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Association & Industry News
NRMCA is looking for good men and women to serve on the Board of Directors. While serving on the Board requires both commitment and energy, it is a rewarding opportunity to give back to the industry. NRMCA represents a broad range of ready mixed concrete companies across the United States and our success is a direct result of the skills and expertise of our professional staff working in conjunction with our Board of Directors. Director nominees must be committed to promoting NRMCA programs and working in the best interest of its membership and the industry at large. The Board provides strategic direction, fiduciary oversight and governance of the organization’s operations. Nominees are vetted by the Nominating Committee, which consists of the current chairman of the Board, the immediate past chairman of the Board, and past chairmen of the Board for the previous seven years who are still in an active capacity in the industry. The selected slate of nominees is then presented to and elected by the general membership and will serve a three-year term that begins immediately following the annual convention in 2021. The deadline for submissions is Friday, July 24. Please click on links below for more information or contact NRMCA's Heather Houck at hhouck@nrmca.org.
Please also consider submitting entries to NRMCA's 90th Anniversary photo contest; entries are being accepted through July 17. MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub Executive Director Jeremy Gregory discusses lessons learned from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and research and tools for better decision-making and a “mix of fixes” for infrastructure investment going forward in a June 5 opinion piece published in The Hill. 
Engineering
NRMCA is offering a free webinar titled Resources for Improving Concrete Quality on Thursday, June 18, from 1 - 2 p.m. Eastern time. Improved concrete quality can lower product costs, increase revenues and profit margins. The first half of this webinar will discuss how a producer can take advantage of the various resources available while the second half will discuss the updated NRMCA Producer Excellence in Quality award application form and what it takes to put together a good quality award application. Attendees regardless of company size, markets served and experience level will benefit from attending this webinar. Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the webinar. For more information, contact Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org. SEO
The next NRMCA Plant Manager Course will be offered as an online course from June 22 – July 2. It will be conducted during seven non-concurrent sessions, each lastly roughly four hours, with the exams on July 2. Course materials will be mailed to each attendee prior to the start of the course, and exams will be administered online. Certain sessions will be recorded for attendee review after those sessions and prior to the exams on July 2. Why attend? Never has it been more critical for your plant manager operator to be at the top of his/her game. Efficiency and productivity impact every penny in this tight economy. Plant managers serve a vital function, with responsibilities that affect issues from regulatory compliance to product quality, safety and profitability. NRMCA’s certification program helps you make sure that they are up to speed on product knowledge, plant safety, environmental regulations, plant operations and ready mixed concrete industry business principles. This course establishes the basic industry standard, measured through certification. Click here to learn more and to register; the deadline is Friday, June 12. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org. Does your facility need to report to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program? Have you run the calculations to determine if your facility does? Do you know what the requirements are and/or how to report if necessary? Now’s the time to obtain answers to all of these questions. Remember, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) TRI Program “tracks the management of more than 650 toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment.“ Specifically, “U.S. facilities in certain industry sectors must report annually how much of each chemical is released to the environment and/or managed through recycling, energy recovery and treatment.” This information is then submitted annually to EPA and compiled in the TRI. Facilities that handle toxic chemicals, including ready mixed concrete plants, are required to calculate the quantities that were handled and if any quantity is over an allowable threshold, that chemical and amount need to be reported under the program. Should a facility need to report, the reporting deadline is Wednesday, July 1. Click here for more on the program, including listed chemicals, potential for reporting and when/how to report. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org or Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. 
