Procore Groundbreak 2026: What an Oklahoma GC Brought Home
Stronghold was named a national finalist in Procore's 2026 Groundbreaker Awards. Here's what we brought home from Orlando.
In October, Stronghold traveled to Orlando for Procore Groundbreak 2026, Procore's annual construction technology conference. We had two reasons to be there. Our team was a national finalist for Procore's Empowering the Industry Award, and President and COO Zach Simmons was on the program as a speaker.
This year's theme was building and winning together in the AI era, and overall, it was an extremely positive week for our team. Here's what we saw and what it means for the owners and trade partners we work with.
Key Takeaways
Stronghold was one of three national finalists for the Empowering the Industry Award.
Zach Simmons spoke on sovereign construction and team building on the Expo Hall Elevation Stage.
AI agents, Procore AI Go, and Procore's DroneDeploy acquisition led the conversation.
For owners, the biggest gains come from pairing better tools with early builder involvement.
2026 Groundbreaker Awards: A National Finalist for Community Impact
Procore's Groundbreaker Awards recognize companies in three categories. The Empowering the Industry Award honors companies and projects that strengthen their communities through economic development and lasting local impact.
Unfortunately, we didn't take home the award in our category. Still, being one of three finalists in the category, alongside builders many times our size, is something our team is extremely proud of.
The category reflects why we started Stronghold. Most of our work is for tribal nations, school districts, churches, healthcare providers, and private owners across Oklahoma. These buildings serve their communities for generations and should be built with a lasting impact.
A tribal economic development project creates jobs close to home. A new classroom building shapes how a town's kids learn. That's the work we want to be known for, and it's what we mean by building a stronger Oklahoma.
Speaking at Groundbreak: Sovereign Construction and Team Building
Zach took the Expo Hall Elevation Stage for a 20-minute Groundbreaker Spotlight conversation hosted by Procore. He spoke about sovereign construction, the work of building for tribal nations, and about team building/company culture.
It’s increasingly more important to talk about culture, now maybe more than ever with the rapid emergence of AI tools to be used as a workforce multiplier.
He also used the time to put our project team in the spotlight. He shared their success and walked the broader conference through the challenges they overcame to get there.
AI in Construction: What We Saw at Groundbreak 2026
AI was the thread running through the entire conference. It was discussed on the main stage, featured in breakout sessions, and on display across the Expo Hall.
The biggest theme was AI agents, which Procore calls "digital coworkers." These tools take on the repetitive work that buries project teams. Here's what stood out to us:
Smarter AI agents. A new submittal agent can update and check up to 500 submittals at once. A procurement log agent, now in closed beta, is built to replace the spreadsheets most teams use to track equipment and materials.
Procore AI Go. This voice-first mobile app, now in public beta, answers questions directly from project data.
DroneDeploy joins Procore. Procore's $845 million acquisition of DroneDeploy brings drone and reality capture data, such as aerial imagery and 3D site scans, onto the same platform as a project's drawings, photos, and records.
AI across the partner ecosystem. Procore's integration partners showed AI built into their own tools, from jobsite cameras to reality capture.
On the second day, Zack Kass, OpenAI's former head of go-to-market, delivered the opening keynote on how viable AI is today and where it's headed next.
For a builder, it was an encouraging week. The tools are getting more useful, and they're being built around how jobs actually run.
What Procore's AI Push Means for Building Owners
1. The basics still come first
Procore SVP of Product Management Geoff Lewis put it plainly, as reported by ENR: Procore has to fix the basics before it earns the right to talk about digital coworkers. We agree, and the same is true on every project.
AI can review every submittal on a job in minutes. It can't tell you the job was set up wrong.
If the budget was built on a design nobody priced, or the schedule came from wishful thinking, a faster tool only gets you to the same problem sooner. That's why we start early, with a builder at the table during design, budgets that track the drawings, and the best trades in the room before anything is locked.
2. Procurement is where schedules are won or lost
Switchgear, transformers, and generators can carry lead times of most of a year, sometimes longer. One late order on electrical gear can push back an opening date more than a month of rain.
A procurement agent that keeps the log current is a real help. The bigger win is getting long-lead equipment designed, approved, and ordered early. That takes a builder on board while the design is still taking shape.
3. You should see what we see
Every Stronghold owner already gets live Procore access, including daily reports, photos, and the full project record. As these tools get smarter, that window becomes more useful. Being able to ask your project a question out loud and get a straight answer is where this is headed.
Better Tools Need a Better Process
Groundbreak made one thing clear: the tools are moving fast, and that's good news for owners. The biggest gains will go to teams that pair them with a better process.
In much of Oklahoma, projects are still designed for months without a builder at the table. Then they're bid out, and the numbers come back over budget. AI won't fix that on its own. Owners and builders who choose a different way to deliver will.
That's the dare, and it's the heart of our methodology:
Bring your builder in early.
Price the design as it's drawn.
Put the best trades at the table.
Let the tools make a good process faster.
Thank You, Procore
Thank you to Procore for the recognition and for selecting Stronghold as a 2026 Groundbreaker Awards finalist. Thousands of contractors do amazing things every day. Seeing our project team receive the recognition we believe they deserve every day was a truly special experience.
Thank you as well to the owners and trade partners whose projects put us in that room.
Construction is already hard. We don't need to make it any harder.
Planning a project in Oklahoma? Let's talk before the design is locked. Talk to Our Team