The chapter also named new officers and directors; inducted five members into its exclusive No. 1 Club; and honored an Orlando real estate lawyer for his volunteer work with the community, the construction industry and the chapter.

The new appointments and awards come as the local AGC formally supports its national group in urging the Internal Revenue Service to withdraw a proposal to tax off-road, mobile machinery, such as cranes, used in the construction of multimillion-dollar commercial real estate projects.

"This tax change will only discourage new capital investments in construction equipment at a time when President Bush is pursuing economic policies to stimulate the economy," Phil Thoden, the national AGC's director of congressional relations, told an IRS panel studying the issue in Washington. "The proposal is not needed and is poorly timed," Thoden says.