San Francisco's Fillmore District was buzzing with activity during the 72nd consecutive Juneteenth celebration, and many of those attending stopped by Webcor's booth to learn about the company's diversity efforts and Women in Construction Week.

The free event was held on Saturday, June 17. Today, June 19, is the official federal Juneteenth holiday.

‍

‍

The booth, sponsored by the Biosolids Digester Facilities Project and The Collective (Webcor's Black Employee Resource Group), was strategically set up alongside the Success Centers booth. "Success Centers had a sign-in sheet," says Sr. Safety Manager Kendall Cantave (shown in the photo at right), who represented Webcor at the booth. "The organization's Jessica Fontenelle (shown in the photo at top) was my right-hand person at the event. She would talk to some of the people stopping at our booths about our partnership and how they were recruiting people, putting them through the program, and their partnership with Webcor enabled them to place people who completed the program in jobs."

A lot of women expressed interest after seeing the Women in Construction banner. "People didn't realize how many areas of opportunity are available in the construction industry, from management to the field," Kendall says. "They mostly thought it was for men working with a shovel."

The Juneteenth celebration filled eight blocks of The Fillmore, featuring vendors, ethnic cuisine, games and rides, a classic car show, a hair and fashion show, and community organizations. Webcor's booth was in the plaza near the main stage, where a variety of recording artists performed. "That helped drive a lot of traffic to the booth," Kendall says.

The Fillmore was once known as the "Harlem of the West," the center of black entertainment, music, and culture on the West Coast. The celebration is coordinated by the nonprofit Juneteenth SF Freedom Organization.

Members of The Collective helped with the booth; it was Director Rowena Domingo's idea that Webcor should participate, and Strategic Innovation Director Brittany Williams was on hand with supplies. Also helping out was Kendall's daughter, Malaya.

NBC Bay Area covered a number of local Juneteenth celebrations; footage includes two glimpses of Webcor's booth. Watch the 3-minute report here.

‍

‍

‍