a good Trustee for the Foundation; I love being a trustee! Then Linda Young asked if I would be the National NEF Fundraising Chair for the “Indianapolis 500 morning breakfast race to the $$$ line”. What a great time! Tammy Crooks stirring up the crowd like only she can and Jennifer Swinney running around the ballroom with the racing flag after her region won most money donated. NEF has given me great memories.

Thank you Deb, this foundation has also given me great mentors over the years. Deb, Linda Young, Karen Long, Sue Ellen Stoddard, Robin Fulton Meyer, Melanie Myers and now Tammy Crooks.

NEF is an educational arm of NAWIC and serving as a trustee and board member, I have learned many things about the industry and myself. Working together to educate the Construction Industry and beyond has been very rewarding personally and professionally. I am proud that NEF works to build better educational options for the industry.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of NEF’s future goals such as e-books, on-line testing and working to create new programs; always striving to be a leader not a follower in the educational market place.

NEF News

Will you please help our efforts?!? NEF is in need of donated items for this year’s “Arm’s Length Extravaganza” at Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.

  • Donations must be received in NEF’s office in Orlando, FL Friday, July 12, 2019
  • Donations must be clearly marked for “Arm’s Length Extravaganza”
  • Monetary value must be verifiable by NEF
  • Donor must state their Region in order for Region to receive credit.
Don’t forget to send in any donations to be included in NEF Region Fundraising Competition with a NEF Donation Breakdown Report.  You can find one on our website under “Forms” or click here.  This year’s winning Region will be announced during Annual Conference and will have bragging rights for an entire year!!!

Read More