NRMCA champion Rep. John Katko (R-NY) is leading legislation with Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) to expand the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC). As NRMCA Government Affairs reported in early April, the credit was first included in the CARES Act to provide additional liquidity and relief to businesses that are significantly impacted by COVID-19. H.R. 6776, the Jumpstarting Our Businesses’ Success (JOBS) Credit Act of 2020, modifies the ERTC by increasing the value of the credit, making it easier for employers to qualify for the credit, clarifying that health benefits are included in the calculation of wages, and making modifications to allow employers to be eligible for both the ERTC and Paycheck Protection Program loans, among other modifications. NRMCA strongly supported the inclusion of the ERTC in the CARES Act and the expansion of the ERTC, and has joined a broad coalition of business interests in support of H.R. 6776. NRMCA recommends that members consult their tax professional to determine whether they are eligible for the ERTC and will keep members apprised of the developments of this legislation. Click here for more information on H.R. 6776 or contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Please join the NRMCA Government Affairs team for a live discussion with Representative John Katko (R-NY-24), presented by NRMCA's Political Action Committee, CONCRETEPAC, on Wednesday, June 17, from 4-5 p.m. Eastern time. Rep. Katko is a champion of the ready mixed concrete industry who has a deep understanding and appreciation for the values embraced by our industry, the importance of supporting the business community and America’s ready mixed concrete producers. This town hall will be an informal conversation that will provide you with the inside scoop on legislative issues affecting your bottom line as well as the political issues that will play out in November's election. Click here to register and join the discussion. The second town hall meeting will take place Friday, June 19, from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Eastern time with Congressman Dan Bishop (R-NC-9). Elected last year in a special election with the support of past NRMCA Past Chairman Henry Batten, Rep. Bishop is also a champion of the ready mixed concrete industry who has a deep understanding and appreciation for the values embraced by our industry and the importance of supporting the business community and America’s ready mix producers. Click here to register and join this discussion. For more information, contact Taylor Drzewicki at tdrzewicki@nrmca.org. 
Buildings
This new online course offers the nuts and bolts of concrete materials, mixtures and construction practices, from the materials used to make concrete, the standards they must meet, the way it’s made, delivered, placed and finished. If you are a design professional, contractor, concrete producer or supplier to the concrete industry, this course is a must. If you are new to concrete, this will be your crash course on your way to becoming a concrete pro. If you’ve worked with concrete for a long time, this will be an excellent refresher on the latest methods, techniques and standards for concrete. The course is taught online, in three parts, made up of three sessions each for a total of nine information-packed webinars. Instructors are NRMCA's Colin Lobo, executive vice president of engineering; Brian Killingsworth, executive vice president, pavements and Lionel Lemay, executive vice president, structures. Class format is as follows:
There is a fee of $150 for each course. Click here for detailed information on each part of the overall class along with access to registration links. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org. The Build With Strength (BWS) webinar series continues today, Wednesday June 10, at 2 p.m. Eastern time with Concrete Innovations presented by Lionel Lemay and Donn Thompson which explores how new products, manufacturing methods and research are developing innovative concretes to meet these new challenges. Bendable concrete, smog eating concrete and carbon capture just a few examples of these innovations which will be discussed. The next presentation in the series is scheduled for Wednesday June 17. Economical Design of Insulating Concrete Forms will be led by Lionel Lemay and Scott Campbell and will explore the evolution of ICFs as well as design, detailing and construction inspections. Registration is also available for all remaining BWS Education webinars in June focusing on design and construction of high-performance concrete buildings. The webinars provide American Institute of Architects (AIA) Elective Learning Units and/or Professional Development Hours (PDH) for continuing education requirements. • Popular: June 10, Concrete Innovations • New: June 17, Economical Design of Insulating Concrete Forms • Popular: June 24, Specifying Sustainable Concrete Build With Strength promotes standards advocacy to leverage policies promoting safety and resiliency and help place more concrete. For more information on the BWS webinar series, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org.
Products & Services
NRMCA encourages organizations to promote safety in the workplace, especially during these uncertain times, with savings on a variety of safety topics. Valid through Tuesday, June 30, choose any NRMCA safety topic and receive 25% off the member price. Select any of the NRMCA’s online safety lessons which can be accessed from any computer, seven days a week, 24 hours a day (they are also available in DVD format). Whether you’re looking for the Mixer Truck Driver’s Manual or need information on how to prepare for an OSHA plant Inspection, NRMCA has the publications and resources you'll need to prepare your company for the days ahead. Use discount code JUNE20 and order by June 30 (this promotion does not include CDP online orders). For more information, contact Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org. 
Pavement
Adding to its ever-growing social media presence, the NRMCA Local Paving team has recently launched the LinkedIn Pave Ahead company page that will serve as a clearinghouse for Pave Ahead related news and events as well as company news blog posts from the Pave Ahead website. The page will also share links to items of interest from NRMCA members. “I encourage every NRMCA member to ‘follow’ us on LinkedIn,” said Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge. “Use the page as an extension of your own social media presence. It can be an excellent opportunity for you to highlight your company’s activities.” Kresge noted the example of a recent post by NRMCA member L. Suzio York Hill Companies’ highlighting the donation of materials and funds toward the construction of a new handicapped training course at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare. “I like to focus on challenges and goals,” Kresge added. “And I’m challenging the members of NRMCA to help the Pave Ahead LinkedIn page reach 2,500 followers by the Fourth of July! Share with your network and encourage them to ‘follow’ us.” For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org.
