LANHAM, Md. - Dove at began at M&M in 1976 as a mechanical helper, working on boiler installations.

LANHAM, Md. - Carey M. Dove, owner and president of M&M Welding and Fabricators of Gaithersburg, Md., has been named chairman of CAUSE for the 2003-2004 term. She is the first woman to hold the post since the organization's founding in 1984.

CAUSE, the Mechanical Contractors and Unions Seal of Excellence, is an organization composed of both management and labor organizations in the Washington, D.C.-area mechanical-contracting industry.

Dove said CAUSE will be extending its advertising and promotional efforts on behalf of Washington-area mechanical contractors and the unions whose members work for it.

"CAUSE has a 20-year record of labor-management cooperation, with no strikes and a commitment to the highest quality standards in an industry which continues to grow," Dove said.

Dove at began at M&M in 1976 as a mechanical helper, working on boiler installations, and became company president in 1990. She received a degree from Montgomery Community College in 1982, and a bachelor's from the University of Maryland in 1985. She is licensed as a master refrigeration/air-conditioning mechanic.