National Electrical Contractors Association Celebrates 118th Birthday
Today is a special day, it marks NECA’s 118th anniversary.
Shortly after 2:00 pm on July 17, 1901, a group of 49 contractors from 18 cities in eight states – New York, Maryland, Missouri, Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania - held a meeting in the New York State Building to create what we know today as the National Electrical Contractors Association of the United States.
This group of newly allied contractors went on to elect the association’s first national officers, with Charles L. Eidlitz of New York City chosen as the association’s first national president. The group settled on Utica, NY, as home to the association’s first national headquarters and the first constitution and bylaws also were adopted. As set forth in that first constitution, “The objects for which this Association is formed are the fostering of trade among electrical contractors … to reform abuses … to settle differences between its members … and to promote more enlarged and friendly discourse among its membership.”
Carrying out those objectives has been the business of our association for the past 118 years and will guide our future as NECA continues to be the voice of the $171 billion electrical construction industry that brings power, light, and communication technology to buildings and communities across America.
I look forward to working with each and every one of you as we continue to fulfill our vision and mission of the association in the years to come.
David Long
NECA CEO