Nebraska Concrete and Aggregates Association Promotion Director Jeff Mulder recently assisted in the completion of a 150,000 square foot concrete overlay project (shown in these two photos) in Omaha, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Ken Justice. The concrete provided by NRMCA Producer member Gerhold Concrete and the contractor was Daedalus Construction. The project, completed June 1, consisted of a 5” thick overlay over an existing asphalt parking lot along with some curb overlays. Despite some overnight rain, the pour went on as scheduled the next day, Mulder related to Justice. "The customer loves it and has at least two more parking lots to do this year," Justice said. Mulder told Justice that there is 78,000 more square feet of overlay projects scheduled for later this month in Seward, NE. For more information, contact Ken Justice at kjustice@nrmca.org. The Pave Ahead Concrete Pavement Education Series continues this week with the third installment in the four-part series of Pervious Concrete webinars. Installing Pervious Concrete will be held Thursday, June 11, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Presented by Senior Director, Local Paving, and NRMCA Certified Pervious Concrete Craftsman Ken Justice, the one-hour program will focus on proper methods of installing pervious concrete, including preparation of base material, identification and use of proper tools, proper placement procedures and troubleshooting. The series concludes next week on June 18 with Maintenance Guidelines for Pervious Concrete. Click here to register for Installing Pervious Concrete or go to www.paveahead.com/education where you can also find recordings of Parts One and Two in the series, as well as other previous Pave Ahead webinars. For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org. Government Affairs
Early last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Democratic leadership released a five-year, $494 billion highway reauthorization bill. The committee expects to hold a virtual markup on the legislation on June 17; Chairman DeFazio has indicated he expects Democratic leadership to provide floor time so that the House can vote on the bill, potentially before or just after the July 4th recess. Here are some of the highlights from the 864-page bill:
NRMCA Government Affairs staff is reviewing the legislation and will report on specific policies impacting the ready mixed concrete industry. You can read the bill here, a summary, a fact sheet, and a section-by-section explanation of the bill. Its prospect as introduced is dim. There is significant Republican frustration with the manner in which the bill was drafted; GOP members said they were not consulted or involved in the crafting of the bill. Democratic staff briefed Republican staff only after holding consultations and briefings with stakeholders and other interest groups. You can read the Republican statement here and the Republican’s infrastructure principles here. Regardless, House Democrats will likely pass the bill out of committee and the full House before entering negotiations with the Senate. It’s expected that the Senate will bundle its surface reauthorization and water resources bills and pass them in the next few months. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Last week, Congress passed and the President signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, legislation to allow employers additional latitude in utilizing their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. NRMCA Government Affairs reported last week that this legislation passed the House of Representatives, but appeared to be on hold in the Senate as the Senate Small Business Committee readied its version of the legislation. However, with the 8-week window approaching for many PPP loans, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved the legislation and the President signed it on Friday, June 5. The legislation, now law, makes the following changes to PPP loans:
Treasury has not yet issued guidance based on this legislation, but when it does we will post it on NRMCA’s COVID-19 resources page. As always, we urge all NRMCA members to consult their attorney, lender and tax professionals when utilizing these programs. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
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Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. June 10, Build With Strength Webinar June 11, Concrete Pavement Webinar Series June 15 – 22, Online Course June 16 – 18, Nashville, TN – Sponsored by Tennessee Concrete Association June 17, Build With Strength Webinar June 18, Concrete Pavement Webinar Series June 18, Online Course June 22 – July 2, Online Course June 24, Build With Strength Webinar June 25, Smyrna, Tennessee – Sponsored by TCA June 26, Smyrna, Tennessee – Sponsored by TCA July 14 – 16, Nashville, TN – Sponsored by TCA September 25 – 29, Denver October 8, Nashville, TN October 20 – 22, Mendota Heights, MN November 10 - 12, New Orleans November 17 – 19, Glendora, CA December 15, Charlotte, NC December 15 – 18, Phoenix 
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