TAMPA, Fla. — Besides being a reason to celebrate, the pride parade is also a time to raise awareness for all the organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community.
Tommy Whitehead, president and CEO of TomCo Solutions, is trying to be a voice in a community that often gets overlooked when it comes to inclusivity, and that’s construction.
“There’s a lot of stereotypes about LGBTQ individuals; that they can’t be in the construction industry, that they are only designers," Whitehead said. "That’s not the case. I’m not an interior designer, and there are a lot of us out there that just want to come in and get our jobs done; we’re great at construction."
According to Whitehead, there are only a few nonprofit pride-based construction organizations like this in the country.
“He’s giving us an organization to go to where we can relate with common experiences but in a safe zone,” said Matt Klaus, Director of Construction Operations with TomCo Solutions.
To spread the word, Whitehead will be at the pride parade with a booth surrounded by a building material we can all relate to: Legos.
“What we like to do is take a little time with somebody—and we’ll do this with the kids and the adults this weekend—we’ll take some time to build a house while building a relationship,” said Whitehead.
Whitehead said what’s been really fulfilling about the Pride Construction Coalition is the support they have gained from fellow business owners in the field.
“To be there for you at these events, it’s very encouraging and I just love to see it light up on their faces knowing that I’m there to support them,” said Yasmine Gardiner with ClearSet.AI.
“It’s more about just treating people fairly and not really worrying about what they do in their private life, honestly. If someone is qualified to do a job, it shouldn’t really matter,” said David Plourde with Cigar City Cabinets.
Whitehead is proud to be a voice in the LGBTQ+ construction community and wants ABC Action News to know inclusion isn’t just a nicety but a necessity when it comes to his industry.
“Fun fact: we have about 40% of the construction industry retiring in the next five years,” said Whitehead. “If we think real estate and construction is expensive now, in five years, it’s going to go up astronomically. We got to create an inclusive workplace for everybody to come into the construction industry because we need the help.”
For more information go to Tomcosolutions.com or Prideconstructioncoaltion.com.
