By Paul Rogers
Leer este artículo en español.
Boston – After a rigorous contractor selection process, Wynn Everett awarded a key $5m environmental site remediation contract for its future casino location to the Boston-based and Latino-owned Charter Contracting Company.
Site remediation involves removal of polluted and contaminated materials for disposal at designated offsite locations. Charter began its work in October and will continue through February of 2016, according to Charter founder and President, Robert Delhome.
As part of its contract, Charter will be both removing and disposing of materials from contaminated site “hot spots” as well as neutralizing highly acidic soils.
Delhome praised Wynn in regards to its project-related environmental issues, “Wynn and its commitment is genuine and organic. It crosses all spectrums. It has been really interesting to see a private entity have more rigid standards and expectations for themselves.”
Delhome, himself, originally from Panama, sought out the contract after attending a local breakfast hosted by Wynn, in partnership with the Hispanic American Institute and other diverse business groups. The main purpose of the event was to link prospective contractors interested in work at the future casino site with Wynn. 
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“That breakfast session gave us the info we needed to pursue the contract. Thanks to the Hispanic-American Institute and the minority and women-owned business community for advocating for us. That’s what gave us access.”
Delhome further indicated that the Wynn Everett contract vetting process evaluated his company’s strengths not only on financial stability, but also on technical capabilities and diversity.
“Our company has had as high as 35% Latino employment and today it hovers between 12 to 17% Latino employees. As we’ve grown it was difficult to maintain that level but we’re always seeking ways to increase our diversity. …[Wynn] really embraces diversity and so with them you really have to pass muster in all categories.”
Like many immigrant children arriving in the US, Delhome grew up in a bilingual household. Referring to his mother, he affectionately said of her “to this day, especially when she’s upset, Spanish becomes the primary language.”
Delhome pointed out that his sister also regularly uses her Spanish in her line of work with the State Police. Even his second generation children are learning Spanish.
His family came to the US when he was just 12 years old and moved to the Boston suburb of Belmont. 
“Looking back at that time, it was really the shock of moving to the US, and, as a 12-year old kid, doing everything I could just to fit in. …It was a big adjustment going from living in a large extended family environment in Panama to just being the four of us.”
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As a young man out of high school, Delhome attended Massachusetts Maritime Academy, graduating in 1991. During his time there he reconnected with his Panamanian roots with a group of more than twenty other Panamanians in his class, including his cousin, who had connections through the Panama Canal Treaty.
“While I was at Mass Maritime, I was fortunate to have a Panamanian community. That was a great experience. I was able to reconnect. At that time, I still had hope to return to Panama to work in maritime.”
By the time Delhome had reached his late twenties, he had made the decision to become an entrepreneur and start his own company.
With little more than a $300 initial investment he started as a mere one-man operation in a small office. However, he quickly pulled his new business together and began landing million dollar contracts in his first year of operation. 
“It was the intersection of hard work and a little bit of luck in the market. We started out doing private sector jobs and as we got more established we became aware of opportunities to do business with the government as well.”
Having guided Charter to the position of being a more established, industry awarded firm, Delhome expressed openness to helping other local companies, “I’m happy and I’m fortunate enough where I do have the opportunity to meet with other small businesses, Latino or otherwise, to help share the experiences we’ve had and to talk about the process of building capacity.”
He suggested those interested could reach out to him directly at his company.
