Bruce Cody knows the importance of patience and persistence when it comes to promotion. As concrete promoter for the Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association (PACA), Cody was involved several years ago with a pervious concrete program hosted at NRMCA member Austin/Servall Concrete. That program was also attended by Crawford County Conservation District staff member Tracey Crawford. When the opportunity arose to secure a Greenways Block Grant through the Northwest Commission to create a stormwater management Best Management Practices (BMP) showcase at the Woodcock Township Municipal Building, Crawford remembered Cody’s presentation and contacted PACA for assistance.

The project includes pervious concrete sidewalks and a handicap parking area. Cody and Crawford quickly realized that the project could be leveraged to educate local officials, engineers and contractors about pervious concrete and so the partnership was developed and an educational event was planned. Approximately half the pervious concrete was placed two weeks in advance of the program. The remainder was placed the day of the event, allowing attendees to "smell, taste and feel" the in-place concrete while seeing the placement procedure first-hand. Additionally, the installation allowed a demonstration of ASTM C1701 – Infiltration Rate of In-Place Pervious Concrete to be conducted.

Cody reports that more than 60 people attended the event, including area civil engineers, members of the Erie Chapter of the Green Building Alliance, and officials from several of the surrounding townships and the city of Meadville. The program also included presentations from Audubon Pennsylvania, Natural Resources Conservation Service, PA Department of Environmental Protection and Crawford County Conservation District.