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Mike Salsgiver brought a wealth of experience in national politics with him when he took over in 2008 as executive director of the Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia chapter.

Following his work on the staffs of U.S. Senators Bob Packwood and Mark Hatfield, he served as the director of public affairs for Intel. That experience working with coalitions of interests was invaluable in allowing him to step in at the AGC and represent the construction industry across a broad spectrum of views, interests and ideas.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really more of a coalition than anything else,鈥� said Salsgiver, who grew up in a family of contractors. 鈥淲e鈥檙e vertical, union and open, big medium, suppliers, urban, rural 鈥� we represent literally every part of the construction industry. And as a result of that you really get into, not lowest common denominators, but common interests. And those are two different things in my mind.鈥�

His ability to communicate across all of those potential barriers is what has allowed him to thrive in a role that can eat up people of lesser talents.

鈥淵ou keep open lines of communication and do your best to talk with people,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 draw people in, reach out to them; and the experience I鈥檝e had in the political world, in the Senate for 15 years, you learn that process. There鈥檚 been a lot that鈥檚 gone into my success here.鈥�

Salsgiver has served as executive director for just shy of 13 years now, having been hired in early 2008 just as the Great Recession was gaining steam. He helped guide the association and its members through the most difficult economic stretch in a generation. Now he finds himself in a similar position as the Covid-19 pandemic rages across the United States virtually unchecked.

This time around, however, the construction industry has so far not been nearly as severely affected by the turmoil as other industries, notably leisure and hospitality. In part this is because Salsgiver and the AGC played a key role early in 2020 in convincing Oregon lawmakers to include construction among the essential industries that would be allowed to continue operating during early shut-down periods meant to put a check on the pandemic.

Darien Loiselle is an attorney with Portland firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt and has known Salsgiver for years. He said that Salsgiver and the AGC already had procedures in place to deal with serious force majeure events like a pandemic. That planning, he added, has helped the wider industry stay on top of the current crisis.

鈥淗e had been working with the executive committee to the board for months to come up with emergency planning and contingency plans in the event of a natural disaster or a force majeure event,鈥� Loiselle said. 鈥淭hey already had the wheels turning when this hit in terms of having a strategic plan on how to mobilize the industry. That鈥檚 his foresight.鈥�

Within days of Oregon Governor Kate Brown announcing business restrictions to cope with the pandemic, Salsgiver and the AGC鈥檚 executive and legal committees met with a small group of lawyers that included Loiselle to brainstorm their way to solutions for the industry.

鈥淭hey were just way out in front of this,鈥� Loiselle said.

For his part, Salsgiver, like all of the individuals nominated for Icon awards, doesn鈥檛 seek recognition for his work.

鈥淚 still don鈥檛 get it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 humbled to get that recognition from people that you respect. And as the face of the association, it just makes me really, really proud. I鈥檓 just proud of the people I work with; we have a really fine team, and no one can do anything like this by themselves. I鈥檓 glad to represent them, and I鈥檓 glad to work with them.鈥