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Association & Industry News
The Opening General Session at NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2018 on Sunday morning will focus on our Build With Strength Campaign and will feature NRMCA members sharing their stories on how they have successfully used NRMCA’s Concrete Design Center to convert parking areas from asphalt to concrete and buildings from wood to concrete (see related news item in this section). 2018 ConcreteWorks Opening Session – Sunday, September 30, 2018, 8:15 - 9:15 a.m.: Join us for this informative presentation featuring NRMCA members sharing their stories on how they used NRMCA’s Concrete Design Center to convert parking areas from asphalt to concrete and concrete buildings from wood to concrete. The Business Administration Task Group is pleased to add three new offerings during the Education Breakout Tracks on Sunday and Monday at NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2018. Sunday afternoon play Rip Van Winkle, and see what it would feel like to fall asleep today and wake up in 2028 – what will the concrete industry look like? Immediately following will be a critical session on cybersecurity. As our industry relies more and more on technology to conduct our business, how do we protect our own data, as well as that of our customers? How do we avoid becoming a victim of a cyberattack and/or ransomware? Monday morning is an all-call to CFO’s, CIO’s and all our industry’s accounting and IT professionals – the Task Group would like to hear from you about critical business issues that it can work on for the concrete industry’s collective behalf. So bring your concerns, ideas and energy and send them off with a plan to provide cutting-edge resources in these areas. For more information, contact Nicole Maher at nmaher@nrmca.org. 
Engineering
The National Concrete Pavement Technology Center has released three new manuals for use by industry professionals:
SEO
This year’s NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championship will take place on Saturday, September 29, during NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2018 being held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor, MD. This year, a field of 81 drivers will compete in various skills tests in order to be titled “Best of the Best” among their peers. The event will start at 7 a.m. Eastern time on the National Harbor parking lot which is diagonally across from the resort itself. Click here for more information on the Mixer Driver Championship and here for more information on ConcreteWorks 2018. You may alson contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org. 
NRMCA advocates on behalf of the ready mixed concrete industry through our involvement in the political process. CONCRETEPAC is the ready mixed concrete industry’s Political Action Committee (PAC) that supports pro-business, pro-ready mixed concrete candidates for federal office. Please note that federal law requires companies to “authorize” the PAC for each calendar year before NRMCA can share details about the PAC or solicit contributions. Federal law only allows corporate members of NRMCA to grant prior approval to only one national trade association's PAC per calendar year. However, granting prior approval for CONCRETEPAC does not preclude employees from contributing to local or state PACs, national members or ideological PACs or a company’s own federal PAC. Eligible employees include those with executive, managerial or senior administrative responsibilities. Click here to give prior authorization to CONCRETEPAC today and learn more about how you can help the ready mixed concrete industry’s voice be heard on Capitol Hill. For more information, contact Taylor Drzewicki, director of government and political affairs, at tdrzewicki@nrmca.org or 240-485-1136. Registration for the RMC Research & Education Foundation’s 7th Annual Walk for Wellness is now open and registration may be accessed online. The Walk will take place in conjunction with NRMCA’s National Mixer Driver Championship at NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2018, starting and ending near the course. This popular event emphasizes the importance of health within the concrete industry. Your participation is a tremendous opportunity to support this initiative and the Foundation at the same time. Registration is $25 per walker and is tax deductible as a contribution to the Foundation. One sponsorship for the Walk for Wellness remains. It is available on a first come, first served basis. For more details, access the sponsorship form here. Please contact Jennifer LeFevre with any questions or visit www.rmc-foundation.org for more information on the work of the RMC Research & Education Foundation. NRMCA is now accepting entries for its 2019 Kids Art Contest, sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau. The theme for the contest is "Ready Mixed Concrete – Building America from the Ground Up.” The contest is open to children up to grade 12 who have a relationship with an NRMCA member. CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 is now accepting speaker proposals for its Education sessions. Once again, there will be a specific concrete track. The general audience is contractors looking for immediately applicable information. Sessions also attract mid-level operations and production staff. Submittals must be made using the online call for proposals link by Thursday, November 15, 2018. Accepted speakers will be notified by mid-March 2019. For more information, contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. 
Pavement
NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge recently met with engineers from Cape Fear Engineering in Wilmington, NC, to discuss concrete parking lot design. Kresge gave a presentation on designing with ACI 330 at a lunch and learn organized by Jessica Palmer of the Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA). While in the area, Kresge also attended the CRMCA meeting where he presented "The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots" to members and invited guests from the design community. The presentation covered conventional concrete paving as well as pervious concrete and concrete overlays of existing asphalt. For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org. NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Don Clem, PE, recently met with the management and inspection team of the Foothills Park and Recreation District (FHPRD) in Colorado. FHPRD is a special district offering parks, trails, recreation facilities, golf courses and recreational programs such as youth and adult sports, fitness, swimming, golf, ice skating and arts to the western Denver metro area. Clem provided training on the proper design and construction of concrete overlays over asphalt parking lots, with assistance from NRMCA member Dave Gray, GCC of America and ASCC member Leonard Velasquez, SLV Quality Concrete. The district is considering concrete overlays as a rehab option for some of its aging asphalt parking lots and trails. Government Affairs
Energy and Water Appropriations: On Monday, the Congressional negotiators released the first of three appropriations bills to fund the government. Appropriations bills, or a continuing resolution to fund the government, must be passed before the end of the fiscal year on September 30 or the government will shut down. The bill released on Monday includes the Energy and Water Development bill, providing $7 billion for the water resources program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, $2.18 billion of which is detailed for construction. The total amount is $172 million more than FY18 and the construction amount is $98 million more than FY18. The legislation is expected to easily pass and be signed into law. This represents a significant investment in concrete-intensive public works projects. The legislative text of the package is here and the joint explanatory statement of the conferees (which includes funding totals for individual projects) is here. Water Resources Development Act: On Tuesday, House and Senate committee leaders announced an agreement on the Water Resources Development Act, legislation to approve water infrastructure projects. (Federal projects and programs go through a two-step legislative process; they must first be authorized by federal law and then Congress must appropriate or make available federal money for them to be built.) The House almost unanimously passed its version of the water resources bill earlier this year; the Senate version did not get a vote. The House is expected to take up the newly negotiated bill this week, with the Senate taking it up thereafter. You can view the text of this bill here. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
December 4 – 6, Silver Spring, MD December 11 – 14, Austin, TX *Sold Out 2019 January 8 - 10, Orlando, FL January 15 – 17, Silver Spring, MD January 15 – 18, Tucson, AZ January 22 – 24, Kissimmee, FL February 19 – 22, Charlotte, NC February 27, Milwaukee March 19 – 21, Silver Spring, MD Learning & Development
The Workforce Development Committee will meet Thursday, September 27, from 7 to 9 a.m. The committee recently conducted its summer meeting in Chicago and will share its progress as well as solicit others who have a mission to fill the industry’s pipeline of skilled workers. Since January, the committee has stayed focused on worker challenges but it needs everyone to help meet the critical challenge of keeping the industry vital in order to maintain the ability to actually deliver the concrete ordered. For more information about the Workforce Development Committee, please contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. September 29 – October 1, Metro Washington, DC October 9 – 12, Silver Spring, MD October 16 – 18, Glendora, CA October 17, Las Vegas, NV October 17 – 18, Milwaukee October 23 – 24, Springfield, MA October 30, Okemos, MI November 5 – 9, Silver Spring, MD November 14 – 15, Fort Worth, TX November 27 – 29, 2018, Orlando, FL Fall/Winter, Cheyenne/Casper, WY November 29, Kansas City, KS 
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